The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Wake Up and Smell the ..... Pastry?
Episode 10 Commentary by Donna Emery
November 17, 2005
This episode was full of surprises.
It began with a surprise, as Dawna tearfully expressed her regret for hurting Bethenny, in the previous week's conference room. "I don't like to hurt people," she mused.
Luckily, she had a chance to tell her so, because Jim and Bethenny returned from the conference room. Nobody seemed surprised; that Howie had been sent home, but Bethenny was surprised, by the fervency of Dawna's apology.
Amanda continued to be surprised; by Jim's consistent survival of the conference room. She seemed puzzled by Martha's failure to dismiss him. "I don't know what Martha is looking for," she commented. "If she's looking for someone like Jim, then she isn't looking for me. Because we are opposites."
The teams gathered to hear this week's task. Martha was in the midst of planning a magazine cover, and was holding a cup of coffee. She used it to introduce this week's featured product. It was a machine which would efficiently brew coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. Each team would be given a $40, 000 budget, to promote the product.
Primarius was led this week, by Jim. He gloated that his opposing PM would be Marcela. The last time he was PM, he had also gone up against Marcela, and had won. Dawna immediately began to concentrate on research, and trying to find a promotions company. She found one quickly. When Jim asked if they had experience with coffee products, she airily replied: "This task is about public relations; not a specific food item."
Their conflict was mild, compared to the tension between Matchstick's PM Marcela, and Ryan. Both he and Amanda expressed their disdain for Marcela. Amanda was particularly dismissive: "let's see how much we end up running this task." Marcela may not have heard their words, but she sensed their disdain. She was sure they were setting her up for failure.
Dawna wanted to avoid failure, and was determined to win the task. She feared the alliance between Jim and Bethenny. "I have to win, or they will be united in sending me home," she concluded. With that in mind, she set off to secure the services of the promotion company. Jim called her a "rogue member," because she seemed determined to act on her own. He might understand her strategy, but he felt she might be a bit too intense.
Amanda was similarly disenchanted with Marcela's focus. Instead of concentrating on how to promote the sale of a coffeemaker, Marcela was imagining the many types of pastries that they could offer; as part of the promotion. "There is no direction, and no delegation," she sniped. Leslie was encouraging to Marcela, and soon she came up with her main idea: to hire a celebrity, to help promote their product. Ryan got very excited when he heard that one of the available celebrities was the actor who had played "Big Pussy", on the Sopranos. Marcela gently told him that it would be the wrong focus, for their promotion. Instead, she came up with the idea to find a celebrity pastry chef. Ryan went to work and found some well-known ones.
But when Charles and Alexis came to see how the group was doing, they found a lack of conclusive planning. Marcela told them about her plan to find a pastry chef, but Ryan chose that moment to tell her that none of their choices were available. "We'll go with Plan B, then," sighed Marcela; though she admitted that they hadn't yet completed that strategy. Soon, though, her diligence paid off, and she found a pastry chef.
While Jim and Bethenny readied their store location, Dawna made progress on her own, and secured the services of the promotion company. She pledged them a budget of $30,000. Although Jim saw the wisdom of using such a service, he balked at the price. However, he soon found that the commitment had been made. Bethenny was philosophical about it: "let it be on her," she vowed. But she made a pact with Jim anyway: they wouldn't worry about it, because they were going to win!
Marcela sensed Amanda's displeasure, after hiring the pastry chef. However, when she asked her for some ideas of her own, she had none to offer. The day of the promotion dawned, and the group had drawn a crowd. Jennifer, the pastry chef was present, and her creations proved very popular. But despite the crowded store, few sales were being made. Many were enjoying the free pastry, but no one seemed to buy machines. They lowered the price: from $299, to $249, to $199 and finally $169. Amanda was very sulky, and seemed to project a sarcastic demeanor. Marcela was fearful: "if I lose, it may be time for me to go home," she said tearfully.
Primarius' store was.....
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