The CNBC personalities grill the contestants about their charities. Adkins, Alt, and Morgan speak passionately about their respective causes. Lewis stammers somewhat incoherently.
In response to another question, Morgan tells Burnett that his competitors are "slow." He tells Cramer that he hasn't made any mistakes; this answer offends Cramer.
There are lots more questions, but unfortunately we don't get to hear most of the answers. I suppose that would be telling.
The CNBC personalities meet with Trump, Ivanka, and Junior afterwards. Burnett is impressed with Morgan because he's raised so much money for his charity; on the other hand, he has an "edge."
Cramer agrees that Morgan has impressive qualities, but if teamwork matters, "Morgan must be stopped." He prefers Alt. Burnett admires her too, and likes Adkins best. Both are unimpressed with Lewis. Cramer says the prize fighter is "too laid back."
Cramer says that his top two choices are Adkins and Alt. We go to commercial just as Burnett is about to reveal her picks. Ugh, again with the manipulative editing!
The celebrities are called back into the boardroom. Adkins admits that Cramer was very different than what he's used to.
Unsurprisingly, Morgan thinks he did great. Trump tells him the CNBC people thought he was harsh. Morgan seems surprised by this. Ivanka tells him that "something" in his personality causes people to criticize him. Morgan admits he lacks tact, but says he doesn't need it.
Alt says that she offers versatility and gumption. Trump asks her who she'd fire; she says she'd keep herself and Morgan. She likes Morgan because, like her, he looks ahead.
Morgan says that Lewis couldn't win without Morgan. Lewis's quick agreement displeases Trump. Lewis says Morgan's an asset to the team; but Lewis thinks he's an asset himself, too. Morgan tries to put words in Lewis's mouth. Lewis says Morgan's successful in part because he's had Lewis at his disposal. But the point, in Trump's mind, is that Lewis is letting Morgan have credit that Lewis should be taking for himself. Trump fires Lewis.
Trump says Morgan is the least nice person but also won the most money as project manager. Morgan tries to argue with him about the "least nice" assemesment, but Trump tells him to stop talking while he's trying to exonerate him. Trump asks who Morgan would fire. Morgan says Alt would be harder to beat.
Trump asks Adkins why he should be chosen. Adkins says he will fight with integrity for his daughter. Trump asks Adkins if he likes Morgan. Adkins says they're cordial, but they're not friends. He doesn't admire Morgan's ruthless, merciless style. He wouldn't stab you in the back, but he'd stab you in the forehead instead.
Morgan likes this and agrees.
Trump asks Alt what he should do, considering that he wants to see the two men fight. He tells her that the two CNBC personalities preferred her and Adkins. Trump is more excited about the friction between Adkins and Morgan, however, and therefore Alt is fired. She exclaims with a disgusted voice but puts on a gigantic fake smile. I yell, "Carol, call the EEOC!" but it's too late.
She leaves the boardroom with straight hair, but has curly hair when she gets into the cab. It's no secret that the cab scenes are always shot later, but the seemingly abrupt hairstyle change is jarring.
The two men trash-talk as they go back to the suite. Next day, Morgan gloats that it's evil him against the wonderful Adkins.
Trump brings back Alt, Baldwin, Lewis, and Henner to assist them on their final tasks. Adkins wins the coinflip and chooses Lewis, depriving Morgan of his security blanket.
Baldwin prays for mercy, but Morgan picks him anyway. Adkins chooses Henner, leaving Alt for Morgan. (It is probably the first time in Alt's life to be the last one picked for anything!)
Ivanka explains that both teams will participate in charity event. One team will manage the catering and auction. The other will handle the decor and entertainment by the Backstreet Boys. The winner will be chosen based on the amount of money each team raises during the auction, the number of tickets sold by each team, and how well the tasks are managed.
The guys have to pick who will do which task. They agree that Adkins should handle the entertainment, since he has more experience in that area.
They then must split up some auctionables provided by Trump. They simply take turns picking things. Morgan tells us that he's going for the items that will appeal to a greater variety of people. They're each also allowed to provide their own auctionables.
Adkins tells us Morgan is a chihuahua. He barks loud and is a pain in the ass, but not a real threat.
Baldwin sagely predicts that it's about the celebrities they can round up. Wow, he's a genius. I can't believe Morgan picked him over Alt.
Adkins thinks Morgan will win with the money. Adkins plans to leverage his own peeps by chartering two jets and flying them in. Lewis is skeptical that all these country music people will want to come up to NY.
Lewis calls his contacts and also asks them to hook him up with other celebrities, but with only a day's notice, the whole thing seems questionable. Adkins also calls around for more auctionables.
Lewis and Henner go shopping for props. Lewis keeps reminding Henner to stay on task; she tends to get distracted. He keeps yelling "Done!" after each decision is made to encourage her to move on. Ironically, this is the most leadership I've ever seen from Lewis! It's too bad he didn't have that before.
Baldwin and Alt check out the caterer. It's extra-tiny hors d'oeuvres. Meanwhile, Morgan meets with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, who does charity stuff as if it's a bodily function. She agrees to let him auction a tea with her.
Adkins seems skeptical about the Backstreet Boys and wonders if they've all got gray hair by now. He, Lewis, and Henner look at the band's list of requested items. Being a showbiz insider, he thinks maybe they don't need to get all of those things for the green room. He calls Fitzjoy, their manager. On the phone, Fitzjoy seems snotty and has clearly never heard of Adkins.
Adkins meets with the Backstreet Boys personally. He explains they have only one small room and asks if they'll really need everything on their list. One of them wants wheatgrass juice. Adkins is flabbergasted and disgusted by their attitude.
Morgan meets with his charity person and offers 20 free tickets to wounded soldiers instead of selling them. He hopes this will impress Trump.
Morgan pressures Baldwin to get some "faces," i.e., celebrities. Baldwin calls lots of people, but goofs off and isn't persuasive. Morgan feels that Baldwin's virtually useless in this capacity, which begs the question, why did he pick Baldwin?? To us, Baldwin suggests that he'd be okay with seeing Morgan lose.
But it's doubtful as to whether Baldwin's contribution would be significant anyway, since Morgan is personal friends with every known British celebrity.
Next week:
- High drama when a Backstreet Boy doesn't have his nail polish.
- Morgan encourages the attendees to get loaded. Let's hope they remain sober enough to sign their checks.
- Adkins gets weepy when his daughter shows up. (I'm struggling with the temptation to make a tacky joke about the "peanut gallery.")
No comments:
Post a Comment