The Apprentice 2012 Thread

xmiles wrote:Laura was lucky but Sugar probably made the right decision. Jane was pretty obnoxious in previous episodes and didn't do much in this episode. Gabrielle was enthusiastic but had some really crap ideas.

The most amazing thing was the rich tossers buying so much rubbish at ludicrous prices. Some people really do have more money than sense.

It was bloody stupid of Laura to bring Gabrielle back into the boardroom, you're right when you say she had some crap ideas she put loads of effort in and was top salesperson - no way was Sugar going to fire her. But like you say, Jane was obnoxious, although I did feel for her a bit in the taxi, first time I've seen someone cry.

I thought that episode was quite dull honestly, I'm not enjoying this season that much.

I also winced at Laura's "Samantha Brick" moment. I think I even said "oh f- off" out loud.

That junk shop owner who sold them a load of tat for £30 made me laugh when he said the chairs he sold them weren't even worth the scrap value they paid.

That posh-but-dim Brick Lane customer who praised one of the candidate's shops was funny too, can't remember her exact words.

I loved the look on Nick Hewer's face when one of them found some junk in the auction room bins and then dropped it carrying it to the van.

For once though, the big WTF moment for me was that there are actually people in London who would actually go in a shop like that and buy something. Talk about money for old rope.

Harry Enfield had a brilliant character who ran an antiques shop called I Saw You Coming.

https://youtu.be/uVvcD4Czx4Y

Excellent, xmiles.

Laura put her foot in it as soon as she described herself as beautiful. Always a big mistake to go on about your looks when it has no bearing on the competition. Jane was very pretty but it cut no ice with Lord Foulbreath. I wonder if Karen Brady was a bit jealous of Jane's looks or was it her lack of sales that got her the chop?

I didn't think Jane was all that. I'd still give her a portion, mind.

Jane was very pretty but also very opinionated. She clearly had business acumen but rubbed people up the wrong way.

Right, it's almost Wednesday night and time for my favourite programme.

Who's going this week? Surely the smart money is on that dog Laura?

I reckon the Asian sedation will get the chop.

Still don't know many names. I'm a bit annoyed with some of the reasons for firings so far this series. It all seems a bit arbitrary to me. The firing last week seemed to have nothing to do with the task.

My favourite episodes each series are the ones where they have a day to acquire a load of random shit that they've never heard of. They seem to spend hours going into random shops an trying to work out what the items are and where to buy one. The best one was when some plonker went into 'Top Hat Dry Cleaning' to ask the owner if he knew somewhere that sold top hats. The look on the guy's face was priceless.

Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit of a continuity error that they call each other on bloody smartphones all the way through the episode but don't just google some of the random stuff? Who under the age of 60 uses the yellow pages and the phone book in this day and age? When they come through my front door they go straight in the bin.

I'm pretty certain that they are not allowed to use the internet. They are pretty stupid but not that stupid.

They should use some bloody initiative and nip to the loo and do a bit of internet research. Half of them are as numb as piss stones.

What annoyed me about Jane was how confused Alan Sugar acted about how little she'd contributed in the 'process' (or competition as I prefer to call it) when her CV supposedly pointed to a very successful businessperson. Isn't she in business with her husband? Meaning it's perfectly feasible that she's just the gormless cow she appeared to be during the process, but gets by in the business world thanks to her husband with all the know-how.

xmiles wrote:I'm pretty certain that they are not allowed to use the internet. They are pretty stupid but not that stupid.

Well that's fair enough but what I'm driving at is it's not a very realistic test of business acumen. It's very difficult to run any business in this day and age without using the internet in one way or another, even if it is just to make sure your customers can find and transact with you. The whole 'process' is supposed to be about finding a business partner, not to find a host for a revamped version of Channel 4's
'Treasure Hunt.'

It started off as a mixture of reality game show and a job opportunity for the winner but I think it is now 100% game show. It seems to me that the firing decisions are often decided for entertainment purposes rather than to get rid of the weakest prospects. No doubt Sugar does invest in the winner but how much does it really cost him?

I've read Sugar's autobiography. Even though I dislike the geezer it is a fantastic read. He doesn't mention how much he gets paid for it but you can imagine with 12 weeks of filming commitments followed by employing the 2 finalists in his organisation for 6 months between the rest of the series being filmed and the final being aired, plus appearing in the studio at the end of the series, plus using his image to promote the series, plus being obliged to associate himself with one of the candidates' businesses, I bet he makes more than enough to cover his investment, even if it goes Pete Tong.

I missed the first half because of the Chelsea game but I felt a bit sorry for Dwayne. The Asian sensation looked a total ponce in his sports gear. Laura escaped the chop once again. I reckon she wears blue contact lenses. She keeps giving Lord Foulbreath the hairy eyeball and that's why she is still at the races.

Weird result. I cannot believe Virgin would really buy that crap. So the better team lost and we couldn't get rid of that idiot Adam.

I liked that this was a totally different show from anything I can remember in previous series.

Once again, Katie did absolutely nothing for her team.

I have a new favourite candidate, the blonde lad on the winning team who looks a bit like Jon Voight. The highlight of the show was when he spoke to the camera and said he wasn't sure if one of his team members was thick, or deaf. Proper northern lad, a bit dim, makes me laugh.

The promotional video for Groovetrain was one of the best unintentionally funny corporate videos I've seen in a while.

It's not on the same level as Who Cares Wins...
oo



...but it was pretty damn funny.

Duane, sorry to see him go all in all, I think he contributed a lot in his five weeks.