El topo

First let me say I've come to love "reality" television - that while it's over-the-top at times, the sense that a real human is behind the screen draws me into their story. I also love spy shows and mysteries. So I was pumped about this show, and the first several episodes had me hooked. There were so many characters sabotaging, the Australian views were incredible, and there was a fun energy in the cast. Above all, I wanted to see if my prediction about the mole was right, so I kept watching.

But, a small missing piece grew into a gaping disconnect when I realized that 6 or 7 episodes in, I knew NOTHING about these people. I saw no footage of them interacting during down times that weren't missions or quizzes to see their personalities come to life. Their confessionals were SOLELY about the mole and the missions, nothing else, so I knew nothing about their lives outside of the game. We didn't get to watch them interact off-script, and that started to feel empty.

"The Mole" needed Survivor-esque moments where a player catches two people forming an alliance, or finds them plotting. What about times where characters get to read letters or watch video from their family? Why are these people on this show? The "real" drama was just missing here, as was character building. By the end, I found I didn't care who won the money. And once it became more obvious who the mole was, the show dragged - it appeared the contestants felt that as well.

I hope they continue and build the concept, but if it continues as only a game show without any "real" people or vulnerability, I don't see this lasting beyond another season.

I don't think it's bad. I do think they fall into some of the same pitfalls that plague so many other reality shows.

The weird thing is that this version is very clearly based on the latest Belgian run (some games are almost literal copies) but they don't quite get why that version is superior.

* You barely see people interacting when not playing a game.

* The constant skipping to the interviews/contestant voice overs make it seem very scripted. They need to limit those. Let the action and interactions speak for itself.

* Notebooks! Bring back the notebooks!

* Diversity. What you have is a group of people from a fairly narrow age range (25-40) who all look like they could start a modelling career and whose hobby is cross fit. Diversity is more than a bunch of attractive millennials with a different skin color. The Belgian runs have people between 18 and 50+. It's their personalities and different experiences that bring so much more to the game.

* I do like the use of cell phones instead of the large screen they use in the Belgian version.

* I didn't like the "ending on a cliffhanger" of the episodes. Why does everything have to end on a cliffhanger? Just finish after the selection. It destroys the pacing of the episodes because the elimination should be the emotional high point of the episode. Not the lead in.

* More of a personal note but the Belgian presenter, Gilles de Coster, has a very dry, factual way of interacting with the contestants during the games. I think that works better than Alex Wagner's.

If you want to see how good it can be, try and find the current Belgian version (especially series 9 (Germany) ).

I really hope someone in charge of making this series is reading this. I get that you choose selfish people for this show to make it interesting and also throw the viewer off but this is no longer a fun watch. Genuine people getting screwed over by a majority of selfish individuals that don't even care about the money! This game should be about winning, sure but also empathy and TEAM effort and respect. All of these shows only showing us how ugly people get in order to win- doesn't even matter whether there's money on the line or not... please cast less of the corporate screw over type. It's unfair und really sad to watch people who don't care about anything win this show at all costs. It hast potential but this is just a sad representation of human "nature" bred by a capitalist society.

Let me start off by saying that the show has a great hook and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

My problem came around half way through when I realized that the mole didn't really have a role. The mole can't be eliminated, the mole can't win, and the mole doesn't have to sabotage because 1. They gain nothing from it and 2. Everyone else is already busy sabotaging to draw attention to themselves. There's no point keeping track of who might have sabotaged consistently because the motives are all wrong.

The most frustrating thing is that the mole literally CANNOT win or lose, NOTHING is at stake. Someone is just going to walk away with a bunch of money at the end.

Lastly, I wish they would show more of the conversations between the characters so that we as viewers can feel closer to them and develop favorites etc. Nothing is at stake for the viewers either, because we don't get to care about the characters.

No one saying "Who is...the Mole?"

It's okay. But missing some of the elements that made the first ones so great. A better host to amp the suspense. Where are their handy dandy little notebooks they were always writing in?! I remember them always writing notes in their little notebooks. Also the phones instead of a big screen is a bad choice. The huge screen was fun to see turn color.

Overall I am glad it is back. But don't ditch the things that made it so good the first time.

I really miss Anderson Cooper, though I get her has other things to do. But the host could really do a better job of saying things to build suspense, etc.