MANILA, Philippines - The second edition of ?The Amazing Race Asia? got off to a brisk start last week in Thailand, with its contenders first coping with a literally creepy gustatory challenge: A ?meal? consisting of maggots, scorpions and such!
Some contestants were really turned off by the far from appetizing ?treats,? but they forced themselves to chew and swallow the unappetizing fare?with some of them upchucking what they had scarfed down right after they got the go-signal to confront their next challenges.
They included cleaning an entire bus?which took them hours of backbreaking work?and pounding sticky rice into a Thai kakanin.
We liked the variety of the tasks the show?s think tank whipped up for its fresh batch of contestants. We trust that succeeding challenges will be similarly inventive.
This early, the contestants are coming off as a similarly varied mix of personalities and temperaments. Some teams are in the race to win it, come what may, while others are after a fun experience more than anything else. It?s expected that this second group will start to flake off once the challenges become really tough and tiring.
Last week, for instance, the Thai team won the first round, but its two members engaged in an all-out fight after their victory, blaming each other for all sorts of real or imagined faults.
As for the Filipino duo, sweethearts Tisha Silang and Geoff Rodriguez, they came in second, and looked like they?d kept their differences to a minimum.
On the other hand, they occasionally came across as self-satisfied and even smug, and this could turn some of their rivals off, not to mention a number of the show?s viewers.
Late-night talk show
Another recent addition to our cable TV fare is ?Chelsea Lately,? a late-night talk show hosted by comedienne Chelsea Handler. Chelsea is known for her brassy sexiness, initially showcased on over-the-top shows like ?Girls Behaving Badly.?
True to her image, Chelsea?s talk show is out to surprise (if not shock) viewers with its sizzling mix of sassy topics, guests and ?for adults? games.
Chelsea does her best to make her show?s naughty and madcap format work, but a little of her in-your-face hosting style can go a long way.
Maybe part of the problem is ?pop-cultural?: Late-night American couch potatoes may find the program?s ?exuberant? approach right up their alley, but for some Pinoy ?couch kamotes,? it may be a bit too much. Well, to each his own.
Culinary challenge
Finally, ?Dinner Impossible? is a truly daunting culinary challenge that requires its guest chef of the week to whip up a delicious meal for many people in the worst possible circumstances.
Last week, the chef was tasked to feed scores of executives at a sports event. All he was given was $300?no kitchen, no equipment, absolutely nothing else!
He and his assistants didn?t even have time to go to a supermarket to purchase the ingredients they needed, so they had to buy the foodstuff from sports fans who were grilling their own meals in a huge parking lot near the sports stadium.
Well, wonder of wonders, the extremely resourceful chef was able to surmount those challenges and came up with a very appetizing meal that won raves from the hungry executives who greedily wolfed it all down. And, he had $150 left over, to boot! What a chef?he did achieve the ?impossible!?
?Nights in Rodanthe?
Richard Gere and Diane Lane reunite on screen in the romantic drama, ?Nights in Rodanthe,? based on Nicholas Spark?s best-selling novel about two people who discover that there?s always a second chance to find the love of your life. James Franco also stars.
?The Strangers?
Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star in the new suspense thriller, ?The Strangers,? showing on Oct. 16. In the film, they have a fun time at a friend?s wedding reception, but after they go back home, a knock on the door and a haunting voice turn their joy to a total terror. Bryan Bertino directs.
