And the Celebrity Apprentice is...

Occasionally a show will catch lightning in a bottle, as all the right ingredients come together to form something fantastic. Maybe it's a current event that alters relevancy, a lucky casting decision or just a good idea and a show elevates its game to a new level.
Season 3 of CELEBRITY APPRENTICE captured a little bit of all those elements this seasons, with some relevant events outside the show (Brett's brain hemorrhage), great contestants (Rod B, Brett Michaels, WWE chick, Curtis and Cyndi Lauper) and creative competitions (designing and marketing a snapple flavor or running a diner).
In the end, it was Brett Michaels who was "hired" by The Donald. Michaels was a creative spark all season, whose leadership style was characterized by a need for a strong #2 in the wake of his erratic style. Ultimately, the win wasn't based on his record as a leader, as Mrs. Rodney Pete (a connection i didn't make until after he appeared on the show) was a much better leader. That rationale behind Brett's win was the sentimental vote, and to a lesser extent the fact that Holly was really unlikeable.
To Holly's credit, though, she was on the show to raise money and she did. WHen it was all said and done, she had raised over half a million dollars for her charity. I doubt her acting career will pick up or she'll get to be on next season, but i have a feeling she doesn't really care about any of that.
The only thing i can be entirely sure of is that Brett Michaels has definitely secured himself another season of ROCK OF LOVE or some other reality show. This guy is fantastic, and his daughter is charming as hell. I would watch him play house with his "borderline-diabetic" daughter. (Sorry, that phrase just makes me laugh.)
What made this season a success for me was the rapport of the character. While there was some tension surrounding Lauper, it was all a far cry from the "Whore Pit Viper" moment of last season. For the most part there was a lot of good spirited camaraderie that was fun to watch. It was fun because most of these characters were likable. Even scumbag Rod Blagojevich was disarmingly charming as the bumbling moron. (Illinois needs a literacy test for candidates.)
The worst part for me is the boardroom scenes. I can't stand Donald Trump's character and I think the celebrities do a poor job articulating their arguments. It's all so random anyway that I don't care what happens in the boardroom, as it basically rests on the whims of show producers who want to ensure a good product.
After heaping all this praise on the show, I want to make it clear that I never intend to watch the crap The Donald puts out. Somehow i get pulled in, and i can't quit him (I'm a regular brokeback mountain cowboy). Haven't decided if i'll watch the next reinvention of the Apprentice, which will be giving people hit hard by the economy a chance to appear on a fourth-rate network.

The apprentice becomes the Master

The biggest news surrounding Celebrity Apprentice has been the brain hemorrhage of contestant Brett Michaels. While this didn't impact the show, as it was filmed a while ago, it has grabbed the country's attention as evidenced by the ratings increase for the most recent episode.
And those new viewers who turned in were not disappointed, as they were treated to the best episode of Celebrity Apprentice ever! You might think, the "Whore Pit vipers" debacle of last season might take the cake, but that episode represented the worst in reality television. It was entertaining, except it appealed to the lowest common denominator.
In Sunday night's episode we had teamwork, comedic moments and super sweet sappy moments that belong over on ABC with HOMEMAKEROVER EXTREME EDITION SEARS. (That might not be its official name...)
This season has been marred by too much tension amongst the women. Every week induced a squirmtastic moment, where it all became unbearable. It was so bad that Sharon had decided she wouldn't just skip another task, but that she would quit.
Luckily this was avoided, because The Donald switched up teams. He created team Brett, formerly known as Rock Solid, which is characterized by the singer's loosey goosey attitude and penchant for creative jibber jabber. THe other team is still just team Tenacity, with its hodgepodge of personalities that will eventually serve as a pressure cooker.
What made the episode enjoyable was that the drama had been removed, and we got to watch celebrities work at tasks. Team Brett focuses their sexually charged atmosphere to create a sexually charged workout. Team Tenacity utilized their no nonsense approach to generate a plain jane workout, but in the process raise a ton of money through tireless fundraising efforts.
(Editor's Note: This show does not sound entertaining. At what point will he give up and just say, you had to be there.)
But I digress... Hear are some of the high notes:
1. Brett Michaels has a great body. Granted, there is a 99% chance he is bald under that bandanna, but there's a 99% chance he could wash it on his washboard abs.
2. Brett Michaels finds some ugly ladies attractive. That totally explains ROCK OF LOVE.
3. I'm worried about Cyndi Lauper's mom. She is super old.
4. Summer Sanders is really hot.
5. The show finally added a caveat to its fundraising episodes, so that it wasn't simply about getting checks. Now when someone made a donation, the team had to find a body to represent the check. Undermines the task a little bit, but it is a step in the right direction.
6. The former WWE DIVA has a really charming personality. I would watch her on her own reality show.
7. The Donald's current wife made an appearance on the show. It was as awkward as you think it was.
8. In the end, The Donald didn't fire anyone. He was happy with everyone's performance, so he opted to keep them all. Sort of saw it coming, since there wasn't enough time to fire anyone. Was surprised that Holly offered to write a check to Sharon's charity

Ok, I'll admit that this was a bad post. Probably should have taken notes. If you made it to this point, I apologize.

The Week in Review

This is the second installment of my week in review segment. Based on last week's responses no one read it or everyone was just apathetic about it. Regardless, I will try again with week 2.
1. On the Celebrity Apprentice things got more catty than usual, as we finally realized last year's Joan Rivers vs. Annie Dukes rivalry in the form of Cyndi Lauper vs. a WWE Diva. (Sure, I could look up her name, but I won't.)
I totally love the Diva, who has proven herself to be a valuable asset and doesn't deserve the diva moniker i'm using. Lauper on the otherhand, was a terrible director of talent and basically just reminded me of my mom. Granted, my mom is a smart lady who runs a newspaper, but at home she has the same kind of attention deficit disorder and dictatorial tendencies that Cyndi exhibits.
Anyway, the two ladies butted heads, adding another enemy to Lauper's growing list of haters.
In the end, though, it was Goldberg who was sent home. He deferred to Brett Michaels and ended up losing, but kept on smiling. (That joke makes sense if u watch the show. If not, then just know that Goldberg was adamant about smiling. Ok, it doesn't work.)
2. On Monday there was no Chuck. But, I did get a return of HOUSE, even if it was 8 days after its originally airing since I watch it on HULU.
(Editor's Note: Not only is this week in review dated, it includes shows that are two weeks old! If you think we're editing this for valuable content, then think again. The only thing we took out was naked pictures of Cyndi Lauper that David photo-shopped, because we don't want to get sued.)
The episode was directed by Hugh Laurie, and it actually offered a different style as almost every scene revolved around the interplay of two characters. This was the product of some terrible scripting that required the hospital to be shutdown after a baby is misplaced and forced Cuddie to think unconventionally at the end of the show. The whole thing was uninspiring, especially the David Strathairn scenes that wasted a great actor in boring scenes opposite Hugh Laurie. Oh yeah, there was also stupid sex between Chase and Cameron. Basically HOUSE sucks. I WANT CHUCK
3. Why didn't I remember to DVR JUSITIFIED?!?!? Now i have to wait for it to show up OnDemand, which seems to take forever. So blame the stupid network's OnDemand provisions for my inability to comment on this show.
4. Wasn't wild about the Madonna episode on GLee. Loved the Like A Virgin remake, which was uber hot, but felt it was covered better in MOULIN ROUGE.
5. FLASHFORWARD killed off an interesting character in a surprising way. Well the death itself was more surprising, since i didn't think the writers would have the balls to kill off a compelling character without a bigger payoff. The death is proposed earlier in the episode, but I thought there would be a too convenient way around this outcome. But no, this guy gets wacked and the show opened another can of worms it will never close if it gets canceled.
6. FRINGE was really good. Not just episodic good, but serialized excellence was on display. Peter (joshua Jackson) finally learned that he's from the other dimension and responded by going on the lam. I also love the bad guy, whoever he is, and look forward to more tussles with him.
7. The food revolution met it's match in the series finale, and the winner was a lack of self-control! Boy I hate Jamie Oliver and hope I never have to hear from him again. Some people admired him personally and others appreciated his task, while I just hoped West Virginia would be bombed. I did get to learn that the Rascal Flats are a huge band, according to Jaime. Thanks!

SO this review didn't hit everyday or every show i watch, but offers you a little glimpse of the crap i devour. (Crap Jamie Oliver lets me eat with no second thought)