The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio
The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio |
| Posted: Jaime Dempsey explores Malaysia on a motorcycle and wants you to come along for the ride. Always game to try new things, Jaime Dempsey decided to send in an audition tape to host a new series on the History Channel called Ride N' Seek. It helped that the 37-year-old American has been riding motorbikes for 17 years, and was very keen to explore Malaysia on a two-wheeler. What is amazing about her story is that she heard about the job from a friend of a friend who lives in Malaysia. She shares: "I have some friends who live out here, from when I went to school in Britain. We stayed in touch, and through word of mouth 'it' found me. It was a total fluke ... It was just destiny." In person, Dempsey is a pretty blonde who laughs easily and is very chatty, especially about her experiences with bikes and travelling around Malaysia. Wearing a sleeveless T-shirt (to show off the two colourful tattoos on her arms) and jeans, she looks comfortable being the centre of attention even though this is her first gig as a TV host. According to Dempsey, her regular job is as an assistant designer (swimwear) for a company in California, where she lives, which brings her in close contact with the surfer and snowboarder community – "People who look like me. So I fit in there." The Illinois-born Dempsey was taught by her then-boyfriend how to ride a bike. As she got more confident, she wanted to ride the bike herself and took a motorcycle course to learn how to be safe on the road. She loves being on a bike compared to being in a car as all her senses are engaged and it allows her "to zip through traffic, especially in LA, which is a major plus. Once I get behind the car, I'm like ugh, it's so slow." Over the years, she has owned bikes like a 1972 Yamaha XS650, Harley Iron 883 and a Ducati Monster 695. For Ride N' Seek, she wanted to bring "a little piece of home" with her, so she decided to ride a Harley, which got her a lot of thumbs up whenever she stopped at a traffic light in Malaysia. Starting her journey in Johor, Ride N' Seek sees her travelling to a new state (Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Malacca) in every episode. At these locations, she does different activities like driving a Formula One car, riding an ostrich, feeding a 130-year-old crocodile, waking up in a houseboat on Lake Kenyir, and jumping into water and letting hundreds of fishes nibble on her. During the three months of filming, she fell in love with Malaysian food. "You would think that I would have lost some weight from all that sweating because the heat here is intense. But I ate so much food – I love the spicy assam laksa in Penang, so good! And I had cendol just about every place I went and drank about three teh ais a day," she concludes with a laugh. Jaime Dempsey answers five burning questions: How do you deal with helmet hair? Can you ride pillion?
How many tattoos do you have? Do you have a favourite stretch for riding?
Did you pass the motorcycle course the first time you took it? > Ride N' Seek premieres tonight at 10pm on the History Channel (Astro Ch 555 / HD Ch 575). |
| Posted: Star2 takes a stab at scriptwriting to pen their dream plots for some high-profiled spin-offs. THE past few weeks have seen some surprising changes in the American television scene, thanks to this year's upfront sessions. Many shows that were initially thought to be doing well have been cancelled, while some programmes that have waned in popularity are still getting the greenlight for another season or two. New series have also been ordered by a few of the big studios, and the more promising – or exciting – ones include Almost Human, Believe (both of which are produced by director J.J. Abrams' company, Bad Robot), About A Boy, Mom, Michael J. Fox Show and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. There are also a number of spin-offs or prequels of really popular shows like The Originals (The Vampire Diaries), Ravenswood (Pretty Little Liars), 24: Live Another Day (24) and Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (Once Upon A Time). Here's our quirky take – our wishlist, if you will – on these four new spin-offs. The Originals From: The Vampire Diaries Advertised storyline: In The Originals, werewolf vampire hybrid Klaus (played by actor Joseph Morgan) returns to the French Quarter of New Orleans, and viewers get to learn more about his mysterious origins. The upcoming series also focuses on the "Original" family of vampires when Klaus reunites with his former protege, the dreaded Marcel (Charles Michael Davis). Later on, he learns that a former one-night stand, Hayley (Phoebe Tonkins) is pregnant with his child. What we want to see: Judging from the way the writers outlined the plot, it looks like Klaus is in for some big-time dramatic family reunion. I'd like to see Klaus retire from searching for a cure for his werewolf "curse" and just focus on being a dad. This way, he gets to take his kid hunting for vampires, terrorise humans and you know, just be their own wolfpack. They should also rename the show Modern Werewolf Family. Dream cast: Who gets to play the kid? That Luke Dunphy boy (Nolan Gould) from Modern Family would be a great candidate. Maybe Benicio Del Toro (simply because he was the "Wolfman") as Klaus' long-lost brother, so that the kid gets a great uncle who'll take him to do stupid things. Oh, Wesley Snipes can be the family guardian. Just because. – Angelin Yeoh Ravenswood From: Pretty Little Liars Advertised storyline: Set in the fictional town of Ravenswood, Pennsylvania, the series follows five strangers whose lives become intertwined by a deadly curse. What we want to see: In Ravenswood, which is just one town over from Rosewood – where Pretty Little Liars is set – lives (horror! shock!) Alison (Sasha Pieterse)! Yes, the very same Alison who is supposed to be dead (you'd know this if you watched PLL). Never mind that; in soap operas, characters who are dead have been known to be resurrected. Student by day (karma's a b**** as she's being bullied in her new school), Alison moonlights as a call girl at night. Why? She needs the money to fund the on-going torture of her four friends in Rosewood. Yes, Alison is "A" and is in cahoots with Red Coat (who still remains a mystery) to inflict emotional and psychological pain on Hanna, Spencer, Aria and Emily. Her illicit occupation soon leads her to another problem. One of her regular Johns is found dead in her boudoir but Alison couldn't have killed him as she was in Rosewood spying on her friends. She can't possibly go to the police without her identity revealed. So, her madame helps discard the body ... but Alison has a hefty price to pay! Dream cast: Marcia Cross (as the Madame), Julian McMahon (as the dead John appearing in flashbacks), Becki Newton and Lindsay Lohan (as Alison's colleagues), Amanda Bynes (as the Queen Bee who bullies Alison), Colton Haynes (as Queen Bee's boyfriend who might or might not have some feelings for Alison) and Christopher Meloni (as Alison's principal who has a dark past). – Gordon Kho Once Upon A Time In Wonderland From: Once Upon A Time Advertised storyline: Loosely based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, this fantasy drama is set in Victorian times in London, where a more grown up Alice is institutionalised by her father who thought that she had lost her mind after talking about falling in love with a genie named Cyrus and hanging out with a talking rabbit. Just as she's about to get a "permanent cure", in walks a Leather Jacket-Wearing stranger ... What we want to see: Instead of forever pining for her lost love aka Cyrus, Alice should concentrate on her career as a much sought-after nanny in the "other wonderland", which I'm hoping is a lot like Beverly Hills. Or perhaps even Beverly Hills itself. Since Alice has a proclivity to fantasies and talking rabbits, kids just adore her. Her daily routines and dramas would include ducking sexual advances from employees, hiding from a stalker (Cyrus!), avoiding confrontation from "The Mothers", a group of loveless, bitter careerwomen whose kids prefer spending time with the help than them. Oh, and her love life is rocking, thanks to Leather Jacket-Wearing stranger. Dream cast: AnnaSophia Robb as Alice, with Kristin Chenoweth as leader of The Mothers. Robert Pattinson can be Cyrus (the character wears a big ruby necklace, which would go well with Pattinson's glistening chest), while James McAvoy is perfect as Leather Jacket-Wearing stranger. – Melody L. Goh 24: Live Another Day From: 24 Advertised storyline: Jack Bauer returns. What we want to see: The show is set several years following the events of the final season of 24, when Jack Bauer walked into the unknown. He resurfaces after a newly elected president decides to acknowledge the sacrifices and good work Jack has put in over the years to keep the country safe. A press conference is called at the White House, and Jack arrives with his daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) and best friend Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) – and yes, he's wearing a smile, for a change. Of course, that is also the day when a disgruntled soldier decides to strike an attack on the White House with his loyal men. Kim is caught in the crossfire and dies (to the delight of fans, yay!). The entire season – which is just 12-episode long this time around – is shot within 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – from the West Wing to the President's living quarters to the secret labyrinth beneath the grounds of White House. Jack has to put away his grief – and get back into action to save White House, and all in it, from going down. Dream cast: It would've been great if Homeland's Damian Lewis was available for the role of the soldier. Since that's not going to happen, we'll take Matthew Fox. To keep the 24 tradition of casting against type when it comes to POTUS, I vote for Jennifer Beals. She plays a strong willed president of multiracial background, whose life partner is a woman. Other actors involved in this political thriller include Madeleine Stowe as the scheming vice president, America Ferrera as the clumsy, and poncho-wearing, press secretary and Tricia Helfer as the hot tempered chief of staff. Yes, it is an all-female administration. – Mumtaj Begum |
| Posted: There are now even more reasons to stay home and watch television. TELEVISION is fast becoming a one-stop entertainment centre for many people these days. Apart from the long list of shows available to viewers, you can also listen to music, play games and watch movies on your television set. In some cases, you can even use your TV to surf the Internet and book a taxi! Recognising this, Astro has added 11 new channels to its broadcast, and introduced five new package options for customers to choose from. Among the new channels are Maya, Hua Hee Dai, Quan Jia, HBO Family, HBO Signature and HBO Hits (all available in HD), as well as Comedy Central, WE tv, Lifetime, Star Vijay, and Raj TV. There are also two new sports channels added to the line-up. Some of these channels have been up and running since March, with Lifetime being the most recent one to go live; Hua Hee Dai and Maya are the last to be launched on June 24. However, Astro has attained five more new channels which will kick off in the months to come. "We are committed to providing the best viewing and customer experience to Astro's growing customer base with greater choice of content. Across our multiple products and services, we offer a breadth of content packages spanning multiple genres, which we believe appeal to all customer segments in the urban and rural areas," said Astro's chief commercial officer Liew Swee Lin, at the launch of the Astro Lifestyle Centre in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur. At the centre, new and existing customers would be able to get all the information they need about the new packages, and even have a glimpse of what each channel offers. Of course, you can also browse Astro's website, or call the hotline number. "We would like to ensure that our customers have a great experience with Astro at all touch points," added Liew. Aside from the new additions, Astro has also pumped up its list of movies available via the Astro Best and Astro First services. In case you don't already know, these two channels allow viewers to "buy" the latest local, regional and even international movies and watch them in the comfort of their own home. Customers can now watch local and regional blockbusters on Astro First two weeks after the movies open at the cinemas, like the recently-released Kil, Awie's Bikers Kental, Aaron Aziz's Lari and Get Together, a comedy from Taiwan. So, if you're a closet Awie fan and can't bring yourself to watch the really silly Bikers Kental (which also stars Zizan Razak) in public, you can now check it out via Astro First. Meanwhile, those who are constantly busy and simply cannot find the time to head to the cinemas and watch movies can now enjoy them on TV via the Astro Best service. It's pretty convenient, and you can even hold your very own private movie viewing party at home, for example, and watch (in HD!) with friends or family members – you need to get your own popcorn and drinks, of course. The movies featured on Astro Best are mostly Hollywood blockbusters that were released on the big screens about six months earlier; normally, it takes at least a year for these movies to go from cinema to TV. This is possible because of a partnership between Astro and studio giants like The Walt Disney Company and Lionsgate. Among the latest movies that are currently on offer include the psychological thriller Side Effects starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum, fantasy drama Cloud Atlas, Warm Bodies, Beautiful Creatures and Disney's colourful Oz The Great And Powerful. "The response for Astro First and Astro Best has been overwhelming, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak. To date, we have garnered a staggering 6.2 million buys of movie titles collectively," explained vice president of Astro Content Agnes Rozario, in a press release. She also said that the company is working with more partners to expand its movie line-up. For more information on these services, check out their Facebook page ("AstroWorldOfMovies") or visit www.astro.com.my. |
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