The Mole (U.S. Season 5)

Infobox tvseason
season_name = The Mole (2008)


caption = The Mole 2008 logo
show_name = "The Mole"
dvd_release_date =
dvd_format =
country = USA
network = ABC
first_aired = June 2, 2008
last_aired = August 11, 2008
num_episodes = 10
prev_season =
prev_series =
next_season =
next_series =

The fifth season of the US version of "The Mole" began airing on ABC on June 2, 2008, after being pushed back a week by ABC. [ [http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/abc-bumps-the-mole-revival-debut-june-2-reveals-first-four-players-7053.php Reality TV World: "ABC bumps 'The Mole' revival debut to June 2, reveals first four players", by Christopher Rocchio, May 5, 2008] ] [cite news
url =http://abc.go.com/primetime/themole/index
title =The Mole: Premieres Monday, June 2
publisher =ABC.com
date = 2008-04-17
accessdate = 2008-05-02] Casting information was announced online.cite news
url =http://www.molecasting.com/
title =The Mole - Casting
publisher =The Mole
date = 2008-01-11
accessdate = 2008-01-11]

After the fourth season in 2004, ABC had declined to pick up "The Mole", and Stone Stanley Entertainment lost the rights to the show from Belgian company TTTI. However, in August 2007, Scott Stone of Stone & Co. Entertainment (the new name for Stone Stanley Entertainment after David Stanley left in 2004) re-secured the rights to the program, and with ABC in January 2008, announced the show's return to U.S. television.cite news
coauthors= Josef Adalian, Michael Schneider
url =http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978641.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2565
title = ABC bringing back 'The Mole'
publisher = Variety
date = 2008-01-07
accessdate = 2008-03-16]

how Details

The show returns to its original civilian format for the fifth season. [cite news
url =http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN3143310120080401
title =ABC's summer slate heavy with competition shows
publisher =Reuters
date = 2008-03-31
accessdate = 2008-04-08] Although the show states that the winner could win a maximum of $500,000 (compared to the $1,000,000 of the first two civilian seasons), the total offered in all of the missions exceeded $850,000, although the team only earned $420,000.

Jon Kelley was hired as the new host,cite news
url =http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983170.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
title =ABC digs up 'Mole' host
publisher =Variety
date = 2008-03-31
accessdate = 2008-03-31] and filming began the week of March 23, 2008 in Chile.cite news
url =http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2F72.14.205.104%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dcache%3A5GlFZY0X6F8J%3Adiario.elmercurio.com%2F2008%2F04%2F10%2Fespectaculos%2Ftelevision%2Fnoticias%2F0B02E387-0880-47C5-9F90-41E1C85AA3DF.htm%26hl%3Den%26strip%3D0&langpair=es%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8
title =Interview with Scott Stone in Chile. Some fans have actively expressed distaste and disappointment over this season of The Mole, often citing time slot, quality of missions, editing, Mole choice and ambiguity of hidden clues, among others to signify that previous season were more entertaining and engaging or both.(translated)
publisher =El Mercurio
date = 2008-04-10
accessdate = 2008-04-21]

Contestants

Over the Falls: The players were asked, by secret ballot, who they thought the Mole was based on first impressions. Marcie was chosen and it was revealed that she would have control over the upcoming game. While wearing a safety harness, the remaining players each rode a raft over Laja Falls and had to try to grab a bag hanging over the edge of the falls. Of the eleven bags, six had real money, while the other five had worthless paper. It was Marcie's task to secretly assign which six players would be jumping for real money. Each bag of real money grabbed added $10,000 to the pot. Of the six players who successfully grabbed a bag, only two had real money, so $20,000 was added to the pot. Marcie then had to choose four players to sleep outside, rather than in a cabin with the other eight. Nicole, who was chosen to sleep outside, complained about the decision, and decided to stay awake all night inside the cabin to avoid breaking the rules.

Robinson Crusoe: The players were taken to a beach and told the story of Alexander Selkirk, who was stranded in Chile in 1704, and inspired "Robinson Crusoe". The goal of this mission was to find five items that Selkirk had with him. Nicole, who was voted the "whiniest" player, divided the remaining players into three groups: six "scavengers" who searched the beach for as many of 45 hidden items as they could find, a group of three "appraisers" who decided which of the found items were correct, and two "timekeepers" who could give the others more time by refilling a giant hourglass with sand as it ran down; when it was empty, the mission ended. The appraisers were allowed three guesses at the five items, and were told after the first two guesses how many items were correct, but not which ones. For each correct item found, $5,000 was added to the pot. Three correct items were found for a total of $15,000. Nicole, as "whiniest", was then "stranded" on the beach while the remaining contestants went to their hotel. This caused her to be exempt from execution, as she could not take the quiz while she was "stranded".

Episode 2

Midas Rush: The teams were asked to split into teams of four "selfish" players and four "selfless" players. The players were given 50 minutes to carry as many of 200 five-pound gold-colored bricks as possible approxiamtely 2,800 feet up to the top of the 10,000 foot mountain they were brought to, provided only with backpacks. The mission was inspired by the Spanish conquistadors who historically forced the Incas to transport gold to Spanish ships for shipping back to Spain. Each brick transported added $250 to the pot. Each team had to arrive together at the same time to complete the mission. The team that arrived first would also receive an exemption.

The Selfish team (Victoria, Nicole, Clay and Kristen) took a light load of 23 bricks, hoping to finish faster. The Selfless team (Paul, Alex, Craig and Mark) took a fuller load of 38 bricks, with Mark explaining that they already knew they were the weaker team and would probably finish last. At the halfway point, Kelley waited along the path to tell the teams they also needed to carry a scale. The Selfish team arrived first and had a choice of scales. Without the benefit of lifting the scales, they chose the one that weighed ten pounds, leaving the twenty pound scale behind for the Selfless team. Mark had to leave four bricks behind to carry the scale, reducing the team to 34 bricks.

The Selfish team reached the top first, while the Selfless team arrived with only half a minute to go. The teams brought up 57 bricks for a total of $14,250 out of a possible $50,000. Kelley then announced that the Selfish players would have to unanimously decide which of them would get the exemption; if they could not decide, both the exemption and all of their money would be forfeited. The initial inclination was to vote Kristen, but Clay argued that he had not had an exemption, and the group relented after he agreed to return the favour to Kristen in the future. Craig was taken by ambulance to hospital after the mission when he experienced symptoms of altitude sickness and hypothermia. He returned to the team later with orders to rest.

Before the next mission began, Kelley added $750 to the pot to round up the awkward value from this mission.

Who Said That: During dinner, Kelley took the players' journals and wrote down seven of the comments written in them which referred to another player. He then returned the journals, and began reading the comments one at a time. The player who the comment referred to had to guess which player had written the comment without any signalling from the other players. Each correct answer was worth $2,000. Players were not told the correct author when they guessed incorrectly. Craig did not participate in this mission.

The team correctly guessed 4/7 questions, and earned a fifth question after Kelly offered the opportunity for the author of the final comment (Victoria) to identify himself or herself. However, the team lost one question because Nicole made signals by coughing and fluttering her eyelashes for the comment that she authored. Nicole also initially offered no guess at the author of her comment, saying only "I don't know" before Kelley asked her to guess. The team thus earned $8,000 out of a possible $14,000.

After dinner, Kelley took the team (without Craig) outside to a bonfire and asked if any player was willing to sacrifice their journal. He told the team to agree on one player. Several players offered their journals, believing the reward would be an exemption. Paul, Alex and Nicole played "rock, paper, scissors" and Alex won. He offered up his journal, but Kelley instead burned the remaining players' journals. Mark, who had been rigorous about writing every detail in his journal was visibly upset. Craig was later revealed to be able to keep his journal in compensation for not having details about the mission he missed.

Episode 5

Go Figure: The players were asked to split themselves into two groups of three "smart" players (Paul, Clay and Mark) and two "dumb" players (Craig and Nicole). Each team was given a set of clues leading to various locations around the city of Mendoza. Information found at the locations would be used by the players to compute several numbers. The teams had to return to the starting point and enter the numbers into a computer from memory, without writing them down. The three smart players had three numbers to remember, while the two dumb players (who were deemed dumb for having chosen the dumb team) had to remember five. If all of the answers were entered correctly, the team added $30,000 to the pot. The team had 70 minutes to complete the task.

Paul got the smart team lost but they managed to return in time to enter their numbers. One of the dumb team's numbers, however, was incorrect. One of the players was permitted 20 minutes to recalculate that number and reenter it. The team chose Nicole to go, but when she returned with another answer, the team knew it was incorrect, based on which digits were shown to be incorrect in the previous guess. However, Clay managed to deduce a pattern in the numbers, and determined the correct number. (Although it was not explicitly stated, the numbers were all numbers in the Fibonacci sequence.)

Ticket to Ride: The players were each asked which other player they trusted the most. They were then told that one of their friends or family members were in the city. The players were taken to the Los Incas Metro station to await their loved ones, and perform the mission.

One at a time, each player was given three minutes to go over the answers to thirty questions about their loved one with the player they chose as "most trusted". Kelley then asked that player five of the questions; if they could give the correct answers to at least three questions, their partner got to see and spend time with their loved one, and they added $10,000 to the pot. All five players succeeded, and the team added $50,000 to the pot.

Episode 8

Despite doing poorly overall in the ratings, The Mole averaged 3rd in most DVR views each week that it was on the air. [ [http://tvbythenumbers.com/?s=the+mole+dvr DVR+7 Time Shifted Audience] ] Furthermore, [http://abc.go.com/primetime/themole/index The Mole's official website] finished in the Top 10 of the most visited U.S. broadcast network TV show websites for the week ending August 16, 2008. [ [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/08/20/hitwise-top-visited-broadcast-network-and-tv-show-websites-we-816/4738 Hitwise Top Visited Broadcast Network and TV Show Websites W/E 8/16] ]

It remains unclear whether the show will be renewed for a 6th season, although ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson stated back in July that if ratings didn't improve (from Episode 6 onward), the show wouldn't be renewed. [ [http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/the_mole_3/2008_Jul_17_mcpherson ABC president: If The Mole 3’s ratings don’t improve, it won’t be renewed] ]

References

External links

* [http://abc.go.com/primetime/themole/index "The Mole" Page on ABC.com (Official)]