If you’ve read any of my other reviews dealing with so-called ‘reality TV’, you’ll catch me often saying how proud I was of the fact that I had never EVER watched an episode of “Survivor.” Granted, it wasn’t the first ‘reality show’ out there, but it was the one that captured the attention of the American public enough to warrant a slew of imitators and offshoots. I’m not sure if I can directly blame the producers of “Survivor” for what was to follow, but they are an easy target. The thing that really gets me about ‘reality TV’ is that I have yet to determine what is funnier. The fact that bottom-feeding producers actually came up with ideas like “The Bachelor”, “The Bachelorette”, “Big Brother”, “Temptation Island”, “The Apprentice” and “The Littlest Groom”, or the idea that millions of Americans were bored (or stupid) enough to watch them. I’m leaning towards the latter due to some conversations I’ve had with a few friends who believe these ‘reality shows’ are really real, and there is nothing staged. Of course, these are the same people who believe in professional wrestling, the Easter Bunny, low cost lawyers and George W. Bush.

Of course, of late I can no longer make the claim about not having seen any episodes of “Survivor” since the first season made its way onto DVD. Oddly enough, I found the show rather interesting, at least in the fact that there was a ‘game show’ mentality to it. Since watching it, I have taken the time to watch a few others (or I should say ‘view’ others so no one thinks I’m beginning to get sucked into the reality craze) and was surprised to find a few entertaining gems among them.

One show that I had not yet seen was called “The Mole”, but from what I had heard of it, was intrigued. Recently Eagle Rock Entertainment released a 3-disc set of a celebrity version of the series. I actually ended up liking the a lot more than I expected. The main premise involves the hapless celebrity contestants getting put through the paces of physical and mental challenges in order to win money that goes into a pot. By the end of the series, one winner will walk away with the money. But there is another side to the story. One of the celebrities is working with the producers of the show as “The Mole” whose job it is to sabotage all of the other player’s efforts. The rest of the players have to try and sniff out “The Mole.”

I can’t really compare “Celebrity Mole: Hawaii” to the earlier editions of “The Mole,” but my first thought is that it had to be a bit more entertaining simply because of the fact that the contestants were ‘celebrities’, and thereby had a lot more personality than you local ‘guy on the street.’ Speaking of, since this is “Celebrity Mole: Hawaii”, I should probably give you the roster. The celebrities were mostly of the C-list variety and consisted of Stephen Baldwin, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Boatman, Kim Coles, Erik Von Detten, Kathy Griffin and Frederique Van Der Wal.

It was kind of fun to see these guys (and gals) interact, especially since the name of the game included mistrusting each other. Occasionally they get downright ugly. I think if I had caught the series when it aired, I would have probably watched the entire 6-episode run. Since I did end up enjoying the show, I was glad to see that the DVD release included a few illuminating extras. First, there are some shots of some of the contestants giving their thoughts as to who “The Mole” is and why, followed by some interesting deleted and extended scenes. There are also 4 extra ‘funny moments’ that didn’t make it into the completed episodes. Then we get to hear some of the contestants comment on other players that have been ‘kicked off’ the show, as well as reactions from the ‘kickees’ themselves. Finally, each of the ‘celebrities’ gets a chance to share a little secret with the audience.

The packaging for the 3-disc set is rather different. I’ve only seen this style of case a couple of times before. When you open the case, the 1st disc is on the left-hand side, under the episode listing insert. The other 2 discs are on the right and overlap each other, with one of the hubs sitting higher than the other. This works rather well for space, but it is a little bit of a pain having to remove the 2nd disc in order to get to or return the 3rd.

Considering all the truly terrible ‘reality shows’ that are out there (which is most of them), “Celebrity Mole: Hawaii” is certainly better and far more entertaining than most.

Starring: Stephen Baldwin, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Boatman, Kim Coles, Erik von Detten, Kathy Griffin, Frederique Van Der Wal
Extras: Suspicions, Deleted Scenes, Extended Scenes, Funny Moments, Post Execution Reactions, Post Execution Interviews, Confessionals
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Release Date: Available
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Celebrity Mole: Hawaii a B-.