The Mole

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For the South Park character, see Mole (South Park)
For the hip hop artist, see The Mole (emcee/producer)
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The Mole is viewed as one of the more complex and intelligent reality television game shows. Mensa hailed it as "the smartest show on television". The show was originally created in 1999 by Woestijnvis and broadcast on VRT in Flanders, Belgium, and won the Golden Rose of Montreux in 2000. It was invented by Michiel Devlieger, Bart de Pauw, Tom Lenaerts and others. The format was later licensed in 40 countries.

Players in The Mole must work together to complete various physical and mental challenges to build up a significant cash prize for the winner. One of them, however, is "the mole," a double agent hired by the producers to sabotage the efforts of the group. The mole must be careful to avoid drawing suspicion. Using journals, players must track vast amounts of minutiae about the person(s) they suspect of being the mole, such as seating positions, clothing colors, minor discussion topics, and so on. The quiz at the end of each episode tests players' knowledge of the mole, and determines by lowest score (or slowest time, in the event of a tie) who is eliminated from the game.

Contents

[edit] Strategy

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

While success in the challenges is important in order to build up potential winnings, it is also critical to stay in the game by scoring better than opponents on the quiz, usually by attempting to draw their suspicions of the mole's identity toward oneself. Since the mole must use subterfuge to misdirect attention from his/her attempts to derail the team, disingenuous attempts to emulate the mole must be subtle, while still noticeable and suspicious. Players sometimes sabotage themselves so much that the mole rarely has to tilt the table.

There were also a number of obscure and subtle clues planted by the producers. For example, in one challenge on the second US series, host Anderson Cooper was eating an apple. The apple was the official fruit of Washington, Bill (The Mole)'s home state. Rumour has it that not even Bill himself spotted this clue until it was revealed to him. Another example was in the Celebrity Mole, where the number on the side of an airplane contained the moles initials, as well as their birth date. Also, a couple of episodes featured words quickly displayed in the title sequence which were impossible to view unless hugely slowed down. Similarly, in the UK version, the first word that the presenter said in each program were linked together at the end, giving the identity of the mole. Some players in later series chose to look for these clues, most often in vain. (Allegedly, this ruined the chances of Corbin Bernsen in Celebrity Mole Hawaii, as he was too distracted by searching for clues that he didn't focus enough attention on the game.) These clues were generally intended for the viewers to catch, rather than the players themselves, although often their cryptic meaning remains hidden to everyone until revealed at the end of the show.

[edit] Challenges

Like other reality shows, The Mole featured challenges in which the players received money that was added to a group pot only one would win. But unlike the other challenges in other reality shows, The Mole's challenges offered ways to disrupt the game, and ways of hiding it. Here are some examples of The Mole challenges over the series.

  • Hostage Rescue- The producers would abduct a player at night, then hold them hostage. The remaining players must free the hostage in a certain amount of time. The hostage's whereabouts were generally unknown, and they were usually located in another city a few minutes away in a castle or prison. The remaining players would have been split up and each group would have a key to unlock the door to get to the hostage.
  • Plane Jump- As it sounds, each player must jump from an airplane to win the money.
  • The Library Game- Players must find books that hold tickets to get onto a slow moving horse drawn carriage that is moving through town. Each player must find a ticket and get on the carriage before it stops off at its final location, the library.
  • Ethics Test- The players would be confronted during a rest stop to help an old lady with a chore. If they helped the old lady, they would get money. Then, two attractive women would ask for the same favor a little later. If they helped both the old lady and the younger women, they would gain money. Conversely, if they only helped the attractive women, they would lose money. If they helped neither, no money would be lost or gained.
  • GPS Game- the players are given a location to go to find a Global Positioning System unit, then they must find the location the GPS is pointed to. Once they get there, they have two options: add money to the pot, or find out about the mole.
  • Riddle Challenge- the players are split into two groups and taken on a tour, the first group would be led to a room, where they must answer a series of riddles to earn money. They would then be led to another room, and locked inside while the other team tries to solve the same riddles, the only difference being that for each riddle the second team answers, money is removed from the pot. The first team must choose a team member to try and stop the other team from solving the riddles.
  • Language Barrier Challenge- A Common theme in the Mole, since players are taken overseas frequently. They are deposited in a town where they do not speak the language, and must find a way to communicate with the locals to gather information needed for the challenge. For example, in one challenge, they are given two watches. One of the watches is priceless, while the other is a worthless fake. They must choose a watch to destroy by taking them to local watchmakers to get them appraised. After a set period of time, they must return to the firing range, where a marksman will fire a bullet through one of the watches. If the replica is destroyed, they win money, but if the real watch is destroyed, they must pay for it with money from the pot.
  • Three Questions- practically required to be used in the finale episode before the reunion because only three people are left, the exact number of people required for this challenge. Before the challenge begins, players fill out identical surveys where each question has two different answers in which one has to be circled based on personal opinion. Later, the host leads one person to hide somewhere and the other two have to find them based on the answers of three random questions from the survey. Because no routes overlap each other, each of the three questions have to be answered correctly in order to win money. This repeats with the other participants. This was considered to be one of the most notorious games on the show.

[edit] The Mole in different countries

[edit] Belgium

Three series, all hosted by Michiel Devlieger. The show was extremely popular with the Belgian audience. The original plans were to only make 2 series, in order to avoid milking and stretching out the format too much. In 2003 the producers caved in under huge popular demand and made one final series, which once again had very high ratings.

  • 1999 in France. Mole: Magda. Winner: Hugo. Losing finalist: Mon.
  • 2000 in Spain. Mole: Hugo (not Hugo, the winner of the previous serie). Winner: Marianne. Losing finalist: Niki.
  • 2003 in Italy. Mole: Marc. Winner: Stijn. Losing finalists: Sandra and Inge.

[edit] Australia

The Australian version of the program -- hosted by former Blue Heelers star Grant Bowler -- began in 2000 and has since been followed by four more seasons.

The producers offered to tell Bowler who the mole was, but he declined the invitation, believing that he could better host the show and play around with the contestants if he didn't know. Some reports, however, claimed that he was told the identity of the mole in the fourth season.

Like the British version, the first Australian season included a 'special episode' which revealed all the clues as to the identity of the mole and how close each player had been to finding them. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly popular with audiences and so, in subsequent seasons, it was replaced by a five-minute segment at the end of the final episode in which all of the clues were briefly revealed.

In the second season it was decided to alter the beginning of the season by bringing in a large number of contestants with an early challenge deciding which 10 of them got to continue playing. This elimination process was not continued in later seasons.

The program's fourth season, in 2003, was set on the Pacific island nation of New Caledonia and entitled The Mole: in Paradise. In an attempt to steer any suspicion from her the mole, Petrina, was eliminated in one episode but returned on the next episode after accepting an offer from the host to buy her way back into the game. While this worked for a short time it was not as successful as had been hoped with some of the other contestants even more convinced that she was the mole.

Poor ratings resulted in there being no 2004 season but in July 2005 The Mole returned to Australian TV for its fifth season, subtitled as The Amazing Game. Tom Williams (winner of the Australian edition of Dancing with the Stars) was chosen to take over as host from Bowler, as he was not available for the project due to family commitments. This was met with mixed reaction from fans. This season also introduced a new concept to the show - live eliminations. The contestants spent the weekend in New Zealand working on various challenges, and then their actions were broadcast on TV the following Thursday night, with a live elimination following directly after.


Season Results

  • 2000 (in Tasmania) Mole: Alan. Winner: Jan. Losing finalist: Abby.
  • 2001 (in Victoria) Mole: Michael. Winner: Brooke. Losing finalist: Hal.
  • 2002 (in Queensland) Mole: Alaina. Winner: Crystal-Rose. Losing finalist: Marc.
  • 2003 (in New Caledonia) Mole: Petrina. Winner: Shaun. Losing finalist: Nathan.
  • 2005 (in New Zealand) Mole: John. Winner: Liz. Losing finalist: Craig.

According to TV Week magazine, the sixth season of the hit reality show is to become an all-stars version, bringing back some of the viewers' favourite contestants. As of 1 August 2006 the program is yet to be scheduled.

[edit] Italy

In Italy The Mole was called "La Talpa" hosted by Paola Perego. The Italian version isn't recorded: it's broadcasted live; the contestants are celebrities and not ordinary people. The announced third series will see a cast composed both by celebrites and ordinary people.

  • 2004 series 1 (in Yucatan). Mole: Marco Predolin (tv presenter). Winner: Angela Melillo (showgirl). Losing finalist: Karim Capuano (model).
  • 2005 series 2 (in Kenya). Mole: Paolo Vallesi (singer). Winner: Gianni Sperti (dancer/coreographer). Losing finalist: Roberto Ciufoli (actor).

[edit] The Netherlands

In The Netherlands the show is called Wie is ... de mol Until now, six seasons are broadcasted. The first five were hosted by Angela Groothuizen. The sixth season was hosted by Karel van de Graaf after Angela Groothuizen was fired because of her age. A seventh season is announced, again with Karel as the host.

  • 2000 in Australia. Mole: Deborah. Winner: Petra. Losing finalist: Robin.
  • 2001 in Scotland. Mole: Nico. Winner: Sigrid. Losing finalist: Yvonne.
  • 2002 in Portugal. Mole: George. Winner: John. Losing finalist: Jantien.
  • 2003 in Canada. Mole: Elise. Winner: Ron. Losing finalist: Chandrika.
  • 2005 in Australia and Bali, with famous Dutchmen. Mole: Yvon Jaspers. Winner: Marc-Marie Huijbregts. Losing finalist: Lottie Hellingman.
  • 2006 in Argentina, with famous Dutchmen. Mole: Milouska Meulens. Winner Frédérique Huydts. Losing finalist: Roderick Veelo. Frédérique died of cancer while the show was being aired. Before her death she had requested that the show should go on.

[edit] Poland

In Poland The Mole was called "Agent". All the three season was hosted by Marcin Meller.

  • 2000–2001 (in France): Mole: Agnieszka Królak. Winner: Liwia Kwiecień.
  • 2001–2002 (in Spain): Mole: Mirosław Pasek. Winner: Bartosz Arłukowicz.
  • 2002 (in Portugal): Mole: Mirosław Grześkowiak. Winner: Małgorzata Goździkowska.

[edit] Sweden

In Sweden, The Mole was named "Mullvaden" and hosted by Pontus Gårdinger

  • 2000 Spring (France), Mole: Christian Rosengren, Winner: Hans Buxfeldt, Losing finalist: Thomas Mätzsch
  • 2000 Autumn (Spain), Mole: Joakim Antelius, Winner: Wilhelm Lundborg, Losing finalist: Susanne Grundström
  • 2001 Autumn (Canada), Mole: Christine Borkman, Winner: Lena Winterros, Losing finalist: Fabian Vreede

[edit] United Kingdom

The show had two series in the United Kingdom, hosted by Glenn Hugill on Channel 5 (now known as five). Despite its cult following, a third series was not commissioned. Both series had a special episode at the end detailing the various clues about The Mole's identity, and general details on the production of the show.

  • 2000 in Jersey (transmitted January–March 2001). Mole: David Buxton. Winner: Zi Khan. Losing finalist: Jennifer Waller.
  • 2001 in Canada (transmitted October–December 2001). Mole: Tanya Buck. Winner: Chris Lintern. Losing finalist: Paul Tregear.

[edit] United States

Anderson Cooper, a former correspondent for ABC News (now the host of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°), hosted the first two seasons of the show in the U.S.. The premier season of The Mole debuted in January 2001 on Tuesdays. The second season, Mole 2: The Next Betrayal, debuted in September 2001 on Fridays, but was put on hiatus after only three episodes following disappointing ratings in the wake of 9/11, and the poor Friday time slot. In June 2002, the second season returned, restarting from the beginning, running as a summer replacement series on Tuesdays.

In early 2003, Celebrity Mole Hawaii, hosted by Ahmad Rashad, debut on Wednesdays with fewer contestants and a smaller potential pot. In January 2004, Celebrity Mole Yucatan again featured Ahmad Rashad hosting the show as a mid-season replacement. Popular contestants Corbin Bernsen and Stephen Baldwin returned for a second time. Following the fourth season, ABC did not renew the show, and no other network has picked up The Mole. DVD releases of the first and third season were released.

Following the competitions of their respective seasons on ABC, both Celebrity Mole Hawaii and Celebrity Mole Yucatan were rerun in their entirety as marathons on ABC Family. Both featured additional interviews and commentary from the contestants. GSN acquired the rights to the program in early 2004. Celebrity Mole Hawaii and then the first season of The Mole were shown in their entirety at varying timeslots GSN. However, the series was pulled and the remaining seasons were not aired due to low ratings and changes at the network.

The ten participants and their fates: 1. Manuel Herrera (9th place-Week #1), 2. Afi Ekulona (8th place-Week #2), 3. Wendi Wendt (7th place-Week #3), 4. Henry Wentz (6th place-Week #4), 5. Jennifer Biondi (5th place-Week #5), 6. Kate Pahls (4th place-Week #6), 7. Charlie McGowan (3th place-Week #7), 8. Jim Morrison (2nd place-Week #8), 9. Steven Cowles (1st place-Winner-Week #9), 10. Kathryn Price (The Mole-Week #9).
The fourteen participants and their fates: 1. Bob Paulhus (1st Executed); 2. Ali Gorman (2nd Executed); 3. Lisa Noller (3rd Executed); 4. Patrick Guilfoyle (4th Executed); 5. Rob Nelson (5th Executed); 6. Myra Brown (6th Executed); 7. Elavia Bello (Bribed/7th Eliminated); 8. Katie Mills (7th Executed); 9. Darwin Conner (8th Executed); 10. Michael Bribiesca (9th Executed) (as Bribs); 11. Al Spielman (10th Executed); 12. Heather Campbell (11th Executed); 13. Dorothy Hui (Winner); 14. Bill McDaniel (The Mole).
The seven participants and their fates: 1. Actress Kim Coles (1st Executed) 2. Actor Stephen Baldwin (2nd Executed), 3. Actor Corbin Bernsen (3rd Executed), 4. Actor Michael Boatman (4th Executed), 5. Actor Erik von Detten (5th Executed), 6. Comedienne Kathy Griffin (Winner), 7. Model Frederique van der Wal (The Mole)
Celebrity Mole Hawaii contestants Stephen Baldwin and Corbin Bernsen both returned for a second season of the reality show's celebrity editions, set in the Yucatan in Mexico.
The eight participants and their fates: 1. Television host Ananda Lewis (1st Executed), 2. Returning contestant and actor Corbin Bernsen (2nd Executed), 3. Returning contestant and actor Stephen Baldwin (3rd Executed), 4. Actress Keshia Knight Pulliam (4th Executed), 5. Actress Tracey Gold (5th Executed), 6. Comedian Mark Curry (6th Executed), 7. Former basketball player Dennis Rodman (Winner), 8. Model Angie Everhart (The Mole)

[edit] Catalonia

In Catalonia, the programme was called El talp. The season was recorded in September, 2003 and watched the following autumn by TV3, the television of Catalonia. Pol Izquierdo was the showman. Players could win a maximum quantity of €90.000, but they could get 44.500 of them only, which Núria won. Ferran lost at the final chapter, and Gemma was El talp (The Mole).

[edit] Other countries

The Mole series have also been made in other countries such as Germany, Austria, Norway, Israel, Spain, Portugal ("O Sabotador") and New Zealand.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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