Gold Sun to air Sasuke Rising in Taiwan

©Golden Sun TV

As many of you know by now JET TV is no longer showing variety TV and thus dropped the Sasuke license way back in 2009. With Lee En Chi リー・エンチ doing consistently well throughout the years it was a shame that Taiwan had stopped showing Sasuke.  We had hope when a new broadcaster (Gold Sun 國興衛視 or as others call it "State TV") bought the license and showed Sasuke 24. However, that was short-lived with Monster 9 wanting an extraordinary amount of money for the newer shows.

and because there are so many versions of his name and this one is the one I kept for this long.. Taiwan's Lee En Chi リー・エンチ from Sasuke Rising (Sasuke 28)

 

With the death of G4 and the format of Ninja Warrior (edited by G4TV), the death of Sasuke being shown in Taiwan, and then finally the death of Monster 9 when they went going bankrupt.. it was a grim 3 year void of Sasuke worldwide.  In that interim 3 new tournaments under the title of Sasuke Rising had been taped (2 aired and 1 upcoming) in Sasuke 28, Sasuke 29 and the upcoming Sasuke 30.

 Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠

Stateside USA had it's own issues with NBC renegotiating it's contract with TBS to exclude the provision of being forced to carry/edit Ninja Warrior as part of their license to buy out the ANW license.  Worldwide distribution was screwed when Comcast decided to balk at editing Ninja Warrior and canceling their Sasuke distribution license - affecting millions worldwide.

 Taiwan's Lee En Chi リー・エンチ

JET and Gold Sun however were the only ones showing the original TBS broadcast with just Chinese subtitles.  They were the only ones who didn't buy the Ninja Warrior format.  We thought this wouldn't affect Taiwan.  However, even after sporadic showings in Taiwan after Gold Sun got the license, once Sasuke Rising started to air in Japan, all worldwide distribution of Sasuke just stopped. 

 (Left to right) Sasuke All Stars Kazuhiko Akiyama 秋山和彦, Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩, Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟, (Mr. Sasuke) Katsumi Yamada 山田勝己 and Makoto Nagano 長野誠

So the news now of Taiwan officially buying Sasuke Rising in it's original format is encouraging. There are also rumors of UK's Challenge picking up the Sasuke Rising shows with Challenge editing them themselves (rather than buying the Ninja Warrior format).  I hope this trend continues.

Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and Taiwan's Lee En Chi リー・エンチ

Anyway the current airings in Taiwan of Sasuke Rising are coming up in the next couple of days.  Gold Sun actually posted on Youtube a short clip (thanks TCM for the link and Lee for posting on Facebook) with Nagano and Lee (presumably from Sasuke 30) asking people to watch. Here Nagano is introducing himself in Japanese.

Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and Taiwan's Lee En Chi リー・エンチ

Lee introduces himself and asks the support of everyone for the premiere of Sasuke 28 this upcoming weekend!  Thanks to Lee for having the presence of mind to do that while he had Nagano with Sasuke as the backdrop.  The man is brilliant and a huge asset to Taiwan.

***********************

 5月31日 晚間七點 極限體能王（上）6/1 13:00~15:00[重]

6月1日 晚間八點 極限體能王（下） 6/2 00:30~02:00[重] 11:00~12:30[重] 15:30~17:00[重]

 Saturday, May 31st : 19:00~21:00 (GMT+8)
Sunday, June 1st : 20:00~21:30 (GMT+8)

 

Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and Taiwan's Lee En Chi リー・エンチ

 
Broadcast over two nights, the premiere of Sasuke Rising in Taiwan during prime-time is finally happening!  It was cool of Lee and Nagano to do a short video clip that could be used to help promote of Taiwan's return to showing Sasuke Rising.

 

Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and Taiwan's Lee En Chi リー・エンチ
Youtube VideoLink

 

My hope in all of this is that Sasuke is revived in Taiwan and ultimately worldwide. Everyone knows my passion for the show and my frustration at the death of worldwide distribution of the show. I hope this is the start of international distribution again.  Congratulations to Taiwan for taking that first step by ushering in Sasuke Rising's era outside of Japan.  I pray many other countries will follow in their footsteps.

Current State of Sasuke in Japan

I've wanted to write this article for a long time now.  At this point I've decided that I'm writing a couple different posts tackling a few of the problems in the current state of Sasuke as of November, 2013.  My initial in-depth analysis of the situation with my beloved show in Japan was back in April, 2010.  The article was titled "State of Sasuke in Japan".  It's been 3 1/2 years since that post and since then, the show in Japan has gone through massive upheaval.  The obvious was the downfall of Monster 9 in 2011.  The following was a rebirth (of sorts) of Sasuke under full TBS control. The reigns were pulled from creator Ushio Higuchi 樋口 潮 and put in the hands of both Producer Hiroki Kikuno 菊野浩樹 and back in the directorial hands of veteran Sasuke (1-14) Director Masato Inui 乾雅人 (after an 8 year absence).  This article is to concentrate on the Japanese show within the Japanese television market. 

RECENT SASUKE RATINGS HISTORY:
Comparing Sasuke events in the past - All the ratings can be found in the Japanese wiki. 

High/Low Reference points:

Sasuke 7 - March 17, 2001 - 26.0% ("SASUKE Series" overall highest rating - Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟 Final)
Sasuke 25 - March 28, 2010 - 7.5% ("SASUKE Series" lowest overall ratings)

Please note I'm only following the last 4 tournaments as I already spoke about the first 25 Sasuke tournaments in my original article.

• Sasuke 26 - January 2, 2011 - 9.0%
• Sasuke 27 - October 3, 2011 - 12.6% (Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 2nd victory) (The final Monster 9 tournament)

 "Sasuke Rising" debuts after a 14 month television hiatus under new management.

• Sasuke 28 - December 27, 2012 - 9.3%  (Forced retirement of All-stars)
• Sasuke 29 - June 27, 2013 - 9.6%

For now this post it's best to leave aside Sasuke 26 and 27. I'm doing this because this was still during the Monster 9 era, of which is now over. My main focus is the current "Sasuke Rising" ratings problems.  This will include Sasuke 28 and Sasuke 29 only.  As I said before in my old post I will reiterate again, Sasuke is a Japanese show produced for the Japanese viewing market.  I will deal with the international issue in another article.  This is about what is going wrong in Japan with Sasuke.  This is an effort to help the ratings in JAPAN.  As evident from the slide in ratings in the past few years and anemic numbers of late,  Sasuke is in crisis mode. This show is 16 years old and if ratings don't improve Sasuke 30 will most likely be the end of Sasuke in Japan.

RATINGS/TWITTER (28 and 29):
The ratings continue to be the 3rd and 4th worst of all-time. The overall number for Sasuke 28 was 9.3% and Sasuke 29 was 9.6%. The number dropped significantly after the First stage (after the All-stars left in 28 and Backstream fails were mounting in 29).  I was monitoring Twitter trends all night during Sasuke 28 and 29.  During the All-stars runs #Sasuke became the #1 trend topic in Japan solidly.  Before that it was ranked about 4th or 5th place.  Immediately after the first stage in Sasuke 28 the trends literally stopped.  They had dropped out of the top 10..  Sasuke 29 had a different problem.  Twitter trends for Sasuke 29's 2nd Stage only had only one conversation - the Backstream バックストリーム.  There was a firestorm over the problems with the obstacle and the massacre of competitors that tainted the viewing of Sasuke 29.

 

⑤ Backstream バックストリーム

 

POLARIZING OBSTACLE CHOICES:

Usually I don't discuss obstacle problems in Sasuke being a deterrent in Japanese casual viewing in any of my analysis blogs.  Sasuke Rising however had one notable and very promoted exception. It's .. this thing..  the Backstream バックストリーム.  This "obstacle" is the object of hate, fury and condemnation from both Sasuke 28 and HEAVILY despised in Sasuke 29.  The ratings drop from Sasuke 29's Second Stage was so severe that it went from being 4th place down to somewhere near 10th place (and in some articles possibly lower since some lists only include top 10) in Japanese ratings as soon as this thing was shown.  For the Sasuke faithful who continued to watch the show despite this, what followed was a flurry of fury and hate at the randomness of this "obstacle".  Twitter alone was abuzz and a now infamous video of the comparisons of the stream circulated worldwide and particularly in Japan as a topic of vehement criticism.  For the record, for 16 years part of the mystique of Sasuke was you don't EVER touch the water.  This mystique was destroyed when they introduced "swimming" in Sasuke Rising.  It was a clear indication TBS was doing anything grab attention.  "Shock value" is what we call it here in the West.  That however, backfired as it was unwanted negative attention that TBS received.  I strongly believe TBS is still suffering from this today.  DO NOT INCLUDE THE BACKSTREAM IN FUTURE SASUKE TOURNAMENTS.

 

INTERNAL POLITICS:

I'm reiterating a sentiment I posted after my initial Sasuke Rising blogs. For those not familiar with that phrase I'll quote wiki:  "Throw out the baby with the bath water" is an idiomatic expression used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the essential along with the inessential.  In this case TBS' zeal to remove all Monster 9 elements throw out key elements of the show that the fan base needed to keep the show alive. In Sasuke 28 we had the upheaval of the Sasuke base with TBS' project of forced retiring the Sasuke All-stars. That was so badly received that they allowed the All-stars that wanted to return a chance to come back on the show.  "Trying to exorcise the demons created by Monster 9."  That was IS the theme of "Sasuke Rising".  Rising from the ashes created by the crash and burn of the Monster 9 regime.  However, In an effort to get rid of everything that reminded people of Monster 9, they inadvertently alienated their fan base. And not just the hard-core base.. we are the ones who continue to watch the show. The "casual" is what makes the higher ratings.  Part of what makes Sasuke work all of these 16 years it's been on the air.. is familiarity.  Sasuke Rising "feels" like a different show.  Almost like "Viking" where some familiar faces were there but it was a completely different show.  Fans attach themselves to PEOPLE and follow their career through Sasuke.  The obstacles will change.. but the people is what MAKES Sasuke enjoyable.  It's not an Olympics, it's not all celebrities.. it's a host of regular men and women that make the fabric of society as diverse as it is.  In Sasuke 28 TBS tried to throw out the saviors of the show (The All-stars). Sasuke 29 they tried to make the tournament about the obstacles (and the Backstream failed them).  Admit that Monster 9 is bankrupt but do not forsake the success of the show by throwing out key elements that made it popular.  Fans don't care who produces the show. We are not interested in the politics. We want the old Sasuke back.

 

 Kane Kosugi ケイン・コスギ

THE LACK OF ENTERTAINERS:
This is CRITICAL in the success of Sasuke Rising in Japan. I can't express this stronger.  TBS HAS TO INVEST in this show.  Part of the investment is to pay for celebrities to participate in Sasuke.  Pay to have relevant celebrities with large fanbases that will follow their every move.  What is a bit of irony.. the highest rated Sasuke tournaments of all time had to do with a foreign celebrity hitting it big in Japan.  That was Kane Kosugi ケイン・コスギ. I won't go into the internal politics of his departure or the internal politics of the lack of foreigners in Sasuke today (that will be a future article).  What is of note is that in Sasuke's past you had relevant and very popular celebrities and athletes with strong name recognition OUTSIDE of Sasuke.  The appeal was to see how these famous people intermingle with the average competitors with no name recognition.

NAOTO from EXILE (Sasuke 26)

The last time TBS invested in anyone was in Sasuke 26 when a member from EXILE/J-Soul Brothers was invited.  The only reason TBS did that was because of Cross promotion.  TBS was debuting a new show for EXILE on TBS and used that opportunity to help promote that show within Sasuke. Many things missing from the current Sasuke Rising was the amount of posts online within Japan promoting the upcoming show featuring their favorite "stars". That of course coincided with the lack of relevant celebrities to begin with.  I was happy to see old Sasuke favorites return.  However, for the average non-hardcore Japanese viewer, they need to see non-Sasuke famous celebrities to be interested in watching the show.  Sasuke needs to invest in celebrities with a large fanbase to carry them into Sasuke.  This is a delicate balance.  Right now the balance is off.

Makoto Nagano 長野 誠 during the Monster Box Special

CROSS-PROMOTION OF SHOW NEEDED:

Something that Monster 9 did correctly was use of media exposure to their advantage.  Comparing old Sasuke and Sasuke Rising broadcast habits showed a difference in promotion these days.  I've mentioned this several times.  The idea of cross promotion. Something that used to happen in the past no longer happens - Cross-promotion in other shows and other forms of media. For Sasuke fans we we remember things like Viking, Banzuke, Sportsman #1, Sasukemania, Kunoichi, Muscle Ranking, etc.. There were magazine articles promoting Sasuke celebrities (including projects like Power of Sasuke). Sasuke competitors like Sato Hiromichi and Katsumi Yamada were in other talk shows and even specials that didn't have anything to do with Sasuke. There were even commercials promoting Sasuke merchandise. NONE of that exists now.  Sasuke exists in a vacuum.

  This show was called 時空を超えた大実験! (Experiment that cross time!)

That last few cross promotion eventa were for the now defunct Pro Sportsman #1 shows and the Edo Special. The Sportsman #1 Monster box special was the last time Sasuke competitors and famous athletes competed side by side in a show that was NOT Sasuke. Considering that this special was not a Pro event and even featured 3 All-Stars (Nagano, Takeda and Shingo).  The last cross promotion of a non-athletic show was the Edo Special where you had Sasuke Stars (Shingo, Akiyama, Nagano and Takahashi) and a talento hauling ice from Mount Fuji to Tokyo in a recreation of an edo period event.  This show however was poorly promoted and most people missed watching it since TBS didn't bother marketing the show. No one knew it was on until AFTER it aired.  Heck, it even had a full name change before it aired!  Another channel TV Asahi also promoted Nagano in their show called Densetsu 伝説.  While that aired in a different channel they were still allowed to cross promote Nagano as a star of Sasuke (which is TBS of course).  That show since aired in other international markets.  Again, these things Monster 9 did correctly.

Sasuke 29 had different rules for the 3rd stage

AVOID UNNECESSARY DISTRACTIONS

Sasuke 29 was a conflicting show in many ways.  While I understood that it was important to help support the Sasuke ASEAN Open Cup, it was also part of the problem that TBS chose to devote the entire show to it.  They turned the show into one huge "Trials" show.  They altered the rules to fit for that one event. In the end, with the postponement of the ASEAN Cup months later, it proved that you cannot abandon the format of the show for the sake of another event.  If the results of the 3rd stage of Sasuke altered a final there would have been all out war with the hardcore fan-base that is keeping this show alive.  Luckily that didn't happen and now there is a dilemma since Sasuke 30 cannot air before the ASEAN Cup because it will break the continuity of Sasuke 29's message.  To avoid future headaches, never alter your show for the sake of another one. Stay true to your own show and remember your target demographic.  There are ways of accomplishing the same goal without sacrificing the show to the new gimmick.

Local event held in Sendai by the STQ'ers ©Ryo Matachi

INTRODUCE A NEW GENERATION TO SASUKE

Sasuke 30 poses a glorious opportunity that TBS cannot afford to miss.  It is a grand anniversary event representing a milestone few television networks can boast.  30 televised tournaments spanning 17 years in television.  TBS can invite old favorites representing Sasuke's past (my vote would be to bring Kane Kosugi back) alongside the current generation stars (like the All-stars and the Shin Sedai).  They can cross promote this large event in various avenues not just within TBS' airwaves.  They can send out representatives to events (like this unofficial event in Sendai hosted by the current Shin Sedai).  They can cross-promote key Sasuke figures in other TBS shows.   All to bring attention to Sasuke 30's milestone.  I would suggest a televised compilation show (highlights of Sasuke 1-29) of Sasuke to introduce a new generation of fans to this excellent show.  Monster 9 promised this retrospect years ago but it never happened.  This would be a glorious opportunity to show highlights of the 17 years of Sasuke while optimistically looking into Sasuke's future.  Concentrate on the PEOPLE of Sasuke.  This is what the fans have been clamoring for years in Japan.  Exploit nostalgia while creating new memories for the children of this new upcoming generation of potential Sasuke viewers.  This is the perfect setting.  I would be ambitious to hope TBS would promote a future DVD/Bluray release of Sasuke.  This would be a wonderful opportunity to raise a new generation in Sasuke by showing them the long and rich tradition of Sasuke's past.

Shin Sedai (新世代) literally "New Generation"
(some call them the "New Stars" deriving from the Allstars)

2-Time Grand Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3), Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志, Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒, Kazuma Asa 朝一眞 and Sasuke All-star Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟

Las Vegas, Nevada Japan vs USA - ANW5 event.

So as I'm typing this I know Sasuke is in a crisis right now.  With Sasuke 30 being rescheduled again into 2014, we are at a crossroads. If Sasuke does not raise their ratings, Sasuke 30 will be the last one we will ever see.  For those of us who LOVE Sasuke, we would like to see it succeed for a very, very long time.  Hopefully TBS pays attention and corrects the ongoing problems with their approach this old and very beloved show.  A future separate article will deal with the growing concerns of Sasuke as related to the International audience. I strongly believe that one will be just as long and entails different issues than what is going on in this article.  This is especially so because of the precarious nature that Sasuke Japan is in right now.

Sasuke Rising Aftermath

Preface:

Now that I've had time to digest the happenings of Sasuke Rising and the state of Sasuke as we speak I wanted to do a blog on my thoughts on this new season.  I'll try to break it down like I before on the State of Sasuke in Japan Blog that I wrote a couple years back.  My initial thoughts on the show are as simple. I liked it.  However, there are a few things that bothered me about the current incarnation and the direction it seems to be going. I'm not going to talk about obstacles in detail.  Overall there were hits and misses and some seemed.. "awkward" but that's a design issue and is a huge discussion between hard-core and casual fans.  If we followed everyone's suggestions on that no one would be happy as some are diametrically opposed. I for one encourage obstacle changes and wild ideas.  Some of our favorite obstacles came from ideas so I don't like discouraging that at all. Even if some didn't live up to fan expectation. It's part of the show.  So I'm going to deal with things that SHOULD change either "back" to what it was, change from the current and even support some change for the sake of progress.

Sasuke Champions!

Sasuke All Star Kazuhiko Akiyama 秋山和彦, 2-Time Grand Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3) and Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠  ©Yuuji Urushihara

Ratings dissection for Sasuke Rising:
First thing is first: The ratings were not spectacular.  They weren't terrible either.  However, they were the 3rd worst of all-time. The overall number was 9.3% (Technically in the Kanto Region but that's the one they use for documenting overall ratings).  The number dropped significantly after the First stage (after the All-stars left) as more people just switched channels to watch the other 2 variety shows that Sasuke was competing with all night.  The numbers were clear where the audience went and so the debate goes as to why knowing that information.  One clear thing though, the night was not a heavy viewing night and the ones that won (even if by double digits) were not colossal winners as it was in the past match-ups.  So while the number was dismal, TBS looked at where they were overall and they were solidly in 3rd place for part of the evening.  I believe for a short time it was actually 2nd though they concede it wasn't for an extended period of time.

Twitter trends during Sasuke Rising (during Nagano's run - end of First stage)

Sasuke Rising's impact on Twitter Trends:
I was monitoring Twitter trends all night during Sasuke and a took a few screenshots to see how they compared hour by hour.  Even despite TBS incorrectly using #SasukeSG (which is for Singapore..) and SMF users using #SasukeRising like we were told.. During the All-stars segment #Sasuke became the #1 trend topic in Japan solidly for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Before that it was ranked about 4th or 5th place.  During the time I screen-capped this Nagano was running the First Stage.  Seems Twitter was talking about Yamada 山田勝己 (who just finished running) and after this Nagano's name started to rank (around 7th place), Yamada was still ranking just above him and #Sasuke was still 1st.  I noticed something very troubling after that.  Immediately after the first stage and they went back to that awful room (more on that later) the trends literally stopped.  Sasuke stopped being #1.. in fact it wasn't even in the top 10.  Yamada's name lingered for another 30 minutes and then nothing about Sasuke (not even obstacles) were discussed ever again.  The top two shows that everyone ended up gravitating towards (and beat Sasuke in double digits ratings-wise) for the rest of the night ended up taking precedent in Twitter as well.

Sasuke All Stars Kazuhiko Akiyama 秋山和彦, (Mr. Sasuke) Katsumi Yamada 山田勝己, Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩, Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟,  Makoto Nagano 長野誠 (with his son Kaiou 塊王)

Perceived TBS project for Sasuke Rising:
I know TBS' project of forced retiring the Sasuke All-stars was controversial however I was not sure how this was going to be accepted in Japan.  On the surface I knew "why" they wanted to go in this director.. however it was apparent the project failed. (Thankfully) It wasn't the only thing that failed though so I wanted to break it down into sections.  First I'll deal with the overall project TBS was trying to do.  "Trying to exorcise the demons created by Monster 9."  That was the theme of Sasuke Rising.  Rising from the ashes created by the crash and burn of the Monster 9 regime.  In an effort to get rid of everything that reminded people of Monster 9 they inadvertently alienated their fan base. And not just the hard-core base.. we were the ones watching the show. The casual is what makes the "higher" ratings.  Part of what makes Sasuke work all of these 15 years it's been on the air.. is familiarity.  Sasuke Rising "felt" like a different show.  Almost like "Viking" where some familar faces were there but it was a completely different show.  Fans attach themselves to PEOPLE and follow their career through Sasuke.  The obstacles will change.. but the people is what MAKES Sasuke enjoyable.  It's not an Olympics, it's not all celebrities.. it's a host of regular men and women that make the fabric of society as diverse as it is.  It's evident by how many complaints there were this time around by who was NOT invited.

 Yoshiyuki Okuyama 奥山義行, Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒, Kouji Hashimoto 橋本亘司, Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3) and Kenji Takahashi 高橋賢次 ©Kouji Hashimoto

More Appreciation for former Third Stage Competitors and Finalists:
There were quite a few inexplicably omissions of notable competitors.  Notably absent were a large number of returning veterans and Finalists! In the past Monster 9 invited anyone who passed the first stage (even if they did it only once) back to the show as a measure of respect for that difficult task.  Common courtesy if want to rephrase that.  If you made it to the 3rd stage you were basically invited for life.  TBS now trying to get rid of Monster 9 tradition also got rid of a lot of fan favorites that frankly shocked a lot of hard-core fans like myself.  No one can adequately explain why Finalists Okuyama and Kongu were NOT invited.  The only "argument" that I heard was that they were the same age as the All-stars and therefore would not look good if they did better than them given that they are retiring the All-stars because they are "old".  Okuyama being the same age as Nagano is one most consistent competitors Sasuke has today.  I was angry that both of them were not invited even after jumping through the hoops of that stupid "audition". Why does a Finalist need to "audition" to be on the show they carried?  That also includes Kouji Hashimoto 橋本亘司 who inexplicably was demoted from the New Generation roster. I was happy he was invited, but I was not happy he lost his title. ESPECIALLY coming in as one of the handful of competitors that can say they were in the final AND coming in from Stage 3 in Sasuke 27.  TBS must really hate him.  If wanting to get rid of "Monster 9" elements.. don't use the same titles and expect people to ignore the difference.  They used Shin Sedai and that is the same term that already has a history and about 6 people. It's okay to ADD to the list.. however it is NOT to delete from the list for no acceptable reason.

 Top Row: New Generation: Kazuma Asa 朝一眞, Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志, Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒, 2 time Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3)

Front Row: Sasuke All Stars  Kazuhiko Akiyama 秋山和彦, Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟, Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and (Mr. Sasuke) Katsumi Yamada 山田勝己 ©Yuuji Urushihara

Internal politics getting in the way of the show:
I know I'm probably going to anger him but I have a couple thoughts on why this happened.  For the record, I like the old/new director of Sasuke (He directed Sasuke 1-13) Masato Inui 乾雅人.  His communication with fans through his Twitter account was awesome.  Still is!  He's patient and answers even the most mundane questions imaginable.  He painstakingly answers questions for hours on end about Sasuke day after day after day.  I should know. I ask him a LOT. However, the topic of who was invited or snubbed lies on his shoulders.  He had made a comment that since he was gone for 8 years and didn't follow Sasuke during that time he didn't keep up with the "new" people of Sasuke.  That included the current new generation and even the current champion.  He also didn't want to hark back to the Monster 9 days so he decided to try something new by injecting new people to the Sasuke lineup.  In his attempt though he automatically failed rule #1 when taking over a show that's struggling.  DO YOUR HOMEWORK.  People like us who have followed the show through thick and thin follow PEOPLE not obstacles through a show's ups and downs.  It was common courtesy that you keep your veterans (especially when they are doing well) as a show of respect of their contributions to the show.  When Inui left the Sasuke All-stars carried the show along with the various people who came out of the shadow and made it to the final.  When the All-stars struggled it was people like the new generation stars including Kouji and vets like Okuyama that made it to the 3rd stage over and over.  When Kane Kosugi left, gone with him was the idea that a celeb can go far so it fell to the non-celebs to carry the show.  Fans wanted to continue seeing how they did as the tournament obstacles changed and evolved. When Inui admitted his ignorance for the new generation and to who people watched he left the show.. he threw the baby out with the bath water.

Sasuke All-star Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩, Kunoichi All-star Mika Izumi er.. Mika Watanabe 渡邉美香 and All-star Makoto Nagano 長野誠 ©Toshihiro Takeda

TBS inadvertently throwing out the baby with the bath water:
For those not familiar with that phrase I'll quote wiki:  "Throw out the baby with the bath water" is an idiomatic expression used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the essential along with the inessential.  In this case Inui in his zeal to remove all Monster 9 elements throw out key elements of the show that the fan base needed to keep the show alive.  It's PEOPLE.  He may have forgotten what Sasuke was like or knew why people watched the show.. but we never left. We've been watching the 8 years he's been gone.  We've grown to love the New Stars and usual competitors that existed in that time frame.  We love the joke competitors like Mr. Octopus (Tako Tencho) and the vets like Kongu and Okuyama and Lee Enchi from Taiwan.  And most of all .. we adore the Sasuke All-Stars. Which brings me to my next point.

Sasuke All-star Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 staring down Sasuke Rising ©Toshihiro Takeda

Forced Retirement of the All-stars:  This was a HUGE topic.. even before the start of the Sasuke tournament.  Ever since we found out it was going to happen (again thanks to Inui posting about it)  This was a hot topic not just on the forums or my blog but even on Twitter and Facebook.  Continues even until today.  I didn't know how the All-stars were going to react. At first I honestly thought most would be relieved it was over (Akiyama/Nagano/Takeda/Bunpei) while I feared for those who didn't want it to end (Shingo/Yamada). I was surprised by the aftermath.  I believe the one positive thing that came out of the whole "graduation ceremony" was the lighting of the fire of competitiveness within the All-stars.  I was frankly surprised at what I saw and subsequently read. Not the results themselves (though I expected they would all crumble under the ridiculously enormous pressure) but HOW they reacted at the tournament end and after it aired.  They didn't like it. I mean.. they REALLY didn't like it.  It became apparent to me that Inui didn't like it either.  The editing of the show was important in that respect.

All-Star Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩

All-star Rising Back:
Point blank I was shocked at the editing.. specifically the inclusion of Takeda's speech at the end of his run.  It wasn't a "thanks for the memories and I'll happily go back to retirement".. it was a defiant "I sucked I'm not happy and I want to come back and make the final stage" speech. I literally was floored that not only did he SAY it on camera but that he even FELT that way.  Takeda knows his history.  Akiyama was forced retired after Sasuke 17 for saying on camera he was done then when he was lured back by his friends and fans Monster 9 shut him down for a few tourneys because he was "retired".  So when I heard Takeda remember what he says on camera is repeated and quoted for all eternity I was shocked at what came out of his mouth.  For people who follow this show we know that Takeda had initially retired because of his job with heavy rescue.  It wasn't that they didn't want him to compete but he felt the need to retire to avoid unnecessary injury that would hamper his performing his job at the top level.  Given how important his job is now it was accepted why he decided against doing it.  So.. given all that I was happy that he came back to Sasuke even if it was to retire again at the end.  I didn't anticipate what he said after he failed (and in such a fluke fashion).  What I found interesting was that the interview was RIGHT after he failed.  Unlike the other All-stars that went back to the bleacher section and spoke to the crowd.. he avoided it altogether and went away from the crowd.  He spoke only to the sidelines reporter and spoke his mind.  He was quite firm with his desire as well. There was no mistaking his meaning in his speech.  I'm so proud of him.  It takes guts to do that knowing it was going to be aired to thousands around the world.  I finally saw a fire in Takeda that wasn't present for a number of years.

All-star Makoto Nagano 長野誠

Let the All-stars return if they desire:
So while I was digesting Takeda's defiance to being forced retired I was shocked to see Nagano's retirement speech deleted from the broadcast. I mean.. it wasn't even there. He didn't say he wanted to come back or retire.. it was just.. Poof.. gone.. All of this was edited by Inui.  So the question remained.. so.. are they gone?  So a flicker of hope began the night of Sasuke Rising's airing.  Soon the "flicker" became a roaring flame when I started to get reports about the All-stars clamoring to return to Sasuke on their Personal Facebook pages.  Leading the charge was Shingo (whom I did not expect) after Takeda's speech went on air.  Takeda himself had not even bothered to watch Sasuke Rising until a full month after the broadcast (in fact he saw it a couple days ago...) but he decided to post a message to his fans a day or so after the broadcast to continue to support his endeavor to finally make a serious run at the Sasuke Final Stage Tower.  Shingo immediately chimed in going "if you are going back I'M GOING TOO!"  A couple days later you had Nagano hoping to come back if the other guys are going back.  All citing a renewed spark to continue pushing THEMSELVES to exorcise their own demons they have been carrying around like albatrosses around their necks.  So if anything, the project TBS went out to force retire them actually had the opposite effect.  Now the All-stars want to come back in force.  My suggestion is.. LET them come back.  Don't focus the show on them but let THEM decide if they want to return or not.  So if some want to stay retired.. let them.. but if they want to return.. LET them.  Fans appreciate THEM deciding their own fate. It was clear to me that the All-stars were uncomfortable in that "room" knowing that they were being shown the door... which brings me to my next point..

Sasuke All-stars bored out of their minds in "The Room"

Celebrity room pointless/boring:
Point blank this was the SINGLE most HATED portion of the show.  What I call "The Room". I would not have minded it so badly had it been relevant and appropriately spaced and not so disruptive!  Case in point.. why was it there?  What purpose did it serve?  Not only did it add useless minutes to the broadcast that could have been better suited to actually showing fan reaction at the tournament.. But, they invited the All-stars to sit and watch a show for 3 hours and didn't interview them ONCE.. not even once.. meanwhile we were treated to clueless celebrities that hadn't even watched the show in the past and had a camera up their face to monitor their every faked reaction.  They didn't even recognize and therefore appreciate it's stars and 15 YEAR history.  If it was relegated to "between" stages as I was lead to believe.. I wouldn't be as furious.. But it was a "device" used throughout the ENTIRE show.. This is not Sasuke. If they want to show up as competitors and promote their upcoming shows.. do so as a competitor otherwise they are not appreciated.

 The infamous "box girl"

Why was it shown on EVERY RUN?  Even in the past when they had stage reviews with Ichiro speaking to a couple people.. it as BETWEEN stages.  They didn't cut to his reaction.. and they didn't INSERT themselves in each and every shot.  The disruption was so jarring that the Forum kids came up with phrases like "box girl".  If I took a drink every single time I saw her gawking like a blithering idiot, I'd be dead from alcohol poisoning within the first hour..  Every time Fukiishi Kazue  吹石一恵 came on the screen I literally screamed back at her to go away. It broke the flow of the show and killed whatever tension existed in the air watching the show.  It was so apparent it was staged and the celebrities were paid to be there that all you had to do was see the bored faces of the actual competitors in the background watching the show THEY WERE JUST IN..  

 (Mr. Sasuke) Katsumi Yamada 山田勝己 defeating the Jump Hang Kai

Summation.
While I hit hard at the parts they got wrong.. I have to commend them for the things they got RIGHT!  I've noticed as I get older I've become a creature of habit. The things I had the most problems with were the small things like familiar competitor theme songs missing (like Yuuji (my favorite), Kanno, etc.).. competitors I've grown accustomed watching (All-stars, Veterans, New Generation, etc.) I was happy with some things TBS did this time around.  Unlike when Monster 9 was completely in charge of the show.. TBS promoted the show A LOT.  We knew there was a tournament 2 full months before TAPING.  We knew the names of all 100 competitors BEFORE the tournament aired.  We saw commercials and entire MONTH before the tournament aired.  And you were allowed to ask questions to competitors and even the director without fear of being blacklisted.  Communication was wonderful. Monster 9 was the antithesis of that.  I want to encourage that communication to continue into the future.  The current plan to tape Sasuke 29 hopefully between Spring (at the earliest) and Fall (at the latest) is still not confirmed, however it's still more hopeful as it has been in the past.

Akiyama finally succumbs to tears

Rambling Rican's hope for the future of Sasuke:
Overall I am happy Sasuke is back.  That said, I'm very protective of the ONLY show on television in any country that I have such a strong opinion about. I will defend the honor and history of this game show with fervor and unapologetic voice.  I don't want Sasuke to become another clone of other failed shows.  I don't want Sasuke to "look" the same as other Japanese variety shows with their inserted fake reactions.  Sasuke has endured in people's hearts because of it's unique mantra. It was a show where the "ordinary people do extraordinary things". I don't want it to become a Sports show (we have hundreds of other sports shows with athletes with no jobs other than to train for their sport) or another celebrity show where people are paid to do stupid tricks for people to laugh.  I want the tradition of a show where someone sitting on their couch watches and says "yeah. I can do that" and they legitimately have a chance to pursue that dream.  They don't have to tear down anyone else to be the best.  They don't have to have their own backyard course.  They don't have to be someone "famous" to be a Sasuke Champion.  THAT is what I want to continue.  Watching Sasuke for the 6 years I've been watching (and blogging for 5 years) has endeared me to the normal hard working men and women that have graced Sasuke's start-line.  I want to continue watching their journey until they can't do it anymore.  Feel free to tweak the course.  Feel free to invite famous celebs to fail the first Stage for ratings.  Don't try to rewrite history in an effort to exorcise a perceived handicap.  We came to watch the people we have been watching.  We don't care who produced the show. Monster 9 may be gone but the competitors who have no control over that are still there and willing to compete.  Don't make the fans and competitors pay for the mistakes made by a few who no longer are with us.  Feel free to bring crazy obstacles and try out things that may or may not work.. but never forget that Sasuke is famous worldwide for it's PEOPLE: Not inanimate objects.  THIS is why I watch Sasuke.

Sasuke Rising (28) Spoilerific Review - Part 9

We have a new Sasuke opening!

PART NINE

(Part 1) (Part 2)(Part 3)(Part 4)(Part 5)(Part 6)(Part 7)(Part 8)

Sasuke spoilerific review ;) Warning.. incoming blog of Sasuke 28.. if you don’t want to know.. you have been warned :D (Just remember.. the USA Broadcast of this.. will be.. well never possibly.  I don't know if we will ever see it.. Yes.. you read that right.. Now with the death of G4 official and NBC not giving a damn about Sasuke Japan.. we may never see Sasuke Rising on US television (or any overseas country for that matter unless everyone buys the original 3 1/2 hour broadcast from TBS). For a preview of this event.. Please see SASUKE Rising (28) NAVI a 1 hour review of Sasuke Rising with fluff pieces of all the major players in the upcoming Sasuke and even a couple of runs that were cut from the official broadcast!

UBE'S Sorta-LIVE-BLOG FOR SASUKE 28 IS HERE!

 (Massive thanks to TBS for posting the names of all 100 competitors!  Thanks to Ube for his help on the names in English!!)
 

And we are back!  Third Stage Time!

And a return of the ① Rumbling Dice ランブリングダイス

The obstacle marking it's 8th appearance

New obstacle!  ② ^Iron Paddler アイアンパドラー

The camera panned across so you can see both sides of it.

We'll see how this works exactly if someone gets to it.

And the full length of the paddler

Also new a re-imagined Cliffhanger called the  ③ ^Crazy Cliffhanger クレイジークリフハンガー

In the words of my husband.. "what makes it 'crazy' then?"

This does!  You have to jump behind you to get to the other ledge.

④ Curtain Cling カーテンクリング 

There's been a few variations of this obstacle (namely the placement of the sheets) however this marks the 5th time it's been in Sasuke.

New obstacle (yes.. that's a ledge..)

⑤ ^Vertical Limit バーティカルリミット

Of course not to be confused with the English title of the Kunoichi obstacle..

This is a ledge/grip obstacle.

and an oldie but goodie:

⑥ Pipe Slider パイプスライダー

This particular one is redesigned to be it's own thing,however there has been a version of this obstacle in at least 18 tourneys.

Still wrapped in a baby blanket, you see the competitors watch a demonstrator on the Crazy Cliffhanger.

And successfully defeat it.

As the competitors having a mancrush over the demonstrator.

Same guy showing us how the Vertical Limit works.

Yuuji's totally mancrushing...

As he's yelling "Sugoi" スゴイ (or Amazing!!)

LOL I was told what he actually said here!!

Yuuji:  "Come on, how can they expect me to do this. I'm just a shoe salesman."

I love his sense of humor!

Prerequisite interviews!  Asa making his debut!

Then Yuuji who's making his 4th appearance in the Third Stage

Who apparently is giddy with excitement and trepidation over the stage..

and Kanno

Kanno's girlfriend Shoko Emiko (笑子）

Kanno is making his 3rd appearance in the Third Stage (the most recent one being 3 years ago)

I'm so used to the All-stars being all over each other supporting so this is jarring for me to see them so far apart from Asa.

It will take time for the group to congeal.  Heck, it took years for the All-stars.

Veteran announcer Keisuke Hatsuta 初田 啓介

Reminder that only 3 have survived into the Third Stage

Cool overhead shot of the Third Stage. Milk that crane rental!

TBS loves this shot.. will he make the Final that's looming in the distance?

Kazuma Asa 朝一眞

And immediately starts with the Sasuke Spray!

Ever a fan of the show he knows exactly the best technique to go through this obstacle

And showing no issues as he powers through it.

almost there..

Safe dismount

Now comes the unknown..

Hey I wondered if you could go underneath it like an arm bike..

But apparently not.. as it's called a paddler..

Wow this is awkward and painful to watch!

awesome pace though.. he's just muscling it to the end!

Wow that looks exhausting!!

Yuuji just crapped a brick...

And Kanno is intrigued..

Now onwards to the Crazy Cliffhanger..

This woman has crabs.. and is happy about it..

Okay back and he's praying over the cliffhanger.. er.. sorry making love to the spray.. no that's not right either..

Okay fondling over.. no that's not right either..

okay nice pace across the first 1/3 of the obstacle

wait spoke too soon.. he comes back to the first ledge..

Okay he's back on the middle one..

transition to the 3rd ledge..

and starting to get himself organized for the swing.. he looks tired..

and trying to get a good swing..

Oh but before that his fingers gave out!

Oh reverse angle showing you how hard it was for him to hang on...

just couldn't hold on..

Kanno contemplating how much energy was sucked out of him by the Iron Paddler..

Quick glance as he heads over to his starting position since he's next.

Asa groupies in million depressions..

ugh that water looks foul.. and FREEZING..

Yeah once I saw his body completely extend that far.. I knew he had nothing left..

Kazuma Asa 朝一眞 - Death by Crazy Cliffhanger

I'm actually really proud of him! He's kept it together and showed us that the potential we saw years ago when we first met him was not a fluke. He really is that good!

He said he had been dreaming of going this far and is happy but wants another chance to do better!

Meanwhile pimping the new Sasuke Rising Jackets in white.. Yuuji is up next!

If you don't know he won in Sasuke 24.. you don't watch the show..

and if you didn't know he won TWICE.. you really don't watch the show..

Yuuji showing us that he practices his cliffhanger skills at home

.. hey is that a cat.. liter box?

Kinda creepy that he shows how much he hangs on to it..

It literally changed color from the times he's handled it..

Don't you touch your wood too?

TBS pimping the space heater the size of the Death Star..

and a cameraman waiting along the route..

TBS really loves this shot..

2-Time Grand Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3)

Children of the cor.. er.. vegetable?

I see they got a commercial with the current Gymnastics Olympic All-Around Champion Kōhei Uchimura 内村 航平

and we're back!

No issues on the Rumbling Dice

Safe dismount

Figuring out wtf to do with this thing...

No wonder he was scared of this.. he's having ALL SORTS of problems..

omg is he going backwards???

This is painful to watch!

People are yelling encouragement as it seems he's here for a lifetime!

pokes a toe out to hopefully get momentum off this stupid thing..

iiiiiiinching forward...

Wow finally off this thing.. it took him TWO MINUTES to clear it!

Kanno is up next..

Asa made it look easier..

Not sure what he's saying but I think he's talking to Asa here..

Talking to Shinya here.

His turn to contemplate this cliffhanger with almost no energy..

Quickly on it..

Mmmmmmm.. nuts..

and we are back as he's flying through this..

After all he is an UNCLI member!

Now eyeballing the jump..

and he touches...

Noooooooooo...

He had a good attempt!

but just short..

Hioki freaking out!

Masashi Hioki 日置 将士 (those of us know him as the lucky bastard that got Bunpei at his wedding)

LOL and drops out of frame..

Ooooh STQ'ers unite!

Okay.. Tomohiro Kawaguchi 川口 朋広, Keitaro Yamamoto 山本桂太朗 (Cliffer #5), Hioki now on his knees, Lee from Taiwan and Kouji Hashimoto the inexplicably demoted New Star..

Asa also freaking out so spastic that the camera lost him

He was standing next to Kouji

As everyone is in disbelief that the Cliffer failed a Cliffhanger!

Oh.. Kanno is not liking his chances if the King of Sasuke just failed his go-to obstacle

What makes this surprising is that up to now.. Yuuji had never failed the Third Stage... let alone the previous Cliffhangers (in competition)

Unfamiliar territory! 2-Time Grand Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3) - Death by Crazy Cliffhanger

Yeah.. Kanno is not in a happy place

Taking two full minutes on this was painful to watch.. it seemed endless but he persevered!

Given how much energy was drained from him on the paddler I shouldn't have been surprised to see him fall..

But I was.

He said he's really happy he got this far and he'll have a goal to train for.

I suspect many of his friends will build that obstacle for him to train on!

It's so damn cold.. Kanno has all of his clothes on.. a heavy jacket.. AND a baby blanket.. and THIS was the tournament they wanted people to swim in!???

anyway Box lady surprised that the new generation live in closets filled with full-sized obstacles..

Seems of the celebs are all laughing at the absurdity of it all.

While she's gone fangirling over the sight of his back.

Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 back in the Third Stage after 3 years!

Can I call her no-neck girl? Is she hiding hickies the size of manhole covers?

I mean.. just saying.. this is her boyfriend..

btw he's doing just fine on the Rumbling Dice

Just fine on the dismount

Lol wut?

Dude this sucker hurts..

I want to see him in paaaaaaain.. just like I was..

Yuuji's wish is Kanno's command...

Wow he's having issues as well but still going at a faster pace than Yuuji

almost.. there... he touches his feet...

OMG he tried to dismount early and went completely backwards!

Pulled his knees in and managed to land on the platform and slowly paddled his arms back in to dismount...

No-neck is relieved!

Lucky bastard knows he's lucky!

Meanwhile.. he gets ready for the Cliffhanger..

and has a private moment with Sasuke Spray..

Hey.. you should know by now they are going to pimp the commercials..

LaaaaaaaLaPort!

Hey check it out! It's Anna Tsuchiya 土屋 アンナ! I like a lot of her music. It's very different.

Kanno got too much Sasuke Spray in his eyes.. LOL

okay back on the first ledge

onto the 2nd..

carefully on the 3rd..

Jumping..

No.. hands together..

Princess suckface in million depressions

It looked like a good jump

but not far enough and the hands were practically on top of each other.. he had no hope..

Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 - Death by Crazy Cliffhanger

I had it..

I thought I did...

Damn!

Now she's crying

as Kanno washes all that mud out of hands..

and to further ruin the mood.. but luckily for the last time.. I hope.. we are back to that damn room..

as poor Asa who is not used to wearing a suit gets up as he's acknowledged

Same for Yuuji and Kanno

btw Kanno wasn't interviewed at the end either was he?

Yuuji and Kanno the Third Stage competitors

Along with Asa

Akiyama: I'm so hungry..

Shingo: Okay.. explain to me the point of why we are here?

Yamada: I look great in this suit don't I?

Nagano: I wonder where I dropped my wallet?

Akiyama: Hmm instead of water maybe they should have just given me a beer.

Shingo: I mean.. I sat here for three hours.. and I didn't get asked a single question

Yamada: You want them to talk to you? You suck at public speaking..

Nagano: Maybe in the bathroom?

Akiyama: or appetizers.. some munchies would be nice.. my stomach is digesting itself..

Shingo: I'm soooooooo bored..

Yamada: I'm look good in a suit don't I?

Nagano: My wife is going to kill me when she finds out..

I honestly hope that although it was cute to see them in suits.. that they get rid of this horrible segment. It served no purpose.

MC says in perfect English "Have a happy New Year!"

Okay! Where to start.  First off.. I LIKED this tournament. After having a long almost year and a half wait from Sasuke 27 it was nice that we got another tournament.  I'll try to break down a couple of my arguments for and against in another blog because I need to break it down into components.  The synopsis though right after I saw this show was I applaud their efforts. I am HAPPY that they gave us so much notice.  In September we had a formal announcement and by November they taped and early December we had so much press for this tournament including several videos and a fully updated website with all the names of the competitors..  All the things I faulted them in the past they seemed to have fixed.  They tried new things as well.  We can complain about what they added but I like supporting the idea of taking chances.  Granted I believe this is the most polarizing of the Sasuke tournaments (some HATED it while others LOVED it).  I applaud the fact that TBS is still continuing with the franchise without changing the format (like they did with the horrible Kunoichi 8).  Since the airing we found out that they had to start from scratch since the Monster 9 bankruptcy liquidated all assets including ALL of the old obstacles.  Re-hiring Sasuke Director (Sasuke 1-13) Masato Inui was a good step as he had experience with the tournament and his company (Folcom) could replace the Monster 9 production team.  It can only go up from here.  I hated a few things of the show but I'll keep that in another post.  By reading my blog though it's obvious it can be summed up in 2 categories.. Forced retirement of the All-stars and that damned room.. but lemme finish on a good note.  I can write about that at a later time.

Anyway... really really really want to thank a few people. Lost in Ube for oh geez.. the list is so long. Outside of my inspiration for even blogging in the first place back when I found Sasuke and found his blogs back in 2007 he's been a great online friend whom I can watch Sasuke and use candor and humor when watching without people hawking my every word :p And then of course his Live blog which I abuse constantly when creating my own. I honestly believe a lot of people really don't realize how hard it is to do these things (especially his live blog). VxJasonxV for the Sasuke Navi, Nagano overseas Special and Sasuke Rising feed he provided from his paid subscription of WIST. Without that I don't think half the community would have even SEEN the tournament! Thanks to the streamers blt and scnoi that helped our community see the event! Thanks for Jams for giving me a clear copy of the tourney for the blog since my VLC kept crashing while recording the broadcast in the past... Thanks to the SMF community for being patient when I FINALLY got the blogs up and for READING them! Thanks to my very loyal Rambling Rican readers whom always amaze me when they come back! LOL  I'm happy people find enjoyment in them as much as I enjoy creating them. I'm ecstatic more people have used my blog as an introduction to such a wonderful show and it makes it even more worthwhile when I know my fangirling is actually to good use! I'm excited to see our small group grow to literally thousands around the world banding together to watch this show through tiny computer screens that often crash. Praying for another tournament so I can keep updating this blog with relevant information. Didn't think after all these years I'd still be doing this and enjoying it. Ya'll have made it worth the while :)  It'll be 5 years this March! I can't believe how fast time is flying.

Hopefully with the preliminary news of Sasuke 29 being discussed (but not confirmed) we'll get the answers to our questions about the state of Sasuke Japan with the uncertainty of the spin offs around the world. The 3rd place overall in ratings for the evening was considered enough to keep going from what I understand. I look forward to more news as we get it.