The Celebrity Apprentice – Could Melania have looked less pleased to be there?

I’m definitely a huge fan of the comedic stylings of a Donald Trump ego trip. But whereas most people aim to keep their kids, particularly the little ones, out of the public eye, last night Trump proved just how shameless he can be by trotting three (or four) year-old Barron out onto center stage during the task assignment of The Celebrity Apprentice. And boy did his wife look pissed. Unfortunately for her, I doubt Melania can claim that she didn’t know what she was getting into.

And we were sure prepared for last night’s team realignment. Does it say something positive or negative about Curtis and Bret that Trump didn’t just add a player to their team? He either felt that they were each so strong that keeping them together was unfair, or he felt that they were the weakest links, and separated them to give their teams half a chance.

Either way, I wasn’t sure which team to root for. I’m a big Curtis fan, and am somewhat indifferent to the unknown Summer (one of the better character opinions I have), but Cyndi is painful to listen to, and “Selita” is the worst thing to happen to this show since Mama and Baby Rivers.

On the other hand, I like Bret (a bit too crass at times, but he’s blown me away overall), I find Sharon almost as irritating as Cyndi, and I rate Maria neither here no there — unlike with Summer, that’s due to equal amounts positive and negative feelings, not ambiguity. So who was I to root for?

In the end the teams made that decision for me. Or not. While I was totally turned off by the theme of RockSolid’s workout, I couldn’t stand listening to “Selita” talk. I was rooting for Tenacity to win the $24,000 prize from 24 Hour Fitness, but RockSolid to take home the task. Oops.

I loved that this was a fundraising event again, but that was what provided “Selita” (not to mention other project manager Sharon) with the opportunity to irk me so much. Even so, that’s what this show is all about. It shouldn’t be just watching a bunch of “celebrities” try and create an advertorial; it should be about them shamelessly trying to raise money from their friends. And this season has succeeded more than any other in spotlighting their charities. I think in the past there was a lot of talk about raising money, but not necessarily with focus on the purpose. That has definitely changed this year. Although, “Selita,” your teammates didn’t do this for you. Stop making it all about yourself.

But overall I was extremely pleased with this episode. I really enjoyed it, I loved that almost all of it was about the task, and I had the opportunity to pick up plenty of juicy tidbits to discuss with you. Other than the results having come in differently, what could be better than that after a night with Donald Trump?

Other fun stuff:

• Cyndi talking about how she runs into David Hasselhoff everywhere … who, by the way, should definitely be approached to do this show next season.
• Bret talking about recruiting some of the “smokin’ hot messes” from Rock of Love to come down and take the workout class. In fact, Bret being generally creepy and talking about how hot all the women around him were. And leering at Maria.
• “Selita” is a serious tattletale (or tittle-tattle, as the Brits would say). First crying to Don Don about Cyndi being MIA, and then in the boardroom about Sharon saying she’d want to go home. Have you not grown up yet?
• Why was Sharon the one to go to the WWE (even if Ozzy was having an event with them) over Maria? She was a WWE Diva!
• A crazy thought, I know, but Curtis and Summer didn’t have to go everywhere together. She could have stayed at the gym while he went to meet the graphic designer, and she could have gone back with the CD while he worked on the t-shirts. And, has anyone on this show ever heard of the subway? If the Mayor of New York City, who needs security for political reasons and as a result of his multi-billion dollar fortune, can take the subway to work every day, I think these “celebrities” could try it if they’re in a rush. No?
• Cyndi quoted Bobby Kennedy. I don’t know if she was right or wrong on the quote, but she quoted Bobby Kennedy. Hilarious!
• The “Tour Bus Thrust” incident, with the lady straddling Bret during class, was gross. And reason enough for RockSolid to have lost that portion of the task. Gross.
• As much as I make fun of this show, and will continue to do so despite this, the “celebrities” raised almost $340K on one task. Wow. That’s really awesome.
• Was Trump’s mercy sincere, or a result of the fact that they’re scheduled to air X number of shows, and Michael Johnson quitting left them one firing short? Meditate on that….
• I laughed at him when he did it in the past, but Trump can usually be counted on to “round up” the fundraising totals to an even number, like from $108,954 to an even $110K. After these seven people raised $313,000 from their own contacts ($10K was the prize from a past task, $24K from 24 Hour Fitness), he couldn’t round up from $447K to $450K? Really? Is corporate bankruptcy number 10, or whatever number he’s on now, really pinching him that hard?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Apr 26, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT