The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Don't Think It Hasn't Been Fun
Episode 11 Commentary by Donna Emery
December 2, 2005
Ryan set out to have fun. Marcela was just along for the ride.
But the "fun" backfired, for both of them, this week, as their poorly made video tanked, and Martha sent both of them home.
In the beginning of the episode, the victorious Primarius speculated about who would come back.
Jim jumped on the counter and made monkey noises; seemingly, because he could, and also because it annoyed Dawna. Bethenny didn't seem to notice. The only thing that they all agreed on was that Ryan would be coming back. And soon they were proved right, and he and Marcela marched back to the conference room. They were welcomed, but with a sense of wonder. Suddenly, everyone there was conscious that they are The Final Five. They knew that this task would be their last, and each was determined to make the most of it. For Matchstick, their quest had to be charged with a real need to win. They had lost twice in a row; a win would mean survival.
Bethenny knew that she needed a win, as PM, in order to survive in this final stage of the interview. So, she would be PM for Primarius. Ryan wanted the win, so that he could equal Dawna's impressive 3-0 record (and beat Jim's 2-0 record). So he and Marcela agreed that he would be PM. And, he set the tone for the project, by saying "let's have fun with this one, OK?" Docile Marcela seemed totally OK with that.
The teams got their instructions via video, as Martha was in North Carolina. The task was to create a promotional video; for Song Airlines. It was to promote their $99 flight from NYC to Los Angeles.
Ryan and Marcela hopped into a van, and began to plot out their video. Instead of brainstorming for ideas, Ryan came up with one right away: a baseball player, who had missed the team flight, and only has $100; runs to the airport, and is able to make the big game because of the Song Airlines $99 flight. Marcela seems unsure, and wisely calls the Song execs to find out what the company's target audience is. She finds out that it is an over-30 female, and Marcela immediately wonders if Ryan's baseball idea will appeal to the group. But Ryan is stuck on the idea. He doesn't even want to consider another one, or consider that his idea could be rejected. And then he says what have to be the equivalent of an Apprentice Suicide Note: "I'm not that concerned with the target audience."
Jim was the one to call the Song execs, for Primarius, and got off on a tangent about what the customers usually wore, on the flight. He wanted to know if the female customers were "hot-looking", and went on for a bit about various outfits that a potential Song customer might wear. Dawna said she always got nervous when Jim spoke to clients (with good reason) but Bethenny gave him latitude, since his efforts had procured them the information they needed: the target audience was over-30 women. Bethenny impressed the execs by knowing that Song served natural foods meals, and the exec expanded on their customer service policy. This gave them valuable insights into the company's marketing strategy. During the group's planning session, Jim concentrated on specific details of the passengers' dress. He described them as though he were casting a special on the Playboy Channel. By the end of the planning session, Bethenny was fed up with Jim, and whispered to Dawna: "I want to do this as though it were just you and me." Dawna agreed, as she was continually disgusted with Jim's juvenile attitude.
The casting discussion went a bit better, and Charles and Alexis seemed impressed by Primarius' organizational skills. Even Jim gained some praise, for his ability to discern which actors would fit the parts for the video.
Over at Matchstick, Ryan looked good in his baseball uniform, but little else about their video seemed impressive. For one thing, being the actor, director, and Project Manager seemed to be too challenging a proposition; for Ryan. Charles and Alexis noticed this, and commented that he might be attempting to do too much. Despite these problems, as the filming progresses, Marcela inexplicably begins to feel like the video is going well. The final scene showed Ryan the baseball guy with several other rowdy jocks, and he joined them as they winged their way toward whatever games they were destined for.
Bethenny and Dawna's pact to act.....
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