# Apprentice (a la Donald) -- 10/6/05 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055 "2005-10-06T15:44:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/1 "2005-10-06T15:44:55Z")
Tonight they tackle a task “involving exhibitions involving senior citizens” – is it just my mind that’s in the gutter here? – and the firing takes place after “a nasty surprise by the project manager.” [courtesy TVGuide] At this point, mostly I’m looking forward to being able to tell these guys apart from Martha’s crew – Jim the asshole is the other show, right? And the black Gary Sandy is this one? It’s bad enough sorting people out early in the season without having a whole parallel universe thing going on. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/2 "2005-10-07T01:22:39Z")
“There’s still a lingering turd in the pool.” 'nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/3 "2005-10-07T01:25:29Z")
Wow. Can Carolyn raise an eyebrow or what? ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/4 "2005-10-07T01:32:31Z")
I fell out when they were panning around, showing the old folks on walkers and Hoverounds, then they cut to…Rebecca in a wheelchair. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/5 "2005-10-07T01:49:46Z")
Tethno. BWAHAHAHAGHAHA! ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/6 "2005-10-07T01:52:05Z")
_Computers are the devil!_ - Crazy Old Man. And what’s up with all of the candidates not listening to Trump about their boardroom choices? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/7 "2005-10-07T01:55:43Z")
“I even had sugar-free cookies!” ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/8 "2005-10-07T01:59:13Z")
Who knew that cookies were the the Palm Pilots of the dessert world? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/9 "2005-10-07T01:59:19Z")
Would you describe her move as “a nasty surprise,” as TVGuide called it? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/10 "2005-10-07T02:17:24Z")
“Thank you for calling Minimalist Event Planners… will this be a one tray of cookies or two affair?” What a schmuckette. And asking George how old people view technology- there’s a way to win friends. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/11 "2005-10-07T02:22:31Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Would you describe her move as “a nasty surprise,” as TVGuide called it? I didn’t think so. It might have been a surprise to Jen W (why does this show always seem to have multiple Jennifers?) that she sucked, but it was no surprise to anyone else. It was obvious Carolyn hated the room and the food. JW should have been fired just for not knowing how to spell “techno.” Once again, a PM refuses to listen when Donald is basically saying flat out who he wants to fire. I think Rebecca survived only because JW genuinely sucked on the task and maybe Donald bought the “integrity” act a little bit. Toral turned into kind of a Melissa in the boardroom. Oh…and Markus wasn’t really a hindrance this week. He wasn’t that annoying and actually seemed to do pretty well at chatting with the retirees. I have a feeling that he’s the one Trump was talking to in the teaser for next week, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/12 "2005-10-07T02:24:47Z")
So… (I forget her name, but the one who was) doing push-ups in spandex in front of an old man, then pushing your chest in his face to read the monitor- good “use of assets” or unfair sexist advantage? (No question about the old man enjoying it.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/13 "2005-10-07T02:32:57Z")
Something I’ve noticed…three out of the four seasons, the teams started out as men vs women, and every time, the women have had a lot harder time coming together as a group than the men. Am I just imagining it, or have other people noticed it too? Why do you think that is? Just a matter of chance, something about the group dynamics of men/women groups, or something else? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/14 "2005-10-07T02:59:42Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Something I’ve noticed…three out of the four seasons, the teams started out as men vs women, and every time, the women have had a lot harder time coming together as a group than the men. Am I just imagining it, or have other people noticed it too? Why do you think that is? Just a matter of chance, something about the group dynamics of men/women groups, or something else? I think guys are a little better at putting aside personal differences to work as a team. It may also help that a lot of guys have played some kind of team sport at some time in their lives and sort of know how to bury the personal stuff while working on a task. This might sound generalizing and sexist, but I think that women tend to take things more personally and get more wrapped up in what other people think about them. They want to resolve things and it becomes a distractio. Guys don’t have to like each other to be able to work together. They tend to focus more on whether a teammate is doing his job properly than if the dude likes them. Maybe they’re just more socialized to work in teams. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/15 "2005-10-07T03:22:18Z")
“I have integrity”? I don’t think that word means what she thinks it means. It’s going to be interesting, watching Rebecca and Toral try to work with the rest of the team, after announcing that they were so much smarter and more qualified than the others. So there’s a whole day between the end of the task and the boardroom? Did everybody else know that? I always thought the boardroom was held sooner than that, shortly after the task results were announced. I was **amazed** that there was only two-tenths of a point difference in the surveys! It had to be the cute girl/old men factor. Rebecca should have been fired – for not bringing Toral in and for not overseeing the event, checking out how things looked ahead of time. JenW’s work did suck though, and her voice was way too whiny, even when she wasn’t whining. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/16 "2005-10-07T03:35:35Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > “I even had sugar-free cookies!” “My gramma likes cake so we had cake.” ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/17 "2005-10-07T03:56:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > “Thank you for calling Minimalist Event Planners… will this be a one tray of cookies or two affair?” What a schmuckette. > > And asking George how old people view technology- there’s a way to win friends. Ooh. Schmuckette. Now there’s a word to add to my vocabulary of insults. They soo telegraphed the winners on this event way in advance. The George question was very funny. Next up: they do a wedding planning job and ask The Donald about being married three times. I thought Trump was very obnoxious in this episode. First he meets the candidates in a playground and puffs up his chest about donating the area to the community. I think that donation was not made voluntarily but probably required by law. Then he wanted to fire Toral because the other members of the team said so. I think Donald, unlike Martha, is generally much more ready to go with a group ganging up. If Dawn from TA:MS were on this version she would have been gone a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/18 "2005-10-07T04:36:48Z")
Another thing that bugged me about the women’s team was when Christi (sp?) and two others were complaining that their PM had failed to get them “jazzed” about the task. (Where’s Tana when you really need her?) When something needs to be done, and it’s not within your “skill set” (gag) or it’s boring or you’re tired, you need to find a way to get yourself “jazzed”. It’s only Week 3. Where’s the enthusiasm? Did the run to the helicopter use it all up? ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/19 "2005-10-07T05:42:21Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Another thing that bugged me about the women’s team was when Christi (sp?) and two others were complaining that their PM had failed to get them “jazzed” about the task. (Where’s Tana when you really need her?) > > When something needs to be done, and it’s not within your “skill set” (gag) or it’s boring or you’re tired, you need to find a way to get yourself “jazzed”. Yes. And haven’t they done that every week so far? ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055/20 "2005-10-07T11:34:30Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I was **amazed** that there was only two-tenths of a point difference in the surveys! It had to be the cute girl/old men factor. Yeah; that surprised me, too. Two-tenths on a ten-point scale is nothing. From the looks of it, there weren’t _that_ many seniors, so just one crotchety old guy giving out low scores could have tipped the balance. I wonder, too, about the editing. We were shown all fun and laffs at the guys’ event, and all woe and imcompetence (and boobs, too, I guess) at the women’s event. They even hauled out the oboes of uh-oh as a soundtrack for the women, so you knew they were going to lose. Yet the final point total was actually quite close. Interesting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apprentice-a-la-donald-10-6-05/325055.md?page=2)