The Apprentice: week 5

I've been negative about earlier episodes, sure, but I'm feeling quite good about tonight's show. Really I am - it's not just the glass of red wine at my elbow that's talking here.

For a start, it's about ice-cream, which is nice. And the early-stage winnowing means that the cast list has become slightly more manageable - I'm optimistic that by the end of tonight's programme I'll be able to name at least 50 per cent of them without having to refer to the pictures on the BBC's website.

21.00 Promises of strong language from the start. Cover your ears, children, they're going to be talking about spreadsheets.

21.06 Ice-cream flavour discussion: Claire's cocktails or Lucinda's health freak flavours. C'mon people, who'd choose carrot ice-cream over pina colada? I'm right with Claire on this - not often I'd say that.

21.08 Oh, disappointingly Claire's chickened out of the ice-tails and gone for sensible but still quite nice sounding stuff. (Later update: clearly this was an excuse to get stuck at the cider-tasting place).

21.09 Lucinda, blue cheese ice-cream? Was that really an idea? Add that to some intercut team bitching and it's fairly clear that she's not going to come out of this well. Though Margaret likes her manner so maybe there's hope for her yet.

21.15 Nice to see Claire's assumptions about country folk: nothing more to do in town than taste ice-cream?  What, is she suggesting that people have run out of cows to tip?

21.17 "It tastes like mashed potato." I don't think that it was supposed to, but we appreciate your honesty, random local lady.

21.21 I was beginning to think I had completely the wrong idea re Lucinda being set up as the loser - what with her running things jolly well yesterday - but then we start to see some behind the scenes bitching and it's back to business as usual.

21.25 Alex looks a bit like Ethan Hawke, doesn't he?

21.27 Lucinda's sales team wiping the floor on the organisation stakes. Great job Jen. Now it's up to Claire's lot to start bad-mouthing the other team so they can recover the deal...no, they give up. Surely a couple of hints about problems with listeria could change the balance of power here? Sheesh, this is supposed to be television - where's the underhandedness?

21.30 Now Lee's being nice about Lucinda behind her back. It's all going wrong.

21.34 Lindi: it was all about me. That's more like it.

21.40 Most sales go to...Claire's team. Unexpected.

21.45 Tonight's bitch of the week award goes to Jen. It's hard to know whether we should really hate her or whether it's just carefully edited meanness.

21.50 Lucinda looks like she's getting so upset in the boardroom that she's going to forget how to breathe. Then she gets a moment to calm down while Sir Alan is aimed at Jen, then Lindi...but no, she's still looking all upset. Don't cry.

21.52 Holes, digging, deeper.

21.56 And the loser is: Lindi (pictured).

21.58 Next week: greeting cards and naked male bums. So, something for everyone then. Assuming "everyone" is limited to people who can't even find friends by posing as George Clooney on the internet.

(Picture from BBC's The Apprentice website)

Comments

[John]

Quote of the night...

"Yah, this is Raef, CEO of Alpha Luxury Ice Cream"

Not a bad promotion, salesman to CEO in a matter of hours! Woooohoooo, go Raef, big yourself up anymore and you'll be sitting between Margaret and Nick!

[Ba]

Nah, the quote of the night has to be:

Sir Alan: So Lucinda, as a risk manager, what's the risk of you being fired today?
Lucinda: Well... the probability is 1 in 3...

Haha!

[Andy Bush]

After seeing Simon, a credible candidate, being fired in last weeks episode, I have changed my outlook on this program.
The producers do an excellent job in making the program extremely watchable. Last night's episode showed how well Lucinda's team were doing It appeared that they would easily walk over the opposition. Then, right at the end we see a dramatic twist with a completely unsubstantiated result in Clare's team winning. The scenes we saw were obviously edited in a way where the true picture was distorted. Otherwise the whole thing would be predictable and boring.
It makes me wonder to what level the BBC distort the facts in The News, Panorama, Newsnight etc ?
I am convinced that the current affairs in the world are fuelled and driven by the media. The problem is knowing what is true and what is exaggerated.

[Paul]

How on earth did Claire's lot not lose that last night? It does seem to suggest that the way ahead in business is necking cider all day, and then just winging it! I'm still having a prob remembering more than a couple of names, though if I'm honest I've got a sneaky fantasy involving Lindi sinking her fangs into my neck ......or anywhere else she'd care to!

[Michael French]

Much as Lucinda is easily the most entertaining candidate, I'm afraid her statistics might not be up to much. Just because there were 3 people taken into the boardroom, doesn't mean to say they all have an equal chance of being fired.
If I play Roger Federer at Tennis I don't have a 1 in 2 chance of winning, just because there are two of us.

[MB London]

I agree with Andy Bush. Much as I enjoy the apprentice, last night's episode highlights to me how edited and produced the show is for our entertainment rather than any serious search for a business candidate for Sir Alan. Whilst I still continue to be addicted I can't really take this programme seriously at all.

[K Campbell]

@Andy Bush - I am in complete agreement with you regarding the distortion the directors brilliantly achieved. Makes me also wonder how current affairs get distorted by the media.

[REB]

Was anyone else not slightly confused that Clare's team won? Throughout the programme I was under the impression that it was about volume of ice cream sold in litres, which Lucinda's team clearly sold more of rather than the actual price per litre. At no point in the show did we see either team decide what price per litre to charge...clearly Clare's team must have been charging more per litre to win? seems a fairly important part to omit....