'All-Star Celebrity Apprentice' Recap S6 E10: Marilu Henner Fired

Trace Adkins, Lil Jon and Marilu Henner on All-Star Celebrity Apprentice

By A.D. AMOROSI

For season six, episode ten of NBC’s All-Star Celebrity Apprentice titled “The Mayor of Stress Town,” the women face off: Team Power’s Marilu Henner vs. Plan B’s Lisa Rinna. Their task entails designing a Foxwoods Resort-themed suite at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, plus hosting a party there with guests Lisa Lampanelli, Teller (Penn Jillette’s partner) and John Rich, 2011’s Celebrity Apprentice winner. At the episode’s end, Marilu Henner was fired for her efforts.

The show starts with Rinna and Jillette relieved that their Plan B teammate Gary Busey is off the show. They loved him, but he was a distraction. Plan B doesn’t get time to ruminate over Busey as the executives from Foxwoods Resorts and its owners from the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation show up with Donald Trumps Sr. and Jr., and advisor/judge John Rich. They give Plan B and Team Power their task: create a signature party suite for the Foxwoods Resorts brand at Barclays Center that touches on the tradition of the Pequot tribe as well as the fun of its resort and casino. The winner of the task not only gets $50,000 from Trump, they’ll receive another $50,000 from Foxwoods and the Pequots. Marilu Henner steps into the Project Manager position, then Lisa Rinna does the same at Plan B.

First, Rinna and Henner must choose a theme from Foxwoods’ representative character list: king, queen, ace, jack and joker. Jillette jumps on the “joker” theme as he knows entertainers such as his magic partner Teller and one-time Celebrity Apprentice contestant Lisa Lampanelli. Henner is focused on the idea of royalty behind the “king” theme, regal ideals like the color purple and hanging mirrors that will stroke a player’s ego.

They draw cards, pick themes, and the game is on – with one problem. Team Power’s Trace Adkins and John Rich recognize that it would have been better strategy for Henner to negotiate harder to get the “joker” theme as humor and entertainment are Jillette’s strongest suits.

Native American flute player

Jillette proves that by hiring the renowned prankster of the culinary world, David Burke, as well as Lampanelli and Teller. The chef and the comedians are all connected to Foxwoods Resorts in that they work there or play there, so that’s a nice touch. Cooler still, Jillette hires a native Indian musician – a flautist – to play Plan B’s event and show respect to the Pequots.

Marilu Henner's chess match

Henner goes a much duller route with “royal” massage therapists, thrones, regal foods like caviar, and – without telling her teammates – a chess player to demonstrate a king’s intellectual nature. For someone so purportedly smart, this seems like a dumb, boring idea; not many people go on vacation to watch chess matches. She pushes Adkins and Lil Jon to do more, but what, she is not certain. Henner is unfocused during the task, nervously hyper even, something her teammates noticed last week. After Henner calls Trace Adkins “one inch above death” because of his mellow, curmudgeonly nature, he and Lil Jon start joking, which only makes Henner tense. “She’s turning into the mayor of stress town,” says Adkins with a smile. The angrier she gets, the goofier he gets, causing Henner to call Adkins “Gary Busey.”

Henner doesn’t get less stressed when advisor John Rich tells her she’s ignoring the obvious role of Lil Jon as the “King of Crunk.” Rich feels that Henner hasn’t bothered to get to know her team’s strengths. Adkins does try to get Dolly Parton (who can’t fly through the 15 inches of snow that occurs during the episode) to perform yet winds up with new country music sensation, Hunter Hayes who the crowd loves. Lil Jon gets himself a king’s robe, and suggests handmaidens pouring shots, but Henner is lukewarm to the idea. Instead she tells Jon to get a DJ set up and spin, an idea that dies when the snow thwarts the equipment’s delivery, leaving Jon to host the party with a chess match at its center and one actual kind-of royal,  The Real Housewives of New York's Countess LuAnn de Lesseps.

Back at Plan B’s suite, Burke prepares calamari to look like jester/joker hats, Teller does an “elegantly shocking” trick with swallowing needles, and Lampanelli does her insult-everyone routine. She makes fun of Trump’s hair and the deafness of one-time teammates Lou Ferrigno and Marlee Matlin. Jillette is honestly worried that her insult comedy might be too much for the Foxwoods executives.

He needn’t have worried. When they all return to the boardroom, execs and advisors state how much energy and innovation Plan B showed – far more than Team Power’s chess games – and Project Manager Lisa Rinna wins $100,000 for her charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Henner can’t solidly defend herself or show any reason why her teammates should be ousted, so Trump fires her for doing everything wrong. Checkmate! Henner leaves in a huff and Lil Jon and Adkins walk away laughing, “I think she’s mad at us,” says Adkins with a chuckle.

In next week’s episode, “May the Spoon Be With You,” Donald Trump fires two contestants within the first five minutes and Gary Busey returns as a guest. This is part one of the final task, with the second half airing on May 19.

To see all of our All Star Celebrity Apprentice coverage click here.

All-Star Celebrity Apprentice airs on Sundays 9/8c on NBC

Donald Trump and John Rich on NBCs All-Star Celebrity Apprentice

All Photos ©NBC

Posted on Monday, May 6, 2013