Boy, how the memories come back. It was great seeing The Apprentice Thursday night in its celebrity edition. But my, how things have come a long way since season one when I was crowned the original apprentice (sorry, Ereka...lol).

I have to say, I was very impressed with the first episode. If I had to pick a favorite already, it would definitely be Gene Simmons. From the exterior, Gene and Donald seem like polar opposites. But believe it or not, they have a lot more in common than you think. Donald Trump created the Trump brand from nothing and made it a billion dollar empire. He's a marketing genius. As for Gene Simmons, many think he's just your typical rock star. Little do they know, he has made millions by taking the KISS brand worldwide and using his image and name to make tons of money. Both Donald and Gene are masters of promotion and Gene proved that in this episode when he sold a hot dog for thousands of dollars by simply using his valuable Rolodex and dropping his famous name.

Now that I've told you my favorite, it's time to reveal my LEAST favorite celebrity contestant. I've vowed never to say her name again so I will simply refer to her as O (yes, it's Omarosa...you guessed it!!!).

Simply put, O should have been the contestant fired on episode one. During her team's hot dog selling mission, she failed to realize the real value behind selling hot dogs. Her mistake was in trying to sell people on how fantastic a hot dog tastes instead of selling people on the celebrity factor of her team. Due to that grave mistake, her group lost the mission and failed to raise as much money selling hot dogs as the men, who crushed the women by outselling them by thousands of dollars. In addition, O also failed miserably by creating a hostile environment where creative ideas were not welcome and her philosophy was "my way or the highway" (which is an OK approach to take at times, but you BETTER win the mission).

My wife Giuliana and I watched episode one together and we were on the edge of our seats. She bet me that Omarosa would get fired and I knew it would be Tiffany, the Playboy playmate. How did I know? Because Tiffany, although sweeter and more honest than O, just wasn't a fighter. And if I know one thing about Donald Trump, he's fought for everything he's ever gotten. And in business, he would choose a fighter over a sweetheart on his team any day.

I can't wait for next week's episode. Of course I will be blogging on Friday so be sure to check back in. 

Until next week,
Bill

Ereka Says: The Donald Delivers

Hello everyone! It’s been about 4 years since I’ve seen the inside of The Apprentice boardroom, yet still some of the same anxiety resurges every time I watch a new episode.

My first reaction to Celebrity Apprentice? As always the Donald delivers. I’ll admit that originally I wasn’t sold on the concept of Celebrity Apprentice. I had my doubts as to whether or not Trump could be blunt and direct with celebrities. I should have known better. The Donald doesn’t change for anyone which is why he makes for such great TV.

I sat and watched the show with my husband who, because of my experience on Season one, can read through the editing as well as I can. It was pretty obvious to the both of us that the men had won five minutes into the hot dog task. Who would deny Gene Simmons? I’m pretty sure that little black book is full of plenty more $5K contacts. I also must mention that while I have never been a Kiss fan, I am now a loyal Gene Simmons fan. Let’s hope he sticks around for awhile.

It was great to see that the producers have gone back to the basics. In season one the first show was all about “location, location, location” and this season the first show was about location AND “contacts, contacts, contacts.”

Let’s be honest, we don’t tune in for business tips; we like the ego and the drama. As far as I can see there’s plenty of both on the way. In real time the Hot Dog task probably lasted approximately 10 hours. Ten hours is then cut down to about 25 minutes (the boardroom started at 8:30 p.m. central time). I’d love to know what juicy arguments and chaos were left on the cutting room floor. I’d also love to know how long their boardroom discussions lasted. Some of our boardroom debates lasted over 2 hours.

Speaking of the boardroom... At 8:30 central time the boardroom scene began and this is when I started really paying attention. The boardroom is the only opportunity that Trump has to interact with the contestants. This is when you can figure out who he likes and who he dislikes. I knew Tiffany Fallon had no chance from the moment she spoke. Tiffany is sweet and way too honest. The Donald sees sweetness as weakness. So we will have a few more weeks to cheer against Omarosa, or as Gene Simmons called her “the cockroach.” I think every great reality show has at least one person to root against and a few talented contestants to cheer for.

As of now I’m cheering for Gene Simmons, Marilu Henner and Jennie Finch. In the end I think Stephen Baldwin will take it all. Time will tell!