The Apprentice (U.S. season 2)

The Apprentice 2 is the second season of The Apprentice, which began on September 9, 2004 on NBC. It featured 18 candidates, whereas the first season only featured 16.

Three new twists were introduced to The Apprentice this season. First, each team was unexpectedly forced to trade one member of their team for a member of the other team, resulting in a male on the female team, and a female on the male team. The traded members then became the project managers for the first task. Second, it was revealed that the project manager of the winning team would not be eligible for firing the following week.

Finally, the losing project manager could choose either two or three people to bring to the boardroom to be considered for firing. Surprisingly, the option to take three people to the boardroom was only used twice, with the first person (Ivana Ma) to bring in three people had been pressured by Trump to do so. Although this season did not match the ratings of the first and dropped out of the Top 10 Nielsen, it still performed strongly overall, ranking #11 with an average of 16.14 million viewers.

The candidates

Teams

Applicants

Detailed information on the candidates in this season can be found at The Apprentice 2 candidates.

¹ - In an unannounced move, Trump fired two candidates week 11. Boren was fired first.
² - As planned, Trump fired two candidates week 14. Allen was fired first.

Weekly results

     The contestant was hired and won the competition.

     The contestant won as project manager on his/her team.

     The contestant lost as project manager on his/her team.

     The contestant was brought to the final boardroom.

     The contestant was fired.

     The contestant lost as project manager and was fired.

Weekly summary

Week 1: Toying with Disaster

• Air date: September 9 (A special 2 hour version aired on NBC on September 11)
• Corporate shuffle: Initially, the team were divided by their gender, just like in the previous season. But when the candidates settled into Trump Tower, they were given instructions before their first task. In their first opportunity to "roll with the punches", both groups had to give up one person that would not only serve on the opposing team, but become the project manager for the first task as well. Both Bradford and Pamela volunteered to go to the other side and lead their new teams.
• Project managers: Pamela (Mosaic) and Bradford (Apex)
• Task: Develop a new toy for Mattel. The product deemed most viable would be the winner.
• Trump monologue: Be Quick But Be Careful - To be quick and not careful is a bad decision. Trump prefers is somebody carefully takes their time and makes the right decision; but a good decision made quickly is the best combination.
• Result: The team with mostly men (Mosaic) developed a line of mutated animal Transformers called "Crustacean Nation". The team with mostly women (Apex) developed a radio controlled car called the Meta-morpher with parts that interchange.
• Winner: Apex Corporation. Mattel said their product fit in nicely with their existing popular Tyco RC car line and the children in the focus group responded well to it.
• Reward: Dinner with Trump and Melania Knauss.
• Dramatic tension: When deciding on corporation names, Raj clearly disliked his team's name (Mosaic), and even Donald Trump believed it was not good. Trump was also puzzled that Raj decided to bring a cane with him to the first task. On Apex, Bradford struggled to fit in with his all-female team, and Stacie J. completely alienated the members of her team during the wait before a winning team was decided. On Mosiac, Pamela makes fun of the weight and haircuts of the children in the focus group, which offended Carolyn. In the boardoom, several team members state that Rob did not contribute as much as he could have, but Rob claimed he was underutilized. He also curtly cuts off Carolyn in the boardroom when she interrupts him to ask a question. Although he came up with the "Crustacean Nation" concept, Andy insisted that he was brought into the final boardroom simply because of his youth.
• Loser: Mosaic
• Sent to boardroom: Pamela, Rob, Andy
• Who gets fired: Rob - for not being assertive in the task and for not coming forward with his ideas.
• Notes:
  • On September 14, 2004, Mattel announced that they would begin producing the winning toy under the name Morph Machines. It retailed for $30 and became available in early 2005.
  • Episode One Recap at NBC.com
  • Read the Episode 1 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 2: Scoop Dreams

• Air date: September 16 (A special 2 hour version aired on NBC on September 18)
• Project managers: Kelly (Mosaic) and Ivana (Apex)
• Task: Create, develop and market a new flavor of ice cream with the Ciao Bella Gelato Company for the Trump Ice Cream Parlour.
• Trump Monologue: Get Organized - A lack of organization is a lack of leadership and without leadership, success is impossible.
• Result: Mosaic developed a chocolate doughnut flavored ice cream. Apex's flavor was based on Red velvet cake.
• Winner: Mosaic wins by almost $250. Although they had to buy their own ingredients, they opted to give a portion to the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society as a marketing gimmick in a successful attempt to make more money. Kelly also ended up choosing a good location, which was near the Times Square branch of Toys "R" Us (the briefing location in the previous task), because he remembered Trump calling it the country's busiest toy store. After they won, project manager Kelly asked Trump if their entire winnings could be donated to the charity, to which Trump agreed.
• Reward: Dinner at the Petrossian
• Loser: Apex
• Dramatic tension: Although both teams initially struggled to find a place to market their ice cream, Mosaic made a critical error when they left their business plan in the open for Apex to read. The men also struggled dealing with John, after he demanded that the team forgo any sort of lunch or snack breaks so that they could sell ice cream all day and not spend any profit. When Raj stated that he had hypoglycemia, which would be grievously aggravated by not eating anything during the day, John started yelling at Raj, accusing him of being lazy and making up excuses. Apex started somewhat later than Mosaic, and were forced to move from their original sales location near the TKTS center when existing street vendors demanded to see their permit. In the process, Apex became separated and their carts lost contact with each other for several hours. Apex tried to bring the carts back together, but Stacie J. misidentified their location as the junction with 7th Avenue, when they were actually standing at the junction with Broadway.
• Boardroom tension: Ivana was castigated for her unorganization and her loose leadership. Bradford messed up Carolyn's name, which visibly irked her. Ivana stated that Stacie J. was responsible for losing the cart for as long as they did and that she needed supervision. Trump asked Bradford to be frank about Ivana's performance, noting that he was the only person in a position to do so, thanks to his immunity. This led to Bradford offering to waive his exemption, and he stated that because he felt like he performed to the best of his abilities, he did not need his immunity. Even though Apex collectively agreed that Ivana was a poor leader, they unanimously thought that Stacie J. was a bigger liability.
• Trump thoughts: Trump didn't like how Ivana was indecisive, and that she kept changing her mind about who and how many people to bring to the boardroom. He also felt that Jennifer C. shouldn't have been brought to the boardroom initially, because she brought in a huge profit. But when Jennifer C. kept interjecting her thoughts, it annoyed Trump, and he flirted with the idea of firing her. Overall, Trump was especially concerned with Bradford (who he explicitly identified as the strongest contestant in the final boardroom), and that his impulsive decision outweighed Ivana's bad leadership, Jennifer's interruptions, and Stacie not working well with the team, because Trump believed that Bradford would be able to instantly destroy a business with a stupid decision such as his.
• Sent to boardroom: Ivana, Stacie J., Jennifer C., and Bradford
• Who gets fired: Bradford - for his rash decision to waive his exemption.
• Notes:
  • Bradford became the first candidate to ever leave Trump Tower without his luggage, because (due to being initially exempt) he did not pack his bags.
  • Ivana selected Jennifer C. and Bradford to go into the boardroom so they could advocate against Stacie J., and believing that because they had been the strongest performers on the task, this would give Trump no choice but to fire Stacie. While Bradford was happy to advocate for Ivana, Jennifer C. became angry at being brought back, and focused most of her criticism on Ivana rather than Stacie.
  • Despite her error over the cart's location, Trump did not hold Stacie J. accountable for the loss, and even told Ivana that she would have been fired had it not been for Bradford surrendering his immunity.
  • Episode Two recap at NBC.com
  • Read the Episode 2 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 3: Send in the Crowns

• Air date: September 23
• Project managers: Kevin (Mosaic) and Elizabeth (Apex)
• Task: Develop a launch promotion for Crest's newest flavor of toothpaste. Each team has a budget of $50,000.
• Trump Monologue A Penny Saved is a Penny Saved - Trump is basically quite critical of the budget that is set. This could possibly be a typo, because the saying is typically A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.
• Result: Apex selects Mike Piazza to endorse the toothpaste at a cost of $20,000. Mosaic, after an abortive attempt to have a million dollar contest, gives away several smaller money prizes with circus performers.
• Winner: Procter & Gamble felt that Apex clearly generated the most buzz from their event, but a budgetary overage of $5,000 gave the win to Mosaic.
  • Reward: Dinner on RMS Queen Mary 2
• Dramatic tension: Mosaic is told the night before the event that they cannot have a million dollar contest and is forced to regroup, but they come up with a strong plan and execute it well. When Apex's budget is broken by 10%, Elizabeth blames Maria because of her sloppy contract negotiations, which allowed the company in charge of producing their publicity material to invoke an overtime clause and inflated their original $1,850 estimate to a final price of $6,950.
• Loser: Apex
• Sent to boardroom: Elizabeth, Maria, Stacie J.
• Trump thoughts: At first, Trump didn't understand why Ivana was not brought back into the boardroom, because she was responsible for monitoring the budget. Elizabeth disagreed and said that Maria and Stacie J. were both more responsible for the loss than Ivana (although Elizabeth had the opportunity to bring Ivana back). Trump asked why Stacie J. was brought back, and Maria then brought up the incident with Stacie J. in the first task. While he felt Elizabeth was a poor leader and that Maria should have taken accountability for the bad deal she made, Trump became concerned with Apex's feelings concerning Stacie. He called everyone from Apex back to the boardroom to discuss their feelings about Stacie J.'s behavior during the first task. When brought back, all the women agreed that Stacie J. acted very odd, and Ivana went as far as calling Stacie J.'s actions "borderline schizophrenic". Although Stacie J. insisted that she wasn't crazy, Trump told her that something must have happened because her entire team was concerned with her behavior.
• Who gets fired: Stacie J. - for being a distraction within her team and due to fears that she is mentally unstable.
• Notes:
  • For the first time in the American version of The Apprentice, the entire team is called back into the boardroom by Trump.
  • Episode Three recap at NBC.com
  • Read the Episode 3 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 4: The Last Supper

• Air date: September 29
• Project managers: Raj (Mosaic) and Jennifer C. (Apex)
• Task: Open a new restaurant in 24 hours. Each team would be given an empty space in Manhattan. They would be responsible for chef selection, decor and stocking the restaurant. The winner would be the team that scored the highest on the Zagat Survey of customers.
• Result: Apex chose an Asian fusion theme while Mosaic went with standard American.
• Trump Monlogue: Be Respected - There are several varied traits of a leader, however respect is the common trait in all of them, without respect one can not be a leader.
• Winner: Mosaic, receiving a very positive review from the survey and a score of 61 points.
• Loser: Apex, receiving a score of 57 points. They had only lost by 4 points, but did particularly worse in the decor and service category than the men did. The women were also reprimanded for the overall appearance, for although they had chic style clothing and a nice modern look to their restaurant, it did not fit with their middle-class locale. Guest judge Bill Rancic also noted that Apex did not have a lot of energy throughout their service and seemed very tense.
• Trump thoughts: Trump felt Apex should have hired a cleaning crew the night before like Mosaic to avoid fatigue the next day. He was also surprised that Sandy was not called back to the boardroom, because she was responsible for the poor design in the restaurant.
• Dramatic tension: Kevin lambasted the women for their treatment of Stacie J., and Elizabeth is attacked by her team for choosing her to go to the boardroom in the previous episode. Stacy R. and Jennifer M. met with Zagat's people beforehand and tried to convince Jennifer C. that going with the complicated Asian fusion concept was a bad idea, but Jennifer C. stuck with it anyway. Apex continued to struggle throughout the task, and Elizabeth even had a breakdown when she felt that she was being set up for failure. Stacy R. took offense at Jennifer C.'s judgment of two Jewish women who were over-critical of their restaurant, and they clashed over this before the boardroom. In the boardroom, Jennifer C.'s leadership was criticized, and she was rebuked by Carolyn more than once for interrupting her while she was talking. When Jennifer C. chose to bring Elizabeth and Stacy R. to join her in the boardroom, Bill warned Jennifer C. not to choose people to go to the boardroom to settle personal scores, as this would lead to a quick exit. Jennifer C. was suspected of bringing Elizabeth and Stacy R. mainly for personal reasons, because Trump and his advisors knew that Sandy was primarily responsible for the loss, because she produced the restaurant decor that scored poorly.
• Sent to boardroom: Jennifer C., Elizabeth, Stacy R.
• Who gets fired: Jennifer C. for her bad leadership and terrible decision making, which included not bringing in Sandy for the boardroom. Trump saw no reason to fire Elizabeth or Stacy R. and called Jennifer C.'s firing "easy".
• Notes:
  • This episode is moved to this day due to US Presidential debate.
  • Bill Rancic, last season's winner, fills in for George Ross on this task.
  • Jennifer Crisafulli was fired from her job at a real estate agency in Manhattan the day after this episode aired. The firm cited her comments regarding the Jewish women as the reason for her dismissal.
  • Episode Four recap at NBC.com
  • Read the Episode 4 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 5: Lights! Camera! Transaction!

• Airdate: October 7
• Corporate shuffle: Trump sent Pamela over to Apex and he appointed her as the project manager for this task.
• Project managers: Chris (Mosaic) and Pamela (Apex)
• Task: Select a product from the QVC inventory and sell it on-air. The winner would be the team that has the most gross sales.
• Trump Monologue: Price is Right - The right price is extremely important, if the price is marginally high it can kill the marketed products or restaurant, if it is marginally lower it can do wonders, pricing is very important.
• Result: Apex chose a cleaning product called "It Works!". Mosaic went with a more costly electric sandwich maker.
• Winner: Mosaic barely squeaks by, winning by only $10, even though they sold far fewer units.
  • Raj tempts the fates and makes a pass at Anna Kournikova during the reward. He loses a dare to her and is forced to run around the Arthur Ashe Stadium in his boxers while John McEnroe and the rest of the team lob balls at him.
• Trump thoughts: Trump expressed admiration for Pamela for being able to switch over to Apex and become the project manager, but he was also concerned that she couldn't admit she lost. Pamela kept saying it was a tie, but both Trump and his advisors strongly disagreed, and they felt that it was the price of the item which caused Apex to lose.
• Dramatic tension: Pamela begins her leadership of Apex with a speech where she admonishes the team for their behavior, and during her speech, Pamela criticizes them for interrupting and not paying attention to people when they are speaking. Raj and Kelly disagreed over the price of the sandwich maker; Raj argued that setting it at a slightly lower price might lead more people to buy it, but Kelly insisted that it should be sold over the $70 price point. Chris, the project manager, accepted Kelly's idea, and although it annoyed Raj, it was key in getting the victory for Mosaic. In the boardroom, Pamela believed that Apex would have won if their item was priced even higher, and this led Stacy R. to tell Trump, "If you want another Enron on your hands, here's Pamela."
• Lost: Apex
• Sent to boardroom: Pamela, Stacy R., Maria
• Who gets fired: Pamela for setting the price of the item too high, which ultimately caused her team to fail. Trump also felt that she couldn't admit she was wrong, that she was a poor judge of her team's skills, and assigned them to the wrong jobs.
• Episode Five recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 5 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 6: Crimes of Fashion

• Airdate: October 14
• Project managers: John (Mosaic) and Maria (Apex)
• Task: Select a designer, develop a clothing line to present at a fashion show for buyers from several upscale department stores. The team with the highest revenue from orders wins.
• Trump Monologue: Know Your Market - Trump reflects on all his endeavors, and discusses the importance of the demographic the product is catered towards.
• Result: The women's team worked very smoothly, completing the task without any major problems and had a designer who accommodated them by walking them through most of the steps. The men's team floundered throughout the task, partly because their designer was not helpful.
• Winner: Apex wins, with roughly triple the sales revenue of Mosaic.
  • Reward: A celebrity party with Cirque du Soleil
• Dramatic tension: Several women on Apex believed that Elizabeth was a distraction, and Maria had to divert her away from the group in order to get the task done more efficiently. On the men's team, Kelly rose to occasion by organizing the team, even though Raj was slowing the team down and John was the project manager. Mosaic's designer also failed to complete production of the clothes until the last minute. Although it was acknowledged that Kevin and Wes were responsible for the loss, Raj and Kelly suggested that Andy should be brought into the final boardroom, because of his overall performances in the tasks were seen as lackluster.
• Trump thoughts: Trump felt that Mosaic set their prices too high, which resulted in lower sales. He continued to be puzzled by the tactic of bringing only two people into the boardroom, and also wondered why John would bring only one of the two people responsible for pricing and not the other, especially when John had the opportunity to bring back all three men (Kevin, Wes, and Andy).
• Loser: Mosaic
• Sent to boardroom: John, Kevin, Andy
• Who gets fired: John for making too many mistakes, including choosing a bad designer, not being involved in the pricing decisions, for bringing Andy into the final boardroom, and for not bringing in Wes otherwise, after both Kevin and Wes were jointly responsible for the bad pricing.
• Episode Six recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 6 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 7: Barking Up the Wrong Tree

• Airdate: October 21
• Project managers: Wes (Mosaic) and Jennifer M. (Apex)
• Corporate restructuring: After the project managers were chosen, Trump told them to each select three players they did not want on their team. The chosen players would go to the opposing team, making each team have three men and three women. Jennifer M. chose Sandy, Maria, and Stacy R. to go to Mosaic. Wes chose Raj, Chris, and Kevin to go to Apex.
• Task: Create a dog service business in the Central Park area and having a sales event revenue with the most profit. (Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump's Chief Financial Officer, filled in for George as overseer in this task.)
• Trump Monologue: Sell Your Ideas - Similar to last season's monologue Believe in Your Product, Trump talks about the faith you need to have in your products or the idea, you have to fight for it.
• Winning team: Apex won, with nearly triple the sales revenue of Mosaic.
  • Reasons for victory: Apex was able to expand their services beyond washing by offering dog massages and nail clippings. As a result, they earned $307 which nearly triple of the sales revenue of Mosaic.
• Losing team: Mosaic
  • Reasons for loss: Mosaic got off to a late start and was unable to come up with a solid business plan. With that being said, Andy left the team's cellphone in a taxi cab; which it was a "big mistake" as Kelly predicted. As a result, they earned $122 of the sales revenue.
• Sent to boardroom: Wesley, Andy, and Stacy R.
  • Initial tension: Trump felt Wesley did a lousy job as a project leader, Andy made a fatal mistake by eliminating the team's line of communication, and Stacy R. refused to take responsibility for any of her actions.
• Fired: Stacy R. for making too many excuses, not taking responsibility, and for being unable to sell her ideas to the project manager.
• Episode Seven recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 7 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 8: A Tale of Two Leaders

• Airdate: October 28
• Project Managers: Elizabeth (Apex) and Andy (Mosaic)
• Task: Create a recruiting ad campaign for the New York Police Department with Donny Deutsch's advertising firm.
• Result: Apex created a campaign designed around a military theme. Mosaic's integrated campaign revolved around the question "When was the last time you saved a life?".
• Trump Monologue: You Have to Love It - In order to work for Trump, he needs to see a genuine drive and dedication that is visible by how much you love what you do.
• Winner: Donny Deutsch felt it wasn't even close, and awarded the win to Mosaic.
  • Reward: Watching their ad played on a large screen in Times Square.
• Dramatic tension: Andy had to fight off interference from Maria, who wanted more sexuality in the ad. He also fought off Kelly, in order to produce what he felt was right. Apex had to nearly mutiny when an indecisive Elizabeth went back and forth on what the ad will be, and didn't make a final decision until Chris openly threatened to depose her and take over the task.
• Loser: Apex
• Trump thoughts: Trump felt Apex's ad, mainly based on Raj's ideas, was frightening and seemed like life in a police state. He questioned Elizabeth's leadership style, because it widely accepted by her team that she was very wayward.
• Sent to boardroom: No final boardroom - When asked by Trump who she would back to the boardroom with her, Elizabeth chose Chris and Raj. Trump immediately fires her, however, stating he didn't "want to waste a lot of time".
• Who gets fired: Elizabeth, for her very poor leadership. Trump fired her on the spot, without letting her bring Chris and Raj to the boardroom.
• Notes:
  • This is the first time in the history of The Apprentice that a candidate was fired without the need of a final boardroom.
  • Episode Eight recap at NBC.com
  • Read the Episode 8 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 9: Bringing Down the House

• Airdate: November 4
• Project Managers: Raj (Apex) and Sandy (Mosaic)
• Task: With a $20,000 budget (and the help of 2 previously fired candidates), each team would renovate a home in the suburbs of Long Island. The team who has increased the value of their home by the highest percentage would win. Rob and Jennifer C. joined Mosaic and Stacie J. and Bradford were assigned to Apex.
• Trump Monologue: Control Your Contractor - Trump talks about contractors and he states that although they may not have gone to Harvard, they aren't inferior. They are tough, smart and can pick your pocket without you knowing it.
• Result: Apex opted to make the house three bedrooms instead of four. Kevin found a contractor through his contacts that didn't finish before time was up. Mosaic's contractors descended upon the house in waves, many of them related to the main contractor, making the task far easier than it otherwise would have been. Apex was unable to completely finish the renovation project before the task's time limit expired.
• Winner: Mosaic wins in the appraisal battle by more than 3%.
• Loser: Apex
• Trump thoughts: Trump was very impressed with Rob's work and enthusiasm even though he was previously fired. He questioned the wisdom of making a four bedroom house into three bedrooms, pointing out that this may have cost them the win. He didn't like Ivana's cattiness toward Stacie J., although it seemed Ivana's anger was aimed mostly at Jennifer M. for politicking on Stacie J.'s behalf.
• Dramatic tension: Stacie J. went on the offensive, attacking Ivana and the other women for labeling her crazy weeks ago. Raj is forced to accept the uncompleted work of a contractor who went on break. Jennifer M. and Raj decide to target Ivana in the boardroom, but their efforts misfire when Trump says that Ivana didn't belong in the final boardroom.
• Sent to boardroom: Raj, Ivana, Kevin
• Who gets fired: Raj, for choosing three bedrooms over four, not finishing the task, targeting Ivana instead of Kevin in the initial boardroom, and for not bringing Chris into the final boardroom. Trump cited that Raj made too many mistakes, a detriment to The Trump Organization.
• Notes:
  • Matthew Calamari is the sub judge for George Ross.
  • When Trump released Chris and Jennifer M. from the initial boardroom, Chris turned to Trump and said that he didn't think Apex had any chance of winning another task due to the poor atmosphere within the team. Trump was outraged by this act of disloyalty and very nearly fired Chris on the spot, but allowed him to stay after he volunteered to lead Apex and restore the team's harmony in the following task.
  • After Raj is eliminated, he asked Robin Himmler for her phone number; while she didn't give him the number at the time, she later revealed she and Raj did go out for coffee after the show was over.
• Episode Nine recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 9 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 10: Runaway Pride

• Airdate: November 11
• Project Managers: Chris (Apex) and Kelly (Mosaic)
• The task: Open a bridal shop and sell dresses.
  • Mosaic had a huge advantage in this task because they had Sandy, who had worked in a successful bridal shop before the show, on their team.
• Trump Monologue: Believe In Yourself - Echoing the age old theme of a positive attitude and self confidence.
• Winner: Mosaic, their sales stands at $12,788.96.
• Loser: Apex, their sales drops to $1,060.47.
• Sent to boardroom: Chris, Kevin, Ivana
• Who gets fired: Chris, for mentally checking out of the task early on, losing the drive he had in previous tasks, and for not bringing back Jennifer M. into the final boardroom.
• Episode Ten recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 10 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 11: The Butt Stops Here

• Airdate: November 18
• Project Managers: Kevin (Apex) and Wes (Mosaic)
• Task: The teams are asked to create an in-store advertising catalog for Levi's Jeans. The team who created the better ad catalog, as determined by Levi's president, would win.
• Corporate Shuffle: Kelly is sent over to Apex, in order to even the teams.
• Trump Monologue: Never Lose Your Cool - Trump discusses the importance of maintaining your composure, noting that it can be used as a tool to get employees to work effectively and efficiently.
• Winner: Apex wins, with a campaign revolving around "The Perfect Fit" and a circular wheel helping customers pick the style of pants that's right for them.
• Reward: Watching musical guest with 2003 Tony Award Winner, Billy Joel in theater.
• Dramatic tension: Jennifer M. is left to do busywork throughout much of the task because (according to her team) she was not on the same pace as they were. She also jumped in during the presentation of the campaign, which essentially made it look like she had came up with the idea for the wheel, although it was wholly Ivana's concept. When asked by Trump who on Apex did the best job, the Levi's president stated that Jennifer did the best, which angered Ivana.
• Loser: Mosaic
• Trump thoughts: Trump was peeved at both Maria and Wes for various errors throughout the task, and he called out Andy for not saying much in boardrooms. After a smooth response by Andy, Trump let him off with a "nice answer".
• Sent to boardroom: Wes, Sandy, Maria, Andy
• Who gets fired:
  • Maria, for taking too much control in the task and ultimately being responsible for the loss, along with her blatant disrespect for her team and the project manager.
  • Wes, for being too feeble and for failing to control Maria, allowing her to take the reins and work with a bad strategy and a terrible catalog, in addition to his shoddy leadership.
• Notes:
  • Bill Rancic fills in again for George Ross.
  • Episode Eleven recap at NBC.com
  • Read the Episode 11 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website
  • This was the first multi-firing (outside the interview stage) in the history of The Apprentice. Ground for this can be seen here in WikiQuote.
  • Because it was not planned for Trump to fire two people, Maria and Wes both had to share a taxi. This led Wes to amusingly quip during the exit interview "I would have at least liked my own cab".

Week 12: The Pepsi Challenged

• Airdate: November 25
• Project Managers: Kelly (Apex) and Andy (Mosaic)
• Task: The teams are asked to create a new bottle for Pepsi Edge, and present it to Pepsi's entire advertising team.
• Corporate shuffle: Jennifer M. is shunted onto Mosaic, which Ivana refers to as a tumor being lifted from the team.
• Result: Apex develops a bottle that has the letters D and G carved out of plastic, providing the grounds for a theme of hiding things in the inside of the D (referred to by the team as "What's in the box?"). Mosaic develops a theme of "The Best of Both Worlds", designed to appeal to the "dual users" of both diet and regular colas. The bottle is shaped like a regular Pepsi bottle with two halves of a globe on the bottom and top. A contest revolving around collecting areas of a continent to win a "Trip to the Edge" is also proposed.
• Dramatic tension: Andy refused to let Pepsi employees eat their pizza when it was delivered, because they hadn't finished part of the task. He also gave cash incentives to the Pepsi employees, because he thought it would motivate them. Despite Sandy's clear objections, Andy (who was the project manager) gave the cash anyway.
• Winner: Apex, because their bottle "represents what Pepsi Edge is all about"
• Loser: Mosaic; their bottle was derided for not showing anything inside the bottle (the entire bottle was shrinkwrapped), and for being unappealing (one of the advertising executives stated he didn't remember "when the last time geography was cool")
• Boardroom tension: Before the boardroom, Andy approaches Jennifer M. and proposes that they gang up on Sandy, because Andy believed that Jennifer did the better job. Over the course of the initial boardroom, Sandy figures this out, and begins to deride both of them for attempting it. Showered with a debate raging on both sides of him, Andy appeared helpless as Jennifer and Sandy scream at each other constantly until Trump bangs on the table to get their attention.
• Trump thoughts: Trump agreed with the ad executive's decision that the bottle was too boring, lifting it as a dumbbell at one point. Trump got upset at Andy for his performance in the task and when he started to get yelled at on both sides of the women during the boardroom. He also wondered why Jennifer M. always gets defended by the project manager.
• Sent to boardroom: Andy, Jennifer M., Sandy
• Who gets fired: Andy, for coming up with a terrible idea for the bottle and for his unprofessional behavior to the Pepsi employees. He also let himself get bombarded by Sandy and Jennifer during the boardroom, which did not show any of his abilities as a debate champion.
• Episode Twelve recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 12 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Week 13: Sweet & Lowdown

• Airdate: December 2
• Project Managers: Ivana (Apex) and Sandy (Mosaic)
• Task: The two teams are assigned to produce and sell the M-AZING candy bar, a new product from M&M Mars. The team that makes the most profit from selling the candy bars is the winner.
• Result: Apex produces about 329 candy bars, while Mosaic produces only about 290 candy bars.
• Winning team: Mosaic
  • Reasons for win: Despite making less candy bars, Jennifer M. and Sandy priced their candy higher than Mosaic did, which gave them a greater overall revenue. The women also wore flashy outfits, which attracted them to their buyers.
  • Reward: Flying to Chicago to meet Bill Rancic at the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago.
• Losing team: Apex
  • Reasons for loss: Apex's price point was too low, and Kevin started selling his candy bars even lower after being initially unsuccessful with the set price. Ivana also acted in a completely unprofessional manner by dropping her skirt to sell a candy bar to a man for $20 on Wall Street.
• Sent to boardroom: Ivana, Kevin, Kelly
• Who gets fired: Ivana, for her bad record as a project manager, horrible team record, for failing to make a case as to why Kevin should be fired (instead targeting Kelly, who was immune, and then Jennifer M., who was on the winning team), and for her unprofessionalism, which included her act of desperation on Wall Street.
• Episode Thirteen recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 13 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website
• Notes:
  • Ironically, Ivana had said in the second task that she'd rather lose with dignity than resort to using her sexuality to sell something. This would completely contradict her performance in this task, when she was willing to drop her skirt to anyone who would give her $20 for her candy bar.
  • Kelly's exemption from the previous week meant that he was not in danger of being fired (unless he did "something incredibly stupid" as Trump put it, which may have been a reference to Bradford's actions in Week 2), but Trump had him come back to the final boardroom anyway, to help decide whether Ivana or Kevin should be fired.
  • Ivana struggled pleading her case to Trump against Kevin and Kelly, given her history of failing in the tasks and as a project manager. Ivana angrily exclaimed that Jennifer M. had exactly the same team record as her, but Jennifer was not even in the boardroom.
  • Right before he fired Ivana, Trump stated that it was because he did not want to hire a stripper.
  • In her exit interview, Ivana defended herself, claiming that she was wearing more than Mosaic (which was arguably untrue) and that she had worn even less at the gym, and saying that albeit it wasn't her proudest moment, she was able to successfully sell her item.

Week 14: Intellectual Horsepower

• Airdate: December 9
• Prologue: Teams, rewards, and project managers no longer apply per the final four candidates, and Trump showed the final four a preview on how he views the life of The Apprentice.
• Task scope: The candidates will go for one-on-one interviews with four prolific executives. These executive will personally interview the final four candidates and then advise Trump on which two candidates should be fired. The interviewers are as follows:
  • Alan Jope, Chief Operating Officer of Unilever
  • Dawn Hudson, President of Pepsi-Cola North America
  • Alan "Ace" Greenberg, Chairman of Bear Stearns
  • Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots football team in the NFL.
• Boardroom details: The executives unanimously liked Kelly, even though one felt he was a bit stiff. The interviewers liked Kevin, but found him to be aimless, and stressed to Trump that they would not hire anyone with excessive uncertainty. Although the interviewers liked Jennifer M., they felt that she was just giving them what they wanted to hear, rather than what she really had to say. The executives did like Sandy, but they deemed her unworthy of working for Trump, mainly because they were unsure of her ability to transition into a corporate environment, and also because her skills fell short to Trump's par.
• Who gets fired:
  • Kevin, for excessive procrastination and failure to pursue a strong professional career path due to his lengthy educational efforts.
  • Sandy, for unmet skills in the corporate world.
• Episode Fourteen recap at NBC.com
• Read the Episode 14 Recap at Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website

Final Task: The Task of All Tasks

• Airdate: Part one was televised on December 9, and part two was televised on December 16
• Tasks:
  • Jennifer M.: a NBA Charity Task, involving professional basketball players, including Chris Webber
  • Kelly: a polo match which would be followed by a concert starring Tony Bennett
• Teams:
  • Mosaic: Jennifer M. with Chris, Pamela, and Stacy R.
  • Apex: Kelly with Elizabeth, John, and Raj

Decision Time

• Airdate: December 16, the conclusion to the Season Finale was televised live from Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, New York City with Regis Philbin as event emcee.
• Decision: Sandy, Kevin, Ivana, Wes, and Chris felt that Kelly should win. Andy and Pamela felt that Jennifer M. should win.
• Hired: Kelly, for his proven record and expertise was preferred over Jennifer M.'s, even though Trump cited that Kelly couldn't bring a military background to business and had doubts over Kelly's leadership style (despite his 3-0 record as project manager).
• Fired: Jennifer M., for excessive losses in the tasks (5-8) and for her unpopularity with most of the other candidates. It was also the first time a runner-up was told in the finale: "You're fired".
• What is next for Kelly: Kelly decided to oversee a project in New York City over the other choice on the Las Vegas Strip.
• See the Episode 15 Recap at NBC.com.

See also

• Season 1
• Season 3
• Season 4
• Season 5
• Season 6
• Season 7

External links

• NBC.com: The Apprentice 2
• Yahoo!'s Apprentice 2 Website with Unaired Footage and Detailed Outcomes

Candidate websites

• Kevin Allen
• Raj Bhakta
• Maria Boren
• Bradford Cohen
• Jennifer Crisafulli
• Pamela Day
• Sandy Ferreira
• Rob Flanagan
• Elizabeth Jarosz
• Andy Litinsky
• Wes Moss
• Kelly Perdew
• Stacy Rotner
• Stacie Jones Upchurch