# The Apprentice -- 5/12 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545 "2005-05-12T11:47:56Z")\ **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:** [May 12, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/1 "2005-05-12T11:47:56Z")
It’s the second-to-last show of the season, so we get to spend an hour watching these two fine young women preparing for The Biggest Challenge of Their Careers (um, the Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugest Challenge?), while dealing with incompetent underlings and tight deadlines. Hm. I should drop Mark Burnett a line – sounds like a typical day in cubicleland for me. I read a preview somewhere that said one of the gals was unable to find an American flag anywhere in Manhattan. Must be Kendra – Tana would know to head for Staten Island. 😛 Guesses on any developments? Will the debacles be about failures of planning, failures of leadership, or failures of creativity? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/2 "2005-05-12T12:53:24Z")
Good morning, **twickster** , and all the other _Apprentice_ fans. Based on Kendra being late for her own meeting last week, I think Tana will do a better job of organizing her tight time frame and her flunkies. I don’t hold the parking issue against her as (1) that wasn’t her fault, and (2) it’s very hard to find parking in the Big City. Any decent venue ought to have an American flag handy. Many years ago, I was helping set up for a conference, and I realized we were lacking a flag for the main stage. I asked the venue folks for one, and they brought out a flag (on flagpole) from somewhere backstage. Does the preview imply that the gal in question didn’t even think to ask for a flag? Where’s the infamous top-flight support staff? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/3 "2005-05-12T14:44:34Z")
5/11? Did I miss a show on Wednesday night? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/4 "2005-05-12T14:58:49Z")
No, I’m an idiot. I’ll ask a mod to fix. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/5 "2005-05-12T17:44:02Z")
I can’t say loudly enough how much more I have been enjoying Survivor and Amazing Race than this declining series of crap. What a pain. Anyway, prediction time. Tana will pretty much flail as if a half strung up puppet, mainly because her team is completely awful. She might as well be taking an orienteering class with Helen Keller. Kendra has a team of non-studs in her own right, but, while they may be irritating and odd, they avoid the obvious malicious hate and anger that Tana’s team has. Kendra wins, which I have been saying for a while now. Kendra will not appear on any future season of this show because she is such a lackluster winner. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/6 "2005-05-12T19:18:40Z")
Yeah; I’ve been thinking the same for a while. You know what’s a bit depressing is that Tana and Kendra are _clearly_ the best of this season. Jiminy Cricket, fifth-place Troy could kick their ass, either together or seperately. And whose idea was it to give Tana and Kendra the suck-ass-iest losers? I was kind of hoping for a finale exhibiting performance _above_ the mediocre line, if only by a little. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/7 "2005-05-12T19:20:18Z")
However, I think Kendra and maybe even Tana are superior to anyone in season two. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/8 "2005-05-12T19:24:04Z")
The good news is, I just had to clue “Tana,” and, yep, I went for " `Apprentice III’ finalist." ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/9 "2005-05-12T19:31:13Z")
I seem to recall a preview of Donald saying something like, “That was a major mistake,” and I’m pretty sure it was the athletic venue behind him. Based on Burnett’s inability to do a non-misleading preview, I predict Tana to win. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/10 "2005-05-12T20:52:06Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > However, I think Kendra and maybe even Tana are superior to anyone in season two. Huh. You’re right. In fact, I’d hazard that the average level of suck this season might actually be a bit lower than the level of suck last season. A bit hard to tell, though, since certain indivudual candidates – from both seasons – seem to be artificially constructed from disproportionately high amounts of suck. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/11 "2005-05-12T21:18:25Z")
OK, date is changed. Of course, all the British readers will think it means 5th December, but them’s the breaks. ---
**Author:** ![DoperChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/12 "2005-05-12T21:20:27Z")
> [@zut](#): > > Huh. You’re right. In fact, I’d hazard that the average level of suck this season might actually be a bit lower than the level of suck last season. A bit hard to tell, though, since certain indivudual candidates – from both seasons – seem to be artificially constructed from disproportionately high amounts of suck. The show is getting so bad that I really only watch to be able to keep up with the SD threads. God, I love this place. 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 13, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/13 "2005-05-13T01:15:41Z")
Man, if this was a fight they would stop it. Tana’s event is a trainwreck. That assistant or whatever he is for Pataki sure is an officious little prick. Is it going to kill Pataki to wait outside for a few minutes? What, does he think he’s special or something. I’d tell that guy to bite my ass. If the governor doesn’t like it, he can leave. Having said that, Tana’s team is doing an awful job and Kendra is really coming off as competent. She’s really impressing me. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/14 "2005-05-13T01:20:15Z")
Now Pataki can’t walk two feet without an American flag to wrap himself in? He’s too good to carry a Puerto Rican flag? What a self-important jerk. Still, Tana has to take the heat for it. Dealing with giant egos is part of the job. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/15 "2005-05-13T01:23:34Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Now Pataki can’t walk two feet without an American flag to wrap himself in? He’s too good to carry a Puerto Rican flag? > > What a self-important jerk. > > Still, Tana has to take the heat for it. Dealing with giant egos is part of the job. Exactly. Politician and politicians’ assistants are all pretty much the same, and Tana apparently has no clue how to deal with them. Still, I’m thinking they must be holding back a Kendra disaster. It can’t be this one-sided, can it? ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/16 "2005-05-13T01:23:50Z")
Objectively though, I don’t know that Tana’s event was a trainwreck. Everyone on the inside saw the mistakes, but from the outside who would notice anything? What I’m kind of annoyed about right now is that it seems to me that Kristen and Danny were both told to fuck up outrageously. Nobody would be stupid enough to start singing like Danny did last week and even Kristen wouldn’t have the NERVE to sabotage someone that obviously. Each athelete probably had about two sentences so it would be impossible for her not to notice if one of those sentences was “He’s a pain in the ass!” If it’s not real, why not make up the whole thing? ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/17 "2005-05-13T01:27:52Z")
I agree **Pokey**. I’ve done several special events and not one has gone off as planned or without some major nail biting moments. Something always goes wrong and you’re always convinced your career is over. However, as long as you’re the only one who notices, it’s not a problem. The editing does distinctly favor Kendra though (at least to this point). ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/18 "2005-05-13T01:29:15Z")
Tana’s a freaking idiot. How/why did they hide this all season? ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/19 "2005-05-13T01:29:21Z")
Oops, I didn’t mean to imply that I think Tana’s not a trainwreck. Because Tana is an utter trainwreck. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545/20 "2005-05-13T01:35:47Z")
In my opinion the two tasks were not even comparable. A bid to get the olympics to New York vs. a $5000 first prize video game tourney? That being said, Kendra on the toilet talking to Tana was pretty funny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-5-12/303545.md?page=2)