INTERVIEW. 'Show courage'. Riaan Manser talks about his new series, How to Adventure on Discovery Channel, fatherhood and shares his 3 golden rules for stepping out and tackling life.

"Show courage. Take the first step." So says the South African adventurer, Riaan Manser, who is taking everyday people on big adventures in his brand-new locally produced series How to Adventure starting on Discovery Channel (DStv 121) on Tuesday 14 November at 21:00.

Produced by Oxyg3n Media, in How to Adventure Riaan Manser takes South Africans out of their comfort zone, travelling across the country on interesting and nail-biting adventures.

From snorkeling with seals while keeping an eye out for sharks, to jumping off cliffs and bridges, deep sea fishing and mountain hiking, Riaan Manser will show viewers in 12 episodes that anyone can have an adventure, an in-between offers tips and tricks for rookie adventurers everywhere, drawing on his years of experience travelling the world.

"Riaan's travel tales have captured the imaginations of viewers worldwide and we are thrilled to present this 12-part series where he showcases even more of South Africa's magnificent scenery and the thrilling adventures the country has to offer," says Dilek Doyran, the Discovery Network International's vice president of commercial development and country manager for Africa

Speaking during a presentation session at the recent DStv Media Showcase for the press held at MultiChoice City in Randburg, Johannesburg, Riaan Manser said the show came about because "I always knew I wanted to do something where I could share adventure with other people".

"All of us like adventure. And we want to share it with other people, so very simply How to Adventure came about just with my idea thinking, 'How can I get other people to do adventurous things?"

"We've been growing in this How to Adventure journey in that we realised in having the person as the guest doing adventure, we actually learn more about them than when we interview them."

"We hope the first season is going to be incredible. We hope we're going to get even better. It's exciting and a new take on adventuring in television and we're proud that it gets showcased on Discovery," said Riaan Manser.

TVwithThinus asked Riaan Manser for his thoughts on the lack of local and quality local adventure programming, and as local TV is starting to master doing good cooking shows, what his advice is for TV makers to properly approach and do the adventure genre well.

"The mentality of South African production companies: We need to be challenged, we need to look at what other production companies are doing and that's the only way we criticise ourselves on what we producing and putting on."

"When a broadcaster takes it, it doesn't mean that it is the greatest ever, ever, ever put on TV. And if we're honest with ourselves - we're going to create local but we're producing international. And I buy into that idea."

"I'm not partnering with Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, Oxyg3n Media CEO, and with Discovery Channel because I'm hoping it's just going to be on TV over here in South Africa. We've got to make it big globally," said Riaan Manser.

"The advice I think is to just be yourself. People who want to do adventure shows have to be authentic. A lot of people are trying to be a Bear Grylls, or trying to be this or that. South Africans are better than that."

Riaan Manser says anything that you have in your life that you want to take on - a task or an idea, three things will dictate if that can happen.

"The first thing is courage. If you're not going to be brave enough to take on the task you're talking about, it's just not going to happen. We can stand around a fire and we can chat about things. I can tell you from experience if I didn't take the courage to take the first step, nothing will happen in my life."

"I'm not the bravest person out there, but I am the person that will act. That's the difference between me and other people. Show courage - whether in your life or relationship or anything you do.Take that first step. Courage. Be brave."

"The second thing is perseverance. Perseverance will decide whether something will happen or not. Not just your enthusiasm through the first stage, second stage and third stage. It's about seeing something through, persevering."

"And the last thing is having the wrong attitude. Something I've been so guilty of. It's cliched, but it dictates whether you're going to be successful or not."

"Next time you're sitting in an environment where you're not doing candyfloss and lollipop stuff, look around the room. And ask yourself what attitude you're going to have," says Riaan Manser.

TVwithThinus also asked Riaan Manser how he thinks fatherhood is going to change him and if he's going to become more cautious, careful and more risk averse in life. He's becoming a first-time dad with his wife Vasti of their son James.

"Ooh, tough question. I'm as naive as I was when I sat on a bicycle [in 2005 he became the first person to have circumnavigate the coast of Africa by bicycle]."

"People look at me now and I stand in front of audiences. You should have seen me at the V&A Waterfront in 2003 for that bicycle trip of mine, climbing on that bicycle - 5 people and a dog saying goodbye to me."

"There was no razzmatazz for me. I stood there and I said 'I'm going to absolutely make this."

"I think the naivety I took on that trip - hey, that son of mine, his name is James. And we're going to give him the same enthusiasm that I think I'm known for. And if I put on the nappies the wrong way, that's okay for the first few times, I think I'm going to get the hang of it."

Riaan Manser says he and the family plans to just stay home as he gets used to fatherhood.

(But just for a little while.)

A+E Networks Africa apologises for stuck-on-repeat Married at First Sight SA broadcast blunder on Lifetime as DStv subscribers slam the show.

Disappointed and angry viewers divorced and tuned out the first new episode of the second season of Married at First Sight South Africa on Friday night when unexplained technical issues marred the broadcast on Lifetime (DStv 131) and saw the episode stuck in an endless loop of repeating the same insert without any intervention.

On Thursday the Lifetime Africa channel run by A+E Networks Africa, a subsidiary of A+E Networks UK, told viewers to "brace yourself for the unexpected season two of Married at First Sight SA".

The unexpected thing that however ended up happening on Friday the 13th, turned into an embarrassment for sponsors Telkom and 1Life, MultiChoice, A+E Networks Africa and production company Oxyg3n Media headed up by Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, when the same 15 minutes of the episode kept repeating four times over without any fix or on-screen advisory, apology or notification.

During the show Lifetime Africa on social media said it's a technical glitch and that it will be "sorted out soon", however the hour ended with no fix and yet another repeat after the last in-show ad break.

It's not the first time that the stuck-on-repeat happened with Married at First Sight SA on Lifetime and viewers slamming the "internal deficiencies" were not happy.

After the Groundhog Day-like endless repeating started, furious viewers who wanted to watch the second season of Married at First Sight South Africa said they're tuning out of the show, while some started mocking the show, saying they know what's going to happen next and after the next commercial break.

"MAFSSA just got a 100% divorce rate," said Michelle on Twitter, while another viewer weighed in with "why is the same thing showing every 15 min followed by an ad break? Married at First Sight SA - what a waste of an everything. Poor show."

Thabang Mawela wanted to know why "Lifetime South Africa are trashing a good franchise. This is a joke" and another viewers remarking that "guess there will be a new position open for a logger on Monday. Hit me up."

"Sorry, after watching the overseas ones, sorry this is just pure incompetence. You're not ready yet," said Mambhele Manaka.

#MAFSSA after watching the overseas ones, sorry this is just pure incompetence. You're not ready yet.

— Mambhele Manaka (@MambheleM) October 13, 2017

"Why are you playing the same over and over, I'm never watching this show again...first impression lasts," said Yonwaba Boyana.

Why are you playing the same over and over, I'm never watching this show again...first impression lasts @LifetimeSA #mafssa

— Yonwaba Boyana (@Yona_Boyana) October 13, 2017

"Fire everyone Lifetime SA you guys need new staff! Clearly not a single individual can take charge and sort this out," said Lynne Nietz.

#MAFSSA fire everyone @LifetimeSA you guys need new staff!!!! Clearly not a single individual can take charge and sort this shit out 👎🏼

— Lynne Nietz (@LynneNietz) October 13, 2017

#MAFSSA pic.twitter.com/UEiVDYRqEi

— Nella (@YonelaMaka) October 13, 2017

Hahahahhah fourth time! #MAFSSA pic.twitter.com/w2nnmop9vF

— Dylan Els (@dylanels_) October 13, 2017

I knew she'd say, 'I woke up one day, I was 26 & I was single' in tears COZ IT'S REPEATED x3 #MAFSSA #Lifetime you owe us 2x episodes

— iNkosazana💎👑 (@ItIsShe_Nkuli) October 13, 2017

"I knew she'd say, 'I woke up one day, I was 26 and I was single' in tears because it's repeated three times. Lifetime you owe us two times the episodes," said Nkosazana.

#MAFSSA @LifetimeSA - Fire someone!!! I CAN'T WATCH THIS KAK OVER AND OVER AGAIN.. thanks, now I know why I am single... #KakShow

— Kurt Kleynhans (@kurtkleyn) October 13, 2017

#MAFSSA I am going to watch muvhango rather

— Luvuyo Mkumatela (@Luvuyom) October 13, 2017

— Luvuyo Mkumatela (@Luvuyom) October 13, 2017 I'm going to watch Muvhango rather," said Luvuyo Mkumetela - referencing SABC2's Venda soap.

The show that did a special reunion episode last week to catch up with previous participants, will screen the same episode of last night - hopefully corrected in its full hourlong length - tonight at 19:10 on Lifetime.

A+E Networks Africa quickly responded to a media enquiry made Friday night about the show's broadcasting blunder on Lifetime caused by the playout centre, apologising for the "Friday the 13th" mistake but not explaining why the technical mistake happened.

Lifetime Africa said sorry to viewers who tuned in and who didn't know what was going on and that A+E Networks Africa is themselves disappointed that fans couldn't watch the episode.

"Due to technical difficulties during episode 2, segment one was repeated throughout the show," said Nazarene Khan, head of marketing and sponsorship at A+E Networks Africa in response to a media enquiry from TVwithThinus.

"Lifetime Africa apologises to our loyal viewers for this technical hiccup. We are disappointed that fans of the show were unable to watch it in its entirety. The good news is that viewers will have chance to catch up during the following slots."

The episode will repeat on Saturday (14 Oct) 10:55 and 19:10, Sunday (15 Oct) 21:40, Monday (16 Oct) 07:35 and 14:20, Wednesday (18 Oct) 07:35 and 14:20 and Friday 20 Oct at 20:00.

This will be followed by the 3td episode of Married at First Sight SA in its correct timeslot at 20:50.

"Please note that this will affect the broadcast of Bride and Prejudice (episode 2) on Friday 20 October. This will be moved out by a week to accommodate the double bill of Married at First Sight South Africa season 2," said Nazarene Khan.

DStv SHOWCASE SEPTEMBER 2017: South Africa 'one of the trickiest territories' in which to produce Married At First Sight SA, says executive producer; addresses lobola and gay marriage questions.

Married at First Sight South Africa is "one of the trickiest territories" in the world in which to produce the format show from Red Arrow International, says the executive producer of the South African version, Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, who touched on issues ranging from lobola to gay marriage at the DStv Media Showcase on Thursday.

"Married at First Sight is a social experiment. It's an experiment that's taken place in 25 territories, there have been multiple versions of it, and at least a 50% success rate, so actually it's more successful than normal marriages," said Oxyg3n Media's Rebecca Fuller-Campbell at the DStv Media Showcase panel discussion session.

Married at First Sight SA is A+E Networks UK's second local commissioned show for South Africa, following Four Weddings SA also on Lifetime (DStv 131).

"We've got one of the trickiest territories to produce it in with 11 national languages; multiple - absolutely diverse, and we really have to consider that," Rebecca Fuller-Campbell told the press.

"We're genuinely looking for people that want to find love, that had difficulty finding love but have tried everything."

Rebecca Fuller-Campbell said Married At First Sight South Africa has "to represent South Africa and its diversity. We're not looking to match three Afrikaans couples. We're looking to find different people so we can represent our own diversity here."

"There are many challenges that we came up against. One of those is the obvious question of lobola. How do we tackle that?" she said.

"If lobola is important to a family - is part of a tradition in a culture - we have to look at it. What we do in Married At First Sight that is one of the things that we are looking for when we are assessing, is, 'Is this something that is important in your tradition?"

"And if it is, we have a lobola negotiator, we work with the families. We don't pay the lobola, it's still on you - just so you know that," Rebecca Fuller-Campbell said.

"Don't enter if you want your lobola paid, it's not going to happen."

Rebecca Fuller-Campbell was asked by panel moderator Neil Andrews if Married At First Sight South Africa will include gay marriage.

"I think it's very much something that we're looking at going forward in the future. In principle we are very, very open to it. We'd love it, it's happened in another territory."

"There's sensitivities around it, bearing in mind that we flight all the way through Africa, and so we have to be respectful of different cultures and different opinions."

According to Rebecca Fuller-Campbell no gay people have applied to be on Married At First Sight South Africa.

If there were to be more seasons of Married At First Sight South Africa, it will be interesting to see if gay marriage will be included, given the important issue of the growing censorship-creep of content seen across a growing number of DStv channels as other African countries clamp down on freedom of expression as far as TV shows are concerned.

It is something that is becoming an even bigger issue and problem, and that in turn directly affects what South Africans can or can't see.

The second season of Married At First Sight SA will start on Lifetime (DStv 131) on Friday 6 October at 20:50 and the first episode will be a reunion show.

The first episode of the new season will revisit everyone who participated in the first season and show where they are now. The next 8 episodes will then follow the new participants.



PERSONAL TAKE:
■ The Married At First Sight SA panel session was the only awkward session of the DStv Media Showcase.


■ It carried on for way too long, moderator Neil Andrews wasn't properly briefed and didn't know it was the second season already that is starting. He kept speaking, asking questions and commenting as if it's a new show, until he was corrected.


■ Presenter Sam Cowen wasn't present and part of the panel with no explanation about her absence - unless it was said and I missed it. It wasn't "wrong" but just struck me as odd. The other panelists working on the show, besides Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, were not that interesting - I doubt that there will be stories about what they said.


■ No trailer or sizzle reel was shown that was about the upcoming second season - again very weird when you've assembled a room full of media and TV critics to showcase your show.

Visuals (that was actually from the first season) confused Neil Andrews who said "that blond chick worries me. I've only seen a little snippet but she looks like hard work and I haven't even met her."

Rebecca Fuller-Campbell had to explain that "what we've showed you was clips from the last series, so from the first series, because we don't want to give away to much about the coming series. So that was last year."

Compare that to the effort and utter wow-factor when BBC Worldwide and MultiChoice later in the day showed a beautiful sizzle reel of the upcoming Blue Planet II on BBC Earth (DStv 184) and did trust the media enough to show something new to stimulate excitement with the press.


■ Married at First Sight SA didn't work that well as a drawn-out panel discussion and I thought it could/would have been much more effective and impactful if A+E Networks Africa and the show just did a type of "activation" like Lifetime maybe "sponsoring" or redressing one of the DStv Media Showcase tea breaks.

The 10:30 tea break could have looked like M-Net's brilliant recent media launch of The Wedding Bashers.

Imagine one of the tea breaks with flowers, little "wedding cakes" and pop-up banners from Lifetime and the show.

Imagine 3 or 4 "couples" just silently standing around, two-by-two, in wildly differing wedding regalia - lets say a black Xhosa man next to an Indian woman - and so on, making for jarring contrasts and driving home the must-watch gawk-factor that compelling TV thrives on.


■ A brouhaha erupted on the sidelines of this panel that involves me, and that I was blissfully unaware of until the end when there was a tea break.
Live-tweeting the panel discussion on social media, in one of the tweets I said "Married at First Sight SA exec prod says wont include gays on Lifetime (DStv 131) since channel's seen in rest of Africa."

There was no thanks about the ongoing reporting and attention given to the show (and lets be clear: none is ever wanted nor expected) but instead just criticism, and over one tweet.

It's obviously a sensitive issue and I fully get that. However, when you approach a journalist or editor to complain or criticise, perhaps pull the person aside, introduce yourself first, say something like "Hi, I'm so and so, thank you for [think of any compliment like covering our show]," and then criticise and bring up your issue or complaint.

Also: The gay marriage Married at First Sight SA issue wasn't a question originated by one of the invited journalists and wasn't brought up by the attending press - it was brought up by the DStv media showcase and the show - something they decided to highlight.
I covered what was presented, as well as other newsworthy aspects of it. If it wasn't brought up, it wouldn't have been a "thing".

After quitting SABC1's Generations, Thando Thabete's risque TV talk show on TLC Entertainment on DStv will be entitled Thando Bares All.

Thando Thabethe as the latest on-air face to quit the South African public broadcaster will be starting her upcoming TV talk show on TLC Entertainment (DStv 135) in early 2018 that will be entitled Thando Bares All.

The "slightly risque" 8-episode Thando Bares All is produced by Oxyg3n Media and will see Thando Thabethe talking with people about "body positivity" and "things that society might be afraid or embarrassed to speak about".

Thando Thabethe recently quit her role on the SABC's Generations weekday soap on SABC1 for the chance to appeal to a pay-TV audience in a localised African TV talk show for Discovery Networks International's female-focused African channel feed of TLC Entertainment.

Thando Thabethe couldn't continue to be seen on the South African public broadcaster as a SABC face and as one of Discovery's new faces on TLC Entertainment and opted to take a chance on appealing and reaching out to a new audience after she appeared on TLC Entertainment in 2016 as a judge in a presenter search competition.

Topics in the 8 episodes of Thando Bares All will discuss polygamy, "naked attraction", outrageous style and body issues with themes borrowed and synchronising with other well-known TLC Entertainment programming.

Casissa Cupido, winnter of TLC Entertainment's Next Great Presenter Search 2016 and now the official TLC Entertainment voice-over artist, will film vox pop inserts with the public for Thando Bares All.

'When TLC approached me to present this show, I was ecstatic," says Thando Thabethe in a prepared statement.

"I'm a huge fan of the channel and thoroughly enjoyed with the brand as a judge for its Next Great Presenter competition in 2016."

"This for me is a step in the right direction for my career in the entertainment industry. I can't wait to start filming Thando Bares All and finding out what South Africans think about the topics that really matter," says Thando Thabethe.

"TLC Entertainment proudly celebrates inspirational, larger-than-life characters and we are incredibly excited to welcome Thando to the family," says Dilek Doyran, vice president of commercial development and country manager of Africa at Discovery Networks Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA).

"Thando Bares All is about bringing people together and tackling topics we know our viewers will have strong opinions on."

"With her charismatic personality and unique presenting style, Thando was the perfect fit to front the series and we look forward to bringing even more 'OMG' moments to our viewers when Thando Bares All comes to TLC early next year," says Dilek Doyran.

"Oxyg3n Media are delighted to be working with TLC Entertainment on this new and exciting talk show," says Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, Oxyg3n Media CEO.

"We can't think of anyone better than Thando and Carissa to talk TLC topics with the heart that represents the channel."

"It has been a very interesting journey for us to decide what topics to discuss, but I have no doubt that the TLC audience will be captivated by this unique, colourful, heartfelt and slightly risque talk show."

Married at First Sight South Africa on Lifetime adds Sam Cohen as presenter; selects 5 specialist relationship contributors to guide married couples.

Radio talker Sam Cohen has been added as the presenter of the first season of the reality series Married at First Sight South Africa that will start on Lifetime (DStv 131) early next year, with 5 specialist contributors that's been added to guide the couples before, during and after the cameras have stopped rolling.

Almost 300 South Africans signed up for the reality show, willing to be paired and then to get married as viewers follow their on-screen experiment to see if it leads to wedded bliss or disaster. The producers are currently selecting the participants.

Married at First Sight SA is A+E Networks UK's second local commissioned show for South Africa, following Four Weddings SA also on Lifetime.

Morning radio host Sam Cohen will present, with 5 relationship experts working with the participants on the show.

Sam Cohen's previous TV presenting work was on e.tv's parental guidance programme Great Expectations and she recently released her book, From Whiskey To Water.

Rebecca Fuller-Campbell of Oxyg3n Media producing the show, says "We are now in the process of selecting the men and women and preparing them for the day they will meet each other for the first time at the altar."

In order to match the couples as scientifically as possible, in the hopes that they will find true love, the producers have selected a number of specialist experts who will work with, and closely monitor, the individuals.

These in-show experts for Married at First Sight South Africa will include Gary Kayle (financial coach), Dr. Shingai Mutambirwa (sex therapist), Neo Tshireletso Pule (counselling psychologist), Paula Quinsee (relationship expert) and Anna Trapido (antropological advisor).

"I'm very excited to be a part of Married at First Sight South Africa and I'm looking forward to watching our couples find true love both during and after filming ends. I am, and will always be, a hopeless romantic," says Sam Cohen.

New counterculture travelogue series, Food, Booze & Tattoos, with presenter Brett Rogers starting on SABC3 on 21 January for 12 episodes.

A new travelogue series, Food, Booze & Tattoos with presenter Brett Rogers will start on 21 January at 21:00 on SABC3 as an alternative, counterculture show of 12 episodes.

Food, Booze & Tattoos, created by Larney de Swardt and executive produced by Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, follows Brett Rogers on a road trip across South Africa stopping at interesting food establishments, edgy tattoo parlours as well as micro-breweries.

Food, Booze & Tattoos has already been broadcast in Sweden, Italy and Poland and will showcase some of South Africa's lesser exposed unique and diverse contemporary cultures and people.

"Food, Booze & Tattoos is about travel, music, food, artisanal products and a whole lot of entertainment," says Rebecca Fuller-Campbell.

"Food, Booze & Tattoos is a counterculture travelogue looking at the beauty of South Africa through a very unique lens. There are so many micrcosms around South Africa and we discovered that these are often bound together by food, booze and tattoos".

"We wanted to explore this in a beautiful series that showed off the country and the amazing people that reside in it."

What we focused on was food lovingly prepared, with care and with ethical concern for the sourcing of ingredients - and of course the food had to be delicious," says Brett Rogers.

"I ate a whole lot of tasty things, some of my favourites were the burger I made at The Bench in George, mussels from The Leopard in Melville, buffalo mozzarella from Swellendam and the chisa nyama from Soweto's 707 Panyaza".

Brett Rogers also got 6 new tattoos along the way. "I got 6 tattoos over aperiod of about 45 days so there was not much time to recover in between each one, but I loved getting them".

"I got an amazing koi fish from Dok in Durban which I'm still obsessed with. In fact, I love all my tattoos."