'Celebrity Apprentice' Makes 'Dancing With The Stars' Seem Like 'Oceans 13'
From the moment an all-celebrity version of Donald Trump's ongoing, competitive reality TV work-placement extravaganza The Apprentice was announced, the world eagerly awaited word on which A-list talent the Manhattan land baron would select to fill the seats in his Board Room of the Damned. After winnowing down a list of 125 celebrity applicants ("They were all begging to be on the show..."), 14 were chosen:
Why did Omarosa agree to come back?
"I did it for redemption," she told reporters.
Vincent Pastore (aka "Big Pussy" from "The Sopranos") was also instantly recognizable.
So was Stephen Baldwin, who explained his participation by noting he already had "done a bunch of reality ... I thought it would be fun to play the game."
Likewise Gene Simmons of Kiss, star of his own reality series and unabashed self-marketer.
[O]thers on hand did need a bit of introduction. [...]
Like Nely Galan, former entertainment president of the Telemundo network and executive producer (and "life coach") of "The Swan," an extreme makeover program that aired on Fox a few years back.
Or the vaguely familiar-looking woman introduced as Marilu Henner, best-known from the sitcom "Taxi" a quarter-century ago. [...]
Actress-model Carol Alt acknowledged some initial nervousness.
Other cast members include country music star Trace Adkins, Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Nadia Comaneci, Playboy Playmate of the Year Tiffany Fallon, Olympic softball gold medalist Jennie Finch, heavyweight boxing champ Lennox Lewis, "America's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan and Ultimate Fighting Champion Tito Ortiz.
It remains to be seen how the teams will be divvied up, but we have no doubt producer Mark Burnett and Ben "Perfect Storm" Silverman have more than a few tricks up their sleeves, possibly pitting Peak Corp.'s "celebrities who peaked in the 70s-early 80s" against Pinnacle Enterprises' "celebrities you have never seen nor heard of." We'll go out on a limb and call Simmons's early ouster for his tendency to skip challenges to put the moves on fake receptionist Robin, and advise competitors to keep their eyes trained on Nely Galan, who would clearly stop at nothing to get what she wants, having previously orchestrated the butchering of dozens of vulnerable, middle-aged American women on two seasons of plastic surgery snuff-porn classic The Swan.