The contestants are split into two teams, one team of 8 men and another team of 8 women. The men name their team "Versacorp" while the women name their team "Protg Corporation." The two teams are then given their first challenge - sell lemonade on the streets of New York with a budget of 0. The team that makes the most profit wins. The losing team must go to the board room, where one of the team members would be fired. At the end of the day, the women make a profit of approximately 00 while the men only make about a 0 profit. As a reward for winning, the women visit Donald Trump in his penthouse suite, taking in the pleasures of true fortune. The men also go to meet Trump - in the boardroom, where David is the first contestant to be fired.
For the second task, the corporations have to design advertisements for the Marquis Jet Card. The women take Donny Deutsch's advice to "swing for the fences" by creating a sexy and edgy print and screen ads. The men, lagged down with Jason's commanding and overly aggressive leadership style and Sam's inability to focus on the job, choose a safer route, something that all ad agencies have seen before. Protg corporation pulls through with a win and are rewarded with a dinner in Boston. The men, however, are forced to face the Donald in the boardroom, where after heated discussion, Project Manager Jason is fired.
The challenge this week is a lesson in negotiation. The task is a scavenger hunt of sorts - the teams are given a list of items to buy from vendors from all over New York City. The candidates must negotiate a price that is lower than the actual retail price. The women of Protege use their sexuality to win the task, with an overall negotiation savings of 22% (as opposed to the men's 9%), and as a reward, are treated to dinner at the 21 Club. The men, however, are sent to the boardroom. There, Trump questions Sam's leadership skills, and admits that he has been given one two many second chances, and Sam is fired.
This weeks task is to manage a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Times Square. The object is to make more money in one night than the same night last year. The Men lose again, sending them to the boardroom, where Bowie is fired.
After a corporate restructuring, where Project Managers Nick and Kristi choose their own team, the new co-ed teams are given their fifth task: hold a flee market. Versacorp wins the task by making more money than Protege, and as a reward, the team is given a tour of Yankee Stadium. Back at the boardroom, Kristi is fired because of her poor decision making styles and leadership.
This week's task is to raise money for charity at a Sotheby's celebrity auction. A romance began between Nick and Amy. Versacorp won, Protg Corporation lost again. After a tough decision in the boardroom, Jessie was fired.
This week's task is renovating and leasing apartments in New York City. Protg Corporation finally won after leasing their apartment with a 27% rent increase, whereas Versacorp only gained 10% in the rent. Protg Corporation's reward was a trip to Donald Trump's mansion in Bedford for a picnic. After another tough decision in the boardroom, Tammy was fired because of her disloyalty.
This week's task is marketing a new product. Protg brought in more money for the win. Heidi, Troy, and Amy won a helicopter tour of New York City in Mr. Trump's private chopper. After a tough decision in the boardroom, Ereka was fired.
This week's task is to pick one artist from an array of controversial and strange painters, sculptors, and other kinds of artists, and then sell the art at a gallery. At the end of the night, Versacorp blows Protege out of the water, selling 8 pieces for ,600 to Protg Corporation's one piece for 9. As a reward for leading his team, Versacorp, to extreme success, Nick is awarded with 10 minutes alone with Mr. Trump, talking about the tricks of the trade. After a highly emotional board room, where Omarosa breaks down because of her "concussion," she becomes the 9th to be fired.
This weeks task is operating a rickshaw pedicab service. There are ethical battles and morale-boosting schemes. Versacorp sold 80, Protg earned a little over 0. Versacorp won a ride around Manhattan on a yacht name Calypso. After a tough decision in the boardroom, and some harsh words from Carolyn, Heidi was fired.
Nobody gets fired on this episode, in which Mr. Trump recaps the first 10 shows and explains his termination decisions. The episode also includes outtakes from past episodes.
This week's task is to lure gamblers to Trump's Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City by creating a new and unique game of chance for customers to play. At the end of the task, Versacorp takes in over 5,000; while Protg is able to earn over 3,000. As the winners, Protg gets to stay in The Trump Taj Mahal with 00 in gambling money, and also is allowed to stay in the best suite there. After a tough decision in the boardroom, Katrina is fired.
This week's task is to rent out a luxurious penthouse for one evening. The catch is it must be rented for at least ,000. Protg took in ,001, while Versacorp took in ,800 for the win. As a reward, Versacorp was flown to Trump's private country club in Florida, which is called Mar-a-lago, which is a world renown club. Amy's sister and Nick's father surprised them on the plane. After a tough decision in the boardroom, Troy was fired.
In the first individual task, the remaining four candidates participate in a series of round robin, one-on-one interviews with some of Trump's most trusted advisors, who give their feedback, which is somewhat surprising, to Trump. Trump decides to rely on the feedback of his advisors, firing first Nick and then Amy. The next day, Kwame and Bill are given their final tasks - running a golf tournament is Bill's challenge, and running a Jessica Simpson concert is Kwame's. Trump allows the two to pick a team to do their final tasks, made up of previously fired candidates on the show. The episode ends with trouble for both men; Jessica Simpson is nowhere to be found, and the golf course officials are giving Bill a hard time about storage facilities.
The final two tasks, running a Chrysler-Trump golf tournament (Bill's task) and running a Jessica Simpson concert (Kwame's task) continue, with more complications and problems for both Kwame and Bill. After a breif recap and some discussion about the last challenge, Trump says "You're Fired" to Kwame and "You're Hired" to Bill, live, at Studio 8-H at 30 Rockefeller Center (the site of Saturday Night Live). Bill then is forced to choose between overseeing the construction of a new Trump Hotel/Condo building in Chicago and running a golf course in California. Bill chooses to oversee the construction of the new building for an enormous, six-figure salary, a brand new Chrysler Crossfire, and the title of the first Apprentice.
This episode is the second hour of the first season finale. This is the episode synopsis for both hours:
The final two tasks, running a Chrysler-Trump golf tournament (Bill's task) and running a Jessica Simpson concert (Kwame's task) continue, with more complications and problems for both Kwame and Bill. After a breif recap and some discussion about the last challenge, Trump says "You're Fired" to Kwame and "You're Hired" to Bill, live, at Studio 8-H at 30 Rockefeller Center (the site of Saturday Night Live). Bill then is forced to choose between overseeing the construction of a new Trump Hotel/Condo building in Chicago and running a golf course in California. Bill chooses to oversee the construction of the new building for an enormous, six-figure salary, a brand new Chrysler Crossfire, and the title of the first Apprentice.