Customer Reviews

Celebrity Mole - Hawaii

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first I preferred the 'civilian' versions of the Mole, but when I got this on DVD it quickly became my favorite and the reruns of the original Mole were fun to watch - but not as funny. Kathy Griffin (whom I know more from her voice as Alice on 'Dilbert' than from 'Suddenly Susan') and Steven Baldwin stole the show in my opinion and the other five were there for the ride.

The Mole is the only reality show I can stand, tolerate or watch, and this, the first celebrity version of the show has become one of my most favorite shows in my DVD collection. A better mix of well-known to moderately-known celebs take part in this crazy, silly, and completely all-out wild journey through our 50th state as the seven contestants try and figure out who is the mole.

As for technical specs: chapter breaks where you'd want them (at the commercial breaks), the closing credits have the funny moment in full screen (unlike the original broadcast where its computer-trimmed down to Postage Stamp Vision - or where I live, cut from the broadcast to tell you about an upcoming local news report about several cats who were alarmed by loud noises), and the special features are numerous. I especially liked seeing the extended Post-Execution Reactions and more from their daily Confessional interviews.

My only problem was with the packaging - the whole swing arm thing for one of the discs where it likes to loosen itself and rattle in the packaging every once in the while made me find a little nicer home for the set.

As for the whole deal about this reality show not taking itself seriously...I think that was the point. Reality shows are allowed to have a little fun, too.

I'd been waiting for another MOLE season for quite some time, and when the first Celebrity Mole edition was originally produced, it was a bit of a letdown. With Anderson Cooper gone to CNN and with celebrities featured as players instead of everyday people, I approached the series with some trepidation. Elements that were so integral to the game would seemingly vanish (for example, language and culture barriers, no contact with the outside world, etc.), so my expectations were really not that high. However, as the show aired I was pleasantly surprised. The celebrities injected quite a bit of fun into the game, and the challenges (although they weren't quite the caliber of the original Mole) were quite entertaining and well-thought-out. It was hilarious watching Corbin Bernsen overanalyze everything in front of him, Frederique was gorgeous and used her charms and her accent quite adeptly, and Kathy Griffin was a hoot as always! I also give a lot of credit to Ahmad Rashad; he had a very tough act to follow and he was a very amiable host with a great sense of humor. It's really unfair to compare him side-by-side with Anderson Cooper; let's just say Ahmad did a fantastic job in his own right as host. You'll get the entire Celebrity Mole: Hawaii season here, as well as a host of out-takes and deleted scenes. Bottom line, it may not exactly be THE MOLE that we've been craving for several years now, but CELEBRITY MOLE: HAWAII is still highly enjoyable.

You can't really compare the regular Mole with Celebrity Mole. With Anderson Cooper moving on, I thought it was smart for the network to use the celebrity format. I never realized how dang funny Kathy Griffin was! Stephen Baldwin is a full on freak & Corban totally lost himself in the show. It is funny & I couldn't wait to see all of the things they could not show on TV! The Mole was one of my favorite early reality shows. It made you think & build your own strategic thoughts. Great job to ABC.

Seven celebrities must figure out who among them is The Mole. The celebrities will use all their guile to uncover the clues that could lead them to a pot of up to $250,000. They must complete a series of challenging physical and mental games to earn money for the pot, which one player will eventually win. Working undercover against the team, however, is The Mole, a double agent planted by the producers to sabotage the players' efforts. It is the goal of the players to decide who they think The Mole is, then learn as much about him or her as possible. In the final dramatic episode, The Mole is revealed and the one remaining player wins the jackpot.
The celebrities competing are:
Stephen Baldwin ("Usual Suspects," "One Good Cop")
Corbin Bernsen ("L.A. Law," "Major League")
Michael Boatman ("Spin City," "Arli$$")
Kim Coles ("Living Single," "In Living Color")
Kathy Griffin ("Suddenly Susan")
Frederique Van der Wal (Victoria's Secret supermodel)
Erik von Detton ("Princess Diaries")

This is a great buy for reality fans. Griffin definitely made it 100% more entertaining. The quality was great and there are a few nice little bonuses in the set for those who like a little extra. I just wish they'd finish these releases. The next Celebrity Mole actually had a few more recognizable celebs and was a lot more entertaining.
You can't find these seasons anywhere else so I think it'd pay off to put more releases out while there are so many reality fans looking to complete their sets!

Celebrity Mole-Hawaii is a fun and intriguing take on the regular format of the show. It takes seven celebrities and launches them straight into madness with the wild games and puzzles they have to play in order to increase the winner's "pot". In this version,the standout players of the game, and the funniest, are the evergreen comedienne Kathy Griffin,followed closely by crazy and offbeat Stephen Baldwin and paranoid Corbin Bernsen. I was addicted to this series from the moment i put the first episode on and finished all 336 mins of the three dvd set within 48 hrs. It is alot of fun and laughs and the reason i love this show so much, is because you really cannot tell who The Mole is until the very end. Although I did pick up on a clue in the second episode which turned out to give me the identity of said Mole. Enjoy this fantastic farce!!! :)

I love reality programs but this one was the pits! Not only were the challenges dull but the B-grade and C-grade celebrities would battle over who had the biggest ego. The only thing stopping me from giving this a one-star is Kathy Griffin - the only redeeming feature in this celebrity snorefest.

The basic idea of "The Mole" is that it's an espionage-themed mishmash of "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race".....yah kinda boring i know..but this celebrity edition in my opinion completely resurrected this terribly boring series..but lets be honest with this whole "celebrity" edition..the most famous contestant (and only one with an actual personality) was probably Kathy Griffin (whose whole career is built on the fact that she's not famous)...so it kinda removes the inferred thrill of seeing someone super famous like Angelina Jolie make a complete fool of themselves (she's so famous my spell check corrected her name for me!!!). Not to mention the mole doesn't really have many of the staples of the first 2 seasons which I'm sure at least the 10 people who watched it must have enjoyed...the suspense...or any form of drama....what makes this series worth the money..and the 5 stars.. is the fact that Kathy griffin will have you laughing non stop through the entire season. The entire show pans out like her stand up..from the obvious hate/jealousy of the super model to her complete and utter acceptance of how D-list all the ridiculous situations she's been put in for like 100 dollars a pop...If you want a preview of this series i suggest you youtube Kathy griffin, lots of her celebrity skewing stand-up there..and if you find her stand up funny trust me you'll love this series. Help her get off the d-list :(

The Mole was one of ABC's early forays into "reality" TV. The concept involved ten individuals taking part in various group tasks, that added money to a community pot. At the end of each episode, one player was eliminated, with the eventual winner getting the entire amount in the pot. The twist in the game which is known to everyone, is that one of the players is actually The Mole, a player who is not out to win the cash, but instead is acting to gum up the works, and try and keep money from being contributed to the pot. The object of the game is to avoid becoming a victim of The Mole.

Celebrity Mole Hawaii takes the original concept, and puts `celebrities' into the game. Participants include actors Corbin Bernsen, Michael Boatman, Erik von Detten, Kim Coles, Steven Baldwin, model Frederique, and comic Kathy Griffin. Altogether, not the most physically fit group.

The Big Island of Hawaii, provides the setting for tasks that include walking on hot lava rack, cliff diving, surfing, dancing the hula and hanging over a waterfall. For this event, a serious host like Anderson Cooper probably isn't appropriate. So while a little dull, Ahmad Rashad does an adequate job.

If you enjoyed the original, CMH might be worth checking out. With `celebrities' are involved, there's more of a focus on the players and their interaction with each other, with less excitement and suspense generated by the actual playing of the game. The group is diverse mix of personality types, which leads to some spirited and entertaining exchanges between the players.

I have only seen the first series on TV (our country did not broadcast any other seasons), but being an ardent fan of good reality TV games and/or shows, I took a chance and bought this edition of THE MOLE on DVD! While not as intense as shows like AMAZING RACE or SURVIVOR, it was entertaining and also really funny with a lot of LOL moments. I was completely wrong about who the MOLE was as well. Some great and hilarious extras (thanks to people like Kathy Griffin). One can really sense that the celebs had a fun time, and that rubs off on the viewer.
I most certainly recommend this!