'THE MOLE' IS BACK, BUT WILL ANYBODY DIG IT?

Byline: - David Kronke

The unstated goal of most reality programs is to make its participants look like idiots. In ``Mole II: The Next Betrayal,'' this rather sadistic aim is about all the show seems to be about.

``Mole II'' continues where the original - which was something decidedly less than a sensation - left off in the spring. It begins with 14 contestants - or, rather, 13 contestants and one ``mole,'' who is intent on sabotaging the sundry contests and keeping the earnings (which ultimately go solely to the game's winner) low. Contestants answer questions about the mole's identity at the end of each episode; the person most obviously clueless is ousted from the show.

Trouble is, some contestants, in an effort to confuse others, participate in molelike behavior themselves, while others are just incompetent. Hence, everybody's eyeing one another with the rabidity of conspiracy theorists; everybody's suspect.

There have been a couple of changes this year: The game has been made less convoluted, and host Anderson Cooper has been advised to lighten up: Last season, he looked like he was being forced to do the show at gunpoint; now, he drolly mocks the contestants' plights while insouciantly munching on sandwiches.

That's fine, but there are still problems: Obviously, the show's editing is designed to obfuscate viewers trying to come to their own opinions as to the mole's identity, which takes a lot of the fun out of it. Worse, in two episodes made available for review, scarcely any interesting individuals have emerged. They're all part of what's become the blur of reality contestants: Anonymous people saying nasty things about others.

There's talk of forming ``coalitions'' - the word ``alliance,'' as popularized in ``Survivor,'' is assiduously avoided - but it's hard to see what purpose starting coalitions serves, since individuals aren't voted out, but continue in the show on the strength of their own intellectual prowess.

And the games have shown a mean streak - tonight, the contestants' belongings are threatened with destruction if members of the group don't answer questions correctly. Included in the potential cataclysm is, in one case, a Bible that a woman has cherished since childhood; the camera also seeks out the contestants' panicked expressions, including one from a woman who has brought along a favorite stuffed animal. Next week, contestants are forced to wear humiliating outfits to earn dinky (by network standards) sums of money.

There has been some debate over whether, in the light of recent events, ``reality'' TV will seem wan by comparison, but this seems a nonstarter of an issue: Most reality shows truck in escapism, just like intentionally fictional TV. ``Mole II'' perhaps suffers the most in this climate - will it really be fun to divine a traitor in our midst? - but it also works against itself simply by not being very interesting.

``MOLE II: THE NEXT BETRAYAL''

What: Return of the indifferently received reality game in which contestants attempt to discover the identity of a traitor in their midst.

The stars: Host Anderson Cooper.

Where: ABC (Channel 7).

When: 8 tonight.

Our rating: Two stars

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Anderson Cooper returns as host in ABC's ``Mole II.''