The Mole/Celebrity Mole
Host: Anderson Cooper, Ahmad Rashad
Lifespan: ABC, 2001
PREMISE: A group of strangers play games to add money to a group pot, which only one player will win, and can reach $1,000,000. Whoever stays in the game to the end wins the pot.
PLAY: The group is issued a task worth a certain amount of money. Players must complete the task to win. Players are always on the lookout for the Mole, a double agent hired by ABC to infiltrate the group, cause them to lose the games, and create havoc.
Examples of games:
Have everyone jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet for $75,000
Enter a bullfighting ring and have the bull pass twice for $50,000, get the bull's rump to touch the ground for an additional $5,000
Play hands of blackjack to try and turn $20,000 taken from the pot into $40,000, or lose the $20,000.
Have the players catch a local trolley, the tickets are located in various books in a city library.
Keep a tetherball moving for several hours, in addition, have each player hit the ball in turn.
EXEMPTION: At certain points during the run, players are offered an exemption. This gives that player a free pass to the next round, and he or she does not have to take the quiz at the end of the episode. Sometimes, the exemption is awarded for completing a task well (convincing the remaining players to complete a difficult or dangerous task), at a cost of money to the pot (taking an exemption instead of swinging from a high bridge for up to $40,000).
THE QUIZ: The players must take a quiz on the Mole's identity every three days. Questions can be like "Is the Mole male or female?", "What did the Mole have for breakfast today?", "What did the Mole do during the High Roller game?". There are 20 questions (10 in Mole 2). After the scores are tallied, the players are sat down, and Anderson begins entering names into his laptop computer. If the thumbprint turns green, that player is safe. If the thumbprint turns red, that player is executed, and must leave the game immediately.
Eventually, only three players are left. One is the Loser, one is the Mole, and the last is the Winner, who gets the entire pot, which was $510,000 for series one, $636,000 in series two.
SERIES GAMES AND EXECUTIONS:
SERIES ONE:
EPISODE ONE:
Freefall: If all ten groupmates skydive from a plane at 10,000 feet, the group wins $75,000.
RESULT: Completed for $75,000
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $75,000
ATM Challenge: The group is shown 10 monitors with numerical information, and two players must use that information to solve an equation whose answer is the PIN number for a bankcard. Two players must then get to the ATM machine and withdraw 500 French francs to win $50,000.
RESULT: Completed for $50,000
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $125,000
FINE! Two players discussed the answers on the monitors when they shouldn't have and lost money.
FINE: -$10,000
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $115,000
EXECUTED: Manuel
EPISODE TWO:
Boat, Car, Helicopter: The group is shown a short video from Steven, who has been abducted. They must find him within two hours to win $50,000. They also get one 30-second phone call for hints. Any additional phone calls will cost $5,000 each. The group splits into three subgroups: 2 in a helicopter, 3 in a van, and 3 in a boat. Jen & Henry go to the chopper; Kate, Wendi, & Charlie head for the water; and Jim, Afi, and Kathryn hit the road.
RESULT: Everyone but Jennifer reaches Steven, but she has the key to free him, so they don't win the money.
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $115,000
Which Watch?: They split into subgroups again: 3 leaders, 3 followers, and 3 people with "good eyes": Henry, Kathryn, and Kate. This third group gets 2 Cartier watches. One is real, the other fake. They must determine in 2 hours which is the fake one. They can use any resources in the town of Crest, but can't bring the watches themselves with them. Pick the right watch to win $20,000; pick the wrong one and $20,000 is deducted.
RESULT: Win for $20,000
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $135,000
SUPER PAC-MAN: The followers will be guided through the maze by leaders who have a birds-eye view of the course from outside. Each follower who makes it through the maze earns $20,000. Simple, right? Not so fast....two guards are trying to stop them...and if they do, they're out.
RESULT: They all got caught, so they all get squat.
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $135,000
EXECUTED: Afi
EPISODE THREE:
BULLFIGHT: Each player must stay in the ring for two passes by a charging bull for $50,000. For each that can cause the bull's rear end to touch the ground (a tienta), they add $5,000; up to $75,000 total.
RESULT: All eight stay in the ring, and three get tientas for $65,000.
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $200,000
LAUNDRY: Three players must wash the dirty clothes of the eight players by 6pm. The catch is that each load must be done at a different house. Do all the laundry for $10,000.
RESULT: Completed for $10,000
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $210,000
DICE GAME: Each of the other five players chooses an envelope from four, and must complete a task (simple or uncomfortable) based on the roll (low or high). If the first four do their challenge, or the last does all four, $40,000 is added. If all five do their challenge, $80,000 is added. If the fifth person does all the tasks, that person wins an exemption, and does not take the quiz.
RESULT:
Steven -- paint a nude/pose nude. Rolls "pose nude". Failure.
Jim -- Cast on leg/Cast on both legs. Rolls "both legs". Failure.
Kathryn -- Dye hair green/Shave head. Rolls "shave head". Failure.
Wendi -- Ball & Chain/Stockade. Rolls "Stockade." Completed.
Kate -- Rolls "Pose nude, Cast on both legs, Dye Hair, Ball & Chain." Completes all 4. $40,000 earned, and Kate earns immunity.
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $250,000
EXECUTED: Wendi, the only one of the four to complete her challenge.
EPISODE FOUR:
RESCUE: Kate was left in a church in Spain, and the remaining players must rescue here. Two snipers are waiting with laser tag guns to take them out. If one or more players make it through the street to Kate, they all get guns of their own, in order to get them to a cinema to ring a bell and win the challenge. All active players must meet at the halfway point before going to the goal. When Kate reaches the goal, the team wins $30,000 for the account, but she may swap that for immunity if she takes her laser gun to take out the remaining teammates.
RESULT: Everyone but Steven and Jennifer were taken out. Jennifer rescues Kate but Steven was unaccounted for when they left, so the challenge was a loss.
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $250,000
MOLE 101; UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE: The players are divided into two teams. The first team of four players earns $15,000 for each of eight mental tasks they complete. The team of three LOSES $15,000 for each task they complete. One player from the first group may track down the testing room to convince the players to stop.
RESULT: Team one completes five tasks for $75,000; and Jim reaches the team after one challenge, so they lose $15,000 of that, and clear $60,000.
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $310,000
EXECUTED: Henry
EPISODE FIVE
WHERE WILL YOU SLEEP TONIGHT (SMART vs. STUPID):
RESULT: $40,000