Apprentice Episode 1 observations

First, congrats to Apprentice candidates Dan and Lee for making it through their first boardroom! Lee was taken back into the boardroom, but he heard Trump say "you're fired" to teammate Summer.

Observations from tonight's Apprentice, with a focus on the Orthodox Jewish candidates - Lee and Dan.

• Each Apprentice candidate gave a brief intro and we're shown a very brief excerpt of each intro. Lee mentions his Cornell degree. We hear about Dan's two sons. Obviously plenty more was cut out.
  
• In a schoolyard pick-em, Tarek chooses Dan first "because he's a dad." It seems like Burnett is developing Dan's character as a father figure. We don't hear anything about his education or business accomplishments. And we don't hear about anyone else's family.
  
• Towards the end, Lee is also selected by Tarek. Lee doesn't smile. Ever.
  
• Tarek seems to take a liking to Dan during the first task. They sit together in the van and Dan gets the high-profile task of holding the project folder.
• Dan didn't get much airtime. Since he was on the losing team, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
  
• Lee gets plenty of airtime in this episode with mixed results. He comes across as an intelligent and independent thinker, not afraid to voice his opinion even if it's an unpopular one. He mentions that he's never said anything bad about anyone. Lee decides to take on Tarek - the project manager. (Did I mention that Tarek is a member of Mensa?) Tarek privately demands that Lee back him up in the boardroom. Otherwise, Tarek says, Lee could become vulnerable. Lee sticks to his guns and tells Trump that Tarek should take some blame for the loss because there was no big idea. Lots of credit goes to Lee for not giving in to Tarek's demands and for speaking honestly.
• I said Lee had mixed results because he didn't appear to be a true team player. Most of the team decided to blame Summer for the loss. Lee didn't go along with this, but chose an independent route. I give him a thumbs up for not being bullied into the popular vote, but a thumbs down for not trying to solicit more team support for his position. He should've recruited some people for his side before taking it to the boardroom.
• Lee did have a slight verbal slip-up. He blamed Tarek for a "lack of mismanagement."
  
• Religion didn't come into play at all during this episode.
• Neither Orthodox Apprentice candidate is wearing a kippah.
• We didn't see either Dan or Lee in any meal setting.

Next week, the Apprentice teams try to market Gillette Fusion razors at Times Square. Brent wears a bathrobe. Should be fun.

Feel free to add your comments.