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Some Blog I Wrote

stuff i think about and then type on a keyboard

Friday, May 20, 2005


A Yooge Mistake?

The live third season finale of The Apprentice ended with the hiring of Kendra over Tana, extending the Book Smarts win streak to three seasons and giving Donald Trump his first female apprentice. While Trump dwelled more on their respective performances on their final tasks, George and Carolyn, as expected, looked at their overall performances over the monthlong period (not "thirteen weeks") during which they were asked to perform a string of 48-hour tasks with competitors while being deprived of sleep. Nevertheless, Trump wanted someone who seemed to be more a team player rather someone who seemed to want the job more.

My wife and I take issue with the final tasks upon which they were judged. Kendra was given the easier of the two. The venue was smaller, the scope was smaller, and the number of VIPs was smaller. All she really had to do was stroke the egos of Best Buy, Electronic Arts, and Sony. Tana had many more balls to juggle in the same amount of time. While Tana's outward attitude toward her assigned underlings could've been better, her performance elicited positive comments from some number of VIPs at the event.

A bigger problem we have is that Kendra flew under the radar for quite a long time while Tana stuck her neck out at every opportunity. She went so far as to rally for herself in the live finale, publicly announcing she thought of the circular shape of the Pontiac brochure that catapulted Kendra to "rock star" status. She also reached a bit by saying she was 28 credits short of a college diploma and that her sense of humor "didn't show" when she refused to share the limo with her assigned underlings after her final tasks ended. This aside, she seemed more willing to fight for her job than Kendra, who was coasting on the same "I'm better educated" fumes as Jen last season.

Kendra isn't a bad choice, but she doesn't stand out as much as Tana. Yes, Tana is rough around the edges, but put her in a more relaxed environment than the constant artificial stress of the show, and she could find her footing in the corporate world quickly. Her biggest mistake in the show was electing to sleep while Kendra pulled an all-nighter on the Pontiac brochure, but she should be allowed that mistake. She had earned an exemption from the previous task, and given the aforementioned stress, I can't blame her. And, Tana would've been a perfect fit for working with the Miss Universe Pageant, which is still popular for some reason. I don't think the editing was unfair to Kendra or Tana -- I recall Tana's circular concept for the Pontiac brochure was included in the footage aired.

Should anyone ultimately care? After all, it's just a TV show whose sole purpose is to cram viewers' eyeballs with yet more advertising, be it some gaudy Trump construct or weekly show sponsors. And, the "winner" get a "prize" of a job with a million-dollar salary. Will I bother with next season after being sucked in this season? Maybe, if new "mentor" Martha Stewart discards the public mask of reasonability she donned for so many years and shows anything close to the dark side hinted at by so many.


Posted by GiromiDe @ 11:15 AM
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