THE Amazing Race Asia (TARA) Season 3 is on.

The Asian version of this award winning reality show will start airing on September 10, 2008, and will run Thursday nights at 9 p.m. on AXN channel, Sony Productions Entertainment Asia announced in a launch early this week.

A total of 22 teams registered for the TARA Season 3 promotional event; but only 8 teams were left standing. From the 8 chosen teams, only three were awarded by the Sony Productions Entertainment Asia during the event in the Trinoma mall in Quezon City.

This year’s Philippine team is composed of Tisha Silang and Jeff Rodriguez. They were invited to talk during the launch about how they discovered each other’s strengths and competitiveness while both rekindled the challenges they have had as individuals.

Season 2 Filipino contestants Marc Nelson and Paula Taylor were also at the event to share their experiences.

During the launch of TARA Season 3, a mall-based race was also simulated inside the mall with obstacle courses built within the activity area while some participating merchant stores and boutiques served as pit stops.

By Paolo R. Reyes
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—They may have been mistaken as “Team Africa” by one of the clueless Malaysian contestants, but retired US Navy senior officer Henry Reed, 48, and his strong-willed Filipina wife of 13 years, Terri, 44, are as Pinoy as they come — minus the modest, passive-aggressive personality, that is.

Super sat down with the outspoken husband-wife tandem and grilled them for a full disclosure. (Well, almost. We don’t want them to incur the $5 million penalty that’s cemented in their contract.) One thing’s for sure, these hard-nosed competitors are bound to generate some seismic shockwaves over the boob tube.

What made you decide to join the race?

Terri: It was my idea. I loved watching the show. So I asked Henry if we could. He asked me, “Give me 10 reasons why we should?” I was up till 3 a.m. thinking. Then I got out of bed, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote down: “P5 million. P5 million. P5 million …” There were 5 million reasons!

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By Paolo R. Reyes
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–There we were, 35,000 feet above the air, aboard a bumpy flight bound for Singapore, when the throaty cockpit voice of Captain Culanculan came crackling through the speakers: “Passengers … please fasten your seatbelts … we are about to make our final descent.”

As we returned our seats to the upright position, while dolled-up attendants wheeled away Duty Free carts containing tins of tobacco (or “tow-bay-ko,” as the P.A. system so eloquently announced) and handsome boxes of hard liquor, it was easy to imagine how the very novelty of travel — the unfamiliar scent of foreign soil, the labyrinth of alien streets, the indecipherable accents of strangers — can easily be lost on those preoccupied with way more important things.

Like a fiercely competitive race around the world. Or earning a ticket to early retirement-ville by way of a brag-worthy cash prize.

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By James Gabrillo
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The show that has captured audiences is back—this time with two of our very own TV hosts hopping along to reprezent y’all.

Okay, enough of the ghetto talk. Exciting times lie ahead for fans and newcomers to Asia’s edition of the Emmy Award winning reality-competition series, “The Amazing Race,” as “The Amazing Race Asia 2” promises to be bigger and bolder, traveling further and beyond Asia.

Bar none, the original Amazing Race has given viewers a global adventure reality show like no other. Even after 11 awesome installments, fans are not letting go of the show.

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By Niño Mark Sablan
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–After hosting the first season of the AXN Original Production “The Amazing Race Asia,” Singapore-based Chinese-American actor Allan Wu was deluged with endorsement deals, commercial offers and other various proposals — even invitations to star in a Filipino movie.

And while he did accept some of those irresistible offers (the Filipino flick sadly not being a part of it), he is now back as the host of season two of one of the world’s greatest, most exciting and most successful reality TV franchises.

“The Amazing Race Asia” Season 2 (TARA 2) is set to premiere soon on AXN. While host Wu admits to trying to look a lot less like Phil Keoghan of the US edition and a lot more like himself in the new season, the show itself has undergone several exciting changes.

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