CHILDREN'S SHOW GETS EMMY NOD

       A groundbreaking local reality TV show that bridges the generation gap between children and their grandparents has been nominated for an International Emmy award _ the first Thai production to receive the accolade.
       MONKEYING AROUND: A scene from ‘Lharn Poo Koo E-Joo’.
       Lharn Poo Koo E-Joo, produced by Workpoint Entertainment, has been nominated in the Children and Young People Category and is up against Dustbin Boy from the United Kingdom, The Little Emperor's Christmas from Brazil and Mille from Denmark.
       ''We hope the first-time nomination from Thailand will inspire more producers from many more countries to follow in their footsteps and enter the competition,'' said Bruce Paisner, president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the US.
       Panya Nirunkul, president of Workpoint and the host, was upbeat about the nomination, saying the Emmy Awards were as important to TV producers as the Oscars were to film producers.
       ''I am very delighted just to be nominated to compete on the world stage and would like Thai people to cheer the country's first nomination to try and win the prize,'' he said.
       The winner will be announced in New York on Nov 23.
       Workpoint managing director Rungtham Phumsinil is more confident, saying the programme has a good chance to take the award due to its unique concept of being built around contestants from different generations and presented in a reality-game show format.
       ''All four nominees in the Children and Young People Category have their own distinguishing points.
       ''Ours is that this programme can reflect the Asian way of life, that people who are young and old can live together in a big family. It is quite a new thing for people in the West as they live in a small family consisting of a father, mother and child,'' he said.
       Aired on Channel 7 at 6.15pm every weekend, Lharn Poo Koo E-Joo won first prize in the 2008 Asian Television Awards held in Singapore last year in the Best Game or Quiz Programme category.
       The programme is a half reality and half game show that highlights relationships between two family members from different generations.
       People from different age groups usually have different points of view and attitudes. During the show they must work together to achieve the same goals and hopefully win.
       A highlight of the programme comes at the end when there are two prizes on offer, one for the children and one for the grandparents, but they must choose only one. ''It is a nice point that at last both will choose the reward for their love. It helps bridge the gap between the generations and also promotes the family institution and child development,'' said Mr Rungtham.
       Few Thai children's TV programmes achieve success due to inadequate support from both the private sector and government agencies, he said.
       As all TV programmes live or die by their ratings, it is very difficult for children's programmes to compete with other shows, especially soap operas, he added.
       The government should have a strong policy to support television programmes for youth, including at least three hours a day on every channel for children's programmes, said Mr Rungtham.
       ''I believe that more competition will produce better quality youth programmes,'' he said.
       ''Importantly, this nomination will inspire other producers to keep working and create programmes of higher quality, and maybe, next year Thailand will have more programmes nominated in the competition."