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The Apprentice 7

On strong Apprentice, project manager actually pulls obnoxious teammate off a task

by Andy Dehnart 1 Oct. 2010 | 9:51 am

The Apprentice‘s ratings are insanely low–3.836 million viewers last week–but this has been a pretty great season, especially because of the cast. And that continued last night, when the teams had to open a dog day care business.

During that task, we saw what I think is a first, unless I’m repressing a memory: A project manager removed an annoying person from the task. Finally! The PM was attorney James, whose constant conflict with salesperson and professional asshole David disrupted the team, so James told him to leave. Of course, the predictable outcome eventually arrived: Trump kept David, the more dramatic, TV-friendly person and got rid of the boring person, who happened to be project manager. Apparently, he had no choice.

The conflict between David and James spilled over into the boardroom, of course, when Trump’s bizarre thinking turned this on James, suggesting that only sucky leaders don’t have the respect of obnoxious team members. So does Trump think he sucks as a leader considering the lack of respect many people have for him? That’s doubtful.

And David is beyond obnoxious, acting like a spoiled child. Ivanka called him “incredibly insubordinate,” though Donald Jr., though, said that James had an “air of elitism,” which of course is more damning because it is such a foreign concept in Trump Tower. James wasn’t the best project manager, ignoring the business owner and being pretty stubborn. But all the better for the TV show to keep the gunpowder around and introduce it to as many sparks as possible.

Watch David and James’ conflict come to a head:

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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