The Apprentice - Series 5 epsiode 1

I thought I'd make a few brief comments on the first epsiode of the new series of The Apprentice. First off here's a recap taken from the BBC website:

Project Managers: Mona - Ignite, Howard - Empire

Sir Alan wants to see the candidates get their hands dirty in this task. They've got ten hours to bring in the cash by cleaning and they've got up to £200 to spend on industrial cleaning materials.

Under pressure to start making money, the boys are fast to secure a contract to valet 30 mini cabs. Howard sends half the team to the cab forecourt, while he takes his half out shoe-shining. Back at HQ the girls' faff about choosing their cleaning products. 'Well done,' lawyer Anita announces, as the girls tot up £196 on materials, 'you've spent your budget wisely'.

How hard is it to clean a car? Back on the forecourt the hyped boys' team announce, 'we're Muppets if we can't do these 30 cars. If you're not fast you're going to be last'. Fast forward to 4 pm and only a few cars have been finished and most to a poor standard. Project manager Howard abandons his shoe shining and swoops in to speed up the valeting service.

The girls struggle with their business too. Their offer of £250 for three Hummers is refused. The client usually pays £20 per car. Car cleaning proves lucrative, but it's harder work than they imagined. Debra's splinter team have secured an opportunity to clean a showroom of classic cars, but after taking three hours to clean four cars and smearing a Mustang with shoe polish, the un-amused manager sends the girls packing.

At 7 pm, back in the boardroom the efforts of each team become clear. The girls make ten pounds more than the boys, but lose the task due to the £196 they spent on materials. Debra, Mona and Anita receive a roasting from Sir Alan, but Anita's singled out as the person responsible for the failure of the task. 'You were on the back of the van. You saw the money flowing out,' says Sir Alan. 'You showed no initiative' and Anita is the first casualty of the boardroom.

A good start by the boys but it's plain to see divisions have already started to form. I think Howard did a good job as PM and told Phillip not to clean car interiors, the latter did not adhere to this instruction and the boys found themselves under pressure fromt he start. Meanwhile Howard's team seemed to do well in their shoe shining efforts and made a decent return on their minimal investment.

The girls were disorganised, Mona didn't really seem like she wanted to be PM. Her management of the team was poor and she should have kept tabs on how much money was being spent on equipment. Kate had the right idea when she said they were spending too much on materials but she wasn't vocal enough. In the boardroom Anita got the heave ho because she didn't fight her corner although the real culprit was Mona who now lives to fight another day.

First impressions:

Noorul Choudhury - He reminds me of Mani from series 3, smug and full of himself.

Debra Barr - Loudmouth who got caught out lying in the boardroom by Mona. She'll cause plenty of trouble but I'm sure SAS will like her feisty attitude in the boardroom.

Phillip Taylor - Can't follow orders and I think he's going to try and be a leader from the start.

Mona Lewis - Way out of her depth, talks rubbish and it won't be long before she is gone.

Anita Shah - Unlucky to get fired on this occasion, but lets face it, with a face like hers, she wasn't going to win anything!
No one really shone in this first epsiode