There’s a story that’s been in the news lately that I think would make an awesome play…  now I just have to get my husband, an accomplished playwright, to pen it…

Have you heard the one about the dueling newscasters?  For 4 years, Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane co-anchored the evening news together at KYW-TV, the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia.  Last December, Lane was fired because she allegedly got into a scuffle with an NYPD officer.  Somehow, details of her arrest were leaked to a Philadelphia Daily News reporter, along with other details of her personal life which has included 2 divorces.  She complained to the tv station that someone was reading her emails, but they treated her as if she was paranoid.

It turns out that her co-anchor, Mr. Mendte, had bought a keystroke-logging device to get her passwords in August 2006 and was intercepting e-mails from Lane’s two personal accounts and one work account.  He was fired also – a shame because the duo was making gains on their competitor, longtime leader news leader WPVI-TV, the ABC affiliate in the area.  Mendte is now facing criminal charges and has pleaded guilty to one count of illegally accessing a computer.  His motivation?  Jealousy over his co-anchor’s $780,000 yearly salary because his was only a measly $700,000.  I had no idea news anchors make that much!  But anyway, there’s an extra little tidbit to this story that wouldn’t even need to be embelished when writing it into a play: Mendte’s wife Dawn Stensland is also a news anchor; she works at the Fox affiliate in Philadelphia.  Coming to a stage near you!

SPOILER ALERT!!!  The following blog post contains a synopsis of the final episode of the ABC reality show, The Mole.  Do not read if you don’t want to know what happened!

Last night’s Mole finale did not disappoint.  Well, maybe for those of us who got 0 points in the tangents.org mole poll…  But as far as dragging out the results episode like most reality shows do, the Mole was not guilty of this.  The episode was only an hour long, they still had one elimination to reveal, and they revealed the winner of the game without dramatizing things by adding a commercial break.  Turns out,  good guy Mark took home the cash, all so his wife can stay home with the kids and not work anymore (be careful what you wish for; sometimes I wish I could go back to work and get away from the daily chaos of the chorus of crying kids!).  Then, it was time to reveal the mole…  but first a dramatic commercial break, of course!  We returned from commercial, and they milked it even further with some more dramatic pausing…  and then we learned – CRAIG is the MOLE!

At least I don’t have to go back and count up points for our tangents.org mole poll – I believe Jamiahsh is the only one who ever guessed Craig, therefore, with 1 point, he is the winner of our tangents mole poll!

After the big reveal, which happened quite early in the hour I might add, compared to the way they’ve done things in past mole seasons, time was spent recapping episodes with the knowledge of the mole’s identity.  It was fun to see the different contestants’ reactions to Craig being the mole, and it was even more fun to watch the clips that were recorded during the playing of the game of them suspecting Craig.  I always like when they explain the hidden clues from every episode that (supposedly) pointed to the mole.  I say supposedly pointed to the mole because a few of the clues were far-fetched; for example the business about the latitude and longitude.  One of the clues I liked is the one where they altered the backround where Craig was giving an interview.  There were two “i” statues, and they altered them so there were 4 “i” statues when Craig was doing his interview.  Get it?  4 “i”‘s = four eyes – Craig is the only player to wear glasses.

Anyway, it was a great season like always.  Even though I lost the tangents.org mole poll, I’m actually glad I did because if Nicole (she was my guess) was the mole, I would have felt it was so obvious it actually would have dampened my enthusiasm for another season.  But since I was SO taken by surprise, as far as another mole season goes, I say, bring it on, and soon!

SPOILER ALERT:  No one was eliminated and we didn’t find out who the mole was this week, so since there is nothing to spoil, go ahead and read my post!

I don’t have much to say about this week’s episode…  probably cuz I missed most of it.  But no matter, it’s not like we learned anything about the mole’s identity – that big reveal will be next week.  Chris thought Mark getting the mole’s dossier was mole-y, so that is his guess this week now that Paul is out.  Mark struck me from the very beginning as NOT being the mole; I don’t know why, so I am sticking with my Nicole guess…  any thoughts jamiahsh?

Chris – Mark
Lisa – Nicole

DISCLAIMER – Do not read this if you don’t want to know about what happened on the ABC reality show, The Mole, yada, yada, yada…

WOW – mole-y behavior abound last night…  but not too much from Paul, who was shockingly executed.  So, my friends who’ve been going with Paul for weeks now, it seems you have to pick a new guess…  But fear not, at least not yet, because if Nicole isn’t the mole, then I am right there with you with 0 points because I dont’ think I’ve ever guessed Craig or Mark.  But what am I saying, Nicole is SO the mole – let’s take a look at last night’s episode to find out why…

First, it seemed odd to me that Paul was making excuses about the camera in the very beginning of the camera-block game, though it’s not like it was mole-y behavior since Paul is obviously NOT the mole.  Then, during the same game, Nicole states that she is a lapriscopic surgeon, which caught me by surprise because during the entire run of the show, she’s been labeled (and said she was) an OB-GYN.  Suspicious yes, but even if she is the mole, I cannot figure out why they would change her profession.  And if they were going to change her profession for some reason, why would they keep her as a doctor and just change the type of practice?  I am convinced she is the mole, but this I do not get…  hopefully it will be explained.
Next up, players used the same camera contraption (one player holds the camera and the other player wears glasses that display what the camera is recording) to play soccer, and Paul did act a little suspicious because he didn’t seem to be giving his entire effort.  He didn’t seem to be trying to kick the ball hard or straight enough to get it in the net…  but again, it doesn’t matter how he was acting since we know he is not the mole.  Nicole on the other hand, would not stop shaking the camera.  The camera was extra jiggly during the chalkboard portion of the game, and it’s not like she even needed to mess with poor Craig all that much anyway given his problem with vertigo.  But why would a lapriscopic surgeon (or anyone for that matter, really) feel the need to shake the camera so much?  Very mole-y indeed.  When she and Craig lost the chalkboard challenge, she broke into a big grin and then quickly bit her lip to keep from smiling!  Did anyone else see that?  Nicole hopes not, but I sure did!  And lastly, a few things on the cell-paintball challenge.  She made sure she choose her cell first – if she is the mole then the producers could have told her what cell to pick so she didn’t get the exemption to let a legitimate player win it (much to Paul’s dismay – nice little tantrum there).  Also, a player noted (think it was Mark) how small and fast she is, yet she still got shot with a paintball…  that seems mole-y also.  I really enjoyed this episode; I liked the camera games a lot.  But when it’s all said and done, Nicole is still my top guess for the mole! 

Chris has changed his guess to Nicole.  I haven’t yet received an official guess from Jamiahsh yet…  either he’s lost since he can’t guess Paul or he doesn’t want to submit his guess yet until he’s sure we’ve seen the episode to avoid the teasing for spoiling the execution quizzes outcome 🙂
Either way, let me know as soon as you have one!

SPOILER ALERT – The following contains a synopsis of the June 30th episode of the ABC show, The Mole.  Do not read if you don’t want to know what happened, including results of the elimination quiz!

I got some really interesting comments about mole-y behavior on last week’s post.  They were thought provoking and fun to read, so keep them coming!  As for this week, unfortunately my kids were going completely crazy during my viewing of the show, so I won’t be able to go into much detail since I missed a lot.

My husband thought Craig was acting very mole-y.  I somewhat agree, although I just don’t get the moleish vibe from him.  Could someone really be SO intolerant to cold weather just from living in California?  If so, that seems really unhealthy!  But anyway, back to the episode.  In my opinion, Kristen and Mark were the least suspectable contestants left, so I just knew one of them was going to be eliminated.  I think Paul seems like too much of a loose cannon to be the mole, but who knows, it could always be an act.  This week, I think my official guess will be Nicole.  It stinks because I think I’m really influenced by my husband’s equation using Nicole’s name – (N+I) (C+O) L E = M O L E
In past seasons, the show has been known to do things like this, and I just can’t get it out of my head.  Plus, last night I noticed a change in her personality where she seemed to act like an actual human being for the first time during the run of the show.  So that makes me think the extreme bitchiness was just a facade and as the show progresses, it’s starting to crack.  I mean, could anyone really be THAT much of a bitch?  During the first few weeks of the show, I thought that her extremely bitchy and arrogant personality excluded her from being the mole, but now I’m not so sure, and I don’t know if it’s just that equation getting to me or not.

So continue to comment and post your thoughts and feelings – I really enjoy reading all the theories and observations.  Here are the official guesses for this week:

Jamiah – Paul

Chris – Paul

Taylhis – Nicole

SPOILER ALERT!!! – The following is a summary of Monday, June 23rd’s episode of The Mole – it contains outcomes and spoilers.  Do not read any further if you don’t want to know about past Mole episodes.

6/23/08 – The focus tonight was on Clay and Victoria.  Since Victoria ended up getting eliminated, the episode’s emphasis on Clay put my mole-suspecting focus back on him.  That and his mole-y behavior.  Before the gold-brick-up-the-mountain challenge, Clay made sure to talk about how little money he wanted his team to earn.  He was so focused on getting up the mountain to win the exemption from the quiz that he specifically said that bringing bricks to earn money was not important.  That’s understandable, but then when they did get to the top of the mountain, and Clay already knew that his team had won the exemption, he was still making comments about how much money his team had won.  And his comments were about how the team won too much money for his liking.  Then, when it was discovered that the team had earned only one exemption and they had to decide which of the 3 got to use it, Clay both insisted to and bargained with his teammates in order to be able to use the exemption for himself.  That seems like something the mole would do in order to “prove” his or her “need” for the exemption – ie, throw others off his mole-y trail.

I hated how Nicole was Ahem-ing and blinking rapidly during the journal question activity at dinner, but then again, I hate many of the things she does.  I hadn’t really considered her for the mole until my husband brought up a very intriguing point – Take a look at Nicole’s name: NICOLE.  It’s very easy to change Nicole’s name to MOLE with a simple equation:  If you “add” the N to the I, it makes an M.  If you “add” the C to the O, it makes an O:  (N+I )(C+O) LE= MOLE
The show has been known for slipping in little clues like this in the past.  They will even highlight some of them in the finale once we find out who the mole is.  Now I am really starting to consider Nicole.  Her ultra-bitchy attitude could be a ploy for the cameras because she is the mole.  She was just the woman you love to hate, so as an audience member, you don’t want to think her awful personality if fake because you’re busy hating her.  But it’s just a thought for now; I will keep a close eye on her now, that’s for sure.  For tonight’s official guess, I’m going to have to go with Clay again.  Chris is still guessing Paul.  Though that Nicole hypothesis is a good one, I guess it wasn’t enough to convince him of Nicole’s role as the mole.  Until next week…

Watched this Mole episode a little late this week since the kids were rambunctious about settling down after an exciting week at Grandma’s – turns out I hadn’t missed much.  I really liked the Fruit of the Luge challenge where the players divide into teams of 2, and one person is blindfolded and driving the pair on a luge.  The other player is supposed to call out the types of fruits that are depicted on signs they pass on the luge course.  When they are at the end of the luge course, they are not to talk, and the blindfolded player takes off his or her blindfold and picks out the fruit in the order the other player had seen it.  Alas, a few teams ended up getting their points taken away since they broke a rule and chatted after finishing the course.  But it was an interesting challenge; an aspect of this show that I really enjoy.  Unlike the following challenge…  something about the contestants running around Chile in underwear trying to find clothes.  It was a stupid, pointless, sell-out challenge; something that once set this reality show apart from the others because they hadn’t yet stooped to this level – what a shame.

But anyway, no one really stuck out at me as being that moley tonight.  Paul kinda was, but then when he got angry during dinner, it didn’t seem mole-like to be so upset.  But if he is the mole, maybe that was part of his game, who knows.  Clay always seems to be in the backround, and if it weren’t for last week’s episode where he had only about one line to say throughout the entire show, I would think it’s him.  But because of last week, I can’t picture them only showing the mole once during an episode.  The blonde neurologist is looking suspect also – her name escapes me at the moment.  I also think it could be Nichole, but the whole point of Nichole is that she thinks she is so great at so many things when she really isn’t so perfect because she’s too busy being full of herself…  I don’t see how she’d have time to be the mole when she’s so busy being so arrogant.  And I definitely don’t think the mole is Mark.  There are a few people that just don’t seem suspect to me, and Mark, Craig, the model and Bobby were 3 of those people.  The model and Bobby are both gone now (YAY!  I was getting so sick of Bobby’s antics; he was not very likable), so I guess I was right about those two.  So here is where I am so far:

POSSIBLE SUSPECTS:
Paul – My husband’s top pick since the beginning.  Tonight, he was standout mole-y to me, but he also doesn’t seem smart enough to pull off being the mole…  maybe just part of his act?
Alex –  He’s the guy who wins everything; every reality show has one.  Usually they do pretty well and become finalists if not win the entire competition.  I don’t think he’s the mole though, but he’s more of a suspect than not at this point.  It’s getting on my nerves that he can speak such fluent spanish.  I don’t think they should have picked only one contestant with this ability when filming the show and doing the challenges in a spanish-speaking country.
Clay – I wish he wasn’t so ignored last week, otherwise he would be my top guess again…  he’s just SO neutral seeming and in the backround.
Kristen – the bike thing from last week made her a suspect…  and she just acts generally mole-y; I can’t really pinpoint it.

NOT ON MY SUSPECT LIST (yet)
Nichole – see above – the part about the being to arrogant to be the mole.
Craig – seems too genuine?  I don’t know what it is, but if this guy is the mole, he’s good!
Victoria – Not only does she not seem very bright, but her infatuation with Bobby just doesn’t fit as mole behavior.  It wasn’t obvious enough to be present to throw others off, so I think it was genuine.  And besides the other clues she’s given, the fact that she would have a genuine crush on a fellow reality show contestant, especially someone like Bobby all point to the fact that she is too dim to pull off being the mole.
Mark – something last week had me convinced he is NOT the mole, forgot what it was, but it sticks with me enough to know that I still do not suspect this guy at all.  Just seems too real I guess.

I guess after re-reading my contestant breakdown, my official mole guess after seeing this week’s episode is Clay.

Chris’ guess is Paul.

Jamiahsh can post his guess in comments.

After getting to watch week #2 of the new Mole season UNINTERRUPTED by kids since they’re with Grandma this week (can’t put a price on that by the way, it’s funny how simple pleasures like watching a favorite tv show uninterrupted can feel really nice :)), I am going to change my mole guess from Clay to Kristen.  I don’t really have a good reason why; she was just acting kind of moley.  And her way of sabotaging the task could have been to get that chain to keep falling off the bike, cuz that was unfortunate.  Clay had like, one comment during the whole episode, and I just don’t think they would shove the mole into the backround like that.  And I have to add that I just knew this week was going to be the end of Liz somehow.  Chris thinks the mole is Paul, going with his first week’s guess.  I guess what I will do is give everybody a point for every week they guess the mole correctly at the end once we find out who it is.  Do you have a guess this week, Jamiahsh?  I got your comment on my other mole post, and I will repost it here:

After watching the first 2 episodes. It is definitely NOT BOBBY. Trying way too hard to draw attention to himself with his ‘overexertion. It could be Alex… unless he really did leave his journal behind by mistake.
 

Interesting comment.  We too, think that Bobby is drawing way too much attention to himself to be the mole.  He’s just coming across as a lazy jerk, and it’s not fun to watch.  I will go with Chris’ theory on him – he is trying to throw off other players by acting like the mole.  I see Alex as the guy who wins everyting – there’s always one of those on every reality show – and I don’t think he’s the mole.  I don’t know whether or not he left his journal laying around on purpose.  He could have done so or he could have left it accidently and just tried to cover it up with the explanation of trying to throw others off.  But anyway, another good episode, and here is where we stand on mole guesses:

Lisa – Clay, Kristen

Chris – Paul, Paul

Jamiahsh – Clay, ?

The Mole is the best reality show ever, I think.  And now it is back for another season, starting Monday, June 2.  It airs on ABC, and I highly recommend it.  A quick synopsis in case you missed my previous post about the Mole – 12 contestants complete various stunts and missions, although one of them is the mole.  The audience and other players don’t know who the mole is, and he or she tries to sabotage the missions while staying undercover.  Each week, the contestants take a quiz about the mole, and the person who guesses the most answers incorrectly must leave the game.  About the new season, I must say how much I don’t like the new host, but other than that, the show seems to be just as it was before – extremely entertaining, thought provoking, and FUN!

I think it’d be fun to keep a running tally of Mole guesses for viewers who read my blog.  So if you’re a Mole fan also, submit your guess to me each week and I wil post it.  So far after week one, my guess for the Mole would be Clay, and Chris is guessing Paul.

It’s fun to see if anyone can guess who the mole is from early on, so stay tuned to my blog throughout the summer for updates on the show, and if you decide to watch it, and I HIGHLY recommend that you do, join in the fun by posting me a comment with your thoughts on the episodes and guesses on who is…
THE MOLE!

My favorite shows are on tv Thursday nights, and last week’s episodes of both shows were really good.  The Lost episode and the Office were up to par for sure, if not even a little better than usual.  And some great news we got while watching ABC – it seems we won’t be entirely without tv this summer since they’re bringing back our favorite reality show, the best one ever in my opinion, The Mole!  This show revolves around 12 contestants who perform various tasks.  In past seasons the tasks have involved navigating around strange countries and scavenger hunt-type things.  The contestants work together to try to add money to the “pot”; except for the twist: one of the players is a saboteur, the Mole, who tries to work against the other players, trying NOT to get money added to the pot.  Obviously the Mole cannot be obvious about his or her identity because if he or she is the last one left, then the Mole wins the game.  Each week, the contestants take a quiz about the Mole, and the person with the fewest correct answers gets eliminated.  There has been 4 seasons of the Mole, the first 2 being hosted by Anderson Cooper, the CNN anchor, and the next 2 being celebrity editions hosted by Ahmad Rashad.  The show has not aired since 2004, and I have missed it!  It is very entertaining, and I am VERY excited it’s coming back to tv, especially since I will be going into Lost and especially Office withdrawl this summer!

Especially compounding the tv withdrawl this summer is that the episodes of my favorite shows were extra good last Thursday!  Lost actually answered more questions than it asked, they actually continuted some of the hanging plot lines instead of giving us new ones to ponder, and no new characters were introduced!  Part 2 of the season finale airs in 2 weeks, and last night’s episode really whet my appetite for this season’s cliffhanger!

The Office was back to being utterly hilarious this week.  The plot line with Toby’s replacement being under the impression that Kevin is “special” was my favorite.  I was also glad to see the return of Jan, though part of me was disappointed to discover it wasn’t Michael’s baby (according to Jan anyway – maybe a twist to look for next season?).  Michael’s new “love” for Holly was sweet and intense, but he actually might not be too far off this time – she seems like she might be a good match for him.  I loved the part where he breaks into a Yoda impression after she says yoga, she just stares at him like he’s bizarre, but then she breaks into a Yoda impression of her own.  This might be a match made in heaven!  But then again, Michael had to be an idiot and gloss over Holly’s invitation to get dessert…  typical Michael Scott behavior!  I can’t believe we’re back to waiting months for the show to come back on again!  At least The Mole will keep me busy with tv – I highly recommend it!