Discovering ‘Hidden Cities’ with Anthony Morse

Anthony Morse

“Hidden Cities” host Anthony Morse is mum about his itinerary in the Philippines, but is “excited” to finally tour the country where he has some of the “most vocal” fans.

Shortly after his arrival at the New World Hotel in Makati on August 11, Morse gladly talked about the History channel show and its Filipino viewers. “I’m really excited to be doing an episode here because some of our most loyal fans are from the Philippines,” he said. “They offer encouragement as well because I’m new to this TV world.”

Morse, 31, previously hosted the four-episode initial season, which brought him to a number of Asian destinations. The second season is also being shot in Asia, and will begin airing in November. Morse is accompanied to lesser known or forgotten locations by the show’s director, cameraman and sound man.

“We’ve already completed six episodes; there are eight,” Morse revealed. “The Philippines is the seventh and we have a really good feeling about it. We go to the less-traveled areas and destinations, so we’re going to be looking at various periods of Philippine history.”

Describing himself as “a talker” since he was a kid, the host was chosen among numerous hopefuls, the last applicant with the “Asian face” and adventurous attitude.

“They had an announcement saying they were searching for a host,” Morse recounted. “They said, ‘Do you like to travel, learn about history, interact with people?’ I thought, ‘Yeah! You get paid to do that?’ So I applied online. Here I am a year and a half later.”

Morse already had a familiarity with some Asian cultures prior to landing the hosting gig. He lived in Chiang Mai from age 3 to 18. “I was born in Southern California,” he said. “When I was three, my parents moved back to Chiang Mai. My mother’s people are Rawang, one of Burma’s several ethnic minority groups.”

Doing season one made Morse even more inquisitive about ancient civilizations. “A lot of these places we went to have been officially documented but because of their remoteness, they haven’t had the thoroughness of study or research done on them. So there’s still a lot to be discovered. ‘Hidden Cities’ can introduce these places to the general public.”

He added that things “with an element of mystery” in the modern world amazes him. “Throughout Asia, communities are living in a way that they’ve been living for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Of course, they’ve adapted to technology. They’ve got cell phones, MP3 players, television sets. But they still managed to retain a lot of their traditional practices. That’s neat to see in this day and age.”

Morse finds it easy to immerse himself in different cultures, thanks to early exposure. “I think the biggest thing is to go into all these experiences with the mind-set that different isn’t bad,” he said. “Different is different. Since I was a teenager, I recognized that, so I did away with those predetermined views. We’re not there to offer some kind of political critique on the country. It’s really educational!”

Still, he was unprepared for some demands of the job. “One thing that was kinda awkward, it was my first time stripping down to my boxers on TV,” Morse said. “We went to this old bathhouse in Nanjing, China. We’re filming and all of a sudden the director says, ‘I want you to take the whole spa treatment like the ancient workers.’ There was this guy in his underwear, he’s got a wet towel that he’s wrapping around his hand and then he’s just beating and pounding you! But the most difficult thing is when you have ‘off’ days. It can be a combination of things. Energy levels are dipping down for the day so the ability to have a laser-like focus on the camera can be tough.”

Challenges aside, Morse considers the job a unique and empowering one. “That’s one of the rewards of travel,” he said. “It really does enrich your life. I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago.”

“Hidden Cities” premieres November 23, 9 p.m. on History.

Fashion hits, misses

The inside scoop on Hollywood’s fashion hits and misses is featured on “Fashion Police,” aired on E! on Wednesdays at 8:40 p.m.

Joan Rivers, Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos dish about the best and worst dressed stars.

E! also delivers the latest Hollywood news, insider views and celebrity scoops through shows like “E! News,” “E! News Asia,” “Live from the Red Carpet,” “Kourtney & Kim Take New York,” “Khloe & Lamar,” “The Dance Scene” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

Ben 10 CGI movie

Cartoon Network’s alien-morphing boy hero, Ben 10, is set to star in his first CGI animated television movie, “Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens.”

Slated for a 2012 premiere, the movie is directed by Victor Cook, with Silas Hickey as executive producer.

The movie turns the clock back to 10-year-old Ben Tennyson, struggling with teachers, detention, school bullies and the dreadful fate of missing out on his weekend fishing trip with Grandpa Max, when grounded by his parents.

Ben jumps at the chance to escape from it all at the Total Alien Immersion training program on the far side of the galaxy.  Little does Ben realize the irreversible consequences of the program which sends him crashing back to earth stuck in his alien forms battling an all-new evil alien, Mechamorph Warrior.

Written by Marty Isenberg, it features the original voice actors from the “Ben 10” animated series.