The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Guess Who's (Not) Coming for Dinner
Episode 11 Commentary by Donna Emery
December 2, 2005
One of these weeks, Jim's self-touted "strategy" is sure to bite him in
the ass. But not this week.
The episode began with Jim, bragging to Dawna; that he had given
Marcela the World's Best Pep Talk. Despite his assurances to Marcela; that
she brought all kinds of wonderful things to the table, Jim admitted to
Dawna that he had actually been using strategy. Seeing Amanda as a
more formidable threat, Jim had bolstered Marcela's confidence; in hopes
that it would be she; who would continue in the contest instead of
Amanda. While Jim knew that any of the remaining six could become Martha's
Apprentice, he said he would rather compete against Marcela.
Dawna was taken aback by Jim's frankness, and she didn't agree with his
approach. She said that she preferred to go against a stronger
candidate. That way, she surmised; if she won, it was a true victory.
Dawna mused that she thinks Jim is insecure, and that
this makes her want to be stronger.
When Marcela walked back into the loft, there were hugs and screams
from joyful Bethenny and Leslie. Jim quietly congratulated Ryan, and then
he oozed sincerity as he congratulated Marcela. She seemed to have
gained some of his assertiveness. "I underestimated myself," she
concluded. If anything, Jim was overestimating himself, by saying "Jim is
the master of this game."
Leslie answered the phone, and was excited to learn that the candidates
would be going to Turkey Hill; one of Martha's homes. There, they
would see her gardens, and would receive the briefing for their next task.
The gardens there were worth a tour; they were lush and full of
beautiful gardens. Martha explained that she had styled the gardens after some
famous French gardens. The candidates dutifully oohed, and aahhed; and, to
be honest, the gardens were pretty impressive.
Martha introduced them to some General Motors executives, and told them
that this task would be to create a display to promote the Buick
Lucerne. Each team would be given $65,000 for the project, and the best
display would win.
Matchstick's Project Manager was Leslie, who began the team's planning
session with the statement that "people like clever things," but the
team couldn't come up with clever ideas. Ryan used his own creativity to
think of the slogan: "It's Just That Nice," and imagined that the car
made its owner feel so comfortable; that they might even ask the car to
dinner. Leslie wasn't that impressed, but none of the group could
think of anything better, so they began to plan around that theme.
At Primarius, Dawna admitted: "I need a big win." She knew that being
a three-time winner would help her win Martha's respect. Yet, having
heard Jim's "strategy," she knew that her winning record made her a
likely candidate to be targeted by him. Bethenny dreamed up the slogan
they would use: "Driven by Elegance." It conveyed the image that they
wanted to portray for the car.
Going to the showroom impressed the team. All of them loved the car,
especially Jim. He seemed excited by it, and made some growling noises
to represent his opinion of it.
At Matchstick, the team decided to do a video to go along with their
presentation. With their dinner table idea, could it be that they just
wanted dinner and a movie? Ryan's idea mushroomed into a film of the
car; driving to an Italian restaurant, and then its owner being so
taken with it that he would invite the car inside. The film would end in
dessert. Leslie began to balk at the absurdity, but didn't say
anything to Ryan.
At Primarius, Jim and Bethenny.....
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