Video Beat Extra Extra - LOST PASSPORT ON AMAZING RACE IN PHNOM PENH

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

A lost or missing passport was the drama in the AMAZING RACE'S visit to Phnom Penh - Dreamgirls starring eliminated American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy is on MAX - TV Listings

Friday October 16, 2009

AMAZING RACE IN PHNOM PENH

A lost or missing passport was the drama in the shows visit to Phnom Penh. When you finish first in the Amazing Race you would be happy with your efforts to win a US $1 million prize. The problem was the elation wore off when teammates Justin and Zev realized when they arrived at the Wat Phnom pit stop that Zev's passport was missing .

The shows host Phil Keoghan informed them that unless they found the passport before the remaining teams checked in that they would be eliminated from the competition since they needed the document to travel. The duo who had hired a taxi called their driver to return and they backtracked to their previous task at Wat Toul Tom Pong where they failed to find it. After all the teams checked in they were out of the race. Zev and Justin were the only team that did their tasks WITHOUT CARRYING their backpacks.

When they went to the US Embassy for a replacement passport they were informed that their passport was located in a temple at Wat Toul Tom Pong. The mystery is since they were in a race for a million dollars where did they have time to visit a temple? How did the passport get there? In the televised portions of the show they ran from the taxi without their bags to do a monkey task. They then were filmed running back to the taxi without their bags. The bottom line is friends Zev and Justin FOUND THEIR END… IN PHNOM PENH.

The show fell short in depicting Cambodian culture. Whoever chose the site to visit did a miserable job; it was from a foreigner's point of view. The locations chosen came off more as an infomercial and had nothing to do with Cambodian culture.

The first location was the FCCC (Foreign Correspondents Club of Cambodia) a foreign owned establishment that allegedly is where the journalists frequent. It is a watering hole largely patronized by foreigners. There the contestants performed no tasks and picked up a clue from two foreigners in a staged environment.. A point of interest is that the largest circulation in Cambodia is 3,000 issues. Recently an English language publication claims they reached 4,000.

The second location was the Hotel Royal formerly known as Raffles. The contestant's task was to find a photo of Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and Jacqueline Kennedy during the latter's only visit to Cambodia in 1967. Surprisingly some of the contestants didn't know who she was. This location represents where wealthy foreigners or those supported by NGO grants frequent. It did not portray the real Cambodia.

The next location was the Russian Market which is well known but not that interesting. They then had to search the market for a woman wearing an identical scarf and bring the woman back to the stall. When they correctly matched the two scarfs, the shopkeeper would hand them their next clue. The markets narrow isles and crowded conditions made this task difficult. What this did show were real Cambodian people at work.

The final task was at Wat Toul Tom Pong. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to put on a monkey mask and tail, then perform three Classical Khmer monkey dance maneuvers as demonstrated by the monkey dancer. If it was to the satisfaction of the monkey dancer, he would hand them their next clue. Though in our 11 years covering Phnom Penh it is news to us that this is something to do. The final Wat Phnom pit stop is the essence of Cambodia.

During the Amazing Race visit there was very little interaction with the Khmer people. In previous episodes the contestants interacted more with the locals. Overall this was a poor showing for the Amazing Race as they lost the plot with their choice of locations and lack of interaction with the Khmer people.

AMAZING RACE SCHEDULE

Leg 1 (United States ? Japan) The Los Angeles River's wider channel near the mouth was the starting line * Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles River Basin (Starting Line) * Flight: Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) to Tokyo, Japan (Narita International Airport) * Tokyo (Konno Hachiman Shrine) - Pit Stop (Leg 1) - COMPLETED

Leg 2 (Japan ? Vietnam) * Flight: Tokyo (Narita International Airport) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Tan Son Nhat International Airport) * Cái Bè - COMPLETED

Leg 3 (Vietnam) * Ho Chi Minh City - COMPLETED

Leg 4 (Vietnam ? Cambodia) * Phnom Penh, Cambodia Flag of Cambodia - COMPLETED

FUTURE LEGS

Leg 5 (Cambodia ? United Arab Emirates) * Flight: Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh International Airport) to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Dubai International Airport)

Leg 6 (United Arab Emirates) * Dubai

Leg 7 (United Arab Emirates ? Netherlands) * Flight: Dubai (Dubai International Airport) to Amsterdam, Netherlands (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) * Groningen

Leg 8 (Netherlands ? Sweden) * Flight: Amsterdam (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) to Stockholm, Sweden (Stockholm-Arlanda Airport)

Leg 9 (Sweden ? Estonia) * Ferry: Stockholm (Port of Stockholm) to Tallinn, Estonia Flag of Estonia (Port of Tallinn)

Leg 10 (Estonia ? Czech Republic) * Flight: Tallinn (Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport) to Prague, Czech Republic (Ruzyne Airport)

Leg 11 (Czech Republic) * Prague

Leg 12 (Czech Republic ? United States) * Flight: Prague (Ruzyne Airport) to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Flag of the United States (McCarran International Airport)

DREAMGIRLS

It's back!!! The hit movie Dreamgirls is gracing the Southeast Asian TV screens on MAX (Cinemax) If you haven't seen it the film it's a must watch if you have its worth seeing again. This film has the unique quality of a film that is enjoyable to be heard due to its superb sound track featuring the vocal skills of Jennifer Hudson. and Beyonce Knowles. Though not recognized as a vocalist comedian Eddie Murphy does an excellent job with his vocals.

Dreamgirls is largely based on the Motown Records group The Supremes with Hudson playing the role of Florence Ballard. At that time Diana Ross was the groups lead vocalist portrayed in this film by Beyonce Knowles.

As a result of her performance Hudson walked away with an Oscar at the Academy Awards in 2007 as the winner of Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. Hudson's version of a song from the film "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the January 13, 2007 issue. The "Dreamgirls" track has since become Hudson's first Top 10 hit, albeit not on the Hot 100, as the track registered a new peak at #7 on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart on February 24, 2007

In 1965 the Supremes were launching their nightclub career and broke in their act at the Riptide club in Wildwood, New Jersey. They were tuning up their performance to appear at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City. The Riptide is where I met the group and it was around that time that Diana Ross took over as the lead singer in the group although Ballard had the stronger voice just as depicted in the Dream Girls film.

What makes this DVD so strong is the acting talent of Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles. The film's balance of music and acting blends so well that there are no dead spots in the story, it moves at a steady pace that is gripping. It is so good just listening to the sound track is worth the rental or purchase. We recommend this as a must buy for anyone's video collection who enjoys music as well as the story it tells about one of the strongest era's of music history.

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TV SCHEDULE

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

NOTE TIMES OF THE SAME TELECAST IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

4:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

6:00 PM - LOCKED UP ABROAD - National Geographic

Midnight - TRUE BLOOD - MAX (Cinemax)

Midnight - NFL - True Sport 2 - Check for the channel in your area

4:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

5:30 PM - Crime & Justice - Australia Network

7:00 PM - AMANPOUR - CNN

7:00 PM - AMAZING RACE - AXN (New Episode)

9:00 PM - 2nd World War - National Geographic

10:00 PM - DAVID LETTERMAN -Star World

10:00 PM - LOCKED UP ABROAD - National Geographic

10:30 PM - CLICK (Internet Technology program) - BBC

11:00 PM - 2nd World War - National Geographic

7:00 PM - Missing Persons - Australia Network

7:00 PM - AMANPOUR - CNN

10:00 PM - TRUE BLOOD - MAX (Cinemax)

10:00 PM - DAVID LETTERMAN -Star World

10:00 PM - Missing Persons - Australia Network

4:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

7:00 PM - AMANPOUR - CNN

9:00 PM - UFC (ULTIMATE FIGHTING) - True Sport 2

10:00 PM - DAVID LETTERMAN -Star World

10:00 PM - DAVID LETTERMAN -Star World

12:30AM - FRONTLINE - Australia Network

4:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

4:30 PM - CLICK (Internet Technology program) - BBC

7:00 PM - AMANPOUR - CNN

8:00 PM - FIRST EDITION featuring Richard Keys - ESPN

10:00 PM - DAVID LETTERMAN -Star World

7:30 AM - CLICK (Internet Technology program) - BBC

12:00 NOON - AMAZING RACE - AXN - (Repeat episode of current season cycle 15)

1:30 PM - CLICK (Internet Technology program) - BBC

4:00 PM - LARRY KING - CNN - Airs daily

6:00 PM - DAVID LETTERMAN -Star World

8:00 PM - BORDER SECURITY - Australia Network

8:00 PM - TRUE BLOOD - MAX (Cinemax) - NEW EPISODE

1:00 AM - BORDER SECURITY - Australia Network