Sasuke (TV series)

Sasuke (stylized in Japan as SASUKE) is a Japanese sports entertainment television special in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course. An edited version, named Ninja Warrior, is screened in at least 18 other countries. To date, Sasuke content has been aired in 157 countries.

Shot on location at Midoriyama studio in Yokohama, it airs on TBS between Japanese television drama seasons. Each 3-hour special covers an entire competition; there are normally 100 participants. There have been 31 specials produced, approximately one new special per season (twice per year). The show is produced by TBS and is one of the spin-offs of Muscle Ranking (筋肉番付, Kinniku Banzuke), another sports entertainment competition, which aired on G4 under the name Unbeatable Banzuke. Until the 10th competition, Sasuke was broadcast as a special part of Muscle Ranking, but it became an independent program when Muscle Ranking was discontinued. The first competition was held indoors, marking the only time Sasuke did not take place outside. Competitions generally start in the daytime and continue until completed regardless of weather or darkness. After Monster9's bankruptcy on November 2011, all rights to the show fell completely into the hands of its broadcaster, Tokyo Broadcasting System. Following their acquisition of all rights to Sasuke, TBS renamed the show Sasuke Rising for the 28th, 29th and 30th editions, but have since reverted to the original Sasuke title.

American Ninja Warrior

American Ninja Warrior is a sports entertainment competition spin-off of the Japanese television series Sasuke, in which competitors try to complete a series of obstacle courses of increasing difficulty called "stages". The series began on December 12, 2009, in Los Angeles, with the top 10 competitors moving on to compete at "Mount Midoriyama" in Japan. Beginning with season 4, competitors travel to the Las Vegas strip to compete on a nearly identical "Mount Midoriyama" course.

During season 7, for the first time in American Ninja Warrior history, a competitor achieved "Total Victory". Two competitors completed stage three, and thus, a Man vs. Man face off took place during stage 4 for the title. Both Isaac Caldiero and Geoff Britten completed the final stage, however, Caldiero had a faster time, resulting in the $1,000,000 grand prize and the official title of "First American Ninja Warrior".

American Ninja Warrior has been renewed for an 8th season, which is set to premiere in summer 2016.

American Ninja

American Ninja is a 1985 American ninja action film produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. Directed by Sam Firstenberg, who specialized in this genre in the 1980s, the film stars Michael Dudikoff in the title role, with Steve James as his side-kick.

Plot

Private Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) is conscripted into the U.S. Army by a judge, as an alternative to prison. Joe ends up fighting off the Black Star Order of ninjas while stationed in the Philippines. He saves Patricia Hickock (Judie Aronson) — daughter of Colonel William Hickock, Joe's commanding officer — from a kidnapping attempt. Although the rest of Joe's platoon is wiped out by the Black Star ninjas, Joe's popularity with his fellow GIs takes a nosedive, even as he is targeted for revenge by the Black Star Master ninja (Tadashi Yamashita).

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network that is the flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered in the Comcast Building (formerly known as the GE Building) at Rockefeller Center in New York City, with additional major offices near Los Angeles (at Universal City Plaza), Chicago (at the NBC Tower) and soon in Philadelphia at Comcast Innovation and Technology Center. The network is part of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, which was originally created in 1956 for its then-new color broadcasts and became the network's official emblem in 1979.

Founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. In 1986, control of NBC passed to General Electric (GE) – which previously owned RCA and NBC until 1930, when it was forced to sell the companies as a result of antitrust charges – through its $6.4 billion purchase of RCA. Following the acquisition by GE (which later liquidated RCA), Bob Wright served as chief executive officer of NBC, remaining in that position until his retirement in 2007, when he was succeeded by Jeff Zucker. In 2003, French media company Vivendi merged its entertainment assets with GE, forming NBC Universal. Comcast purchased a controlling interest in the company in 2011, and acquired General Electric's remaining stake in 2013. Following the Comcast merger, Zucker left NBC Universal and was replaced as CEO by Comcast executive Steve Burke.

Jessie Graff

Jessica "Jessie" Graff (born January 12, 1984 in New York City) is a professional stunt woman and actress. She is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a black sash in Kung Fu, and is trained in five other styles of martial arts. She is also a championship pole vaulter and competitive gymnast. She is famous for being the second woman to make it to the finals on American Ninja Warrior. She was also a contestant on Wipeout in 2008.

She graduated from Urbana High School, Frederick, Maryland, as a Track Team Leader, honor roll student, and member of National Honor Society.

She holds the pole-vault record at Georgia Tech and University of Nebraska.

Filmography

Films

Television

Short films

References

External links