TV & Radio

Kimochi Inc., a senior service agency based in San Francisco Japantown, will host its first-time-ever fundraising telethon on Saturday, March 27, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on KTSF, the Bay Area’s foremost Asian-language TV station.

CHICAGO — During the just-concluded 2010 Winter Olympics, two “Japadog” stands in downtown Vancouver became popular, with customers waiting up to 90 minutes to try the Japanese-style hot dogs.

NBC’s coverage of the games included a segment on “Japadog” on “The Today Show.”

In a March 2 letter to Jim Bell, the show’s executive producer, Christine Munteanu of the JACL’s Midwest District office expressed concern:

BERKELEY — Gina Hotta, executive producer and host of the Asian Pacific American show “Apex Express” on KPFA in Berkeley, died of a heart ailment on Sept. 29. She was 56.

She collapsed on the evening of Sept. 28 while attending a meeting of the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) to discuss last week’s walkout of UC students, staff and faculty. She was also a recording studio supervisor at the UC Berkeley Language Lab.

"The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a 12-hour, six-part documentary series by Ken Burns ("The Civil War"), airs Sunday through Friday, Sept. 27 to Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. on PBS.

On KQED-TV in San Francisco, each broadcast will be repeated at 10 p.m.

The film tells the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence — that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. It follows in the tradition of Burns' exploration of other American inventions, such as baseball and jazz.

“I Survived a Japanese Game Show” has completed shooting in Japan for Season 2, and premiered on June 17, three weeks ahead of its originally scheduled debut. The unscripted reality/game show takes an eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at 12 Americans who were whisked away to Japan to compete in the ultimate Japanese game show with hilarious results. The final winner will take home $250,000. The show airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

by KATE POST
Hokubei Mainichi

San Francisco native Asuka Kondoh found herself in the bottom six on Fox’s hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” on June 25, for the second time in the nine-week competition.

This time around she wasn’t so lucky.

Kondoh was cut from the show in a unanimous decision by judges after Wednesday night’s
performance landed her among the bottom contestants and her solo ballroom dance Thursday
failed to impress.

by KATE POST
Hokubei Mainichi

Twenty-five-year-old Latin ballroom dancer and San Francisco native Asuka Kondoh is showing America her dancing skills as a contestant on Season 5 of the popular Fox TV show “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Kondoh, a graduate of UC Irvine, is one of this season’s top 20 contestants after open auditions and callbacks in Las Vegas in April.
The contestants will compete over nine weeks, hoping to avoid elimination by wooing the judges and the public, who vote for their favorite dancer each week by phone.

"The Fillmore" will air on KQED-TV (Channel 9) in San Francisco on Thursday, June 4, at 9:30 p.m.

The KQED-produced documentary follows the rise and fall of San Francisco's Western Addition, including Japantown, and features a remarkable group of on-air storytellers, including mayors, musicians, journalists and community activists.

"The Fillmore" examines the urban renewal project of the 1960s that displaced African American and Japanese American residents and businesses and created an expressway that divided the neighborhood.

BERKELEY — “Apex Express: News and Views With an API POV” airs Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m. on KPFA, 94.1 FM in Berkeley and KFCF, 88.1 in Fresno. The program is also available online at www.kpfa.org/apex-express.

Following is the program description for June 4:

“How will the loss be filled? They put ‘Asian America’ on the map, examined racial and economic divides, as well as taught a new generation of educators, organizers and artists.

"Independent Lens" will present "Wings of Defeat" on Tuesday, May 5, at 10 p.m. on most PBS stations (check local listings).

In the Bay Area, the documentary will be broadcast on KQED-TV (Channel 9) on May 5 at 11 p.m. and May 6 at 5 a.m., and on KQED Life on May 6 at 10 p.m. and May 7 at 4 a.m.

Internationally, kamikaze pilots remain a potent metaphor for fanaticism. In Japan, they are largely revered for their selfless sacrifice. Yet few outside Japan know that hundreds of kamikaze pilots survived the war.