Assuming a Season 2, we stand to lose one major element: the surprise factor. The TOPs initially had no idea what was going on, and spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out what they had to do, what sort of strategy might work, and that alliances just weren't going to pull off much in this setting. While it might be possible to take a second group by complete surprise -- 'You mean this isn't the new Bachelor mansion?' -- it'll be harder, and it's likely that the next pool will go in knowing what's expected of them. So we'll have people seeking enlightenment, which isn't generally as much fun as people who gradually come into it without quite realizing what they're doing. Or we'll have people who know how to fake enlightenment, and Avacado's garden will have its first crop of Marianos.

Similarly, it may be a bad idea to stick with the same group of Alts: people know what they're looking for and how they tend to react. (If Fiona came back, expect at least one contestant to try a flirtation, with another going for 'I am Goddess, hear me roar!') I wouldn't expand the group: five actually feels like the right size here. But I would rotate a couple of them out, perhaps to be brought back in another season. As discussed in another thread, there are Alt types who would fit well in the House. My main worry there would be Alts stepping on each other's belief systems. For the most part, we avoided that this time -- for the most part... but add new personalities to the mix, and the risk comes back.

But even with the game being known, I would not change its nature: doing so defeats the purpose of the show. In particular:

1. The Alts make all judgment calls. (What's an alliance? What's a voting block?)
2. The contestants are isolated. (The jaunts out with the Alts are fun and should be encouraged, but no phone calls home, no videos of friends and family, and no visits from the outside.)
3. Made you think! (The show is a teaching tool, if an imperfect one.)
4. Nobody gets hurt, except emotionally. (Leave the ritual scarring at home.)
5. There's a little more to the world than people might consider. (Keep the mystic elements for new Alts. While the dominatrix/servitor relationship is an Alt lifestyle, whips don't come across as fundamentally transcendental. Or to put it another way, if you could also classify it as a fetish, consider casting someone else.)

What needs to change? (There's been some talk about needing to see more of the Alt's daily lifestyles: there's a starting point.)

Can the game be 'broken'? How do they guard against it?

What has to be kept?

And is there any chance of getting a werewolf?

(Think they'll cast a professional skeptic for Season 2? Imagine Penn Gilette or James Randi in the House...)

• RE: Does Season 2 have the chance to match or surpass Season 1?,I_AM_HE, 08:53 PM, 04-30-04

Agree on most counts, although we have Joe Schmo 2 in the works, and we got a second Joe Millionaire and Average Joe (although one filmed in Europe, and one at teh same time as the first). The best comparison is Schmo - surprise hit on a small cable network, so finding enough schmos who've never heard of MMH to fill a second season shouldn't be too difficult.

But Mariano faking enlightenment? the only thing he can fake is that hes even heard of the word

BELIEVE!!!