Oh my God, they brought back the "celebrity" version of this wonderful game. I'm not happy about this. This was a wonderful game that got cheapened with a) the replacement of Anderson Copper with Ahmad Rashad, and b) the use of "celebrities" (and please notice the use of the quotes around the word) instead of average Joes (except that's another show). The "celebrities" this year seem a step down from last year. Sure they have the absolute lunacy of having back again this year Stephen Baldwin and Corbin Bernsen, and I really don't think I mind Mark Curry and maybe Angie Everhart, but Tracey Gold, Ananda Lewis, and Keshia Knight Pulliam? And then, the one person you'd never want to see on a show like this - Dennis Rodman. I don't like it.
The show starts with Corbin having to pickup the other contestants in The Celebrity Mole Taxi. The game ("El Taxi Loco") is to decipher a clue (in Spanish and English) and find each "celebrity" and bring them back to Ahmad within 75 minutes. Every celebrity picked-up is worth $5,000. If he shows up after the allotted time, he looses the money. Well, it's a pretty lame game, but the piece was, well, "cute". I mean, between Bernsen & Baldwin, there's no trust between anybody. The taxi itself is "cute" with all of it's stickers all over it, not to mention the chihuahua bobblehead do on the dash and two chickens (Carlos & Pepe) on the front seat (they were in a cage). Well, they come up two short as they decide to get $25,000 in the pot than to risk getting back late.
The players get their numbered journals (probably after lunch) and everybody starts writing. Corbin starts going nuts again as he realizes that there's one gold fish of the patio wall, so he thinks that the Mole must be Tracey Gold (after he goes up to the wall and smells the paint). Stephen, at the table, says "I'm not saying he ain't the Mole, I'm just sayin' he's insane". The second game is "Artifact Or Fiction". Two players are chosen as "salesmen" (Mark and Corbin). The each get a Mayan artifact that they have to "sell" as real to the rest of the players, though only one of the artifacts is indeed authentic. If players "buy" the true story, $10,000 will be added to the pot. If they believe the false story, not only will no money be added to the pot, but the liar will receive an Exemption. Corbin talks about his gourd that's used to make tequila, and Mark talks about his rock that's a fertility piece. Mark doesn't do a good job selling, but everyone believes him, especially after Angie says she saw the same thing in a store yesterday and the shopkeeper said it was a fertility piece. Ananda knows that Corbin's gourd is exactly how the Mayans made liquor. The group decides Corbin is the liar. Turns out. Mark is the liar, the group doesn't get any money, and Mark gets an Exemption. (Mark's rock was found in South Central!)
Back at the hotel, Stephen leaves his hotel room to go to Tracey's room to form a "coalition". In the middle of the discussion, Stephen hears Mark coming and has to abandon the discussion and fake out Mark that he was just messing around with the camera crew. Ahmad finds Keshia in the Makeup Room (first time we have ever seen an actual "makeup room" for this show. Looks like they commandeered a suite and Keshia is sitting under a chandelier.) Because she pulled Journal #2 earlier today, she is being offered a special secret game called "Moon Over Yucatan". She has to convince the other players to join her for a night-time swim after dinner, but she can't tell them it's a game. For each player in the water, $2,000 is added to the pot. If anyone goes skinny-dipping, she gets an Exemption. It was a typical Mole dinner. Keshia feigns an illness and sets Angie to take a walk with her. They each go down to the beach and get their feet wet (two feet in water = $2,000). They called Mark over and he did the same. Keshia tries to convince mark to skinny-dip, but Angie volunteers if Keshia will do it. They use a towel to go out into the water and strip, earning Keshia an Exemption and the pot gets another $6,000.
The group then has their Exemption Dinner, and Keshia tells her story to the group about the game. The pot is now at $31,000, and the group takes the Execution Quiz. The person Executed? Ananda. Hotel accommodations provided by Occidental Grand Flamenco Xcaret.
I'm not happy about the show, but I'll watch again. Hey, wait a minute... Ananda was in the opening credits playing a game that wasn't in tonight's show, throwing balls at other players...
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Damn. I mean, DAMN. This was a good show. I didn't want it to be, but it showed the strengths of this flavor of The Mole. The "celebrities" were extremely personable, unlike many of the "civilian" contestants have been. They all looked like they genuinely had a blast doing the show. Having only 7 players allowed the show to showcase each player's style of play. Since the reunion probably happened before the show started airing (or soon after), their reactions were broad and priceless. In typical Mole style, the final three contestants were behind three doors (reminds me way too much of a confessional) and each was revealed in their own way. First - the Winner - Kathy Griffin, who takes home $233,000. Then The Mole is revealed - Frederique Van Der Wal, leaving Erik von Detten as the runner-up. I really enjoyed this episode - maybe not the whole series, but this was a good Mole episode.
Update: The following weekend, ABC Family ran a Mole marathon (more than once) with Kathy Griffin as the host. She said, more than once, to look for future Celebrity Mole's, so the network must have been happy with the ratings.
Yech. Why am I still watching. I love the game, hate this implementation. Shame on you Stone Stanley Entertainment!
The first game is the traditional "Three Questions" game - except they're not in a quaint village somewhere in Europe, so they make do with paths through a Hawaiian jungle, with the person in hiding wearing a camouflage outfit to blend in with the vegetation. The only win $10,000 of $30,000 and there is a lock of animosity that we've always seen with this game. Odd. I think the players are starting to hate the whole experience and just want it to end. The second game is called "It Takes A Thief" and is a convoluted, Mole-ish scavenger hunt in a Hawaiian mansion (very nice place). The players wear jumpsuits, they have to have two people lay on a bed to activate a blacklight out in the darkness outside (a backyard? a front yard? can't tell where the hell they are) to read hints on items/articles in a fluorescent ink. The clues find things that have numbers that they have to key in as a digital combination to a safe that has to be opened with 30 minutes, which somehow they were able to accomplish - only to find another clue inside which has them diving into the outdoor swimming pool (another nice amenity at this house) to collect bags of money (one for each person). They get $75,000 but they needed some hints from Ahmad along the way that cost $1,000 each, so they only earn $72,000. The pot is now $233,000. The contestants take the final 20 Question quiz and the Runner Up, the Winner, and The Mole are revealed next week along with a reunion of the cast.
Oh joy.
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I'm chickening out - I'm bored with the show tonight, so I'm using the synopsis from Television Without Pity:
Tonight's first game involves the women surfing and the men hula dancing. Kathy fails to stand on a surfboard for five seconds, so they don't win any money. Erik has a chance to make up for her failure by standing on a surfboard for ten seconds, but he can't do it. Then all four of them get to compete for one final exemption that will guarantee a spot in the final round. First, they pair up to do math puzzles, and Kathy and Erik win. Then those two square off in a series of SAT-style logic puzzles, and Erik wins with a three-second faster time. Finally, Erik has to complete a game of concentration using a deck of cards in a mystery location before Kathy, Michael, or Frederique finds him. A security guard weirdly detains Frederique, and Erik gets the exemption. And then Michael gets executed.
The pot is still at $151,000 since no money was won in this episode.
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The first game is called Offshore Account. Corbin leads a the group in building a raft out of material dumped on the beach that will hold the entire team and get a flag out on a buoy within 30 minutes to claim $30,000 that is stashed there. Erik's only job is to make smoothies for the rest of the team. Ahmad offers Erik an exemption if he can get to the flag on the buoy first. the catch - he has to finish making the smoothies, and he has to rent a kayak from the cabana boy for $15 (which Erik doesn't have). Oh, and the money doesn't go into the pot either. Ahmad calls for the cabana boy and up pops - Stephen Baldwin! Erik must use a metal detector on the beach to find the $15 in change. Well, the raft making isn't turning out all that well, and falls apart as they test it. Erik finds enough change, rents the kayak, and gets out to the buoy to grab the flag and the exemption, stopping the $35,000 from making it into the pot. Ahmad calls Erik over to the rocks and offers to add $60,000 into the pot if Erik gives up the exemption. He gives it up. Erik finally tells the group what happened - and no one seems to care. During a meal outside the hotel (could have been a breakfast or lunch) Ahmad tells the group that he hopes they left some room for the next game and a woman walks out with a tray of six different hot peppers. The group goes inside. On a table is a plastic maze containing five mice. Ahmad explains that they each get to pick a mouse. The mouse will be released, and whichever door the mouse runs through will determine which pepper the player has to eat. Each pepper is worth $10,000. Ahmad will ask each player a pop-culture question. A correct answer means the player can either eat the pepper or pass it on to another player. An incorrect answer means the player has to eat the pepper for the money. Ahmad points out that each pepper is numbered from one to six. One means hot, and six means really, really, really hot. The game is called Hot Pepper Lookie-Lookie. The player must bite the pepper in the middle and chew, and when ready, the other players say "Lookie lookie!" and look at the chewed-up pepper before the player can swallow. Oh, and there's a big pitcher of cold milk - the perfect thing to combat the burn of the peppers. Each glass of milk will cost $1,000. Corbin goes first and blows his question, and his mouse (Stripe) picks pepper 6 - the hottest. Corbin eats it without a problem. Erik blows his question, his mouse (Grey Ghost) goes for Pepper 4, and eats his pepper. Corbin, for no reason, eats another pepper. Michael blows his question, the mouse (Daphne) picks pepper 5, and he gets through the pepper. Frederique answers correctly, her mouse (Zoro) picks pepper 3, and passes the pepper to Corbin who eats it. Kathy answers correctly, her mouse (Spooky) picks pepper 2, and passes it to Corbin - who eats the pepper and finally requests a glass of milk. The team wins $49,000 and the pot is now up to $151,000. At dinner, Ahmad asks the team to open their journals and tear out page 17. He collects them and reads them aloud to the group. Ahmad reads one of the pages: "I hate everybody. The game is driving me crazy. I can't stand Frederique. Every day she comes out and looks so pretty, and I just can't stand it. Michael thinks he's just the tops. Corbin? A bully." Everyone laughs because it's Kathy's - except it isn't: her page is blank and Ahmad is just making it up. Time for the quiz and execution. Ahmad enters the names into the laptop, and after four people come up green, they all look toward the only one left - as Corbin turns up red and is executed.
OK, too much horseplay with Stephen Baldwin and everyone else. The first game, "Take This Job", has three groups of two - Short Order Cooks (Kathy & Frederique - Walk across a bed of hot lava to retrieve cooking chicken); Flight Attendents (Stephen & Corbin - Ride in a biplane performing stunts while cleaning the plane's gauges); Lifeguards (Erik & Michael - Plunge off a 40-foot cliff into the crashing waves of the ocean to retrieve a rescue buoy). Everyone has to videotape a prediction on whether the other players will complete their tasks. For every correct prediction, $1,000 is added to the pot, for a potential $24,000. Michael didn't jump. The results of the predictions only produce $17,000 for the pot. The second game was "Six Feet Under". Let's see if we can follow this: Corbin and Michael don scuba gear and act out charades underwater at night. Frederique and Stephen are in a submarine (dubbed "Das Mole") watching, and relay their answers to Kathy and Erik who are in a graveyard, who must figure out the character that died in the movie or TV show that was the answer and dig up the correct coffin, and dig up Josh Hartnet for "Pearl Harbor", Harrison Ford for "What Lies Beneath", Kenny for "South Park", and Chow Yun Fat for "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". They don't get "American Beauty" as the last charade clue in the alotted time. The money is not in Chow Yun Fat's, or Kenny's coffin, so Ahmad offers $5,000 for the pot to end the game, or go on to look in the other coffins. The go for it. It's not in Harrison Ford's. Ahmad offers $10,000 to to quite now. Now, Erik accidentally opened the casket when it was dug up and he knows there's just bones in there. The whole group - minus Kathy who knows - agrees to go for it. Yes, it's just bones (the money is in the undug Kevin Spacey coffin) - the group gets no money. The pot - $67,000. At dinner, it's time for another game - the players are given 30 minutes to come up with a unanimous vote for who someone to get an exemption. If they do it, they get the $25,000 that was lost in "Six Feet Under". If they don't, they will lose $25,000 from the pot. Everyone - except Corbin - wants to vote for Erik. Corbin wants it himself. No one can agree. The pot goes down to $42,000. The quiz is taken, the cast is assembled and Stephen Baldwin is executed.
Damn it, they've gone and messed-up a GREAT (and one of my favorite) Reality TV Shows!!!!
ABC aired the first episode (of 6) of Celebrity Mole Hawaii. Crap. Good structure, bad implementation. Seven "celebrities" (and I use the term very loosely) in the competition with <shudder> Ahmad Rashad as the host (in place of Anderson Cooper, who is now firmly stationed at CNN, thank you very much. The "celebrities" are Stephen Baldwin (“Usual Suspects”, the only credit for something legitimate), Corbin Bernsen (“L.A. Law” and "Major League"), Michael Boatman (“Spin City” and ""Arli$$), Kim Coles ("In Living Color" and “Living Single”), supermodel Frederique Van Der Wal, Kathy Griffin (“Suddenly Susan”), and Erik von Detten (“Princess Diaries” and another ABC "hit" "Dinotopia"). Ewwww. ( Here's a great quote from Kathy Griffin: "I have gone from 'B-List' to 'D-List,'" she said in an interview. "I skipped 'C' altogether. I jumped right to 'D.'" )
Now, in case you haven't heard, there was a fire December 17th at the Hollywood Center Studios, where the show was being edited. Stone Stanley Entertainment (the production company) had issued a press release just yesterday saying they were able to make the premiere date today!!! (2500 tapes and hundreds of computer hard drives, as well as written logs were completely immersed in 3 feet of murky water used to douse the fire).
The show just doesn't feel right technically. The edits are poor, perhaps because there wasn't enough of recovered footage to make clean, flowing edits. The incidental music feels weird. Maybe they rushed the editing? On top of that, the press release doesn't say anything about the rest of the episodes - are they edited yet? Also, every single commercial break seems to lead with a tease for the next segment which I don't remember the show doing before.
So the first game was called "On The Line". While one player hangs from a zip line 50-feet over a waterfall, the other players must navigate them to buckets placed around the canyon walls. That player must then fill each with water, navigate back and empty its contents into a container counterbalanced with a moneybag that must be raised to win. Stephen Baldwin completes the task quickly. Frederique fails to beat his time, but Michael Boatman succeeds, adding $20,000 of $30,000 possible into the pot. The second game was called "Baa Baa Black Jack" Ahmad, wearing a white cowboy hat, stands behind a blackjack table and deals a hand for himself: a 3 and a queen, totaling 13. The object of the game are for three teams of two to corral 2 of 52 sheep (each marked as a playing card), beating Ahmad's hand. Only Erik von Detten and Frederique succeed in getting two sheep in the pen and win with 19. Because Stephen sat-out, he had a special game: catch "The Mole Sheep" (one wearing the Mole Logo) that is out with the other playing card sheep, and he will double the pot and earn himself an exemption. He does it successfully. Time for dinner and an execution, where we see the familiar Red Thumbprint come up for Kim Coles, and she leaves.
Accomodations Provided by The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii.
I just don't know if I can stomach the bastardization of the show. At least they've kept all of the game elements intact (even the fact that the players keep the money, unheard of in celebrity versions of shows).
]]>On another note, I stumbled onto a picture of a reunion of most of the cast! Apparently they were in Las Vegas at The Palms. It appears that they take pictures of groups at the different venues there and post them on a website. I found the picture under the Ghostbar Photo Gallery for Saturday August 10. It's the last picture in the third row (it's a piece of the whole picture with Elavia and Bob).
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Al is gone, and we're down to the final three. Poor Al, having to stay in the "Tiny Bubbles" room of Anderson's Fun House is just too much for a mere mortal. The pot is up to $536,000, and now it's just down to Heather, Dorothy and Bill, who I still believe is The Mole. We'll know in two weeks.
Danielle didn't use the Power of Veto to try and save Josh or Tonya from possible eviction. I've been watching the live feeds regularly and I can't tell who's leaving tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Tonya. However, there was a big argument between Marcellas, Amy, and Tonya, that was all resolved, but I believe may have shaded the feelings of anybody on the fence in voting and may throw Tonya out. Josh needs to go. Amy needs to go. Eventually, Gerry needs to go, too.
Update: I was watching the live feeds tonight. There was a time when Tonya told Josh her boyfriend's phone number so that he could call him if he gets out of the house. Well, the crew was asleep at the switch and they didn't cut to that infernal Front Of The House camera with the continuous loop of the the theme music. Tonya was told that her boyfriend was getting inundated with phone calls. I think this was a wakeup call that people really are watching the Internet feeds, so they have to start thinking about what they really want to say.