4/11: Corrections/updates are in red.
Rocksolid: Rob Blagojevich, Bill Goldberg, Bret Michaels, Curtis Stone, Darryl Strawberry, led by Michael Johnson, who was nominated by Strawberry.
Tenacity: Selita Ebanks, Maria Kanellis, Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, led by Summer Sanders, who volunteered.
Task/Sponsor: Create a four-page advertorial for LifeLock and Norton 360.
Outcome: The executives feel that neither ad was quite right. RockSolid's ad provides too much info, while Tenacity's provides too little. Also, both ads include information that isn't accurate. However, they agree that Tenacity is the clear winner.
Boardroom: Though it's clear that Johnson was responsible for the decisions that led to RockSolid's loss, Darryl Strawberry volunteers to be fired. Most of his teammates try to talk him out of it, but it's clear that Strawberry just wants to go home.
Fired: Darryl Strawberry, who tells us earlier in the episode that celebrities and professionals are "different" and don't function as well as "normal people," is let off the hook and goes home, where he can do nothing on his own time. His charity, the Darryl Strawberry Foundation which promotes global awareness for autism and other developmental disorders, gets nothing from this show that we know of.
Donation: $20,000 and a cut of the LifeLock/Norton 360 profits for Summer Sanders's charity, Right to Play, which uses sport and play to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in developing and war-torn countries.
Remarks:
This episode's recap for the previous week portrayed the team ganging up on Bret Michaels and blaming him for their loss. I didn't write it that way last week because that's not what I saw! Certainly they included Michaels in their blame, but there was plenty more to go around, and Sinbad rightly bore the brunt of it after providing no leadership at all.
Cyndi Lauper continues to be openly disrespected by some of her teammates for her apparent lack of focus. At one point, Sanders sends her out on an errand just to get her out of the way. Osbourne and Kanellis find the disrespect unreasonable and counterproductive and feel that Lauper should have been the art director. In the boardroom, Sanders complains about Lauper almost immediately. Johnson-Peete chimes in eagerly. Johnson jumps on that bandwagon as well after Lauper criticizes his ad.
Similarly, Bret Michaels continues to annoy some of his teammates, especially Johnson, with his enthusiasm to contribute, desire to ingratiate, and flair for sulking. This week, he drives Johnson up the wall in his efforts to please. Johnson doesn't like Michaels's design for the ad and wants something wordier. Guest eye/ear Gavin Maloof (who later agrees with Lauper in the boardroom) also politely suggests that Johnson's idea is too wordy, and Michaels says he wants to do something "more creative," but Johnson shuts down all dissent.
Later, in the boardroom, Johnson claims that no one voiced any objection to the wordiness, and that he picked Stone rather than Goldberg to be the frontman for the ad because he thought that using Stone would be... wait for it... "more creative."
Nevertheless, in the boardroom, Michael Johnson admits that Michaels "could have been worse."
At one point, on the women's team, Osbourne attempts to break the ice by acknowledging the team's internal struggles for creative power. Even though she is stating the obvious, not everyone appreciates her candor.
In this episode, we learn that Blagojevich can't use a computer to save his own life.
Lastly, good news: The next season of Apprentice will be non-celebrities again. I'm glad to hear that, but as I recall, the last few non-celebrity Apprentice seasons were pretty high on drama as opposed to business skill. So, getting rid of the celebrities doesn't guarantee that it'll be like those first couple of years I enjoyed so much.
This episode was dedicated to D'Marco Ray, an audio professional who had worked on the show's crew, and died of kidney cancer earlier this year.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
3/25/10: Great Moments in "The Office"
I thought I posted this two weeks ago, but when I checked my list today, I saw that it was still in "draft" status. Oops! Sorry for the delay.
I thought Stanley was going to have another heart attack, and that would be the end of him. But I don't blame him for risking death to go home early! Other than that, I found nearly every line of this episode to be hilarious. Easily the funniest episode in a long while. It wasn't easy to whittle the list down.
Michael: It's not exactly fair. He's got all of his weight that's helping him go down.
Oscar: We talked this morning, and we talked at Christmas. So, a little momentum there.
Darryl: Look, just be straight with me, man. You can be gay with Matt; just be straight with me.
Phyllis: I love going to bars with Bob. I tend to wear something low-cut, get men to flirt with me, and Bob beats them up.
Jim: This baby is amazing. She gets me out of everything. And I love her. I also love her very much.
Erin: Talk to me that way again and I'll cut your face off.
Kevin: Waaaah! Waaah! When a new mom hears a baby cry, her you-know-whats fill up with you-know-what and then her shirt gets, you know [giggle] That would be funny.
Michael: Hi, I'm Date Mike. Nice to meet me. How do you like your eggs in the morning?
I can't tell whether he's doing all this to impress Julie, or if he's deliberately trying to turn her off. Knowing Michael, either is possible. Thoughts?
Michael: I absorb information from the strategies of the winners. And the losers. Actually, I probably learn more from the losers.
Dwight: I want a big family. Tall, thick, big. Physically big family.
Michael: You embarrassed my friends in front of me, and I'm going to need you to go back over to the table and apologize.
Michael: Read it? I own it. But no, I have not read it.
Hide: My big secret: I kill Yakuza boss on purpose. I good surgeon. The best!
I thought Stanley was going to have another heart attack, and that would be the end of him. But I don't blame him for risking death to go home early! Other than that, I found nearly every line of this episode to be hilarious. Easily the funniest episode in a long while. It wasn't easy to whittle the list down.
Michael: It's not exactly fair. He's got all of his weight that's helping him go down.
Oscar: We talked this morning, and we talked at Christmas. So, a little momentum there.
Darryl: Look, just be straight with me, man. You can be gay with Matt; just be straight with me.
Phyllis: I love going to bars with Bob. I tend to wear something low-cut, get men to flirt with me, and Bob beats them up.
Jim: This baby is amazing. She gets me out of everything. And I love her. I also love her very much.
Erin: Talk to me that way again and I'll cut your face off.
Kevin: Waaaah! Waaah! When a new mom hears a baby cry, her you-know-whats fill up with you-know-what and then her shirt gets, you know [giggle] That would be funny.
Michael: Hi, I'm Date Mike. Nice to meet me. How do you like your eggs in the morning?
I can't tell whether he's doing all this to impress Julie, or if he's deliberately trying to turn her off. Knowing Michael, either is possible. Thoughts?
Michael: I absorb information from the strategies of the winners. And the losers. Actually, I probably learn more from the losers.
Dwight: I want a big family. Tall, thick, big. Physically big family.
Michael: You embarrassed my friends in front of me, and I'm going to need you to go back over to the table and apologize.
Michael: Read it? I own it. But no, I have not read it.
Hide: My big secret: I kill Yakuza boss on purpose. I good surgeon. The best!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Celebrity Apprentice, 3/21/2010 (#2): Share memories, not blame!
RockSolid: Rob Blagojevich, Bill Goldberg, Michael Johnson, Bret Michaels, Curtis Stone, and Darryl Strawberry, led by Sinbad who enthusiastically accepts Blagojevich's nomination.
Tenacity: Selita Ebanks, Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, and Summer Sanders, led by Maria Kanellis who was chosen by general agreement.
Task/Sponsor:
Relaunch Kodak Moments with a "storefront experience" to educate consumers about Kodak's file-sharing technologies.
Within Tenacity, there are multiple comments (some better-natured than others) about Lauper's poor attention span and lack of focus. When Lauper leaves for a bathroom break, Robinson-Peete actually puts her down in front of the Kodak representatives. (Kodak used to have one of Lauper's songs in their ads.) And Osbourne has to sit out some of the task due to illness. This is on top of being short-handed after losing Leifer last week. However, Kanellis's strong leadership and her grasp of Kodak's mission allows Tenacity to prevail.
In contrast, Sinbad's vagueness causes chaos for RockSolid. Michaels asks what to do, but Sinbad literally ignores him and never says anything more concrete than "just jump in." Michaels stomps away to sulk, feeling sure that they (his teammates and/or the show) will make him out to be the team flake. Frustrated, Johnson and some other teammates eventually put Sinbad on the spot with pleas for more direction. His reply is typically vague. He makes morale worse by leaving without Michaels the next morning, and by ridiculing Blagojevich's suggestion to have balloons. (The women had balloons too, so it wasn't a crazy idea). Curtis Stone tells us, without a hint of snark, that if it were up to him they would have done everything different.
Outcome:
Kodak's Jeff Hayzletti says, "the winner is Kodak!" But actually, the winner is Tenacity. Kodak thought RockSolid did a better job of branding and leveraging their star power, but were too disorganized and did not put enough emphasis on the product. Kodak's "secret shoppers" also found the RockSolid experience to be disorganized, and when they left they still didn't know how to get their pictures.
On the other hand, Kodak LOVED Summer Sanders, who quickly learned everything about the products. They felt that Tenacity did not do as well as the men in making personal connections with consumers, but even while battling multiple electrical outages, they still did a better job of showcasing the products and emphasizing the "sharing" theme.
Boardroom:
The team agrees that Sinbad wasn't a good leader. Sinbad tries to put the blame on Bret for walking out on the task briefly, but Bret defends himself and says that he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing, felt that he was at risk of losing his temper, and took a timeout rather than make a big scene and screw up morale. Johnson backs up this story, saying that Michaels was confused and that they weren't led. The other teammates mostly concur, though there's a weird moment when Goldberg disingenuously suggests that they failed because they had too much star power on their team. Curtis Stone even says that Johnson and Blagojevich were better leaders. Sinbad doesn't offer an defense for his weak leadership.
Sinbad chooses Blagojevich and Michaels for the firing line. Both men readily blame him for their loss (Blagojevich more diplomatically, not that anyone is fooled by his mild manner), and Sinbad again fails to defend himself. He even admits that Bret Michaels can be led, but that he himself failed to lead him.
Fired: Sinbad, for failing to lead. There's no discussion of making a donation to his charity, Omega Boys Club Street Soldiers.
Donation: $20,000 for Maria Kanellis's charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Remarks: Some awkward moments: Holly Robinson-Peete asks a boy from Make-A-Wish what he wants to be when he grows up. The boy is too well-mannered to reply what we're all thinking: "Holly, I'll be lucky if I grow up at all." Later she realizes her gaffe and is mortified. And after enduring some verbal abuse on the street, Rod Blagojevich enjoys a chat with two fans until he realizes that they think he's Donny Osmond.
Tenacity: Selita Ebanks, Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, and Summer Sanders, led by Maria Kanellis who was chosen by general agreement.
Task/Sponsor:
Relaunch Kodak Moments with a "storefront experience" to educate consumers about Kodak's file-sharing technologies.
Within Tenacity, there are multiple comments (some better-natured than others) about Lauper's poor attention span and lack of focus. When Lauper leaves for a bathroom break, Robinson-Peete actually puts her down in front of the Kodak representatives. (Kodak used to have one of Lauper's songs in their ads.) And Osbourne has to sit out some of the task due to illness. This is on top of being short-handed after losing Leifer last week. However, Kanellis's strong leadership and her grasp of Kodak's mission allows Tenacity to prevail.
In contrast, Sinbad's vagueness causes chaos for RockSolid. Michaels asks what to do, but Sinbad literally ignores him and never says anything more concrete than "just jump in." Michaels stomps away to sulk, feeling sure that they (his teammates and/or the show) will make him out to be the team flake. Frustrated, Johnson and some other teammates eventually put Sinbad on the spot with pleas for more direction. His reply is typically vague. He makes morale worse by leaving without Michaels the next morning, and by ridiculing Blagojevich's suggestion to have balloons. (The women had balloons too, so it wasn't a crazy idea). Curtis Stone tells us, without a hint of snark, that if it were up to him they would have done everything different.
Outcome:
Kodak's Jeff Hayzletti says, "the winner is Kodak!" But actually, the winner is Tenacity. Kodak thought RockSolid did a better job of branding and leveraging their star power, but were too disorganized and did not put enough emphasis on the product. Kodak's "secret shoppers" also found the RockSolid experience to be disorganized, and when they left they still didn't know how to get their pictures.
On the other hand, Kodak LOVED Summer Sanders, who quickly learned everything about the products. They felt that Tenacity did not do as well as the men in making personal connections with consumers, but even while battling multiple electrical outages, they still did a better job of showcasing the products and emphasizing the "sharing" theme.
Boardroom:
The team agrees that Sinbad wasn't a good leader. Sinbad tries to put the blame on Bret for walking out on the task briefly, but Bret defends himself and says that he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing, felt that he was at risk of losing his temper, and took a timeout rather than make a big scene and screw up morale. Johnson backs up this story, saying that Michaels was confused and that they weren't led. The other teammates mostly concur, though there's a weird moment when Goldberg disingenuously suggests that they failed because they had too much star power on their team. Curtis Stone even says that Johnson and Blagojevich were better leaders. Sinbad doesn't offer an defense for his weak leadership.
Sinbad chooses Blagojevich and Michaels for the firing line. Both men readily blame him for their loss (Blagojevich more diplomatically, not that anyone is fooled by his mild manner), and Sinbad again fails to defend himself. He even admits that Bret Michaels can be led, but that he himself failed to lead him.
Fired: Sinbad, for failing to lead. There's no discussion of making a donation to his charity, Omega Boys Club Street Soldiers.
Donation: $20,000 for Maria Kanellis's charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Remarks: Some awkward moments: Holly Robinson-Peete asks a boy from Make-A-Wish what he wants to be when he grows up. The boy is too well-mannered to reply what we're all thinking: "Holly, I'll be lucky if I grow up at all." Later she realizes her gaffe and is mortified. And after enduring some verbal abuse on the street, Rod Blagojevich enjoys a chat with two fans until he realizes that they think he's Donny Osmond.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
3/18/10: Great Moments in "The Office"
Michael: The lost and found has gone missing. It itself is lost.
Michael: The way this place used to work was: make friends first, make sales second, make love third. In no particular order.
Michael: The sales department smashed my sandwich?
Darryl: Yes. All of them, together. It's a conspiracy.
Phyllis: Hand 'em over, numb nuts.
Michael: Just imagine that instead of going to jail for murdering someone, you got an ice cream cone. If that were the case, then in the summertime, everyone would go around killing people for the pleasure of an ice cream cone.
Michael: A lesser manager would have screwed this day up royally.
Toby: If we don't patronize the only Syrian restaurant in town, there'll be nothing left but pan pizzas and, you know, make-your-own salads.
Dwight: I hitched my wagon to a horse with no legs.
Phyllis: Treats, Stanley. They've accepted our simple offer of treats only, nothing more.
Michael: The way this place used to work was: make friends first, make sales second, make love third. In no particular order.
Michael: The sales department smashed my sandwich?
Darryl: Yes. All of them, together. It's a conspiracy.
Phyllis: Hand 'em over, numb nuts.
Michael: Just imagine that instead of going to jail for murdering someone, you got an ice cream cone. If that were the case, then in the summertime, everyone would go around killing people for the pleasure of an ice cream cone.
Michael: A lesser manager would have screwed this day up royally.
Toby: If we don't patronize the only Syrian restaurant in town, there'll be nothing left but pan pizzas and, you know, make-your-own salads.
Dwight: I hitched my wagon to a horse with no legs.
Phyllis: Treats, Stanley. They've accepted our simple offer of treats only, nothing more.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Celebrity Apprentice, 3/14/2010 (#1): Who Got Served?
Teams:
Trump splits the candidates into the usual male and female teams and tells them to come up with names. He adds a twist: Each team is to pick the other's captain.
Each team will take over a Burger Heaven restaurant in Manhattan and run it as their own diner. Whoever raises the most money in sales and tips will win the task.
The women go for a typical burger place menu, since the task is about raising money and not fancy food. They set pricing at a modest (considering it's for charity) $20 to $100. Osbourne enlists an ambient paparazzo to take pictures for flyers, and she and Lauper appear on a radio show to publicize the diner; however, it seems (but may not be the case) that they don't start calling their wealthy friends until later. Regardless, they end up with a line of prospective customers around the block. But in order to keep up with the demand in the restaurant, they feel they can't spare anyone to go scout the line and prioritize for deep-pocketed donors. Service is also slowed when customers ask for autographs, photos, etc.
The men get on their phones right away to start inviting donors. Chef Curtis Stone gets a deal on truffles and arborio rice; their menu pricing starts at $100, and the truffle risotto goes for $250. Stone gets nervous when Ivanka questions the fancy menu item and high price, but Michaels tells his team to forget about it and forge ahead. In contrast to Tenacity's long lines, some people walk out of Rocksolid's restaurant because the prices are so high, but the team still manages to keep the restaurant full and an impressive line outside.
Bonus: Joan Rivers stops in at both locations to check things out. Whichever team's restaurant she likes better will get a $10,000 donation from Burger Heaven. Curtis Stone's masterful creations are cold by the time she gets them, thanks to waiter Blagojevich's constant chatting with customers, so Rivers judges in favor of Tenacity.
Outcome: Tenacity raises $29,559, plus the $10K bonus from Burger Heaven. Rocksolid raises $57,905. Rocksolid wins!
Boardroom:
For several minutes, the women hesitate to blame anyone for their loss, but Trump wears them down and gets them to pick someone. Maria Kanellis (who seemed to be smirking expectantly through the nicey-nice phase of the discussion) finally breaks the ice by throwing Carol Leifer under the bus. Holly quickly joins her, and Sharon also becomes vocal in her criticism of Carol. (All they can really say about her is that she continued to attract people outside even after a long line had already formed; however, she later worked the counter in the restaurant.)
Although Lauper doesn't say anything about it, she seems taken aback by how quick they were to jump on Leifer once Kanellis got the ball rolling.
Leifer tries to deflect blame, saying that Holly Robinson-Peete didn't get her hands dirty. However, since Holly brought in the most donations, Leifer's claim falls flat. Leifer also defends herself on the grounds that she's the most creative person on the team and can produce TV shows, but this doesn't help her either.
Lauper just can't bring herself to choose two teammates to put on the firing line. Instead of firing Lauper on the spot, as he's done before when faced with a softhearted losing captain who couldn't decide, he tells her to skip it. He'll just make a decision.
Fired: There's no closed door meeting with Ivanka and Don Jr., and no further discussion; there's no analysis of the fact that Lauper had earlier accepted the blame for the low pricing that probably cost them the task. Honestly, Trump just seems to tired to go through with the usual rigamarole. He fires Carol, basically because her teammates all seemed to agree that she was their weak link.
Donation:
Trump kicks in some money of his own to round up the total winnings to $100,000 for Bret Michael's charity, the American Diabetes Association's camps for kids with diabetes. Michaels, who endured a frightening woozy diabetic moment during the task when his own blood sugar got low, is stunned with gratitude.
Upon being fired, Leifer asks Trump to make a personal donation to her charity, the North Shore Animal League America, which claims to be the world's largest no-kill animal adoption and rescue organization. Trump agrees to donate $10,000.
Remarks:
The show starts off with Trump emphasizing that this is a time of greater need. He backs up his talk with real money, adding a couple thousand to round up for Bret Michael's charity and making a personal donation to Carol Leifer's as well.
I've always suspected that Trump made personal donations to the charities of candidates who got fired before winning anyway, but I don't really know.
Overall, this episode was more enjoyable than most of last year's shows. Except for a few pained facial expressions from Goldberg and some "private" (to us) remarks from Sinbad, I didn't detect much strife on the men's team. There were more snide remarks on the women's side, but these were also kept to the "private" remarks rather than open hostility. Even the boardroom scene wasn't comparable to what we saw from the very first episode last year.
I have no doubt that it will become more contentious and annoying in the coming weeks, but this wasn't bad.
Trump splits the candidates into the usual male and female teams and tells them to come up with names. He adds a twist: Each team is to pick the other's captain.
- Rocksolid:
The men (Rod Blagojevich, Bill Goldberg, Michael Johnson, Bret Michaels, Sinbad, Curtis Stone, Darryl Strawberry) select Cyndi Lauper to head the women's team on the assumption that the others will find her annoying and become uncooperative. However, they tell Trump and the women that it's because they think she'll be a strong player. - Bret Michaels suggests "Rocksolid" as the team name, and everyone agrees. He predicts that the women will pick him as captain for the men on the assumption that he'll be too flaky to lead a team after years of smoking pot.
- Tenacity:
The women (Selita Ebanks, Maria Kanellis, Cyndi Lauper, Carol Leifer, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Summer Sanders) quickly choose Bret Michaels to head up the men's team for pretty much the reason Michaels himiself predicted, except they attribute his potential loopiness to the fact that he had gotten only one hour of sleep the night before. - For a team name, Lauper lobbies for something with historical significance, but is outnumbered. They agree on the name "Tenacity" when Summer picks it out of a thesaurus.
Each team will take over a Burger Heaven restaurant in Manhattan and run it as their own diner. Whoever raises the most money in sales and tips will win the task.
The women go for a typical burger place menu, since the task is about raising money and not fancy food. They set pricing at a modest (considering it's for charity) $20 to $100. Osbourne enlists an ambient paparazzo to take pictures for flyers, and she and Lauper appear on a radio show to publicize the diner; however, it seems (but may not be the case) that they don't start calling their wealthy friends until later. Regardless, they end up with a line of prospective customers around the block. But in order to keep up with the demand in the restaurant, they feel they can't spare anyone to go scout the line and prioritize for deep-pocketed donors. Service is also slowed when customers ask for autographs, photos, etc.
The men get on their phones right away to start inviting donors. Chef Curtis Stone gets a deal on truffles and arborio rice; their menu pricing starts at $100, and the truffle risotto goes for $250. Stone gets nervous when Ivanka questions the fancy menu item and high price, but Michaels tells his team to forget about it and forge ahead. In contrast to Tenacity's long lines, some people walk out of Rocksolid's restaurant because the prices are so high, but the team still manages to keep the restaurant full and an impressive line outside.
Bonus: Joan Rivers stops in at both locations to check things out. Whichever team's restaurant she likes better will get a $10,000 donation from Burger Heaven. Curtis Stone's masterful creations are cold by the time she gets them, thanks to waiter Blagojevich's constant chatting with customers, so Rivers judges in favor of Tenacity.
Outcome: Tenacity raises $29,559, plus the $10K bonus from Burger Heaven. Rocksolid raises $57,905. Rocksolid wins!
Boardroom:
For several minutes, the women hesitate to blame anyone for their loss, but Trump wears them down and gets them to pick someone. Maria Kanellis (who seemed to be smirking expectantly through the nicey-nice phase of the discussion) finally breaks the ice by throwing Carol Leifer under the bus. Holly quickly joins her, and Sharon also becomes vocal in her criticism of Carol. (All they can really say about her is that she continued to attract people outside even after a long line had already formed; however, she later worked the counter in the restaurant.)
Although Lauper doesn't say anything about it, she seems taken aback by how quick they were to jump on Leifer once Kanellis got the ball rolling.
Leifer tries to deflect blame, saying that Holly Robinson-Peete didn't get her hands dirty. However, since Holly brought in the most donations, Leifer's claim falls flat. Leifer also defends herself on the grounds that she's the most creative person on the team and can produce TV shows, but this doesn't help her either.
Lauper just can't bring herself to choose two teammates to put on the firing line. Instead of firing Lauper on the spot, as he's done before when faced with a softhearted losing captain who couldn't decide, he tells her to skip it. He'll just make a decision.
Fired: There's no closed door meeting with Ivanka and Don Jr., and no further discussion; there's no analysis of the fact that Lauper had earlier accepted the blame for the low pricing that probably cost them the task. Honestly, Trump just seems to tired to go through with the usual rigamarole. He fires Carol, basically because her teammates all seemed to agree that she was their weak link.
Donation:
Trump kicks in some money of his own to round up the total winnings to $100,000 for Bret Michael's charity, the American Diabetes Association's camps for kids with diabetes. Michaels, who endured a frightening woozy diabetic moment during the task when his own blood sugar got low, is stunned with gratitude.
Upon being fired, Leifer asks Trump to make a personal donation to her charity, the North Shore Animal League America, which claims to be the world's largest no-kill animal adoption and rescue organization. Trump agrees to donate $10,000.
Remarks:
The show starts off with Trump emphasizing that this is a time of greater need. He backs up his talk with real money, adding a couple thousand to round up for Bret Michael's charity and making a personal donation to Carol Leifer's as well.
I've always suspected that Trump made personal donations to the charities of candidates who got fired before winning anyway, but I don't really know.
Overall, this episode was more enjoyable than most of last year's shows. Except for a few pained facial expressions from Goldberg and some "private" (to us) remarks from Sinbad, I didn't detect much strife on the men's team. There were more snide remarks on the women's side, but these were also kept to the "private" remarks rather than open hostility. Even the boardroom scene wasn't comparable to what we saw from the very first episode last year.
I have no doubt that it will become more contentious and annoying in the coming weeks, but this wasn't bad.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
3/11/10: Great Moments in "The Office"
Meredith: Stop fighting! Just on St. Patrick's day, okay? Just one perfect day a year. No hassles, no problems, no kids.
Michael: It is St. Patrick's day. And here in Scranton, that is a huge deal. It is the closest that the Irish will ever get to Christmas.
Dwight: Getting hooked on mega-desk was my own damn fault.
Michael: Good morning, honey pile.
Erin: Nice kilt.
Andy: Thanks. It's actually my sister's old field hockey skirt.
Jo: How many knocks does it take to get you to do some work?
Michael: Does her family owe your family something, in terms of a past injustice?
Darryl: Now Mike, I have to ask you to leave so that I can learn about this tiny television.
Packer: Hike up your skirt and pull out your tampon, borrow some balls and come meet me!
Angela: Yes, I am anxious to get out of work, but let me be clear: It's not to celebrate St. Patrick's day. It's so I can protest St. Patrick's day.
Michael: Do I really want to turn out like Gabe? 26, single, tied to my desk, no life, no family? I'd want to have been married by the time I would've turned 30. That's just depressing.
Michael: It is St. Patrick's day. And here in Scranton, that is a huge deal. It is the closest that the Irish will ever get to Christmas.
Dwight: Getting hooked on mega-desk was my own damn fault.
Michael: Good morning, honey pile.
Erin: Nice kilt.
Andy: Thanks. It's actually my sister's old field hockey skirt.
Jo: How many knocks does it take to get you to do some work?
Michael: Does her family owe your family something, in terms of a past injustice?
Darryl: Now Mike, I have to ask you to leave so that I can learn about this tiny television.
Packer: Hike up your skirt and pull out your tampon, borrow some balls and come meet me!
Angela: Yes, I am anxious to get out of work, but let me be clear: It's not to celebrate St. Patrick's day. It's so I can protest St. Patrick's day.
Michael: Do I really want to turn out like Gabe? 26, single, tied to my desk, no life, no family? I'd want to have been married by the time I would've turned 30. That's just depressing.
03/04/10: Great Moments in "The Office"
Dwight: My cousin came down with a case of that nasty new goat fungus... the doctor says he's never seen it beard so quickly.
Jim: I do not plan on helping unless it's a boy.
Michael: I put diesel in this time. Trying to save some money.
Michael: Don't get revenge on me, nerd.
Kelly: Labor can last weeks. And they take your insides out and they just plop 'em on a table.
Michael: When I was a kid, my mom received compliments left and right from my teachers on how I was always able to distract others in the class.
Phyllis: I can put on lipstick the way Molly Ringwald does in The Breakfast Club.
Kevin: For the love of God, Pam, do it for Ultra-Feast!
Kevin: Maybe we should cut holes in her shirt.
Phyllis: I have a shirt like that in my car.
Angela: No Star Trek names.
Dwight: Ambulances are emergencies only. You call the ambulance, I call the cops.
Oscar: The hospital will provide dictionaries. Bring a thesaurus.
Michael: Gotta go wash my eyes. That kid's gonna have a lot of hair.
Michael (to baby): Michael. Michael.
Jim: That's so weird. She was just saying it before you got here.
Andy: I'm going to ask out Erin. I'm just waiting for the stars to align. Literally. I have a small skylight in my bedroom, and I'd like for the moon to be visible.
Michael: I am going to fill that empty hole in your body with another person. And, like Cupid, I am going to shoot you with love.
Jim: You're pushing the milk out, right?
Kevin: You will learn to love me.
Pam: Oh my God. Wrong baby.
Dwight: I know that I'm an adult, but maybe I could come by some time for a teeth cleaning, you know, just for fun.
Andy: The fax says "Erin, will you have dinner with me? From Andy" and the number is our office fax number.
Jim: I do not plan on helping unless it's a boy.
Michael: I put diesel in this time. Trying to save some money.
Michael: Don't get revenge on me, nerd.
Kelly: Labor can last weeks. And they take your insides out and they just plop 'em on a table.
Michael: When I was a kid, my mom received compliments left and right from my teachers on how I was always able to distract others in the class.
Phyllis: I can put on lipstick the way Molly Ringwald does in The Breakfast Club.
Kevin: For the love of God, Pam, do it for Ultra-Feast!
Kevin: Maybe we should cut holes in her shirt.
Phyllis: I have a shirt like that in my car.
Angela: No Star Trek names.
Dwight: Ambulances are emergencies only. You call the ambulance, I call the cops.
Oscar: The hospital will provide dictionaries. Bring a thesaurus.
Michael: Gotta go wash my eyes. That kid's gonna have a lot of hair.
Michael (to baby): Michael. Michael.
Jim: That's so weird. She was just saying it before you got here.
Andy: I'm going to ask out Erin. I'm just waiting for the stars to align. Literally. I have a small skylight in my bedroom, and I'd like for the moon to be visible.
Michael: I am going to fill that empty hole in your body with another person. And, like Cupid, I am going to shoot you with love.
Jim: You're pushing the milk out, right?
Kevin: You will learn to love me.
Pam: Oh my God. Wrong baby.
Dwight: I know that I'm an adult, but maybe I could come by some time for a teeth cleaning, you know, just for fun.
Andy: The fax says "Erin, will you have dinner with me? From Andy" and the number is our office fax number.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Mad Men Barbies & DVDs
No kidding - four Mad Men-themed dolls will go on sale this July as part of the Barbie Fashion Model Collection. The lineup consists of Don Draper, Betty Draper, Roger Sterling, and Joan Holloway.
No, I still haven't seen a single episode of Season 3 yet, but the Season 3 DVD set goes on sale March 23. Each set will include a sketch drawing of ONE of the dolls.
The press release describes the dolls as follows:
No, I still haven't seen a single episode of Season 3 yet, but the Season 3 DVD set goes on sale March 23. Each set will include a sketch drawing of ONE of the dolls.
The press release describes the dolls as follows:
Gracefully molded of Silkstone®, a material that resembles the look and weight of porcelain, each doll is stylized in iconic costumes from the series, and comes with accessories true to their show counterparts. Don Draper wears his classic, polished red-lined suit and comes accessorized with a hat, overcoat and brief case; Betty Draper's classic look is captured with unparalleled detail, from her faux pearl necklace to her pumps; Joan Holloway looks chic in a purple skirt suit and perfectly styled coif with her staple accessory - a pen necklace; and Roger Sterling is looking dapper in his monogrammed shirt.
[...]
The Barbie® Fashion Model Collection Mad Men Barbie® dolls will be available for a suggested retail price of $74.95. Available at BarbieCollector.com, amctv.com and select retailers.
Celebrity Apprentice recaps?
...Not recaps exactly, but I've decided I'll continue to do the summary portion (task, team lineup & captain, outcome, fired, donation). No detailed blow-by-blow or lengthy rants - I'll limit myself to maybe 100 words of combined synopsis and commentary. And if the show starts pissing me off to the point where I can't even do a summary without going into a tirade, then I'll just quit watching. No torturing myself like I did last year! Since the stuff I'll be posting will pretty much be information you could find on the NBC website anyway, it won't be any loss to anyone if I stop posting it.
I wasn't planning to watch this season at all, especially after that super-phony horrific mess last year, but there are people in this lineup that I really like, and I want to see what they can do. Maybe it won't suck this time. Can't hurt to give it a chance...
I wasn't planning to watch this season at all, especially after that super-phony horrific mess last year, but there are people in this lineup that I really like, and I want to see what they can do. Maybe it won't suck this time. Can't hurt to give it a chance...
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