"Always two there are..."
Thursday night was the special Star Wars-themed episode of "The Apprentice," in which the two teams had to construct displays for marketing the Revenge of the Sith DVD and the new "Battlefront II" video game. If ever there were a TV show where millions of viewers scoffed at the screen, "I could do better than that," this may have been the one.
(SPOILERS for Thursday night behind the link.)
This episode showed a lot of love to Star Wars, and by extension to fans of the series who were grade-schoolers in the 1970s and potential Apprentii today. Even allowing for Trump's customary hyperbole, The Donald seemed genuinely affectionate: "What's better than Star Wars?" he asked. If geek culture is truly taking over the mainstream, that's a pretty clear sign.
Moreover, front-running Randal, whose Trump Tower office is probably already being decorated, provided the face of the fans. Apparently, the business skills one normally cultivates for a climb up the corporate ladder don't necessarily include knowing who turns to the Dark Side. Thus, after project-manager Brian's miscalculation caused them to miss their only meeting with Lucasfilm and Best Buy executives, Randal had to give the rest of his surprisingly clueless team a crash course in six films' worth of plot and characters.
Why wasn't Randal the Master of this group of Trumpadawans? Because he had just been project manager last week, and was exempt from firing this week. Thus, Brian, Rebecca, and Marshawn clearly wanted to "step up" (drink!) and not be outshone yet again by the guy with five college degrees and knowledge of the Force.
And yet, like the Jedi struggling to keep their Republic from defeat, Randal's efforts weren't enough to stop the rest of Excel from constructing a bland bit of cardboard which somehow managed to downplay Darth Vader. It was no match for Team Capital Edge's more interactive "live the adventure" display. Of course, Capital Edge hadn't missed their meeting with the executives.
Accordingly, in the end, marketing determined which teams won or lost -- but I like to think that a savvy fan could also have designed a display which combined love for Star Wars with marketing strategy. The teams were probably limited to designing with cardboard, which would have foreclosed the use of "re-enacters" like the 501st Stormtrooper Battalion. Still, a squad of stormtroopers battling a pair of Jedi could make a heck of an impression on a potential customer -- not to mention showing executives the resources geek culture can provide.
One can only wonder how deep in the Bantha poodoo Team Excel would have been without Randal's input. At one point Marshawn suggested making Tion Medon, a visually striking but relatively minor character, a larger focus of their display. People want to see what's different about this movie, she argued, so showcae the new characters.
Clearly that showed how much she missed the point. Never mind that people who'd buy the DVD and the game have probably already seen the movie. Revenge of the Sith was about bringing Star Wars fans full circle, to the point at which they first became enthralled with the galaxy far, far away. Team Capital Edge won because they paid attention to what Lucasfilm and Best Buy wanted, and used their business skills to make up for being Star Wars novices. On the wrong side of the boardroom, Brian (who had never seen any of the movies) and Marshawn were both fired. Again, I can't help but wonder what Randal, the Chosen One of this season's "Apprentice," would have produced if he'd had a larger role. At least for an hour on Thursday night, on one of the more popular TV shows around, it was good to be a geek.
(SPOILERS for Thursday night behind the link.)
This episode showed a lot of love to Star Wars, and by extension to fans of the series who were grade-schoolers in the 1970s and potential Apprentii today. Even allowing for Trump's customary hyperbole, The Donald seemed genuinely affectionate: "What's better than Star Wars?" he asked. If geek culture is truly taking over the mainstream, that's a pretty clear sign.
Moreover, front-running Randal, whose Trump Tower office is probably already being decorated, provided the face of the fans. Apparently, the business skills one normally cultivates for a climb up the corporate ladder don't necessarily include knowing who turns to the Dark Side. Thus, after project-manager Brian's miscalculation caused them to miss their only meeting with Lucasfilm and Best Buy executives, Randal had to give the rest of his surprisingly clueless team a crash course in six films' worth of plot and characters.
Why wasn't Randal the Master of this group of Trumpadawans? Because he had just been project manager last week, and was exempt from firing this week. Thus, Brian, Rebecca, and Marshawn clearly wanted to "step up" (drink!) and not be outshone yet again by the guy with five college degrees and knowledge of the Force.
And yet, like the Jedi struggling to keep their Republic from defeat, Randal's efforts weren't enough to stop the rest of Excel from constructing a bland bit of cardboard which somehow managed to downplay Darth Vader. It was no match for Team Capital Edge's more interactive "live the adventure" display. Of course, Capital Edge hadn't missed their meeting with the executives.
Accordingly, in the end, marketing determined which teams won or lost -- but I like to think that a savvy fan could also have designed a display which combined love for Star Wars with marketing strategy. The teams were probably limited to designing with cardboard, which would have foreclosed the use of "re-enacters" like the 501st Stormtrooper Battalion. Still, a squad of stormtroopers battling a pair of Jedi could make a heck of an impression on a potential customer -- not to mention showing executives the resources geek culture can provide.
One can only wonder how deep in the Bantha poodoo Team Excel would have been without Randal's input. At one point Marshawn suggested making Tion Medon, a visually striking but relatively minor character, a larger focus of their display. People want to see what's different about this movie, she argued, so showcae the new characters.
Clearly that showed how much she missed the point. Never mind that people who'd buy the DVD and the game have probably already seen the movie. Revenge of the Sith was about bringing Star Wars fans full circle, to the point at which they first became enthralled with the galaxy far, far away. Team Capital Edge won because they paid attention to what Lucasfilm and Best Buy wanted, and used their business skills to make up for being Star Wars novices. On the wrong side of the boardroom, Brian (who had never seen any of the movies) and Marshawn were both fired. Again, I can't help but wonder what Randal, the Chosen One of this season's "Apprentice," would have produced if he'd had a larger role. At least for an hour on Thursday night, on one of the more popular TV shows around, it was good to be a geek.
posted by Tom Bondurant @ 10:42 AM
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