TVSquad

(S05E08) I was always terrible at math in school, which probably explains why I'm typing this right now. So this episode of The Mole, at least the first half, is rather tense for me. I like to follow along with the questions and the clues and try to figure out stuff myself in this game (as much as you can in an edited format), and all of the questions involving math problems in the first challenge confuse me. Still, I knew the answer to that one question was 455, and I couldn't understand why Clay was insisting it was a number it couldn't possibly be. Could he be screwing up the numbers on purpose because he's (insert dramatic music)...the Mole?

• At 8, ABC has a new High School Musical: Get in the Picture, followed by the premiere of Wanna Bet? and a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, followed by new episodes of Nashville Star and Dateline.
• Versus has more coverage of the Tour de France at 8.
• TCM has a new Under The Influence at 8, featuring Laurence Fishburne.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Saving Grace.
• There's a new Unwrapped on Food Network at 9, followed by a new How'd That Get On My Plate?
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new Middleman.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Another week, another petition to save a show.

Producers of ABC's spy reality series The Mole have created a web site to save the ratings-challenged show -- Save The Mole. Right now the site consists of an open letter to fans from Scott Stone and Clay Newbill, the producers of the show.

They say that while a lot of critics agree that the show is one of the smarter reality shows, it's not doing well in that all-important 18 to 49 demographic. Those specific ratings are stale, but there's still time to save the show. They want hardcore fans to get other friends to watch the show, post on the ABC message boards, and go to the Mole Facebook page. They also announce that FOX Reality Channel will have a marathon of the current season this Sunday at 11 AM.

The site is very low-tech. Just black text on a white background with a couple of images. It's rather 1997-ish, but I actually like it.

(S05E06 and S05E07)

Yup, that's right, there are two episodes of The Mole this week, thanks to last week's interruption by The Bachelorette. Of course, it turns out that the first episode is just one of those reality show "up to this point..." rehashes that we often get. These always bore me, especially since I've seen (and reviewed) every episode already. I'm sure there are a few new clues to who the Mole is in this recap, but I'll be damn if I could find them.

We did, however, get to see some unseen footage, including the very large Craig rolling over some of his fellow players on a bed and Nicole saying "All I have to do is be black and die," a quote from an earlier episode that I had forgotten about. We also get to see a new scene where Nicole and Alex admitted throwing that "Fruit of the Luge" challenge. But overall, it's not really a needed episode for fans.

So let's get to this week's new adventure...

• At 8, ABC has a new reunion episode of The Bachelor, then two new episodes of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, followed by new episodes of Nashville Star and Dateline.
• TCM has a new Under The Influence with Bill Murray, followed by A Night at the Opera.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• Also at 9: TNT has the season premiere of The Closer, then the season premiere of Saving Grace.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new Middleman.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• MTV has a new Legally Blonde at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The summer of 2000 started out to be a typical one for television: repeats, theatrical movies edited for television, repeats, shows that needed to be burned off because they were so bad, and repeats. It was a formula that hadn't really changed for the Big Three networks in several years. And, it was one that viewers had gotten used to as they mourned the last episode of their favorite series and waited with eagerness for the new season to begin in September.

Then, something happened. CBS decided to air a 'game show' about a group of strangers stranded on a tropical island. Survivor began at the end of May and continued into the end of August. Along the way it gained more and more fans and produced more and more publicity for both the show and the network. By the last episode, on August 23rd, Survivor had become a huge success as well as one of the highest rated original shows ever to air in the summer.

Little did CBS know that this summer replacement show would begin the Reality Revolution and change the landscape of network television forever more.

Gallery: Reality TV History: Game Operas

• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of The Bachelorette, followed by a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators, then a new, two hour Nashville Star.
• USA has the U.S. Olympic Trials at 8, then a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9, about cereal.
• There's a new World Poker Tour on GSN at 9.
• VH-1 has A Concert For Nelson Mandela at 9.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new episode of The Middleman.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10, followed by a new Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
• Food Network has a new Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives at 10.
• E! has a new The Soup Presents at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new Legally Blonde.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S05E04) "In my everyday life, the only place I hike to is Bloomingdale's." - Nicole

Wow, I think a lot of people lost their Mole pools tonight.

But before we get to that, let's talk about those journals. I think tonight showed that, if the rules allow it (though Nicole is always bending the rules), players on this reality show should make duplicate copies of what they write in their journals. Or tear out important pages and stuff them down your sock or something. To some players, the journals are more of a pain because there's too much info and they'd rather keep it in their head. To others, the journals are their lifelines in this game, and those players were probably very stunned tonight.

• At 8, ABC has a new episode of The Bachelorette, followed by a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, then a new Nashville Star.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 8.
• ABC Family has a new episode of The Middleman at 8.
• There's a new Good Eats on Food Network at 8.
• History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has the Harold Lloyd movie Movie Crazy.
• At 9, GSN has a new World Poker Tour.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• MTV has a new Legally Blonde at 10.
• VH-1 has a new I Love The Millennium at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S05E03) "There isn't a single person in Santiago my size." - overweight Craig, walking around in his underwear

So tonight I decided that instead of just looking at all of the players equally to see if they were the Mole, I would focus on the two players that I have narrowed it down to (I know, a little early, but you have to start looking early). So I paid attention to everything that Mark and Victoria said, did, ate, wore, and didn't do. And you know what? I'm as lost as I was in the opening scene of the first episode. OK, not that confused, because after tonight's third person was eliminated, I guess mathematically I have a better idea of who the Mole is or isn't. But I know that it's not easy to figure this out.

I also know that I don't want to see Craig walking around in his underwear ever again.

• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of The Bachelorette, then a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, followed by new episodes of Nashville Star and Dateline.
• ABC Family has the series premiere of The Middleman at 8 (repeated at 9).
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Lifetime has the movie The Memory Keeper's Daughter at 9.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 9:45, HBO has a First Look at the Get Smart movie.
• At 10, Showtime has the season premiere of Weeds, then the series debut of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S05E02) "I'll kill you in your sleep...I can do it and not leave any forensic evidence." - Nicole, to Paul

Uh...wow. That's one of the more provocative statements made in the history of The Mole. Of course, if this show was on CBS Nicole would have said, "...I can do it and not leave any forensic evidence and even the CSI: Miami team wouldn't be able to prove I did it." The funny thing is, Nicole wasn't totally out of line in saying it. Just when you think Nicole was the "evil" one on this reality show, another strong contender shows up: Paul. I don't know which one I'd rather talk to less, though Paul pulled ahead of Nicole tonight in many ways.

• At 8, ABC has a new, two-hour Bachelorette, then a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, followed by the two hour season premiere of Nashville Star.
• CBS has an episode of The Bill Engvall Show at 8.
• Food Network has a new Good Eats at 8, then new episodes of Heavyweights and Unwrapped.
• ABC Family has a new Greek at 8.
• Also at 8: History Channel has a new Modern Marvels.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• Hallmark has the movie Charlie & Me at 9.
• At 10, MTV has a new Legally Blonde.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It's only the first episode, but people seem to be avoiding ABC's new edition of The Mole like it was on The CW or something.

The first episode of the show this past Monday at 10pm got a 1.9 rating in the important 18 to 49 demographic. It came in third place in the time slot and lost a lot of the lead-in from The Bachelorette.

I don't understand why viewers don't make this one of the top reality shows on television. I mean, if you love reality television, why don't you watch this show? Is it the time slot? Is it the fact that you have to figure things out on the show yourself? I think this is actually one of the most interesting parts of the show, that it's actually a reality show that you can actually play along with. You don't get that with The Bachelorette or Survivor. It's actually a reality show mixed with a mystery/spy series. It's a TV mystery series, where viewers have to guess who the bad guy is, mixed with a reality competition series. And it has great music and great Amazing Race-like stunts and worldwide locales and is immensely entertaining. Why aren't more people, especially people who watch reality shows, watching The Mole?