Season 1
The Amazing Race Asia is an Asian reality competition series based on the American version created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, in which teams of two race around the world against other teams, with the first-place team winning $100,000.
The series premiered on AXN Asia on 9 November, 2006 and is hosted by Chinese-American actor Allan Wu.
The Amazing Race Asia premiered in South Africa on DStv's Sony Entertainment Television (SONY) channel on Wednesday 15 April 2009, at 19h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Synopsis
10 Teams from all over Asia join host Allan Wu to get the usual introduction before grabbing their packs and getting on their way.
Each of ten teams on The Amazing Race Asia is composed of two individuals who have a pre-existing. The participants are all required to be able to communicate in English.
The contestants chosen to appear are from various Asian countries and not limited to one country of origin. Participating countries include all citizens of the continent of Asia except the Middle East as well as non-Asian workers who are living in Asia for a long period of time.
From Season 2 onwards, Japanese residents are able to participate, having been ineligible for Season 1.
At the beginning of each leg of the race, each team receives an allowance of cash with their first clue, with the cash usually in U.S. dollars. Any money left over after a leg of the race can be used on subsequent legs.
The exception to this is the purchase of airline tickets, which the teams pay for using a credit card supplied to them by the show.
In The Amazing Race Asia, the route markers are also coloured yellow and red with the exception in the second leg of Season 3, when the route markers were coloured yellow and white to avoid confusion with the flag of South Vietnam.
For the Asian edition, teams do not depart immediately from starting city. Instead, they remain in the starting city during the first leg entirely (Season 1) or in part (Seasons 2 and 3) depending on the clues.
All route information and clues in The Amazing Race Asia are adopted from the original American version. Season 2 introduces the Intersection marker, while Season 3 introduces the U-Turn marker. Generally, both formats are similar, but a few differences still can be seen in the race.
Like in the Roadblock, teams can generally perform the task without a time limit; however, if the tasks require the teams to form a queue, generally the clues will state that teams must perform within a predefined amount of time.
If a team fails to do the task within the time limit, that team will lose their turn and will be required to let the next team try.
The structure of the race is similar in both versions of the show. The teams travel to different locations by following the route information, performing some various tasks, and checking in at the Pit Stop.
Teams normally complete all tasks and check in at the Pit Stop before they are eliminated. Occasionally, on an elimination leg, if all other teams have checked in and the last team is very far behind, Route Markers may instruct them to go directly to the Pit Stop without completing the rest of the leg.
Exceptions implemented in The Amazing Race Asia are: the teams unable to get to the next Route Marker because they have to do some task to earn it while all other teams already checked in or the location of a task is closed beyond the hours of operation.
In this case, teams will be led by the production staff to the Pit Stop and be eliminated by Wu or Wu himself coming out to the team's current location to announce their elimination there.
In some legs, the first teams to arrive win prizes, usually from the show's sponsors. Season 3 is the first season to award prizes in every leg of the Race.
The clue which directs a team to the Finish Line mentions it not as such but as a "Final Pit Stop." Instead of having an elevated red carpet with The Amazing Race logo enlarged on it as is used in the American edition, the Finish Line consists only of a regular check-in mat for the final three teams.
Each race has a number of predetermined non-elimination legs, in which the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue on the race.
Most of the rules and penalties are adopted directly from the American edition; but in some of cases, the Asian version has been seen to have a unique set of additional rules.
Each team will sign a confidential agreement preventing themselves from revealing the details of the Race before airing. Teams will be fined with five million U.S. dollars if the contract is breached.
If a team member is injured during the race, he/she has to pass medical evaluation to ensure they are fit to continue the race.
In the American edition, if the injury is not serious or life-threatening, the team may choose to continue or quit the race. This occurred to Marshall & Lance during Season 5. Margie suffered heatstroke at the end Leg 7 in Season 14 and their team was allowed to continue.
Teams must follow local road laws and regulations and be responsible to pay any fines and demerits they incur during the race.
If teams violate speeding laws, the number of minutes for the time penalty is the amount of speed in kilometers per hour that the team traveled minus the legal speed limit then multiplied by two minutes.
However, this penalty is only served at the beginning of the next leg of the race, and causes criticisms from among the teams (see criticisms). While speeding is also against the rules in the American version (as shown in Season 2 and Season 13), the penalty is not given in a measurement of time additional miles per hour over the speed limit but rather of time gained plus an additional 30 minutes.
In the American edition, the teams who quit a Roadblock must serve a four-hour penalty assessed starting from when the next team arrives at the task site, whereas in the Asian edition, this four-hour penalty applies at the Pit Stop prior to checking in and not at the Roadblock itself.
Hitchhiking (travelling in privately owned vehicles) is prohibited; if a team violates this rule, they incur a one hour penalty. In the American version, a hitchhiking team generally does not incur a time penalty. But if the clue says that the team must take an appropriate form of transportation, they are asked to go back and take it as directed.
Season 1 Teams
Andrew Tan and Syeon Park
Dating Couple from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This result-oriented boyfriend and girlfriend have already developed strategies for the game.
Putting their eighteen-month-old relationship under pressure is one way to see how strong it is, and these two are confident that they have what it takes and have enough in common to make it work.
Andrew and Syeon from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, already have a strategy.
Aubrey Miles and Jacqueline Yu
Best Friends from Manila, Philippines
These best friends from the Philippines make a striking first impression - Aubrey is an actress, and Jacqueline is a model.
There is more to them than meets the eye, and even though they enjoy what they call the "girlier" side of life, like shopping, or watching movies, or even flirting with the boys, they also excel at more masculine pursuits.
Ernie Lopez and Jeena Lopez
Married Couple from Manila, Philippines
Ernie and Jeena have been married for ten years, but you couldn't tell from looking at them. Full of life, jokes and fun, these two consider themselves the clowns of the race, and are hoping to have fun - perhaps even more fun than any of the other teams.
There is a myth that marriage is boring, and that couples who have been married for a long time become dull and jaded. Ernie and Jeena from the Philippines disprove that myth - having been married for ten years, the word that best applies to them is "fun".
Francesca von Etzdorf and Sandy Sydney
Dating Couple from Hong Kong
Still in the early stages of their relationship, Sandy and Francesca (living in Hong Kong) are taking the brave step of entering The Amazing Race Asia, hoping to discover how well it will stand up to pressure.
This attractive couple (he's a personal trainer, she's a model) have more than just good looks, and hopefully their perseverance and refusal to ever quit will stand them in good stead.
Howard Bicknell and Sahran Abeysundara
Best Friends from Colombo, Sri Lanka
Howard and Sahran have been friends for ten years, and to celebrate they've decided to go onto The Amazing Race Asia instead.
This quirky team might catch the eye of nearly every home viewer, because the potential for something interesting is very high, given the intercultural nature of their friendship.
Howard is British while Sahran is Sri Lankan, and both of them live in Sri Lanka. This clash of east and west makes their friendship interesting, even after ten years.
Laura Kluk and Andy Lawson
Engaged Couple from Koh Samui, Thailand
Working together and living together is the ideal preparation for the twenty-four-seven exposure of The Amazing Race Asia - at least that's the theory that Andy and Laura from Thailand are working on.
They plan to use their experience working together on their business to help them be the strongest Amazing Race contenders yet.
Marsio Juwono and Mardy Juwono
Brothers from Jakarta, Indonesia
A bad case of sibling rivalry? Hardly - these two brothers will squabble amongst themselves, but there's definitely a connection between them that's different and stronger than you might get between two people who are just friends.
Work and their families have kept them from spending much time together, so The Amazing Race Asia is an opportunity for them to reconnect...
Melody Chen and Sharon Wong
Actress/Model from Singapore
Melody and Sharon (from Singapore) were schoolmates, once, when they were in tertiary education. They didn't stay in touch, though.
Some eight years later, they bumped into each other and discovered that they had a connection, even though they are quite different. These two are proof positive that difference can be overcome.
Prashant Raj Sachdev and Sahil Shroff
Male Models from Mumbai, India
Welcome to the boy's club. Prashant and Sahil are models, and tempting as it is to dismiss them as simply Bollywood hunks, these boys are also taking the Race very seriously.
These two guys have been buddies for some time, and are looking to take their buddy routine on the road for The Amazing Race Asia.
Zabrina Fernandez and Joe Jer Tee
Best Friends from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
These two young women are looking forward to the fun and the adventure of The Amazing Race Asia - particularly being able to share it with a friend.
Friends from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and self-described reality show freaks, these two ex-colleagues see their friendship as an asset that will support them through their efforts in the race.
Winners
Season 1: Zabrina Fernandez and Joe Jer Tee
Season 2: Adrian Yap and Collin Low
Seasons
The series airs exclusively on SONY
Season 1 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 15 April 2009 | Finale: 8 July 2009 | Wednesdays, 19h00
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 3 January 2010 | Finale: 28 March 2010 | Sundays, 19h45
Season 3 (11 episodes)
Premiere: 15 August 2010 | Finale: 24 October 2010 | Sundays, 19h45