# The Apprentice -- 4/14 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272 "2005-04-14T12:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 15, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/21 "2005-04-15T01:58:14Z")
I have to give him credit for a pretty classy cab speech. There was no whining or denial or blame shifting. No exploding either. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/22 "2005-04-15T02:00:27Z")
Damn those editors! They did this to us on purpose. Showing Kendra-We-Don’t-Deserve-This-Award as a villain and Crazy Chris not losing his temper once, not raising his voice, and really, having his best task **ever** (such as it was). The scene of the three of them in the bar was a wonderful contrast to the disintigration of Tana/Craig/Kendra. Not to mention the cab ride. I feel…disillusioned. Still, the firing was just. I think Carolyn and George both recognized that Chris wasn’t as horrible as usual, but they had a chance and took it. Craig called Kendra “little lady”? He doesn’t deserve final four. Where’s Angie? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/23 "2005-04-15T02:10:54Z")
Kendra may not be mature, but she **did** save the task. Tana and Craig went to bed and did diddly squat, while Kendra pulled an all-nighter and won the task alone. And Chris’s inner weakness, expressed previously as intemperate outbursts, came out when he sniveled like a little bitch on national television. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/24 "2005-04-15T02:15:51Z")
> [@BigDummy](#): > > In fairness, they did kinda bail on her. The one I liked least was Craig. Kendra was in the same position he was in on the box, and he didn’t give her the same respect he wanted. Bit disappointed in him. > > But it’s her time to shine. 🙂 I wasn’t sure what she wanted them to stay up for though. She seemed like the art director with a staff of designers, not her, doing the actual laying out. She was the one with the creative final word, so really to have the other two stay up would have only led to more conflicts as exhaustion set in. If she didn’t have this martyr complex she could have sent them to bed happily. Kendra has the worst leadership skills. The first challenge they gave her when she became project mananger she reacted by sulking. So the first thing she did was give them the message that they couldn’t count on her leadership and it was all downhill from there. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/25 "2005-04-15T02:20:02Z")
I truly didn’t get what Kendra thought the other two were supposed to be doing. The three of them sitting there watching the graphics people work was highly redundant. Either give them something useful to do or let them go to bed. And wow, y’all are piling on Chris, the poor kid. I felt bad for him when he started crying, I really did. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/26 "2005-04-15T02:27:33Z")
I don’t think Kendra communicated her ideas half as well as she thought she did. I DO think Tana and Craig’s friendship and closeness in age kept them really “hearing” her, and they could have tried harder to respect her leadership. But in fairness to them, she was a bit annoying with the micromanaging stuff. Why did all three of them have to sit there and stare at the pictures? I was with Craig when he said he couldn’t do that all night. I wouldn’t have been able to do it either, especially knowing something else wasn’t being done. Tana lost a few cool points from me for hogging the lime light, but I blame Kendra for not prepping them all before they stepped into the presentation. Tana was probably thinking, “We haven’t gone over what we’re going to say, and I’m scared no one is prepared. So since I’m a great speaker and salesperson, I’ll jump right in.” She should have backed off when Kendra cut her off, but no. Ms. Goody Goody had to sparkle and charm in front of the pageant judges some more. I was all ready to roll my eyes at Kendra prior to the presentation, but when I saw what Tana was doing, I sympathized. I started getting flashbacks of Jen and Ivanna from last season. Kendra was the boss, not Tana. I don’t think Tana appreciated it that much, but I’m glad Kendra showed her. Tana overdoes it with the ga-ga, gooey smile stuff. That would get on my nerves. She’s still my fav and I love her, but she needs to get a little more edgy and less kiss-assy. Chris needed to go. Alex will be next, hopefully. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/27 "2005-04-15T02:28:29Z")
When Donald gave Chris his little pep talk I started crying. You forget how young Chris is. Donald Trump was reminding me of my dad a lot there. I’m going to cry again! Weird. ---
**Author:** ![BigDummy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/28 "2005-04-15T02:29:53Z")
All true I suppose, but still the way they cut out was a bit messed up. Craig had been resisting every step of the way. He did the same thing to her that he was upset about when they did it to him during his task, he didn’t support what she was laying out. He kept asking for a theme after she told him what it was. Not that I think she’s great or anything, far from it, I’m just saying I could see where she could be pissed. Although I guess her micro-managing was pretty annoying too. However, Tana and Craig were pretty lucky they didn’t lose. With Trump’s total comtempt for Alex taking a little nap, imagine what would have happened if he’d seen those two after they completely sacked out for 7 hours. And I really felt for Chriss too. He tried hard, poor little guy. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/29 "2005-04-15T02:31:30Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > And Chris’s inner weakness, expressed previously as intemperate outbursts, came out when he sniveled like a little bitch on national television. “Snivel” is one of those words that I’ve frequently seen used, and used myself, but that I wouldn’t have been able to define. If you had asked me “what is ‘sniveling,’ anyway?” my response probably would have been, “it’s, you know…sniveling!” Come to think of it, I’ve only ever seen the word used in connection with fictional and hypothetical characters. But I think you’re quite correct. That was a first-class example of genuine sniveling. I love reality television. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/30 "2005-04-15T02:37:03Z")
Kendra _did_ save the task and deserves credit for that, especially since Ponitiac is actually going to use her brochure, but she stepped on her own moment of glory with all the whining. Real leaders don’t call attention to themselves. They let their actions speak for themselves. Everyone was well aware that Kendra crushed that brochure on her own. She should have just let it sit out there unspoken instead of incessantly demanding her gold star. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/31 "2005-04-15T02:38:28Z")
> [@pokey](#): > > If she didn’t have this martyr complex she could have sent them to bed happily. I think it was insecurity. Not over her abilities, which were excellent and she knew that, but over her personhood. She wanted to be a part of the team. She wanted a group effort. She’s not getting that from Craig, who belittles and devalues her, and I think she just needed to not feel alone. I’m not saying this because I want people to feel sorry for her, I just think it’s a function of her personality. She needed them to be there because she was drawing something from their _presence_. They didn’t understand this, probably because they don’t like her. And “I need you to be with me” is not a leadership quality. Contrast to box-Craig, who didn’t need that boost, and succeeded as a leader. (And maybe to Pamela, who didn’t need that and was villified by her harem). Contrast that to our 7 Time Losers, who had a lot of team cohesiveness and bonding, but no abilities between them. Geez, ya’ll are picking on Chris because he cried? I don’t remember anyone else getting flak for crying. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/32 "2005-04-15T02:45:47Z")
The pep talk was touching, but I think Chris or anyone who cries like that should be embarrassed. I’m an emotional person too, but goodness. At least the other losers waited till they were in the taxi cab to shed the tears. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/33 "2005-04-15T02:48:41Z")
> [@BigDummy](#): > > The one I liked least was Craig. Tana’s smarmy “Well, I’m exempt, so I don’t care how shitty this turns out.”\* made me want to scream. Chris has fucked up a lot and he’s squeaked out of the board room several times when he should have been fired. This was **not** one of those times. I thought Alex would be fired, especially after he mentioned his “nap”, and rightfully so. I’m disappointed. That said, I really wanted him to sit on Trump’s lap and nuzzle all up in his neck, sobbing. That would have been _hilarious_. You could tell Trump really likes him, but how insulting of him to fire Chris and then be all, “You’re a star, you’re going to be a great success, and blahblahblah.”\* I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Chris to spaz. Oh well. \*not actual dialogue Anyone else notice the look on the Pontiac dude’s face when Chris put the first picture up (two chicks near the Solstice)? HAHA! “Three guys using sex to sell a car. This is me, totally shocked.” That’s a hot car though. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/34 "2005-04-15T02:50:20Z")
> [@Rysler](#): > > Geez, ya’ll are picking on Chris because he cried? I don’t remember anyone else getting flak for crying. I can’t remember if anyone else has ever cried in the boardroom. Tears in their eyes, perhaps. But crying? ---
**Author:** ![BigDummy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/35 "2005-04-15T02:53:31Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > Tana’s smarmy “Well, I’m exempt, so I don’t care how shitty this turns out.”\* made me want to scream. Yeah, I didn’t like Tana at that point, but at least she’d been more or less with the program up til then. Lost a little of my love for her though. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/36 "2005-04-15T03:13:01Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > Anyone else notice the look on the Pontiac dude’s face when Chris put the first picture up (two chicks near the Solstice)? Absolutely. That was just awesome. Really in the end, the three of them couldn’t market a car their way out of a paper bag. It was clear that instead of thinking of who might actually be in the market to buy the car they were thinking of people who would want the car but never be able to get it. One thing I didn’t catch: Tana and Craig said something to Kendra and then she said she appreciated their honesty but that she was offended. What did they say to her right before she said that? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/37 "2005-04-15T03:35:28Z")
> [@pokey](#): > > Absolutely. That was just awesome. > > Really in the end, the three of them couldn’t market a car their way out of a paper bag. It was clear that instead of thinking of who might actually be in the market to buy the car they were thinking of people who would want the car but never be able to get it. > > One thing I didn’t catch: Tana and Craig said something to Kendra and then she said she appreciated their honesty but that she was offended. What did they say to her right before she said that? Craig said something about not believing Kendra when she said she appreciates the opinions of her employees (or whatever word she used for “underlings”). I have to admit, she did sound sarcastic when she said it. When Kendra asked what that was supposed to mean, Tara said (in the guise of clarifying Craig’s comment) that what they both felt was that they trusted her magazine experience and her ability to finish the project (or something to that effect). I don’t think this was what Craig was trying to say. Kendra, ever so dramatic, backed up and said she appreciated their honesty, but was deeply offended by it. Then she commenced to nailing herself on a cross. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/38 "2005-04-15T03:43:18Z")
I was kind of stunned with how kind Trump was to Chris, after totally ripping on him. But when Chris started crying, I think even hard-hearted Trump realized that he’d just walked all over a 21-year-old kid, and tried to give him some encouragement. And really, I also wonder if he didn’t leave him on the show as long as he did so that Chris could come face-to-face with some of his worst character defects and at least admit that he had them so that he could start to work on them in the future. But I’m still glad he’s gone. My favorite moment? When Alex and Bren were all hugging and “I love you, bro!” to each other on the terrace, and then Alex says, “Okay, let’s go stab each other in the back now,” and Bren replies, “Yeah, let’s go cut each other’s throats.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/39 "2005-04-15T04:32:01Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Kendra _did_ save the task and deserves credit for that, especially since Ponitiac is actually going to use her brochure, but she stepped on her own moment of glory with all the whining. Real leaders don’t call attention to themselves. They let their actions speak for themselves. Everyone was well aware that Kendra crushed that brochure on her own. She should have just let it sit out there unspoken instead of incessantly demanding her gold star. Kendra only complained about this to the camera, though. It’s not as though she walked up to the Pontiac people and said, “Hey, I’m the one who pulled an all-nighter. I did practically all the work while my teammates got their beauty sleep!” And no, I don’t think everyone was aware that Kendra crunched out that beauty of a brochure on her own. The Pontiac people certainly had no way of knowing, nor did Donald Trump. Honestly, I can’t entirely blame Kendra for reacting the way she did. After all, time was running out, and the job had to get done. Having said that, a good leader knows how to play to the strengths and weaknesses of his or her team. A better approach would have been to let Tana and Craig get a few hours of sleep, and then wake them up and ask for their input before the work was complete. That way, they would have had the sleep that they craved, and they would have been able to view the brochure with fresh and refreshed eyes. Similarly, it was unprofessional for Tana and Craig to simply bail at that critical juncture. Good followers strive to find creative win-win solutions, just as good leaders do. Tana could have offered to work on her presentation spiel, for example, which would not have required her to stay up all night long. On that note… I think it was inappropriate for Tana to automatically jump in and stat their little marketing spiel. Sure, she’s a great presenter, but that doesn’t mean that she can automatically assume this role for herself. If she wanted to do that, she should have spoken to the team leader first and offered to take charge of the presentation. Unless this role had been specifically assigned to a subordinate, it should be assumed to fall on the team leader’s shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272/40 "2005-04-15T04:59:32Z")
Alex really sucked tonight, he could’ve easily been the one to go, but he does get a few extra points for highlighting Chris’ creative use of “interiorly” and “exteriorly”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-14/299272.md?page=3)