Both the knot I was shown (edited: really the knot I tied wrong) and the mooring hitch have one thing in common with a real bowline: all three have the round turn sometimes described as the rabbit hole and tree. (I was just on a knot forum and someone called it a nipping turn).
I am having difficulty describing this with words. It's easier for me if I focus on the loop without talking about the standing part it's tied around to form a noose. Just talking about the loop; on the knot I was shown the nipping turn or round turn is in the standing part just like a bowline. In the case of the mooring hitch, the nipping turn is formed in the bitter end. One other observation: Although it is not as secure as a bowline, the knot I was shown, when carefully dressed and set, does not cinch down. Phil said he has used it a lot even with heavy loads. He did not say anything about the loop cinching on the standing.
(Edited: My apologies. My attempt to recreate the knot was wrong. I want to take back what I said here. The real video knot *does* look like a running mooring hitch dressed to not cinch down)
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