TVSquad

(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...

HBO has launched yet another quirky, viral marketing campaign - this time to promote the return of Rome on January 14th. From January 10th through the 13th, 100 Italian eateries in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago will be offering complimentary bottles of Rome wine, a cabernet sauvingnon bottled in California and labelled for maximum ad appeal. Rather than have servers push the wine on customers, a card will be placed on each table offering diners "a taste of Rome."

The brainchild behind the promo is Lime Public Relations & Promotions who feel that the campaign is "innovative but tasteful." Lime president Claudia Strauss reported to AdAge that, "The show is all about indulgence, and we just felt this was a great way to bring to life one of the key aspects of the story line." In keeping with the show's over-the-top sex and gore, participating restaurants will also allow diners to drink the blood of Christian martyrs, sodomize select servers and retire to a vomitorium following their meal.