This week on a very special The Celebrity Apprentice … celebrity intervention? You know, I firmly salute anyone with the courage to sit a friend down and confront them about their problem with alcohol or drugs (or magic. Go Barney!) But there’s a time and a place! This week, the time and place chosen by the men’s team for their intervention into Dennis Rodman‘s life was the boardroom, on national television. I think that was in rather poor taste, both by the guys for bringing the issue to a head in front of Trump, Jonathan Tisch (CEO of Loews Hotels) and the women’s team, as well as by NBC for not having a “take two,” where the confrontation wasn’t shared or aired.
Whether or not Dennis does have a problem with alcohol, by the way, I still find it hard to understand the outrage that’s been spewed about him on the show since the season began. Rodman was on one of the biggest stages in the world, the NBA. THIS IS WHO HE IS! And we all know that. He’s done nothing out of character, and the fact that anyone expected differently is nothing more than a front. This is exactly what Donald Trump anticipated, precisely what Mark Burnett assumed would transpire. For the men, and Trump, to be disappointed in Rodman’s failing to perform, is absolutely ludicrous.
Anyone, that’s my rant. Now, let’s get started.
This week, the teams were tasked with “running” a hotel for a night, i.e. fully servicing five rooms in a Loews hotel in New York. Each group hit the ground running with a primer on everything from cleaning the bathrooms to concierge service. Now, how their guests were picked is debatable (I think they were chosen at random; my wife believes they were prepped in advance), but either way, the guests certainly kept the celebrities on their toes. And, you know, as D-List as they may be, I acknowledge the fact that most of these people have been accustomed to being waited on hand and foot for years. But the only person who commented on the change in status was Khloe Kardashian, the most nobody of all the nobodies, who shared with us that “room service isn’t my thing.” She’s more used to being served. I’m begging you all: please tell me who this lunatic is!
I must say that it was impressive to see most of the contestants simply putting their heads down and working. In previous seasons of The Apprentice, the “regulars” have been assigned the task of redoing a suite, and, I believe, fixing up a house to then sell. None of those sycophants worked as diligently or as silently as Herschel Walker and Jesse James did cleaning toilets. Bravo.
Dennis led the men, while the women were steered by Tionne Watkins (TLC), who seems to be one of the angriest people around. Even when complimented, she scours. Anyway, Dennis’ enthusiasm for both the hotel chain and the task was palpable from the start (he pumped his fist!), and I really had the feeling that he would surprise us all. Of course, it didn’t take long before he was clashing with Brian McKnight (who has seriously gone from being under-the-radar to a complete jerk in two weeks), but once again, Clint Black showed why he is the man to beat, supporting his project manager in each and every way.
I was surprised at how defeated the men seemed by the requests that came in to their concierge desk. Ticket requests, dinner reservations, etc. all seemed to leave these four famous names (Dennis was off in his own world) scratching their heads. The legend goes that, unlike on Entourage, agents are not there to book tickets or perform any other non-work requests, but the reality is that, if they’re any good, agents are friends and are available to help. Are we meant to believe that Brian McKnight couldn’t pick up the phone and call his agent, or manager, or producer, or record label exec, or whomever, to score him tickets to Billy Elliot, or a table at a hot restaurant? Hell, his calling directly would most likely have worked! Joan Rivers certainly had no problem with the navigation. And don’t forget … there’s always TKTS!
Each team was also provided with a bit of a surprise: other D-Listers from last year’s show checked in as guests! For the women, it was none other than Stephen Baldwin, minister extraordinaire. For the men, the surprisingly easy-going Vincent Pastore, of The Sopranos fame. While Vinny was demanding, he didn’t come close to Stephen’s whiny, complaining attitude. I don’t fault Baldwin for getting pissed that Joan Rivers forgot to mention the extra almost $600 in charges that went with his concierge requests, but complaining that his room didn’t look out onto Park Avenue was just too much. Vinny, on the other hand, seemed most disappointed when he learned that Dennis wasn’t around to hang out with when Pastore returned from work.
In the end, the women defeated the men, the deciding factor being the average grade awarded them by each of their guests. What was telling was that the men only lost by five points (91 to 86), that after leaving most of their guests waiting for one service or another for extended periods of time. In fact, I think they came as close as they did for one reason alone: Dennis. While his style was unbefitting of a project manager (I don’t argue that point at all), his personally escorting one very unhappy couple to dinner surely saved the pair from scoring the men a zero.
In what I think was an unprecedented event, Dennis was fired while both teams sat in the boardroom. I agree with the decision 100%; team unity must come first, and without him the men are a much stronger and more cohesive group. However, the discussion about drinking was just way out of line, and should never have been aired. NBC may think that they just did the public a service, and that theory was reinforced by the fact that they put up a public service message at the end of the show regarding alcohol abuse, but the whole episode just really turned me off. I know that in the time of Celebrity Rehab, and whatever other garbage shows D-Listers appear on, all’s fair game, but this is a competition for charity. Lessons are for another setting.
But then, maybe that’s just me. I’ve never enjoyed when a show tries to force-feed us a side helping of learning. What do you think?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 30, 2009 @ 16:08 EST5EDT
I don’t fault the men for stating their belief that Dennis Rodman’s drinking contributed to their losing their task. It did. Especially when you see how close the teams were. As you noted, the closeness actually points to just how charismatic Dennis is. But if I ordered a bottle of wine from the menu, didn’t receive it for an hour plus, then received the wrong room service order, then waited further while the men debated whether I had ordered Acacia Chardonnay of “a case a chardonnay” (my personal favorite moment from the show), I’d be pissed. Dennis MIGHT be able to assuage my impatience, but only if he were there. If, however, he was off having dinner with another guest, his charisma would do me no good. That’s just one example of how he let his team down. NBC’s decision to air the “intervention” might be another issue, however having been privy to celebrity/broadcast oriented contracts in my previous occupation, I’m quite sure that it was explicitly stated that any and all footage was available for NBC to broadcast as they chose and if you’re going to put yourself on camera ordering Vodka & Cranberries over and over and over…. well, sorry, but your team has every right to mention how it affected your performance. You’re right, he was entertaining, but Trump gave him a chance over Scott Hamilton and Tom Green when it can be argued that Dennis was the one who should have gone home in either of those tasks. Frankly, I couldn’t believe Trump was as benevolent towards Rodman as he was. A cynic would say he kept Rodman for the ratings. An optimist would say he kept him because he genuinely liked him and saw his potential. Me? I’d say it’s a little of both.
On another note, I think it’s unfair of you to characterize Tionne Watkins as “one of the angriest people around”. I really think that is so off base. On the conrary, she struck me as nervous, humble, a little intimidated by some of the celebrities and strong personalities around her, but she applied herself in this challenge and had the admiration of her ENTIRE team. Had she been angry and sullen, that wouldn’t have been the case. Just because someone doesn’t smile all the time does not make them “angry”.
As a final note, it was pretty ridiculous for Vincent Pastore to request a reservation at Rao’s. Come on – RAO’S?? The fact they were able to get him in a week later was a miracle in itself. Clearly Stephen and Vincent were sent in to “push buttons”, but to Pastore’s credit, he didn’t have a hissy fit when the Rao’s reservation was unobtainable. What I was really struck by, however, was Jesse James knowledge of NYC restaurant reservation availability and etiquette. He taught his teammates more than one lesson during this episode. I suspect being Sandra Bullock’s spouse has something to do with that. If getting to the finals guarantees Sandra’s appearance on the show, then I will be rooting Jesse on!
*POST AUTHOR*
First of all, I’m glad that someone else watches this! Thanks for making me feel better about that. :-)
So, here’s my issue. I’m not saying that the men shouldn’t have said that Dennis cost them the task by drinking. I’m saying that once Jesse said “Dennis has a drinking PROBLEM”, the discussion went beyond the scope of the show. Thus, my issue was the “intervention”, not the listing of Dennis’ missteps as a teammate or as a project manager.
To the example you mention about the wine, it was THAT couple who Dennis took to dinner. Yes, 100%, if he had been MIA for that it’s on his head. And, had that played out differently, it would have been his fault. But in that specific instance, he turned two people who were very pissed about the wine, and the dinner reservations, into two people seeing stars after going to dinner with Dennis Rodman.
Also, I’m not saying the contestants didn’t sign their rights away. Rather, I think NBC should have thought a minute before airing that kind of scene. They had full right to … but was it right to? I don’t think so.
I think Trump gave Dennis the lifelines that he did for the ratings. You could see him throwing a rope to Rodman every week: “Would you do that if it was Michael Jordan? Phil Jackson?” But this week there was no one else to point to, so Dennis was out. As you and I know from watching this, next week there’ll be a new saga, never fear.
In terms of Tionne, it was really just my perception of her. I’m not making any statement about her abilities or accomplishments on this task or any other, and I don’t think that she was mad, or sullen. I just think she seems angry as a general disposition. I hope I’m wrong.
Was that crazy, or what, with Jesse James whipping out his phone and hooking up the reservations? The devil side of me thinks the text went something like “Sandy, baby, please help! I need dinner at eight for two but don’t know what to do!” And, keep in mind that I think Jesse is great, just not well connected beyond his wife.
What was interesting about Vinny Pastore was definitely his grasp of reality. I think what it says is that getting a reservation at Rao’s a week later, even for a celebrity, is par for the course. He knows the game, and the men did the best that anyone could have done. Stevie B., on the other hand, showed just how big his non-celebrity side is by being pissed that the women delivered more than anyone in the world could have, even for a big star. Clearly, Stevie B. has no firsthand knowledge of that. Oh well.
I think it was unavoidable to feature the men’s team talking about Dennis’ drinking. If they had done a “take two” in the boardroom as you suggested, they would have had to basically cut Dennis out of the show because basically every time we saw him he had a vodka and cranberry in his hand and his behavior became more erratic throughout the challenge. None of that would have made any sense (like the previous hour long episode where Dennis went off on Clint, but more was revealed in the two hour version to clarify the situation). So seeing Dennis getting louder as the challenge wore on, and then quitting – again – would have made no sense without the context of the alcohol. And if the men hadn’t addressed it in the board room, then people would be accusing the producers of faking the whole thing but not showing us what was happening during the challenge and in the board room. And, you know, maybe Dennis or someone close to him will see that episode and try to get him some help. Being a larger than life character is one thing, but putting your life and career in danger because you can’t handle alcohol is another matter altogether.
And I have to agree with deebopalula – Tionne seems anything but angry. She seemed surprised and genuinely humbled when Trump and her team complimented her and she was extremely relieved – and HAPPY – to learn that her team had won the challenge. Maybe she was just nervous about possibly being fired if her team had lost. She looked like a weight had been lifted from her when they won, so I think you were just seeing what you wanted to see. She was nothing but professional with her team and I’m sure if she was being a grouch, the women would have commented on that at some point.
And I’m sure all of the “guests” were cast by the producers and told to make as many demands as they could to put the celebs through their paces. How boring would it have been had the people simply checked in and then never called for something (kind of like the first guy who was kept waiting at the desk – we never saw him after that!). Steven and Vinny were told to do the same, so it would come as no surprise that the other guests were also encouraged to make outlandish “star” demands. If anything, maybe it taught them all a lesson on how to treat the people who they expect to wait on them hand and foot!
Go Jesse!
*POST AUTHOR*
So, again, I definitely agree that Dennis’ drinking should have been mentioned, and should have been the reason for his being fired, since it likely led to his not being there for his task or for his team. I definitely don’t think that it should have been cut. Rather, and sorry for repeating myself from my above comment, once Jesse said “Dennis has a drinking PROBLEM”, the discussion went beyond the scope of the show. Thus, my issue was the “intervention”, not the listing of Dennis’ missteps as a teammate or as a project manager.
I also think that we didn’t see enough of things to agree that Dennis has a problem, or as you say, “is putting his life and career in danger.” Maybe there was a lot more for the men to build their foundation on, but the fact that he carried a drink around with him all day doesn’t signify that he’s a drunk. Did he get louder and more erratic as the day wore on? Yes. But he was the same way as games in the NBA wore on, too. Was he drinking on the sidelines? Could be, though I doubt it. It’s just him. He settles into each day, each situation, and then becomes disenchanted with it as it progresses. I didn’t see an alcoholic, though NBC tried hard to make us think so with the music and the shots of Dennis ordering drinks all the time. I saw a guy who went from enthusiastic to bored to annoyed at being trapped somewhere he no longer cared to be. See video of each and every basketball game he ever played in after 1992 for other examples.
Again, I think Tionne was angry in her general disposition. I didn’t intend to apply that in any way to her work ethic, nerves, professionalism, etc. Just an overall read of her. I absolutely don’t think she was grouchy, or curt, or anything other than effective and determined before, during and after the task. It’s just a read I get off of her. Like I said above, I hope I’m wrong.
So, of course the guests were coached on being demanding, rude, pushy, etc. What I’m wondering is whether it was pre-arranged (like with the “celebs”), or if it went something like this: Loew’s checked their reservations for eight rooms of people coming from different places, for different lengths of time, etc. They put together a list of potential participants, and then waited for them to arrive. When the guests got to the front desk, they were asked, likely by the manager, if they wanted to participate in the challenge and be on the show. If they agreed, they were taken to a room where they signed waivers, etc., and were also given a bit of a tutorial on what was going on and what the show was looking for from them. Meanwhile, once they agreed and signed the papers, their names were sent up to the teams, who were then prepared with their “reservations”. Once finished, the guests headed upstairs, and we first see them as if they are just arriving at the hotel. It doesn’t matter either way, I just wonder if the show essentially sent out a “casting call” for this, or simply prepared real hotel guests for their 15 minutes.
Don’t rule out Clint! There’s got to be something hiding under that hat!