The Mole returns!

[jadewarlock]

I really don't want them to make it easier because I figured out all four eventually, though I had doubts about all but Katherine. Still, had someone told me up front who the Mole was, I would have watched anyway to see the challenges and how the contestants did in determining the Mole's identity. This show has some classic challenges, like the Tiny Bubbles overnight challenge with Bribs.

I'm rewatching the first Celebrity Mole, and in the first two episodes, Frederique would consistently alternate between contributing and sabotaging, which was a good strategy at that point since there was really only one blatant instance of sabotage (under the waterfall) and she could have talked her way out of that had anyone confronted her. It did eventually become obvious. I think the two celebrity editions played on some Hollywood stereotypes: the male as the protagonist and the female as the sidekick (therefore having a woman be the protagonist went against expectations), and having the strong personality being the protagonist (Frederique was awfully quiet compared to the actors in her season; Angie less so, but that group was quite over-the-top).

My understanding is that the two men at the end of Season 1 (the winner and runner-up) figured out Katherine pretty quickly and formed an alliance to protect her identity by behaving mole-ish themselves. Does anyone know if they have a back-up Mole to take over if the original Mole were to become incapacitated or something? Anyway, other contestants protecting the identity of the Mole, whether they be right or wrong, adds to the confusion, which is one of the things I like about this show.

I'm like you - it only shows the dumbing down of the audiences a bit - though in this case I think it's the hidden clues - not the actual games. The reason I love this game is the fact they are eliminated based on their skills and wits - not popularity.

Neither men knew Katherine's identity until probably right at the end, though it was very close as far as who won. Heather had Bill down probably around what we saw as the fifth episode. She blew it telling the eventual winner is all.

Don't know though about a backup, but I would guess there's a backup mole player. My guess however, would be that the backup is in the cast that makes the game because if they brought in a new player, it might automatically be assumed that they're the mole.

Of course that might not be true, but who knows. The backup mole, however wouldn't know about it unless the other was incapacitated because then said person could use it to their advantage and weasel their way into the winners round because of it. That might not happen, but who knows?

You know - all the possibilites with that would make one's head spin.

Hopefully, however, that won't happen. This cast looks promising and I look forward to watching it.

[barefootdyke]

i have to admit, i've only seen one season ... the celebrity one with kathy griffin. my daughter is usually really good at figuring stuff like that out, but i think even she was floored by who was the mole on that one. we're looking forward to watching real people.

[LG.]

logistically it would damage the integrity of the game to have / use a back-up Mole. A backup Mole wouldn't be acting like the Mole until after the original Mole had left. So at that point, they would either need to start over (and tell all the players - um, Bob who just hurt himself was the Mole, but we'll be switching Moles now, so disregard everything so far). In which case, scrap that season and start over already. If not, if they just kept filming and suddenly told back-up Mole "you're the mole now, start acting Moley," while filming episode 4 or whatever, all of the observations the other players have made about the back-up / new Mole would be completely reversed, and inattention by players would be rewarded (which it shouldn't). That doesn't mean that they wouldn't ever do it. Starting over would be expensive and networks are cheap and not logical. Heck, they pulled Season 2 off the air for months, and then brought it back. Networks / production companies do strange things that don't necessarily benefit or promote the integrity of the shows. But I think it would really take the gameplay down a notch, and strategy and gameplay are much more important to the Mole than to most other reality tv show.

[SweetElvira]

logistically it would damage the integrity of the game to have / use a back-up Mole. A backup Mole wouldn't be acting like the Mole until after the original Mole had left. So at that point, they would either need to start over (and tell all the players - um, Bob who just hurt himself was the Mole, but we'll be switching Moles now, so disregard everything so far). In which case, scrap that season and start over already. If not, if they just kept filming and suddenly told back-up Mole "you're the mole now, start acting Moley," while filming episode 4 or whatever, all of the observations the other players have made about the back-up / new Mole would be completely reversed, and inattention by players would be rewarded (which it shouldn't). That doesn't mean that they wouldn't ever do it. Starting over would be expensive and networks are cheap and not logical. Heck, they pulled Season 2 off the air for months, and then brought it back. Networks / production companies do strange things that don't necessarily benefit or promote the integrity of the shows. But I think it would really take the gameplay down a notch, and strategy and gameplay are much more important to the Mole than to most other reality tv show.

I agree. But it adds a dimension to Season 2, because Bill's mother supposedly had health issues that made him consider withdrawing. Was that real, or was that a red herring? If it was real, they were taking a pretty big gamble in having him as The Mole. And that makes me think it was either a red herring or they had some way of handling a potential departure by The Mole. (I could speculate on ways to manage a home emergency leading to The Mole's withdrawal from the game, but it would be pure speculation and I don't see the point.)

[girlsmom]

I've never seen this show would someone mind giving me a quick Mole 101 update? The only thing I know about this show is that there is a mission that needs to be accomplished and there is a mole whose job it is to prevent it from happening.
THANKS! I'm addicted to the FORT, but have been totally turned off from my old addiction to a Fleiss production and have been told this could be a good fit for me.

[SweetElvira]

Hi, girlsmom! Sleuthing here will be different than sleuthing for The Bachelor. Part of me wants to say "just watch" because it sounds a lot more complicated than it is. But I'll go ahead and tell you a few things:

Yes, the players participate in tasks that offer money to be put in a collective pot that goes to the winner in the finale. Sometimes, a player will have an opportunity for an exemption. And The Mole tries to prevent money from going into the pot. With a potential $1 million prize, the winners of the first two seasons got around 55-66% of that, I think. (Could be wrong.)

The Mole cannot be too obvious about being The Mole, however, because her job is to keep her identity a secret from other players and the viewers. So she will do things to deflect attention, she'll win money for the pot, and she'll lay low. In the first Celebrity Mole, for example, the Mole began by alternately winning and losing money for the group. Then she became increasingly inept.

Game play is really important. One strategy for a non-Mole is to make others think he is The Mole. That deflects attention from the real Mole. And sometimes players who have figured out who The Mole is will form a coalition to protect her. Their dilemma is whether to succeed at tasks in order to add money or fail in order to look more Mole-ish than The Mole.

At the end of each episode, the players take a quiz to see how far they have come in identifying The Mole. The player with the worst score is "executed" (not given a rose, told to pack their knives and go, etc.). So eliminations are done pretty much on merit, though sometimes a player will snag an exemption.

There will also be clues for viewers that are not part of the game. I don't generally pay attention to them, but some people really get into that part of it.

And the host is deeply involved, unlike some other reality shows.

I'm sure others will have things to add. Three of the four Moles thus far have been women, by the way.

[girlsmom]

Hi, girlsmom! Sleuthing here will be different than sleuthing for The Bachelor. Part of me wants to say "just watch" because it sounds a lot more complicated than it is. But I'll go ahead and tell you a few things:

Yes, the players participate in tasks that offer money to be put in a collective pot that goes to the winner in the finale. Sometimes, a player will have an opportunity for an exemption. And The Mole tries to prevent money from going into the pot. With a potential $1 million prize, the winners of the first two seasons got around 55-66% of that, I think. (Could be wrong.)

The Mole cannot be too obvious about being The Mole, however, because her job is to keep her identity a secret from other players and the viewers. So she will do things to deflect attention, she'll win money for the pot, and she'll lay low. In the first Celebrity Mole, for example, the Mole began by alternately winning and losing money for the group. Then she became increasingly inept.

Game play is really important. One strategy for a non-Mole is to make others think he is The Mole. That deflects attention from the real Mole. And sometimes players who have figured out who The Mole is will form a coalition to protect her. Their dilemma is whether to succeed at tasks in order to add money or fail in order to look more Mole-ish than The Mole.

At the end of each episode, the players take a quiz to see how far they have come in identifying The Mole. The player with the worst score is "executed" (not given a rose, told to pack their knives and go, etc.). So eliminations are done pretty much on merit, though sometimes a player will snag an exemption.

There will also be clues for viewers that are not part of the game. I don't generally pay attention to them, but some people really get into that part of it.

And the host is deeply involved, unlike some other reality shows.

I'm sure others will have things to add. Three of the four Moles thus far have been women, by the way.

WOW! THANKS SweetElvira. Great description. So the potential million dollar pot is divided up how many ways in the end? Do the non-moles want the others to think they're the Mole so the others will score low and be eliminated? I know I'll to watch. Does the Mole get something for remaining non-detected? Is there a "type" that is usually chosen as the Mole? Such as intelligent, but perhaps less in your face? I can see that I'll have to watch a while.

Is there editing deception that is integral to the show as in the Bachelor?

I never thought of watching this show, but I'm thinking it'll be fun to watch and sleuth!

[SweetElvira]

WOW! THANKS SweetElvira. Great description. So the potential million dollar pot is divided up how many ways in the end?

There is one winner, because people are eliminated until there are only 3 left -- the Mole and two contestants. If the final two contestants have the same number of correct answers on the quiz, the one who finishes the quiz fastest wins.

Do the non-moles want the others to think they're the Mole so the others will score low and be eliminated?

Yes.

Does the Mole get something for remaining non-detected?

I think The Mole gets the equivalent of the second-place prize. I could be wrong, but I think that was $100K in the non-celebrity versions. I don't know if there's a bonus related to how much they keep out of the pot.

Is there a "type" that is usually chosen as the Mole? Such as intelligent, but perhaps less in your face? I can see that I'll have to watch a while.

There have been trends, but I don't know that they're necessary, if you know what I mean? Three of the four Moles have been women, two were quiet and two had strong personalities, and the two celebrities were models while the second non-celeb Mole was retired military. I don't remember what the first Mole did for a living. IMHO, anyone could be The Mole. But I think The Mole needs to be observant, so my own tendency is to read the bios and try to pick up who might be inclined to be that way. But the winner and runner up will also have to be observant.

Is there editing deception that is integral to the show as in the Bachelor?

There are clues given out to viewers so we can play along, and obviously the editors will have many more hours of film than they can include, but my general impression is that this game is played pretty straight compared to a lot of other reality shows, and the producers don't mess with it because it's already confusing. In that regard, it's quite different from The Bachelor. Which is good!

[girlsmom]

There is one winner, because people are eliminated until there are only 3 left -- the Mole and two contestants. If the final two contestants have the same number of correct answers on the quiz, the one who finishes the quiz fastest wins.



Yes.



I think The Mole gets the equivalent of the second-place prize. I could be wrong, but I think that was $100K in the non-celebrity versions. I don't know if there's a bonus related to how much they keep out of the pot.



There have been trends, but I don't know that they're necessary, if you know what I mean? Three of the four Moles have been women, two were quiet and two had strong personalities, and the two celebrities were models while the second non-celeb Mole was retired military. I don't remember what the first Mole did for a living. IMHO, anyone could be The Mole. But I think The Mole needs to be observant, so my own tendency is to read the bios and try to pick up who might be inclined to be that way. But the winner and runner up will also have to be observant.



There are clues given out to viewers so we can play along, and obviously the editors will have many more hours of film than they can include, but my general impression is that this game is played pretty straight compared to a lot of other reality shows, and the producers don't mess with it because it's already confusing. In that regard, it's quite different from The Bachelor. Which is good!

Thank you Sweet Elvira You have been extremely helpful. I can't wait for this season to start and I think it'll be fun to sleuth.

[chloerose2]

Love the Mole but I suck at figuring them out, except for the Celebrity Mole season.