Celebrity Apprentice Power Rankings: Trump Sends Home Two

Although we got a mini presentation from the women during last week’s Ivanka Trump challenge, this week Celebrity Apprentice geared up to introduce the 2012 Buick Verano through a lengthy team presentation to advertising heads and members of the public. From the beginning, the men’s team looked as if they might be headed for disaster, when veteran car driver Michael Andretti did not step up to take the Project Manager position, thereby irking Donald Trump.

Things ran a bit more smoothly on the women’s end, where project manager Debbie Gibson split the women into a “cool” car, featuring Lisa Lampanelli, Aubrey O’Day, and Patricia Velasquez and a “loser” car which held Dayana Mendoza, Tia Carrere, and Teresa Giudice. To their credit, the jilted contestants held their tongues during the task and did what was asked of them, which is sort of the same idea the men had to eventually implement during their task.

Adam Carolla took over for the men’s team, and, to his credit, he made great use of his knowledge of cars. However, when Buick advertising execs visited each of the teams, they specifically noted they considered themselves to be a luxury brand that uses the term “thoughtful” as a jumping off point for advertising. The women scurried to get this down in their notes, but for Carolla, this idea went in one ear and out the other. Watching Carolla forwardly joke with the advertising execs was like watching a child stick his fingers into his food, get chastised, be unable to contain himself, and try it again.

Despite not creating a luxury presentation, the men did pull in the audience through a performance featuring hecklers and stuffing Penn Jillette into the trunk of the Verano. The performance held up rather well against the women’s team, who had an odd “reflection” theme and who allowed Aubrey to call the Verano a Verona not once, but twice.

Aubrey’s mistake would likely have won her a spot in the bottom three this week, but the board room favored the ladies, leaving the men in a tight spot. Adam then shot himself in the foot by stating he would not bring anyone back with him. Though the Buick executives personally liked Adam, Trump sent him packing due to generally not manning up. Carolla’s attitude got Trump so worked up he went ahead and fired Michael Andretti. Gone are the motor driver and the motor mouth. We’ll see you next week when hopefully – at least for the men’s sake – the women walk the gangplank.

The Celebrity Apprentice Power Rankings are an ordered compilation of weekly lists put together by TV Blend writers Jessica Grabert and Mack Rawden. Each week after viewing the episode, they each rank the competitors in order. Seventeen points are given for a first place vote, and this week, five were given for a last place vote. Two competitors have already been eliminated; therefore, those people automatically occupy the bottom slots. Here is how this week’s voting panned out, complete with analysis on how the celebrities might fare moving forward.

The Favorites

#1) Penn Jillette (34): Penn has been singled out every week by the project manager or the judges for his individual contributions. Not surprisingly, this week his trunk exploration was cited as a favorite. Given all that, it’s obvious why Penn is at the top of the rankings, but there’s one more contribution that actually impressed me more this past episode. When Penn had problems with Adam’s direction, he stated his opinions honestly and clearly. The project manager disagreed; so, he dropped it and dove headfirst into doing what his boss asked him. If everyone had that attitude, a whole lot more would get done.

#2) Debbie Gibson (32): Debbie was good this week as project manager. She wasn’t great, but she was effective enough to put out a winning product. A pessimist might argue she didn’t do enough to include Tia, Dayana or Teresa, but an optimist would counter that it’s extremely difficult to split responsibilities between seven vocal and opinionated women. Now that her time at bat is finished, the singer will retreat back into a supporting role, and given her competence, I can’t imagine her actually losing the team a task. She’s been valuable as a bit player thus far, and I expect that success to continue.

#3) Dee Snider (29): A lot of the men sort of had to take second fiddle to Adam Carolla in this week’s challenge, but Dee, along with a couple of the other men did attempt to steer their project manager in a more surefooted direction. Still, even though he disagreed, Dee was still quick to pitch in and to help the project come off without a hitch. Not bad for a dude missing the use of a hand.

#4) Clay Aiken (27): Clay Aiken bumped up quite a few spots this week, likely due to a newfound nod at the man’s abilities from Jessica’s end. Sure, Clay has the most fucking annoying laugh on the planet. Sure, he lacks tact and occasionally phrases criticisms in an unkind manner. At the end of the day, he is a really creative personality, with a multitude of skills. If his tenure as project manager goes as well as the work he has put in so far, he should remain an asset for the men’s team. May he continue to do so.

#4) Patricia Velasquez (27): Patricia didn’t really drop in the rankings this week, but she did manage to allow Clay to surpass her, mostly due to her hanging out in the background more often than Apprentice viewers might like. Patricia is very organized and took great notes from the Buick executives this week, but she has not been overly challenged to take a spotlight recently. We’re banking on her past abilities, and especially the talent to spin her words in a graceful and forthright manner.

The Contenders

#6) Aubrey O’Day (23): Aubrey’s champion brainstorming was on full display again this week. The singer came up with the winning concept for the women and executed her portion of the presentation pretty well, save a noticeable slip up when she got the name of the car wrong. Were it not for her consistent irritation with most of her fellow cast members and apparent need to bash them even when they are doing pretty decent jobs, I would probably place her higher. Unfortunately, not being a positive teammate has sent many contestants home in the past.

#7) Paul Teutul, Sr. (22): Paul’s portion of the men’s presentation was a disaster this week. His heckling was a horrible idea, and it was executed poorly. The room was clearly not responding. He should have been able to read that and cut it short. As he’s not a performer, however, I’m more apt to give him a free pass than most. Still, it is clear he commands a lot of respect for his teammates and has shown an ability to communicate effectively in the boardroom. That’ll come in handy at some point, but for now, having already taken his turn as leader, it’s unlikely he’ll be up for elimination in the near future.

#8) Lisa Lampanelli (20): Lisa’s little group love sessions with Aubrey have kind of weirded everyone out, her team included. Regardless, the two seem to have teamed up and can accomplish a lot when put together. I’m still a little worried about Lampanelli if she is asked to perform without a little creative bird flitting about. However, since her dismal turn as project manager, Lampanelli has worked each week to build up a brand new image. She has not been entirely successful just yet, but she is a long way from the bottom.

#8) Arsenio Hall (20): Good ‘ol Arsenio. He goes about his job thoroughly and quietly. I secretly suspect he’ll be a hell of a project manager whenever he’s given the chance, but since we’re not there yet, he can only be judged on what he’s contributed thus far. Sadly for him, that’s been solid work and a disastrous choice of outfits. When George fell on the sword two weeks ago, he was right to be sent home, but after him, Arsenio was clearly the worst in that challenge. He needs some positive momentum. He needs to do something that’s great, offer a clear contribution - maybe even the deciding element or idea that propels his team to victory. Until then, he’s likely to be stuck near the middle of the pack.

The Dark Horses

#10) Dayana Mendoza (16): Celebrity Apprentice is not a multiple choice test in which everyone has an equal chance of standing out. A player does not need to be too aggressive or too stubborn, but he or she needs to state his or her ideas forcefully and with confidence. There have been too many challenges thus far in which Dayana simply has not been heard or listened to. Some of that fault should definitely lie with her teammates, but the majority of it falls on the model for not commanding respect.

#11) Teresa Giudice (12): This week, Teresa corralled her husband and children to help in the challenge and she got her bitch face on in the boardroom. Other than that she complained that she has been underutilized but did not bother to step up or attempt to change the women’s opinion of her. So far, she’s been a warm body with a more famous face than any other woman on the team. That’s a skill that is growing old very quickly.

#11) Lou Ferrigno (12): Lou is a good guy. I think he’s a hard worker, and I think he probably gives great motivational speeches. Unfortunately, it’s very clear he’s out of his comfort zone here. He goes into the boardroom every week just waiting to attack, and when he’s called out, he gets too angry about it. Celebrity Apprentice isn’t the nicest of arenas. It requires people to throw each other under the bus and cite the failures and shortcomings of their teammates. You can’t take what’s being said to heart. I know it’s natural to get pissed and carry grudges when teammates attack your character and contributions, but that’s the name of the game.

#11) Tia Carrere (12): Tia is still on the bottom this week, but it is actually a victory for her, since she is sharing the spot with Lou and Teresa. All three were chided and warned to pick up some slack this week from Trump and his two kids. There’s all kinds of unknowns that could occur on the way to figuring out who Trump will be fired next, but even if Tia ekes by for another week, she’s still the women’s weakest link, or close to it.

Here’s a look at how the ballots shook out…