Peking Express

"Peking Express" is a Dutch/Flemish reality game show that follows a series of couples as they hitchhike to or from Beijing. The series has already gone through four seasons and a fifth is currently being broadcast. In The Netherlands it is screened by Net 5 and in Belgium by VT4. A German version was shown in 2004. The concept has also been sold to Scandinavia where it was broadcast for the first time in the autumn of 2007. The Scandinavian version is shown on Kanal 5 in Sweden, TVNorge in Norway and Kanal 5 in Denmark. A French version named "Pékin Express" is screened by M6, with a third season due to be shown in early 2008. It can be seen on TV5 outside France. The Spanish version premiered on Cuatro on September 2008.

General theme

The theme of the show is to demonstrate how various couples deal with the challenges and pitfalls of attempting a long-distance hitchhike to a strange city, together with all the difficulties presented by trying to communicate in a language they don't understand. Tension was added by including couples who had broken up "in real life", but were willing to work together for the sake of winning the race.

In somewhat similar fashion to The Amazing Race, couples that come in last at various checkpoints along the way are eliminated from further competition. In the second series, each of the couples was given €1 per person/per day as their stipend along the route.

eason 1

The first season was broadcast in 2004 and hosted by Roos Van Acker and Ernst-Paul Hasselbach. The couples had to hitchhike from Moscow to Beijing.

The eight participating couples, in the order of their elimination, were:
*Frederik and Ann (BE)
*Robert and Arthur (NL)
*Sanne and Lotte (NL), who dropped out because Sanne was ill and exhausted
*Fleur and Bart (BE)
*Joeri and Wesley (BE)
*Jeske and Elias (NL)
*Reinier and Clarinca (NL)
*Rani and Hans (BE): the winners

eason 2

The second season was broadcast in 2005 and hosted by Roos Van Acker and Art Rooijakkers. Ernst-Paul Hasselbach was replaced because he had just become a father and would be too long away from home. The couples had to hitchhike from Beijing to Mumbai.

The eight participating couples, in the order of their elimination, were:
*Stephan and Marco
*Herman and Kris
*Steven and Sofie
*Jeroen and Manja
*Just and Brechtje (NL)
*Rinck and Jorien (NL)
*Krieke and Nathalie (BE)
*Karla and Sophie (BE): the winners

eason 3

The third season was broadcast in 2006 and hosted by Roos van Acker and Art Rooijakkers. The couples' destination this time was Lhasa in Tibet, following a route from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam through Cambodia, Laos, and China.

The eight participating couples, in the order of their elimination, were:
*Marjolein and Martijn (NL)
*Miranda and Jan (NL)
*Inge and Lien (BE)
*Bliss and Frank (BE)
*Marc and Theo (NL/BE)
*Amir and Jimmy (NL)
*Chris and Lut (NL/BE)
*Yves and Wendy (BE}: the winners

Peking Express VIP

A celebrity version featuring Dutch celebrities was also broadcast in 2006.

The participating couples were:
*Chimène van Oosterhout (TV presenter) and Bart Veldkamp (ice skater)
*Hanna Verboom (actress and TV presenter) and Terence Schreurs (actress)
*Pieter Storms (TV presenter) and Regina Romeijn (TV presenter)
*Guido Weijers (comedian) and Maxim Hartman (actor and TV presenter)
*Bas Westerweel (TV presenter) and Bob de Jong (ice skater)
*Joep Sertons (actor) and Marian Mudder (actress)

Art Rooijakkers presented the show without Roos van Acker since this season was not aired in Belgium.

eason 4

The series returned (in its non-celebrity version with Dutch and Belgian contestants) in 2007. This time, however, the setting was not Asia but South America – although the programme's name, "Peking Express", continued unchanged. Art Rooijakkers and Roos van Acker were the hosts.

Nine couples took part. In order of elimination they were:
*Ralph and Servio NL)
*Hannes and Jesse (BE)
*Piet and Sylvia (NL)
*Paul and Pascalle (BE/NL)
*Raf and Martha (BE)
*Hans and Emily (BE)
*Anja and Nancy (NL)
*Egbert and Josefien (BE)
*Pascal and Miranda (NL): the winners

eason 5

On 3 March 2008, at 21:30h, the fifth season of Peking Express started on VT4 channel. This time, the race took the candidates along the "Revolution Route", from Mexico City to Caracas, Venezuela.

Theme music

The music used during the opening sequence is "Summon the Worms" from Brian Tyler's soundtrack to the 2003 miniseries "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune".

External links

* [http://pekingexpress.net5.nl/ Peking Express (Dutch)]
* [http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=peking+express&hl=en Google videos ]
* [http://www.tv5.org/locaux/usa/pop_programme.php?id=156071 "Pékin express" on TV5]
* [http://www.cuatro.com/microsites/pekin-express/ "Pekín express" on Cuatro]