Video Beat SUPER MAX - CONTENDER ASIA - AMAZING RACE USA WINNERS - January 2008

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Amazing Race USA FINAL - In the world of shoulda, woulda, coulda you would never have chosen TK and Rachel to win this race. They did so in stealth like manner. The long awaited Contender Asia series is finally on and at this point the jury is out on weather this reality series has the juice to make it as a successful program - NBA & NFL GAMES ON TV - Recommended TV Listings

Tuesday January 22, 2008

HIPPIES WIN AMAZING RACE TITLE & US $1 MILLION PRIZE

In the world of shoulda, woulda, coulda you would never have chosen TK and Rachel to win this race. They did so in stealth like manner. They finished first only one other time during the race that being in the ninth leg. They had problems from the start by making poor decisions, suffered bad luck when they U-turned themselves when they forgot their clue and had to drive a long distance and return to a restaurant to retrieve it thereby losing valuable time. That was topped off by their finishing last on one leg only to find that it was a pre determined non-elimination leg of the race.

They set out on the last leg of the race leaving second behind the Asian father and daughter team Christina and Ron who continued to hold the lead UNTIL…. They came to a task to associate 15 articles in order to the 10 countries they visited. It was Rachel's brain and memory that won it for the team which we refer to as the Hippie team because of their 60's era style of attire. Rachael was weak throughout the competition but was intelligent and strong when it mattered most thus the Hippies are number one in winning the Amazing Race USA.

THE FINISH WAS:

1. The young couple whom we refer to as the HIPPIE COUPLE

We refer to them s the HIPPIE COUPLE because of their style of dress similar to that worn by the sixties generation during that period. They possess a positive attitude and don't lose their composure or cool (as they said in the sixties). As the English now say lose the plot. This couple has had the roughest time of it during the race seldom finishing in the top three. They also finished last in what turned out to be a non-elimination leg of the race. Of the three remaining teams they made the most decision making mistakes along the way.

They won but.... WHO ARE THEY???

Rachel & TK have only been dating for close to a year. Both of their moms were friends while they were growing up in Huntington Beach, California, yet they had never really spent anytime together until only recently.

Rachel owns her own high-style flower shop. She describes herself as bright and ambitious and claims that the biggest difference between she and TK are the lives they've led. He was a collegiate athlete at UC Santa Barbara while she stayed home and bought a business and started working straight out of high school. TK currently makes his living as a substitute teacher. He describes himself as dedicated, witty and intelligent. TK swam in college and was voted team captain of the swim team. He also held the all-time record in the 200-meter backstroke at UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara).

2. The Asian father and daughter team who finished first TWO PREVIOUS WEEKS in a row.

The father has been growing up and respecting his daughter more and accepting her opinions and decision making. He's stopped yelling at her and embarrassing her in public. Since he has accepted her as an intelligent human being and not just his daughter that he appeared to prefer her to be subservient they had winning success. As he says the experience on the race has helped him grow up and become better father.

3. The 69-year-old grand pop and his grandson.

Grand pop did most of the tough tasks and dirty work that realized success. The grandson took on the role of sitting on the perch and dictating policy. It worked because grand pop lets him take the lead and notes that when he gets tired the grandson picks up the load and the luggage.

Of all of the entrants in the race these two were the longest shot to win based upon grand pops age but despite that he continued to hang in there and take more of a leading role by doing most of the tasks. As grand pop pointed out he is 45 years older than most of the contestants that participated in the race.

Note:

If you missed Monday's FINAL show there usually are two repeats on Saturday. One airs in the morning and the other during early evening. Of course this being Asia and the network being AXN all is subject to change without notice. In the past the Saturday programs have been pre-empted without notice or reason.

CONTENDER ASIA IS ON!

The long awaited Contender Asia series is finally on and at this point the jury is out on weather this reality series has the juice to make it as a successful program. The The 16-episode reality TV series will be filmed entirely in Singapore. 'Singaporean company, Imagine Omnimedia partners with USA Contender series Mark Burnett Productions but that's where the similarity ends.

Contender Asia suffers the same problems as the first Contender USA series in that it's too slow of a pace and tends to be boring. The other detraction is the inclusion of a female host that being Jaymee Ong who also hosts E Buzz on the AXN network. Ong is pretty and professional but what does she have to do with the sport of Muay Thai?

The USA's first Ultimate Fighter series also had a female host in the first series but eliminated her for the second series. The question is, is this series about the Muay Thai sport or eye candy? Ong does a good job but a female without a fighter's background doesn't look or sound right. Conversely at this point without her input little would be said or understood. She sets the table of understanding.

There are too many foreign fighters on the show with several from Australia. That is the same problem that Amazing Race Asia had during their first season. That being said the upside is having foreign fighters will help raise the potential audience level for viewers from their countries living in Asia that might be interested in the sport.

A columnist for the Bangkok Post criticized the USA Contender series regarding footage about the lives of the fighter's families. The complaint being that virtually every fighter was fighting for their family with the writer implying who needs to hear that.

True the Contender USA fighters had the same goal to win for their families but more importantly that viewpoint is interesting to see who influences and motivates the fighters. Scenes with their wives and children are interesting to some viewers.

The columnist also complained that it was wrong to edit the fights for TV and that the entire rounds should be shown.

The point is this is a reality series and not a boxing event. If someone wants to see a Muay Thai fight there are numerous fights available for viewing in the Southeast Asian region. The USA's Contender and UFC series are produced for American television. In most cases a series produced in the USA is trying to appeal to a national network to buy the show. The show is shortened to usually 48 minutes or less to accommodate 12 minutes for commercial time. Station break time also factors into the time equation. To show all of the rounds in full when the fights are over three rounds would eat up too much of the program time and would eat into production quality of a reality series.

A fight and a reality series are two different things. If it's a fight you prefer to see then watch it. If it's a reality television series then as the Beatles sang LET IT BE.

Given the first episode, the Contender Asia needs to pick up the pace and let us know who these fighters are by supplying more background information. One example is Trevor Smandych of Canada lost the first fight to Thai fighter Naruepol Fairtex. He has a huge tattoo on his back. What is that all about? Does it have anything to do with his Muay Thai fighting?

Mauy Thai isn't that popular outside of the Thailand region and the majority of the television audience most likely doesn't know what the sport is all about. The Contender Asia show has some interesting fighters who have some history.

Australian John Wayne Parr was a former champion. He was chosen as one of the team's captains. Parr has won over 58 (30 by knockout) from 78 Muay Thai/kickboxing contests and is a four time world title holder. He also compiled a 10-3, 10 KO's boxing record, winning the Australian middleweight title in 2001.

Yodsaenklai is the Thai fighter that Parr lost his title to. Yodsaenklai is also on the show. He defeated Parr in a fight held at the Gold Coast, Australia, to gain the World Muay Thai 154lb Division title. He also holds the Thailand 154 pound championship title. Should they fight on the TV series this could help the interest in the program.

Yodsanklai wants to build a home for his mother if he snags the top prize money of US$250,000. To show his mother and how they are currently living would add to interesting viewing. Contender Asia needs a lot of work to make the show interesting but it's early so we'll hang in there and see what happens. The show airs on Wednesday night. Schedule below.

NBA GAMES ON TV

NBA (National Basketball Association) games are televised in the Southeast Asia region on the Star Sports television Network on Friday and ESPN Saturday's. Start times vary depending on the start time in the region of the USA from where the games is televised. NFL (National Football League) from the USA is televised on a delayed basis Saturday at 12:30 PM and Sunday at 6 PM on the CNBC channel

BOXING

The CONTENDER series 2 is currently being televised Monday through Friday on AXN at 9 AM Thailand/Cambodia time and 10 AM in the Singapore/Hong Kong time zone.

TV SCHEDULE

Note: The shows listed are for the Cambodia - Thailand time zone. Check your local listings for time and date in your area.

WEDNESDAY

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

7:00 PM - AMERICAN IDOL - Star World - 2 hour show

8:00 PM - CONTENDER ASIA - AXN

THURSDAY

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

7:00 PM - AMERICAN IDOL - Star World - 2 hour show

8:00 PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN

FRIDAY

??:?? AM - NBA GAME - Star Sports

11:00 AM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

9:00 PM - NBA GAME - Star Sports - Replay of earlier game)

SATURDAY

??:?? AM - NBA GAME - ESPN

9:00 AM - AMAZING RACE USA - AXN

12:30 PM NFL (National Football League) game from the USA (delayed) - CNBC

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

7:00 PM - AMAZING RACE (USA) - AXN

7:30 PM - HI NET WORTH - (financial magazine show) - CNBC

9:00 PM - JAY LENO - CNBC

10:00 PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN

12:00 AM - CONTENDER ASIA - AXN

SUNDAY

10:00 AM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

6:00 PM - NFL (National Football League) game from the USA (delayed) - CNBC

7:00 PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN

9:00 PM - JAY LENO - CNBC

MONDAY

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

8:00 PM - AMAZING RACE USA FINAL - AXN

12:00 PM - AMAZING RACE USA FINAL - AXN

TUESDAY

5:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

700 PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN

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