Celebrity Apprentice: Gene Simmons Told To Kiss Off
Gene, we hardly knew ye.
NBC's Celebrity Apprentice wrote its obituary last night, when Gene Simmons, the ``King of All Women’’, and the ``Benevolent Dictator’’ as he calls himself, was axed by Donald Trump.
So with the former KISS star deep-sixed, is the Apprentice sunk?
The remaining celebrities are hardly popular enough to keep the show afloat; Marilu Henner, Stephen Baldwin, and Lennox Lewis being the biggest names, hardly big enough for viewers to keep tuning into a show that is dying a slow agonizing death.
After getting off to a surprising strong start in the premiere episode, Celebrity Apprentice suffered a disappointing setback last week, competing against fresh episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, and came in a distant third.
For the first three episodes, the revamped Apprentice edition was pretty much the Gene Simmons show, so much so that it looked like he was a shoo-in to advance to the finale. The rock musician and Family Jewels star towered over everyone, including Trump himself. It was actually fun watching someone who didn’t shrink in fear of Trump entering the boardroom, not afraid to insult the boss’s daughter, like he did in week two, practically telling Ivanka to buzz off; concerned she was a planted mole for the opposing women’s team. And last night, he believed in his marketing ability and powers of persuasion so much, he never really accepted the final verdict that his team lost a task.
In truth, Simmons kicked himself off the show last night after Trump boxed himself into a corner (you could almost see the New York real estate mogul kicking himself), after he made the mistake of letting Simmons decide who should join him back in the boardroom.
Knowing Simmons magnetism and star power was a main attraction; Trump gave every indication that Nelly Galan was about to be issued a pink slip, on the fabricated premise that she showed a consistent lack of good judgement over the last two weeks.
Trump should have just fired Galan when he had the chance. Knowing full well what was about to transpire, Simmons executed a power move of his own, when he decided to take a bullet for the Latina Telemundo Executive, who he didn’t want to be a casualty for his mistake. So instead of Galan, Simmons brought back two candidates, who least deserved to be in the boardroom: Omarosa (season one contestant) and Jennie Finch, the Olympic Gold medalist; thereby giving Trump no choice but to fire the former rock star.
A noble act, indeed, but one that will come at the expense of the shows ratings.
Except for a few spirited combatants: Stephen Baldwin, Piers Morgan (``America's Got Talent’’ judge), and Vincent Pastore (``Big Pussy'' on the Sopranos), who display a natural ability for trench warfare, none of the other participants are equipped with the signature Apprentice spirit and drive, since they obviously don't have much to prove. Even Trump seems bored with this new arrangement, and is out of his element not being able to strike fear into a group of young rising entrepreneurs
Ivanka continues to be mere window dressing in the boardroom, but having Jim Cramer, the hyperactive host of MSNBC’s Mad Money fill in for Donald Jr., was a nice touch, his watchful eye and critical assessment of the teams performances brought back memories of the Carolyn Kepcher/George Ross tandem, and their pearls of wisdom.
My guess is Simmons made a conscious decision to make an early exit from this sinking ship; having neither the time (KISS is planning a reunion tour after all) or the patience to prove himself to anyone. A cameo is all he wanted, and a cameo is all viewers got.
Turn off the lights- the party's over
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
NBC's Celebrity Apprentice wrote its obituary last night, when Gene Simmons, the ``King of All Women’’, and the ``Benevolent Dictator’’ as he calls himself, was axed by Donald Trump.
So with the former KISS star deep-sixed, is the Apprentice sunk?
The remaining celebrities are hardly popular enough to keep the show afloat; Marilu Henner, Stephen Baldwin, and Lennox Lewis being the biggest names, hardly big enough for viewers to keep tuning into a show that is dying a slow agonizing death.
After getting off to a surprising strong start in the premiere episode, Celebrity Apprentice suffered a disappointing setback last week, competing against fresh episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, and came in a distant third.
For the first three episodes, the revamped Apprentice edition was pretty much the Gene Simmons show, so much so that it looked like he was a shoo-in to advance to the finale. The rock musician and Family Jewels star towered over everyone, including Trump himself. It was actually fun watching someone who didn’t shrink in fear of Trump entering the boardroom, not afraid to insult the boss’s daughter, like he did in week two, practically telling Ivanka to buzz off; concerned she was a planted mole for the opposing women’s team. And last night, he believed in his marketing ability and powers of persuasion so much, he never really accepted the final verdict that his team lost a task.
In truth, Simmons kicked himself off the show last night after Trump boxed himself into a corner (you could almost see the New York real estate mogul kicking himself), after he made the mistake of letting Simmons decide who should join him back in the boardroom.
Knowing Simmons magnetism and star power was a main attraction; Trump gave every indication that Nelly Galan was about to be issued a pink slip, on the fabricated premise that she showed a consistent lack of good judgement over the last two weeks.
Trump should have just fired Galan when he had the chance. Knowing full well what was about to transpire, Simmons executed a power move of his own, when he decided to take a bullet for the Latina Telemundo Executive, who he didn’t want to be a casualty for his mistake. So instead of Galan, Simmons brought back two candidates, who least deserved to be in the boardroom: Omarosa (season one contestant) and Jennie Finch, the Olympic Gold medalist; thereby giving Trump no choice but to fire the former rock star.
A noble act, indeed, but one that will come at the expense of the shows ratings.
Except for a few spirited combatants: Stephen Baldwin, Piers Morgan (``America's Got Talent’’ judge), and Vincent Pastore (``Big Pussy'' on the Sopranos), who display a natural ability for trench warfare, none of the other participants are equipped with the signature Apprentice spirit and drive, since they obviously don't have much to prove. Even Trump seems bored with this new arrangement, and is out of his element not being able to strike fear into a group of young rising entrepreneurs
Ivanka continues to be mere window dressing in the boardroom, but having Jim Cramer, the hyperactive host of MSNBC’s Mad Money fill in for Donald Jr., was a nice touch, his watchful eye and critical assessment of the teams performances brought back memories of the Carolyn Kepcher/George Ross tandem, and their pearls of wisdom.
My guess is Simmons made a conscious decision to make an early exit from this sinking ship; having neither the time (KISS is planning a reunion tour after all) or the patience to prove himself to anyone. A cameo is all he wanted, and a cameo is all viewers got.
Turn off the lights- the party's over
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
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