S15.E01: In Here You Call Me Governor / S15.E02: Your Smile's Gonna Knock Them Out

[SuburbanHangSuite]

So even though the, "You're terminated!" was a little corny, I was not expecting, "Now get to the chopper." and it totally made me LOL.  My son and I burst out with a random, "RUN! GO! Get to the choppa!!!" at least once a week...it never gets old.

Love the death stare Gov gave the women when their side chatter was too loud and distracting.  Bye, Carnie.  You're a little too extra for me.  Not sorry to see you go.

[MarkHB]

10 minutes ago, absolutqt said:

So even though the, "You're terminated!" was a little corny, I was not expecting, "Now get to the chopper." and it totally made me LOL.  My son and I burst out with a random, "RUN! GO! Get to the choppa!!!" at least once a week...it never gets old.

Also, "crush your enemies. See them driven before you" comes from one of the Conan movies.

[cooksdelight]

Thanks, Mark, I haven't watched any of his movies except the first Terminator. I figured it had to be something like that. :)

[connieinnc]

13 hours ago, pep4 said:

Boring and unexpectedly unfunny.  Was hoping Lovitz and others would bring the lulz but got almost nothing.  Arnold is stiff and lousy compared to Trump, and his signature lines fell flat.  Expected more from Boy G, instead it was the lame queen that wouldn't shut up.  What a disappointment.

 

Hope they mix the teams up.  And bring in Morgan Fairchild.

you mean Jon Lovitz's girlfriend, Morgan Fairchild? that's it :)

[mtlchick]

Quote

I  enjoyed it but wish Tyra was the boss.

I feel she got more than her fill with ANTM including "consulting" the panel only to dismiss a model that wasn't smizing enough for her liking. Plus she had just left The FAB Life to focus on other things. 

[parrotlover]

I meant to say in my earlier post, that as someone who has watched every season of Apprentice (non-celebrity and celebrity), I do like so far how Arnold is handling things, much better than the um, previous host.

Now about Carnie.....I want to like her, I liked her music back in the day, and I'm sure she's a nice person, but I have now seen this woman on no less than 5 reality shows, and as someone posted already, she is exhausting to watch, on every show I've seen her on. The worst was something on Food Network - I want to say a celebrity version of Chopped - where she talked non-stop the entire time she cooked, in between running around the kitchen like a crazy person. So I'm kind of glad she got the boot, but I wish Ah nold would have done the thing the previous host used to do where he would sometimes call someone back to the board room who he thought she have been fired. In this case, Kyle.

[zulualpha]

2 hours ago, absolutqt said:

So even though the, "You're terminated!" was a little corny, I was not expecting, "Now get to the chopper." and it totally made me LOL.  My son and I burst out with a random, "RUN! GO! Get to the choppa!!!" at least once a week...it never gets old.

Love the death stare Gov gave the women when their side chatter was too loud and distracting.  Bye, Carnie.  You're a little too extra for me.  Not sorry to see you go.

I laughed at the Get to the chopper line as well.  I love that they have a chopper for people to get to and then the gorgeous aerial view of the city at night.  Say what you will about Arnold he has had a great career in sports, show biz and politics not to mention his extremely lively personal life.  Terminator and Predator are two really great movies.

[Calamity Jane]

I'm still trying to decide whether I can in all conscience watch this show, so while I'm pondering, all I can do is read the comments here.  It sounds much the same as ever.  Why didn't they take this opportunity to re-think some of the tired old stuff, such as gender-based teams? It's not as if the show was all that wildly successful anymore as it was, so this would have been a great time to shake things up.  Maybe the executive producer wouldn't let any changes happen.  

Arnold was a pretty good governor, especially since he came in under rather chaotic circumstances (recall of previous governor).  A group of us from my school went to Sacramento for a conference one summer and took a tour of the capitol building on our free time one day.  One of the group went on a mission to see the governor in person, and although she failed in that attempt, she did manage to find a place outside where we could see him through a window, pacing back and forth in his office.  To this day I wonder how we got away with trampling through rose bushes to get that view, but it was fun.  

[backformore]

6 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I disagree about Vince not drinking around Boy George due to Boy George's sobriety.  I agree with Vince that Boy George's sobriety should not affect other people's actions and behaviors.  I think that most people will try to accommodate someone's preferences, but don't think it has to be mandatory.  If Vince always brings wine into the studio, why should he have to adapt how he works?  He himself may be an alcoholic, but he definitely has a way that he works.   I know that this is probably an unpopular opinion, and I like seeing Boy George on this season, but if he is too newly sober to even be around alcohol, maybe he should have waited for a later season.  In previous editions of this show, the winning team would watch the proceedings in a nice suite with food and drinks (including alcohol).  It's a hard world for recovering addicts and there doesn't seem to be any easy answers.

I don't think he was saying nobody can drink around him.  It was more about the drinking while working.  It's tough to collaborate with a colleague who is under the influence. 

[ennui]

13 hours ago, backformore said:

 And I have to agree with Boy George  about Vince Gill  - drink AFTER the task. 

Oh, wrong Vince!  Vince Gill, country musician:

I thought the change of venue to California really changed the tone of the show. Without the New York hustle, it's very low key.

[cooksdelight]

Quote

Maybe the executive producer wouldn't let any changes happen.  

Mark Burnett is pretty set in his ways. Survivor hasn't changed too much. But I think in time this show will throw in some twists. Trump is listed as an EP but he says he's not involved. ;)

Edited January 3, 2017 by cooksdelight

[Nutjob]

I've given this disclaimer before, but I work in politics in CA, so watching Arnold on this show was giving me some major flashbacks to his time in office. I felt like I had to steel myself for his next budget proposal or something. Heh. That said, I thought he did well... watching him intimidate through funny looks and what not is pretty hilarious, and I don't know how anyone keeps from laughing when they're told they're "terminated" or something. Oh, man... I'd lose it. So yeah, I'll keep watching.

 

Also? Vince Neil is a toad. I don't know him personally, but I have friends who do and... yeah. He's pretty much what you'd expect. I can't wait to watch him flame out.

[PRgal]

I saw bits and pieces of the premiere and I think I only recognize a handful of the "celebs" - e.g. Carnie, Boy George, Carson Kressley and Snooki. 

[Amarsir]

I spent the first 10 minutes trying to figure out who Carrie Keagan looked like. And then I realized she looked like Carrie Keagan, who I knew but hadn't seen in almost a decade. So then I was rooting for her because Carrie is very good natured and funny in a dirty joke kind of way. So naturally...

That said, I respect Arnold's reason for "terminating" her. If you're going to calculate the safest answer, don't let anyone know that's what you were doing. I like that better than the shall-not-be-named prior guy whose approach was often "Your team's idea wasn't good enough, so I'll fire the guy with the best idea you did have." Always a pet peeve.

17 hours ago, niklj said:

Right now, I'd say he is on par with Martha Stewart's performance. I think he will find his own voice soon, like the part when he gave the women a look when they were talking over him and it just became crickets.

That's a good comparison. I hope he relaxes enough to be the real Arnold and stops being the character. We know who he is without stolen lines from his movies. He can make Jon Lovitz call him governor, but you can't get real respect using someone else's words.

[Spunkygal]

I thought Arnold's firing line would be "you won't be back!" Also, I wish I had invented fake eyelashes. I would be watching this from my private Mediterranean island. Those lashes on every lady had a life of their own.

[Katmai]

I'm confused as to who Patrick Schwarzenegger is, besides Ah nold's nephew. Is this the same PS that was in Grown Ups 2? He kind of looks like him in some of the IMDB pix, but if he was born in 1993, this dude on CA looks older than that (and I say this due to having a son born in 1993). Plus when Ah nold introduced him, didn't he say he'd done some sort of work or been in business for 20 years? That just doesn't compute. I know if I'm going to watch this, I may need to pay a little closer attention... 

[auntlada]

13 minutes ago, Katmai said:

I'm confused as to who Patrick Schwarzenegger is, besides Ah nold's nephew. Is this the same PS that was in Grown Ups 2? He kind of looks like him in some of the IMDB pix, but if he was born in 1993, this dude on CA looks older than that (and I say this due to having a son born in 1993). Plus when Ah nold introduced him, didn't he say he'd done some sort of work or been in business for 20 years? That just doesn't compute. I know if I'm going to watch this, I may need to pay a little closer attention... 

There are two people named Patrick Schwarzenegger: the nephew, Patrick M. Knapp Schwarzenegger, and the son, Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger.

[Pristine]

Sorry if this has been mentioned previously, but what is up with Arnold's green/orange hair?

[cooksdelight]

A bad plug job?

[Whimsy]

44 minutes ago, Amarsir said:

 

I spent the first 10 minutes trying to figure out who Carrie Keagan looked like

 

I think she looks almost exactly like Kristen Bell, without the charm. 

[Maverick]

8 hours ago, parrotlover said:

Now about Carnie.....I want to like her, I liked her music back in the day, and I'm sure she's a nice person, but I have now seen this woman on no less than 5 reality shows, and as someone posted already, she is exhausting to watch, on every show I've seen her on. The worst was something on Food Network - I want to say a celebrity version of Chopped - where she talked non-stop the entire time she cooked, in between running around the kitchen like a crazy person. So I'm kind of glad she got the boot, but I wish Ah nold would have done the thing the previous host used to do where he would sometimes call someone back to the board room who he thought she have been fired. In this case, Kyle.

 Carnie was on both Chopped and Rachel vs. Guy Celebrity Cookoff.   As I recall, she was particularly annoying in the latter.  She's not as awful of some of the stars that make the reality show rounds but there's just something aggravating about her.  

6 hours ago, zulualpha said:

I laughed at the Get to the chopper line as well.  I love that they have a chopper for people to get to and then the gorgeous aerial view of the city at night.  Say what you will about Arnold he has had a great career in sports, show biz and politics not to mention his extremely lively personal life.  Terminator and Predator are two really great movies.

 I like the choppa in lieu of limo, but the bad part is the old way they interviewed the terminated contestant in the car.   Now their exit interview is done in a normal talking head interview.

4 hours ago, ennui said:

I thought the change of venue to California really changed the tone of the show. Without the New York hustle, it's very low key.

 I know at least one of the old seasons was done in LA and the change wasn't well received.  Project Runway had the same problem.  I don't think NY-based reality shows translate well to the West Coast.  I guess they thought with Arnold being the host it would work better but personally I still think it suffers from the change.

4 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Mark Burnett is pretty set in his ways. Survivor hasn't changed too much. But I think in time this show will throw in some twists. Trump is listed as an EP but he says he's not involved. ;)

 He may not be.   The show was pretty successful at one point and Trump probably got certain concessions.  I wouldn't be surprised if EP credit was contractual regardless of his actual involvement in the show.  

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

I saw bits and pieces of the premiere and I think I only recognize a handful of the "celebs" - e.g. Carnie, Boy George, Carson Kressley and Snooki. 

 That's about all I recognized too other than Layla.  I could swear she's been on this show before, but like Carnie she's hit the reality show rounds really hard so I must have confused it with something else.  I thought it was odd she didn't say anything in the first episode. 

55 minutes ago, Pristine said:

Sorry if this has been mentioned previously, but what is up with Arnold's green/orange hair?

 He's trying to move up from Mr. Freeze to The Joker.

[Negritude]

Kyle saying she grew up on Carnie's music smh...not sure what the criteria is for "grew up on" but I'm pretty sure she was an adult with a kid when that first Wilson Phillips album dropped lol.

[parrotlover]

38 minutes ago, Negritude said:

Kyle saying she grew up on Carnie's music smh...not sure what the criteria is for "grew up on" but I'm pretty sure she was an adult with a kid when that first Wilson Phillips album dropped lol.

Thanks Negritude for bringing this up, I had forgotten.....I laughed when she said that, and sure enough when I googled it, Carnie is one year older than Kyle!

[abstractstuff]

It's to the point where if Carnie is NOT on a celebrity reality show, I worry about her. 

[TiredMe]

Carnie seems to be such a try hard. Not sorry to see her go. I actually tuned in for Carson, whom I adore. He just makes me smile. 

I thought the men clearly won both tasks. The women need to get it together! 

Regarding Arnold, I have this strange crush on him, gosh I'm so weird. lol I simply had to watch with him on. Anyone else want to see him try to insert a phrase from Kindergarden Cop or Twins? 

[backformore]

8 hours ago, ennui said:

Oh, wrong Vince!  Vince Gill, country musician:

sorry about that!   I don't know either one, I must have mis-heard the intro.  thanks for the correction.

[MsJamieDornan]

1 hour ago, TiredMe said:

 

Carnie seems to be such a try hard. Not sorry to see her go. I actually tuned in for Carson, whom I adore. He just makes me smile. 

 

You're right. Carnie is one of those people who look like they are working hard but never really get anything done. And, she is  annoying.

[Vermicious Knid]

Carnie has been more or less making a living appearing on reality tv shows for about the last 10 years.

I've been to that exact spot on Venice Beach! And in a related tangent, I'm pretty sure Penn Jillette was at Sweet Tomatoes tonight. Beware the sriracha carrot soup.

Rather disappointed Arnold stuck with the men vs women challenge. The first woman who got fired made so little impact on me I'm still not even sure who she is. I did like the women's video better in concept, but they didn't keep it consistent with the specific brand message the company wanted to convey. And Lisa was definitely gloating when they said that, I saw that satisfied little smile.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

5 hours ago, TiredMe said:

Anyone else want to see him try to insert a phrase from Kindergarden Cop or Twins? 

Oh, I will be anxiously awaiting the moment they find a way to work, "It's not a toomah!  It's not a tumor at all." into a firing.

Edited January 4, 2017 by absolutqt
Spelling

[cooksdelight]

Quote

 That's about all I recognized too other than Layla.  I could swear she's been on this show before, but like Carnie she's hit the reality show rounds really hard so I must have confused it with something else.  I thought it was odd she didn't say anything in the first episode. 

Layla was on Chopped and maybe one other cooking celebrity show. And Carnie always plays for bariatric/weight loss surgery as her charity whenever she is on any celebrity competition. She had the surgery years ago and lost 150 lbs, then put it back on. Says here she had the surgery for a second time right around when this show was filmed.

http://people.com/bodies/carnie-wilson-has-weight-loss-surgery-again/

[Mumbles]

It's so funny/sad that these folks try to boost themselves up by being so over-the-top about their peers. Carnie Wilson's singing brought tears to your eyes, Kyle Richards? Really? And you couldn't buy a ticket to see Vince Neil and Boy George sing, guy on men's team who I don't know? Come on.

Boy George proved himself 30-40 IQ points ahead of the rest of them by describing Vince's drinks while working "a bit too Jacqueline Susann for me." Lol. I doubt even Arnold got the reference. 

[DEL901]

Quite surprised how on the ball and self-aware Boy George is.  I loved him back in the day.

Also liked how that while that (I think football player) guy was horrified by the thought of having to do makeup but once the decision was made took some home and logged into Tyra's site to figure out how to do it right.  His first reaction was a bit over the top and slightly homophobic at first glance, he quickly got onside and did a great job.

The only man I didn't see do much in the makeup challenge was the MMA/UFC(?) guy.  I know there were only 6 products but he didn't even speak, did he?

The men also made a smart choice in the Trident jingle over and above listening to what the client wanted (different smiles).  They didn't make the jingle writer the project leader/director.  

Edited January 4, 2017 by DEL901

[cooksdelight]

I think the advantage I see the men having is being able to pick up on their weaknesses and strengths. The women don't seem to have found that yet.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 1/3/2017 at 3:08 AM, backformore said:

Jon Lovitz has a reputation of being an ass.  His idea of a commercial about people with BAD TEETH?  What the hell?  was he going to promote the idea that Trident gum fixes bad teeth?  I'm glad someone else came up with a better plan.

Jon Lovitz' idea just goes to show that the women weren't the only ones not paying attention to what Trident was specifically asking for, although they at least recycled a theme ("knockout smile") they could tie into one of their members.

If they're going to be pronouncing "Arete" that way, they really should have included the accent on the second "e". Not sure why the women wanted to pick a feminine team name when they might have a male teammate as soon as the third task.

[GoGamecox]

So much to laugh at in this show! The cheesy Arnold taglines, the over-the-top fake eyelashes (yes, Spunkygal!) and wardrobe for the women, the tired boardroom maneuvering in response to "Who should be fired?" --  it's reality gold! When Trya suggested the women contestents try her makeup for the promotion and show it being used, I immediately envisioned how horrified all those women would be to appear on TV, taking off their existing makeup/eyelashes that their own makeup artists had probably taken at least two hours to apply and using Tyra's products without professional application. NO WAY.  

[lilly6]

7 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Layla was on Chopped and maybe one other cooking celebrity show. And Carnie always plays for bariatric/weight loss surgery as her charity whenever she is on any celebrity competition. She had the surgery years ago and lost 150 lbs, then put it back on. Says here she had the surgery for a second time right around when this show was filmed.

http://people.com/bodies/carnie-wilson-has-weight-loss-surgery-again/

I don't know why that article is dated as September 2016, but Carnie underwent that second weight loss surgery a while ago, like maybe 2012.  I used to watch the Wilson Phillips little reality show and she had had the surgery during that time.  

[PRgal]

18 hours ago, Maverick said:

 That's about all I recognized too other than Layla.  I could swear she's been on this show before, but like Carnie she's hit the reality show rounds really hard so I must have confused it with something else.  I thought it was odd she didn't say anything in the first episode. 

 

I recognized Layla as well.  In addition to the ones I mentioned above, Layla was the only other.  I wonder if the "recognizable" so-called "celebs" will be terminated (or, rather, teh-man-NAY-TAD) first...

[SillyOldClothCat]

15 hours ago, TiredMe said:

Anyone else want to see him try to insert a phrase from Kindergarden Cop or Twins? 

Yes! Pleeeease let this happen.

[AwesomO4000]

I was surprised to find that I am enjoying this so far. And strangely found myself clapping when the men won both tasks, because I liked their presentations best and in the case of Jon Loviz's win, prefer that charity (nothing wrong with Carnie's. I just prefer the St.Jude's charity).

I would have been disappointed especially if the men had lost the first task, because I was impressed with how they took the task to heart and actually learned about the products, how to apply them, and gave a professional looking application. The women seemed to do a good job of product "branding,"* but seemed to rely on the visuals rather than actually explaining the benefits, characteristics, and logistics of the products. Which might work in a design competition, but not here. Also their not getting their "tagline" right across all of them was a rookie move, in my opinion. Psyching up the crowd might be good energy, but that doesn't make up for mistakes like that.

As for the second task, just the fact that they didn't learn their lesson after the first task - i.e. a lot of enthusiasm and slick production can't replace messaging - already made me want the guys to win, even with their messy teeth shot. I enjoyed the rest of that presentation - fun Carson and his shoes, Jon with his dog, the other guy with his text message - these are all things that regular people can relate to and that make them smile, and that's what the executives asked for. While a "knockout smile" is a good concept, I think the women maybe could have somehow related this back to the every day person somehow if they wanted to keep it. Maybe have various people cause "knockouts" as they smiled at people on the street - but then again, maybe a "knockout smile" is kind of an aggressive image to begin with and not what the executives had in mind. (That might be more appropriate to a "viral video" challenge maybe?) And I'm glad that Jon recognized Carson's idea for the good one that it was instead of insisting they go with his (Jon's) idea. Even if he is an ass - I don't know him personally, so can only go off what is said here - I can't help but like the guy for all of the enjoyment he's given me over the years through his wonderful characters (Ackting! Thank youh!).

*And this is where I, too, miss the longer episodes, because we did not see what went into choosing the strong use of yellow, for example on the women's team - which I am assuming is part of the branding.

[ClareWalks]

Oh my lord, does Tyra Banks ever annoy the shit out of me. She is AWFUL. The constant portmanteaus and made-up words and shit, Ty-overs and smizing and everything is FIERCE and just shut the fuck up already, woman. Haaaaate.

Arnold is very full of himself but his work ethic is truly spectacular and always has been. I guess they figure if Trump can be a businessman-turned-politician, Arnold can be a politician-turned-businessman. So far I like his nephew fine. I can't help but think Marcus Lemonis would be flawless as host, but he already has a few jobs.

[LoneHaranguer]

1 hour ago, AwesomO4000 said:

And this is where I, too, miss the longer episodes, because we did not see what went into choosing the strong use of yellow, for example on the women's team - which I am assuming is part of the branding.

I expect they'll be putting "extras" on their web site, but so far about all they've got is some lame intros from the contestants.

[BW Manilowe]

On January 3, 2017 at 10:01 AM, Boilergal said:

I refuse to watch this show, but will check in weekly to see all your great comments and thoughtful/snarky insights. 

What was the "firing" line he went with?

"You're terminated." Then he said something about heading for/going to the chopper to (I think) the first elimination, & he said something different after "You're terminated." the other time.

[Mumbles]

Quote

Oh my lord, does Tyra Banks ever annoy the shit out of me. She is AWFUL. The constant portmanteaus and made-up words and shit, Ty-overs and smizing and everything is FIERCE and just shut the fuck up already, woman. Haaaaate.

Oh she is the WORST. Like the time she commemorated Black History Month on her show....by recreating her SI swimsuit issue cover from way back when (she was first black cover model, so she's right up there with Rosa Parks.) Plus she claims to be a Harvard Business School graduate, when all she did was a few weeks of a non-competitive summer certificate program. Plus her show never did produce a top model. 

Arnold has some lovely and poised daughters in their 20s with Maria Shriver. I wish they would replace her.

[auntlada]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

Arnold is very full of himself but his work ethic is truly spectacular and always has been. I guess they figure if Trump can be a businessman-turned-politician, Arnold can be a politician-turned-businessman. So far I like his nephew fine. I can't help but think Marcus Lemonis would be flawless as host, but he already has a few jobs.

Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger has had several successful businesses, starting with a bricklaying business in 1968.

[ennui]

9 minutes ago, auntlada said:

Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger has had several successful businesses, starting with a bricklaying business in 1968.

I heard that, too. He made his first million with it, not acting or body building, as most might assume.

[backformore]

12 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Layla was on Chopped and maybe one other cooking celebrity show. And Carnie always plays for bariatric/weight loss surgery as her charity whenever she is on any celebrity competition.

Yeah, it was one of the celeb cooking shows where she was very histrionic and scattered that I saw.  I recall that one contestant was playing to a charity to provide lunches to kids in impoverished areas, and she was playing for a charity to provide weight-loss surgery to people who couldn't afford it.  The contrast between the two missions made me think about hunger and poverty - we have to provide food for people who don't have enough, but surgery for those who had too much.  ( yes, I'm over-simplifying).  I was glad she lost. 

[Maharincess]

1 hour ago, backformore said:

Yeah, it was one of the celeb cooking shows where she was very histrionic and scattered that I saw.  I recall that one contestant was playing to a charity to provide lunches to kids in impoverished areas, and she was playing for a charity to provide weight-loss surgery to people who couldn't afford it.  The contrast between the two missions made me think about hunger and poverty - we have to provide food for people who don't have enough, but surgery for those who had too much.  ( yes, I'm over-simplifying).  I was glad she lost. 

Yeah, I don't agree with a "charity" to help people do something they could do on their own with a little willpower.  Seems stupid to me.  

[DebbieM4]

5 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Oh my lord, does Tyra Banks ever annoy the shit out of me. She is AWFUL. The constant portmanteaus and made-up words and shit, Ty-overs and smizing and everything is FIERCE and just shut the fuck up already, woman. Haaaaate.

Arnold is very full of himself but his work ethic is truly spectacular and always has been. I guess they figure if Trump can be a businessman-turned-politician, Arnold can be a politician-turned-businessman. So far I like his nephew fine. I can't help but think Marcus Lemonis would be flawless as host, but he already has a few jobs.

I'm not a Tyra fan, and usually avoid her at all costs, so I haven't actually seen her in awhile.  But she was just as annoying as I remembered.  The whole "fierce" thing was overdone years ago, and seems very dated.  I hope this show isn't going to be too much about her.  That definitely would have the potential to be a dealbreaker for me.

I'm okay with Arnold.  I think it's hard to keep the same flavor that this show has had while also making it his own.  The silent angry glare when the women were babbling was great, and different than how Trump would have handled it.   I'll be looking for more of Arnold's own touches in the time ahead.

[Former Nun]

I'm sad over the apparently growing and recognized job category:  perennial reality show contestant.    Are there managers who specialize in this?  SURELY there are enough "celebrities" who would happily appear on these shows that we needn't see any more than twice.

[cooksdelight]

I'm hoping they weed out the repeaters early on.