A WISEGUY IN THE BOARDROOM ON THIS WEEK'S "APPRENTICE"

HOME DEPOT BUILDS BOARDROOM FIREWORKS ON NBC'S "THE APPRENTICE" (MARCH 24, 8:30-9:30PM ET

NBC's "The Office" Premieres at 9:30pm ET, Following "The Apprentice"

NEW YORK -- March 21, 2005 -- There's a wiseguy in the boardroom on NBC's " The Apprentice" (March 24, 8:30-9:30pm ET) and Trump's cobra strike comes in the midst of a heated discussion. This episode also includes a humorous exchange between Chris, who constantly chews tobacco during the tasks, and Trump who neither drinks nor smokes. Trump grills Chris about his habit, "Do you use a spittoon? Do you swallow it? What do you do when its finished and all that horrible flavor is gone?"

This week's task features the fastest growing retailer in the U.S., Home Depot. "I love to build things for a living," says Trump. "So for your next task, you are going to work for a company that makes lots of money from folks like me, builders...Home Depot."

Trump sends the remaining nine candidates to Home Depot where they create and operate a do-it-yourself clinic. The clinics are judged on three criteria: product involvement, customer involvement and originality.

During the task, a new underdog emerges among the candidates and immediately gains the respect of everyone in the competition. Another candidate struggles with the hands-on nature of the task and annoys the other team members. Carolyn & George are in rare form in the boardroom feeding off of Trump's testiness but offering their usual insights.

Remaining Candidates:
"NET WORTH": Stephanie, Erin, Chris, Angie
"MAGNA": Kendra, Alex, Tana, Bren, Craig

Week 9 Exemption: Kendra

"We are excited that the challenge involves the two teams designing and executing an in-store clinic," said John Costello, executive vice president of Merchandising and Marketing, The Home Depot. "We are all about empowering customers to improve their homes and that's inherent in our message - "You Can Do it. We Can Help. Mark Burnett really understands how to use real-life situations to accentuate our unique brand differentiation."

About Home Depot

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2004 sales of $73.1 billion. The company employs approximately 325,000 associates and has 1,895 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, nine Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company recently announced the creation of a business development operation for retail expansion into China. The Home Depot has been recognized by Fortune as the #1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer for 2005. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:HD) and is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

"The Apprentice" is produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett, Donald Trump and Jay Bienstock are executive producers. Conrad Riggs and Kevin Harris are co-executive producers.