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“NINJA WARRIOR,” THE WORLD’S ULTIMATE TEST OF SPEED, STRENGTH AND—LET’S FACE IT—MANHOOD PREMIERES ON G4 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3 AT MIDNIGHT
Mon. Sep. 25, 2006
“NINJA WARRIOR,” THE WORLD’S ULTIMATE TEST
OF SPEED, STRENGTH AND—LET’S FACE IT—MANHOOD
PREMIERES ON G4 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3 AT MIDNIGHT
The Superhuman Challenge of Olympic Proportions Pits Competitors
Against a Grueling Four-Stage Course. Many Attempt. Few Survive.
Los Angeles – September 25, 2006 — It’s a physical challenge so grueling, requiring such extremes of strength, speed, balance and agility, that while more than 1,400 have attempted it, only one human has ever completed the entire course. The huge international appeal of the mythic challenge attracts the world’s great athletic competitors, too; even U.S. Olympic gymnasts Paul and Morgan Hamm, who took home Gold and Silver Medals at the 2004 Athens games, attempt to master the course that has defeated so many. Welcome to NINJA WARRIOR, a challenge of Olympic proportions designed to test the limits of human ability. Olympic and professional athletes, from around the world are among those who compete to conquer the ultimate obstacle course: Now G4 viewers—from the comfort of bed or Barcalounger—can enjoy all the sweat and toil of the competition when NINJA WARRIOR comes to G4’s Tuesday late-night block. NINJA WARRIOR premieres Tuesday, October 3 at midnight ET/PT ON G4’S MIDNIGHT SPANK.
Newly acquired from Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting System, where the series has been a hit since 1997 under the Japanese title Sasuke, NINJA WARRIOR episodes will be dubbed into English for their G4 debut. Each round of NINJA WARRIOR features 100 competitors who take on the hellacious four-stage Ninja Warrior course. The drama is fierce and the tension is high as world-class athletes struggle alongside top amateur competitors, each attempting to pass the world’s ultimate test of physical ability. Since 1997, more than 1,400 people have attempted Stage One; fewer than 200 have made it through. Only one Ninja Warrior competitor has ever completed all four stages.
Stage One is primarily a test of speed, but also requires balance and strength if the athlete is to complete it successfully. This is the stage that separates the dreamers from the doers, the posers from the premier athletes.
Stage Two lets the survivors of Stage One strut their stuff. Competitors cross water hazards by swinging from one chain to another; defy gravity by spanning a floor-less section of the course; and demonstrate their strength by raising a series of three walls weighing over 260 pounds.
Stage Three requires participants not to lose their grip—literally. Among the 6 obstacles, contestants must make their way over a 15-foot pool hanging on to a ledge that is less than an inch and a half wide. This stage is a test of upper-body strength designed to fatigue and exhaust.
Stage Four rises more than 70 feet into the sky. Challengers have only 30 seconds to scale a 40-foot-high wall and then pull themselves up a 30-foot rope.
The competitors in NINJA WARRIOR hail from three continents and represent a surprising variety of disciplines. They include U.S. Olympic gymnasts Paul and Morgan Hamm, who took home gold and silver medals at the 2004 Athens games; Bulgarian gymnast Jordan Jovtchev, who won silver and bronze medals at the Athens games; and several Japanese competitors whose day jobs range from fireman to steel worker and from gas station supervisor to comedian. G4 viewers will also witness the performance of Kazuhiko Akiyama, a crab fisherman turned medical clinic superintendent who is the only person ever to complete the Ninja Warrior course.
About G4
G4, the fastest growing network on television for 2006, launched in April 2002 and is now available in 60 million cable and satellite homes nationwide. The #1 podcasted cable network in America and a leader in VOD, G4's programming includes breaking video game industry news, trends, reviews, the hottest games and gear, celebrity interviews and insider opinions. Targeting the male 18-34 audience, G4 is the first and last word on games, sports, technology, animation, interactivity, the Internet and broadband. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is owned by Comcast Corporation. To learn more, log onto www.g4tv.com <http://www.g4tv.com/> .
About Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc.
Established in 1951, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS) and 32 TBS Group companies constitute one of the largest media conglomerates in Japan extending operations in wide range of broadcast (nationwide terrestrial TV/radio networks to digital satellite, mobile, and broadband), content production (TV/radio programs, movies, video/DVDs, internet, computer graphics, etc.), domestic/overseas distribution, concerts and events to even real estate. TBS is also strengthening its position and increasing its presence as a content provider in the global arena distributing programs of all genres to over 100 countries around the globe. For more information visit http://www.tbs.co.jp/eng/.
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