Celebrity Apprentice: Trump Pares Field Down to 2

Celebrity Apprentice started with five contestants this week and within forty minutes, of the two hour show, the field was unceremoniously whittled down to two.

The first contestant to be shown the door Maria Kanellis as Donald Trump fired her after asking each remaining person why they should stay. They all gave the usual I have a fire and a passion token answer. It was quite obvious to anyone who has watched this season that Maria was a good soldier most of the time, but she had no leadership skills. This might have been the easiest choice Trump had to make all season long.

The next two people to be fired would be determined after each contestant was interviewed by past Celebrity Apprentice winner, Joan Rivers, and season one Apprentice winner, Bill Rancic. After the interviews the four remaining players, Bret Michaels, Curtis Stone, Holly Robinson Peete, and Sharon Osbourne were brought back into the boardroom. The first firing was once again a simple choice for Trump as he sent Curtis packing. Neither Bill nor Joan was impressed with the Australian chef and frankly neither was I. He was much like Maria and that he was good at following directions, but not much of a take charge kind of guy. He seemed too laid back to succeed in the monster task that the final project always is.

The last firing of the evening was the hardest of the three. It came down to a decision between keeping Bret or Sharon. Both of the interviewers liked Holly and felt she had the drive to win it all, so she was in the finals. The interviewers were split on who should join Holy in the finals, with Joan backing Sharon and Bill lobbying for Bret. In the end The Donald felt that Sharon might not have enough energy in the tank for the grueling final task and fired her. Regular viewers of the show know that earlier this season Sharon missed several tasks because she was sick. In the end I think Trump made the right choice firing Sharon, mainly because she wasn't there for a good part of the season and got to skate through without having to prove herself.

So we are left with Bret and Holly in the finals. They were given their final mission which involved creating a new flavor of Snapple Iced Tea, creating a marketing campaign which involved their charity, and producing a 30 second commercial spot. As usual former contestants were brought back to help both finalists. Holly was assigned Curtis and Maria, while Bret was given Summer Sanders and Darryl Strawberry.

Both teams produced their flavors without too many hitches. The problems arose when it came to shooting the 30 second commercial. Bret wanted a dolly track, a piece of equipment that you use to get a nice steady zoom with a TV camera, but the production team he was assigned didn't have one. He started making calls to locate one, but he hadn't had any success when the episode ended. As for Holly her TV spot seemed to be right on track, pardon the pun.

So next week is part two of the finale and is live on Sunday, May 23 at 9:00 EST. I wonder if the winner was selected right after the task was complete or does Trump wait until next Sunday to make his decision? The reason I bring this up is that Bret Michaels had a brain hemorrhage sometime after the taping of the show and will he win in some kind of sympathy vote. That may be pretty cynical of me, but the thought did occur to me and I'm sure to others as well. Bret does plan on attending the live finale and we shall see who takes home the quarter of a million dollar prize for their charity, Bret for the American Diabetes Association or Holly's Holly-Rod for Kids, which is a charity for autistic children. I'm hoping Bret does take home the title, but both players have worked hard and deserve it. Tune in next week to find out who wins.

Sources:

Kate Stanhope, Bret Michaels to appear on Oprah; Plans May 28 Return to the Stage, tvguide.com

Larry Carroll, Bret Michaels Stabilized After Brain Hemorrhage, mtv.com