Hall of Shame Moment – Badda-Bing, Badda-Boom: Vincent Pastore Quits Celebrity Apprentice

With over a hundred entries on IMDb, Vincent Pastore has an extensive resume. However, he will always be identified for his role as charismatic teddy bear “Big Pussy Bonpensiero” on The Sopranos. Unfortunately, that great series ended last year… for most of us.

In the first four episodes, things were going well for the men’s team, Hydra. They won every challenge, even if Vinny’s efforts were often depicted as being more in the nature of comedic relief. Alas, in Episode 5, Vinny unraveled for pretty much the whole episode. It played out something along the lines of what follows below. I wish it were briefer, but these events were the focal point of a two-hour episode!

As the task began, teams discovered their two war rooms were side-by-side. At one point the men of Hydra were sure the women of Empresario had snuck up to their door to eavesdrop. This was an incorrect assumption, but the men decided to retaliate. Piers and Vinny decided to fake a fight so Vinny had an excuse to linger in the anteroom and eavesdrop on his own. The whole team chortled at the joke.

However, Vinny decided to take things a step farther. He chose to become “a rat,” by pretending to flip sides and ingratiate himself within Empresario. He intended to reveal their secrets to Hydra at a later point. After Empresario surprisingly took him in, Vinny became an integral part of their planning session, contributing more than we’d seen from him all season.

As Vinny returned to Hydra to collect his belongings, Piers requested that Vinny take on a task he’d already assumed, that of spying on the other team. No one voiced any objections, including Vinny. However, Piers is a teammate, not Vinny’s Godfather, and Vinny’s acceptance of the role must be placed directly on his own shoulders. This is probably the last convenient point where Vinny could have listened to his inside voice and put an end to the joke, because it wasn’t going to remain a mere joke much longer.

After a couple of hours of inspired planning, Vinny found himself in the hallway with Steven Baldwin of Hydra, and true to the role, he tossed Baldwin a note that revealed key points of Empresario’s plan. I question whether this information was really of much value to Hydra, but the point is moot in this discussion.

In the next scene, Vinny was riding with Marilu in a cab. Realizing he had made a big mistake (and carried it on far too long), he admitted to her that he came to Empresario as a rat, but has now truly switched sides. He glossed over what he’d done already, and somehow she didn’t pursue the matter.

But wait, this got even wilder. Piers and Baldwin decided to show Empresario that they knew their plans, and went to the ladies’ war room to impart several very thinly veiled hints to that effect. Empresario confronted Vinny, and without a script, he fumbled his rationalization badly. The women soon cast him out.

On his return to Hydra, Vinny got himself quite worked up, spouting phrases from movies like The Godfather, going on about getting whacked for being a rat. He seemed to believe he was due for serious retribution way beyond being fired. The men welcomed Vinny back, but he was very upset that Piers “made him” play the rat and then ratted him out. He said he knows what happens to rats (in the Mafia world).

It all boiled over later when the men were setting up their display. Instead of helping, Vinny was still stewing. The ensuing argument was real, and ugly. The ranting ended with Piers sending Vinny out of the room.

One bit of irony in all this was that earlier, Vinny made a point of saying that he’s Vincent Pastore, not Big Pussy. It played out like Vinny forgot he was an actor taking part in the celebrity version of a reality TV show. Of course he had the right to say “No” at any point, and he elected not to.

In the Boardroom, Vinny stood apart from both teams, as both had disowned him. Attempted explanations to Trump didn’t go well. Soon, Vinny said he no longer felt the environment was healthy for him and he asked to resign from the show.

Trump didn’t accept the resignation and instead polled Hydra to hear whom they felt should be fired. Two out of three named Piers instead of Vinny, so there was a chance Vinny might have survived this fiasco.

Trump asked him, if he were to fire Piers, would Vinny stay? The answer was, “Yes.” All the Trumps tried to convince Vinny that he quit too readily.

However, Vinny soon tendered his resignation again and this time, Trump accepted it. Vinny made a special effort in the Boardroom to establish the point that he was “resigning.” It doesn’t matter – he quit.

Vinny was wrong to quit. Here are three reasons why.

First, Vinny’s stated reason for resigning was that he felt he could no longer work with Piers. However, events were unfolding that would yield that exact result, as either he or Piers were sure to be fired. Additionally, the Trumps were trying to throw him lifelines.

Myself, I suspect Vinny was the one who was going to be fired anyway, but my opinion doesn’t matter. By taking the decision out of Trump’s hands, we’ll never know for sure.

Secondly, in a format variation for this season, cash donations are distributed to a charity associated with the leader of the winning team, with the winner of the final episode directing a sum of $250,000. Perhaps Vinny was a long-shot to win the big prize, but had he survived this episode, Vinny could possibility have led another winning team and garnered further prize money for a charity that is clearly very close to him.

Finally, on a personal level, Vinny should have considered the reputation he was building as a quitter. This was not the first time Vinny has quit on a reality TV show. Slated to be on this last season of Dancing With The Stars, he practiced for a week and bailed out when he felt it was too demanding.

Many, including several previous contestants, have called this the best episode of Apprentice ever. That’s fine, but when all is said and done, it still ended with Vinny throwing in the towel, and that is why he finds himself with a Reality TV Hall Of Shame Moment!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Apprentice articles:

Brian can be reached at uncle_bto@rogers.com. He’d like to hear your opinions and promises to respond to all serious email!

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