Author and Culture Critic Toure' Tries Extreme Challenges on Treasure HD's "I'll Try Anything Once" Premiering February 20, 2008

 Challenges include Rodeo Clown, Lumberjack Competition and Women’s Football

 New York, NY – TREASURE HD, the only 24/7 high-definition channel dedicated to pursuing stories about fascinating people and their passions, will take things to the extreme when they follow Touré (Rolling Stone, NBC’s “TODAY”) as he leaves his comfort zone to try his hand at a bevy of challenging pursuits that some call a livelihood and others might call crazy. I’LL TRY ANYTHING ONCE premieres on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C.

 The 13-episode, half-hour weekly series follows Touré, one of the nation’s most quotable young authors and journalists, as he tackles different hair-raising experiences, from being a rodeo clown in Wyoming and a wildlife remover in Florida to driving in a demolition derby in Indiana and joining a semi-professional women’s football league in Tucson. Touré risks life and limb to bring viewer’s a fly-on-the-wall perspective of these odd and amazing adventures. Touré completely immerses himself in each challenge, paired with a mentor who helps him gain an understanding of their skill set and way of life. At the end of each episode, Touré attempts to complete the physical and mental challenges on his own, putting into practice what he has been taught along the way.

 One of America’s leading young African-American journalists and critics, Touré is the author of three books: the novel Soul City, a collection of short stories The Promised Land and Never Drank the Kool-Aid, a collection of his work for magazines including The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, where he has served as a contributing editor for the past decade.  In addition to his new TV role with TREASURE HD’s I’LL TRY ANYTHING ONCE, Touré is the host of BET’s “The Black Carpet” and regularly appears as a pop culture expert on NBC’s “TODAY.” He has also served as CNN's first pop culture correspondent and has made appearances on “Dateline NBC,” CNN's “American Morning,” “Anderson Cooper 360°” and “The O'Reilly Factor.”

 Following are descriptions of the first six episodes from this series. One of VOOM HD Networks’ channels, TREASURE HD is available nationally on the DISH Network satellite service (Channel 9473) and Cablevision’s iO digital cable service (Channel 724).

 World Premiere - Episode 1: Demolition Derby                                                                          
Premieres Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C

Die-hard New York subway rider Touré couldn’t be more out of his element when he travels 500 miles to rural Indiana, the heart of demolition derby country, to apprentice with 100-time crash and bash champion Larry Staats. The intrepid wordsmith has four short days to learn it all – from experiencing a full impact collision to how to inflict maximum damage on another car– before he’s entered into a three heat competition with the nation’s most legendary demo derby artists.

 World Premiere - Episode 2: Rodeo Clown                                                                     
Premieres Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C

In this episode, Touré enters the world of human bull bait in Cody, Wyoming, when he gambles life and limb to become a rodeo clown.  After a rough and tumble training with veteran bull dodging clown Timber Tuckness, Touré is left alone in the middle of the ring to protect the riders (and himself) from 2,000 pounds of angry bull. 

World Premiere - Episode 3: Extreme Animal Remover                                                            
Premieres Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C

Rats, bees, raccoons, hogs and snakes are just some of the creatures that wildlife remover Johnny Vincent deals with everyday in his Florida pest control business. While Johnny can certainly cut the mustard when it comes to removing such extreme prey, can Touré survive four days living and working in Mr. Vincent’s shoes? Viewers witness Touré as he learns to trap raccoons, handle snakes and deal with a horde of 50,000 angry bees.

 World Premiere - Episode 4: Stunt Academy                                                                            
Premieres Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C

Kim Kahana of Groveland, Florida is a stuntman legend. At 78 his resume reads like some of Hollywood’s greatest actors. Not surprising because he‘s acted as a double for many of the great names like Charles Bronson. In this episode, Touré learns that stunt artistry is not just about thrills and spills but discipline, strength and courage – as well as great acting! Can Touré learn how to pull off the perfect fake fight, while he confronts his serious fear of heights? 

World Premiere - Episode 5: Lumberjack Competition                                                            
Premieres Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C

In this episode, urban culture and music expert Touré heads far into the woods in Northern Wisconsin to spend four days pursuing the sporting side of America’s most dangerous jobs – lumberjack. Under the guidance of world champion Chris Fischer, Touré learns the ins and outs of, then competes in, the rough and tumble world of competitive timber sports.  From log rolling to axe throwing, Touré certainly sharpens his skills, but how will they serve him in the episode finale – real-life competition against the some of the best timber sport titans?

 World Premiere - Episode 6: Women’s Football                                                                        
Premieres Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 8PM ET & PT/7C

It’s most every little boy’s fantasy to grow up and be a football superstar.  But what if the league that boy is playing in is comprised entirely of women, the most talented semi-pros in the nation?  In this episode, Touré travels to Arizona to train for and play a full-contact game with the fastest and most furious femme pigskinners in the West, The Tucson Monsoon.  With body-builder and local fire captain Diana Benson putting him through his paces, Touré has four days to prove he’s tough enough for place of this top squad.

 I’LL TRY ANYTHING ONCE is a TREASURE HD and Electric Sky Productions co-production. For TREASURE HD, Greg Moyer is the executive in charge of programming, William Roberts is the vice president of programming, and George Lansbury is the executive producer. For Electric Sky Productions, David Pounds serves as the executive producer and Nick Hudson is the series producer.

 About TREASURE HD

TREASURE HD is the first high-definition channel dedicated to pursuing stories about people and their passions. Original, innovative, entertaining, it’s a high-definition look at what people treasure in life, from antiques to adventures. TREASURE HD explores those fascinating individuals who live their dreams and inspire the rest of us to find ourselves.

 About VOOM HD Networks

VOOM HD Networks comprise the world’s largest suite of high-definition channels for distribution through satellite and cable operators.  Produced exclusively in true high-definition and 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound, VOOM HD Networks carry programming in categories as diverse as sports, movies, fashion, music and art.  VOOM HD Networks’ 15 HDTV channels are available in the U.S. on Echostar’s DISH Network and Cablevision’s iO digital cable service.  A 24/7 linear VOOM HD channel is available internationally and is currently distributed in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.  Select VOOM HD programming is also available worldwide and has been licensed for exhibition in more than 150 countries.  Building on parent company, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC’s history of original programming innovation, VOOM HD was developed to meet the growing worldwide demand for quality high-definition programming.