Video Beat - Freshie Holiday Present - Amazing Race ASIA - January 2007

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Four Freshie contestants receive holiday present - NR Mail - Top Model Final 3 in Thailand - Amazing Race Asia not so amazing - Donald Trump trumped? - Ultimate Fighting Championship - Recommended TV schedule

Wednesday January 3, 2007

FRESHIE'S ON THE BUBBLE RECEIVE HOLIDAY GIFT

It was down to crunch time for two of the 16 Freshie Boy & Girl contestants last week. That is when two are eliminated and a group of 14 would go into the finals.

This was the case in the previous five Freshie contests but there was a surprise for the four contestants that were in the running to be eliminated.

As Freshie girls # 3 Sun Channy & # 4 Wang Sandy plus boys # 1 Sieng Soravuth & # 9 Long Virakyuth stood on the TV 3 stage anxiously waiting to find out who would be eliminated you could feel the tension in the air.

After a month of training and elimination shows the anxiety level had peeked for these Freshie's. Being the last of the contestants to be eliminated must be the toughest to deal with since they had come so close to going to the finals.

In Cambodia the culture is starting to believe in Santa Claus that is attached to the Christian Christmas holiday and introduced to them by foreigners living in the nation.

The Freshie organizers became these four contestants Santa Claus as they decided to let all of these Freshie's go through to the final round.

The finals now have 16 finalists for the first time ever. To two of the unknown contestants that might have been eliminated this is truly a happy holiday season for them.

The Freshie finals are scheduled to take place Saturday January 27. Stay tuned for more Freshie news… NEXT: The theft of the Freshie Boy & Girl name.

AMAZING RACE ASIA

The Amazing Race ASIA is half way through their season. The show is an Asian copy of the hugely successful original Amazing Race produced in the USA.

On 17 October 2005, CBS television network in the USA gave other countries the chance to franchise The Amazing Race. The Asian cable TV network AXN is among the first to acquire the rights to produce a version for its territory. The show is produced in association with Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP).

The host for the show is Singapore based Chinese-American Allan Wu who was a participant in the US reality competition series, Fear Factor. The following is an email from an Amazing Race viewer in the USA regarding the series.

NR MAIL: John Carroll an NR reader in the United States read our previous coverage of the show and wrote us the following email.

We've (family) been watching the Amazing Race for about a month now. I love the blondes on this show. Besides being eye candy, they are very honest about being self-absorbed, whom among the other duos they dislike and using a sexy smile to get what they want.

If you listen to what they say to each other they also seem to be constantly supporting and encouraging. They often are the top one or two contestants and I love that because it drives everyone else crazy.

Since I have respect for the ideas of the show I'm delighted to read that it's going to be produced in Asia. It should work very well.

NR REPLY:

The blonds were eliminated in the semifinals. They lost the previous week but were bailed out when the show game them a NON ELIMINATION status. As a result the two male models won the contest.

The Amazing Races Asia that you referred to does not compare to the original International show. There prize money if only $100,000 compared to the million-dollar prize on the original show.

The trips are regional and the tasks and locations sterile being mostly in clean city environments. There is a heavy focus on Extreme sports such as bungee jumping and rock climbing.

The show started of stiff and tense but began to loosen up when they traveled to Thailand. Allan Wu the shows host was tense at the beginning and seemed to try to emulate the mannerisms of the original shows host Phil Keoghan. He has since relaxed and leveled out and is coming into his own style.

The cast is dull by comparison to the dynamic personalities usually chosen for the American Amazing Race. Only ten teams from eight countries are involved that include 2 teams from Malaysia and the Philippines. Also there is one team each from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

The American edition, which uses eleven teams normally, but used twelve in Seasons 3, 4, and 10. Of the 20 different contestants that represent the 10 teams there are 4 coed teams, 3 all-male teams and 3 all-female teams. Of the 20 participants, 5 are not Asian:

The contestants usually fly on the budget airline Air Asia one of the shows sponsors. It is also prominently featured in many of the scenes in the show.

In the American editions, teams are usually able to travel on any airline they wish unless specifically directed. The teams have visited Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

CalTex gasoline another sponsor of the show is prominently featured in the program by having its stations in the television shots and worked into the tasks.

All of the episodes were dull until they traveled to Bangkok and Krabi Thailand. Those episodes included more scenic settings and captured the Thai culture. The other episodes failed to do that.

To miss this show is not a big deal. If it continues to travel to interesting venues and selects more interesting and challenging contestants in the future the show will have a better chance for success.

DONALD TRUMP

On an Apprentice show Donald Trump said it's OK to blow your own horn (talk about) about what you achieved. He said he does it noting that why not do it before someone else takes credit for what you've done.

TRUMP SUCCESS

Kelly Perdew, "Apprentice 2" winner and former President of eteamz.com - the largest amateur sports portal in the world - is President of EliteXC.com. The company is involved in Mixed Martial Arts television programming. Full story

MORE TRUMP

The Trumpster is currently involved in a feud with Rosie O'Donnell regarding her negative comments about his forgiving Tara Connor Miss USA (Trump owns and produces the Miss USA show) for her lost the plot behavior.

Apparently she has been partying too hard in New York City and was seen smooching with Miss Teen USA that is another Trump produced show. The two share one of Trumps apartments in the Big Apple.

Trump recently appeared on the Larry King show on CNN to voice his displeasure on O'Donnell's comments and his negative opinion of the talk show host.

TOP MODEL FINAL 3 IN THAILAND

Tyra Bank's TOP MODEL TV show has been filming in Thailand for the past two episodes. In doing so they have trimmed down to the final three contestants. The next new episode will be televised Monday and has repeats throughout the week. See schedule below….

ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINAL SCHEDULE ABORTION

If you missed the finals of the Ultimate Fighter championships here's the news. Unlike last season the final was televised in two parts by the AXN channel. There was no notice.

The two one hour and twenty minute episodes were shown on successive Monday's starting at it's usual 7:00pm start time (Thailand/ Cambodia) but cut off at 8:20pm.

The event took place last year in Las Vegas so there was enough time to plan properly.

The event is available on a 5 CD set. Who won??? Full story

GRAMMY AWARDS

The Grammy Awards is the music industry's highest award. It will be televised live Feb. 11, 2007, from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, USA. In the USA the broadcast will be on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

TV SCHEDULE

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

THURSDAY

7:00 PM - FEAR FACTOR AXN (New episode)

8:00 PM - TOP MODEL (rerun)

8:00PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN (New Episode)

11:00PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN (rerun)

FRIDAY

11:00 AM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN - (rerun)

4:00 PM - FEAR FACTOR - (rerun)

SATURDAY

7:00 PM - FEAR FACTOR (rerun)

SUNDAY

NOON/ 12pm -- ASAP - TFC (The Filipino Channel)

6:00 PM - TOP MODEL - Channel V

11:00pm - ASAP - TFC - (repeat of show televised at NOON)

MONDAY

1:00 pm - TOP MODEL (rerun)

6:00 pm - TOP MODEL (New episode)

WEDNESDAY

11:00PM - AMAZING RACE ASIA - AXN (rerun)

CARING FOR CAMBODIA

Lenovo computer manufacturer CEO Bill Amelio and his wife Jamie are appearing on the CNBC show Managing Asia. They talk about after visiting Angkor Wat in 2003 they recognized the need for educating children when the children were begging for money for their school tuition..

Since that time they established a foundation that has built four schools in Cambodia. At present the Amelio's Caring For Cambodia Foundation educates 3000 children for FREE. The foundation also bought 1500 bicycles to give to the students. Lenovo contributed computers for the schools.

The couple are guardians for two Cambodian children. The 47-year-old Lenovo chief said he came from humble beginnings growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the son of a shoe repair man.

Jamie pointed out that since Angkor Wat and Siem Reap are attracting so many tourists that learning the English language is important for the children's future employment.

DID YOU KNOW???

Angelina Jolie is the daughter of actor Jon Voight? One of his most famous films Midnight Cowboy is currently being televised on the MGM movie channel in Asia. The HBO film GIA is her best work.

KATIE HOLMES - DAWSONS CREEK

Actress Katie Holmes has risen to fame and fortunes during the past eight years BUT DID YOU KNOW Holmes first major exposure to television viewers was as a cast member in the Warner Brothers TV series DAWSONS CREEK? WRITTEN IN THAI LANGUAGE.

CLICK ON LINE

For Internet and hi tech lovers tune in to the BBC's CLICK ON LINE. The half hour show airs at 3:30pm Tuesday afternoons in the Thailand/Cambodia time zone. Check local listings for time time and date in your area.

WORLD'S APART

WORLD'S APART is a good TV show to watch on the AXN channel. It sends an American family to a foreign land to live with indigenous people for 10 days. The family has to adapt to their culture and ways.

This is the perfect show that demonstrates how people can get along.

Note: This show is in reruns and is subject to a limited run. Check your local listings for time and date in your area.

JAY LENO Is (Spot) On

You often hear the phrase SPOT ON meaning you got it right or it's hot. When it comes to comedy often the humor is lost in the translation of language or a cultural misunderstanding.

Jay Leno is recognized as one of America's top comedians. He took over The Tonight Show that Johnny Carson hosted for many decades. They said nobody could replace Carson but Leno certainly has having hosted the show for a decade himself.

To see if Leno is SPOT ON for you the show airs on the CNBC channel Saturday night and Sunday afternoons in the Southeast Asia region. Check your listings.

In Cambodia and Thailand it is televised at 9pm Saturday and 3pm Sunday on CNBC. CHECK IT OUT.

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