Amazing Race goes to Asia

Behind a man’s success is a woman. However, men are the secret recipe behind cable TV’s top-rating TV series. Leading the pack are C.S.I.’s Jerry Bruckheimer, The Apprentice’s Mark Burnett and American Idol’s (AI) Simon Fuller. Completing the list is Bertram Van Munster, creator of Amazing Race, now on the final stretch of its season nine.

Whether it’s a sign of male dominance or what have you, men are as creative as their female counterparts in coming up with shows that thrill audiences.

To borrow a line or two from AI judge Randy Jackson, Bertram is the man and what he has done for the show is a bomb, no pun intended.

"Well first of all, the expertise," says Bertram of what motivated him to put up Amazing Race for AXN. "I have been going around the world for most of my professional career as most TV and film people do. So you see a lot of things while you’re working on projects that never end up on a certain project. So that is what kind of started up this whole concept. It’s kind of let’s do something that is really big and something that is culturally background in nature and that brings a lot of humor and drama."

In five years, Amazing Race has gained worldwide following and made its own mark. Unlike Survivor, which gathers participants in an island for six to 10 weeks, Amazing Race runs for straight 34 days, making the participating pairs hop from one city or country to another and letting them experience one culture after another. They are constantly on the move, exploring nine different locations alien to their points of origin. In 31 days or so, contestants have globe-trotted for 50,000 to 70,000 miles on a plane, thus avoiding land traffic. All this makes the show a one-hell-of-a-ride experience.

The challenge in doing a TV reality show, however, is to make it fresh and original season after season. This is the reason why Amazing Race has come up with its Asian version which will hit the small screen soon.

"We have been asked many times to do an Asian version," recalls Bertram. "We just thought it would be a terrific idea. The region has beautiful countries with a lot of cultural differences and opinions. With the enthusiasm of the people at AXN, this is how this thing started."

The Asian episode is now on pre-production, says Bertram. He is not in the position to reveal any of the show’s details. Being secretive keeps Amazing Race original and full of surprises for viewers. After all, the whole idea is that each episode must be unexpected.

Bertram adds that the rules are the same. The difference with this version is that contestants are from different countries. Unlike in the past, all participating pairs were from the US. This might add spice to the show assuming that some nationalities may have biases towards each other. Hopefully, the show can bring them closer and celebrate their differences.

Bertram assures Asian followers one thing: Amazing Race will bring out a lot of humor and drama.

Amazing Race is one show that is not made in the editing room.

"As you can see, the show is born on the road," says Bertram. "It’s a race which is chronologically shot and cannot be manipulated. It’s impossible. The editing room is very important as you can get rid of all the boring stuff. With Amazing Race, you can see with your own eyes that it’s impossible to manipulate."

For this special edition, a grand prize of P5-M awaits the winning pair. As of press time, celebrities like Eric and Epy Quizon, Vina Morales, Borgy Manotoc, Aubrey Miles, Marco Alcaraz, Nancy Castiglione, Brad Turvey and ABS-CBN’s Ernie Lopez have sent their audition tapes. From this group, a pair will be picked to represent the Philippines, battling it out with their Asian counterparts.

Asked what interesting thing he has done as the show’s traveling producer/creator, Bertram replies, "I’ve been on an airplane for four months straight 24 hours a day. That’s how much I’ve flown for the past five years.

"I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gone around the world," he ends. "So, I am not very inclined to go on any race."