Celebrity Mole --- May Never Air!

[KaraKW]

Sounds like the "celebrity version" of this show is not fated to be.

Blaze May Put 'Mole' in the Hole
Wed December 18, 2002 02:03 AM ET

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - An early Tuesday studio fire has jeopardized all but the premiere episode of ABC's upcoming reality series "Celebrity Mole."

Executives at producer Stone Stanley Entertainment said they should know Wednesday how much of the production can be saved. It debuts Jan. 8.

The production bay at Hollywood Center Studios where "Celebrity Mole" was being edited got hit by severe water damage from firefighters battling the blaze, which affected the back half of a two-story building on the lot.

Stone Stanley principal Scott Stone, who lives close to the studio, managed to arrive early Tuesday, soon after firefighters had put out the blaze. Stone and his staff rescued hard drives and 2,500 tapes that contained raw footage from the recent "Celebrity Mole" production in Hawaii.

Those tapes were drying on a soundstage Tuesday afternoon.

"A good third of the tapes were either underwater or severely damaged," Stone said. "The hard part now is the triage of getting tapes appraised and getting a new facility set up."

Still, Stone and partner David Stanley were hopeful that the footage could be salvaged.

"We have told ABC that our intention is to meet our Jan. 8 premiere," Stone said.

The cause of the blaze -- which began shortly after midnight Tuesday -- was under investigation.

 

[rbuzzotta]

I was so looking forward to return of the MOLE!!! Not so much celebrity Mole but the regular Mole......I hope it airs next month as scheduled!

 

[Chuck S]

I'm familiar with restoring consumer video cassettes (VHS & Beta), I worked in a video store a few years ago after our area had a major flood. Video tape can be saved, even after being underwater several days. The dirt and mud caused more damage than the water. Wet tape should be carefully 'tapped" dry using a chamois, then left to air dry, then wiped lightly with a chamois dampened with distilled water and air dried again. It is time consuming, and for professional tapes their may be a faster way of doing it (there are tape cleaning machines, but they don't work if the tape is too dirty). If the tapes became too hot, then it may not be salvageable as the plastic base could stretch and the material used to bind the metalic oxides to the tape will flake off.

 

[Mish19]

See, even fire is saying no CELEB Mole!
Bring on regular person Mole and Anderson!

 

[epcotfan]

Yes I want Anderson back as well! It won't be the same without him.