Obviously we’re big fans of Wie is De Mol? at the Bar, the Dutch version of The Mole, we have our own little commentary board set up for it every year. But last year Belgium, where the format originated, bought the show back by popular demand and its timing of starting its run halfway through the Dutch series is really unfortunate because it’s frequently incredible, and I can only really concentrate on one Mole series at a time. And I’ve just started watching the most recent series.
We watched the first series unsubtitled last year, and despite not knowing Flemish particularly well the production quality shined through. This is a surprisingly different beast to the Dutch show – whereas in the Netherlands the show’s a bit more of a travelogue, putting a high value on shots of the surrounds and the group dynamic and film soundtracking, apart from one or two set pieces the challenges are not usually all that dynamic, many of them quite simple tasks that cost £10 + a large hill. It’s also produced in the US “tell then show” reality style, albeit better than that because the confessionals feel rather more raw and honest, without the dramatic irony US producers ladle on so nothing really feels like a shock any more.
The Belgian reboot looks and feels like it’s got some proper backing, it really feels like old-skool De Mole but with thoughtful use of modern production and graphics and great challenges and twists. 2017 episode two has an excellent modern version of the classic Hitchcock Hotel task (people in different rooms have to solve puzzles to help people in other rooms in order to escape within a time limit) with a safari twist – and some hilarious Mole-esque gags, followed by a game with a gospel choir which I thought would be really boring but was really, really tense, like a musical version of that bit in Lord of the Rings where the Hobbits are hiding from those screechy people. Great use of singling out the contestants’ voices when the blindfolded judges were near. And it does its diaries in the old style – strictly each evening. It all feels beautifully produced.
If you like The Mole but can’t get on with the Dutch show I heartily recommend giving the Belgian version a try, someone brilliant has given both series English subs, but unfortunately it’s on rubbish streaming site Dailymotion so I find I have to turn them off and on at the beginning of each video before they show up. I’m only a couple of episodes into 2017 but I want to mainline it all.
