Lego Masters (USA) - General Discussion

[mlp]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

What happens when there is a meal break?  Are teams allowed to take the hour to discuss with each other about their plans for the build?  Can they sketch out more ideas?  Or is it strictly "no working or planning"?  

I read a post on Reddit by someone who had competed in an earlier season.  He/she said that they worked in two long blocks of time with a lunch break at the same time as the crew.  If they had to use the bathroom during filming time, they just had to go while their partner kept working.  They were escorted everywhere, no cell phone usage during lunch and no talking about their builds with other teams.  He/she said that days were very long and everyone had fun but they were all exhausted by the end.

Edited November 1, 2023 by mlp
Correct typo

[mertensia]

Okay, that was so nice seeing everyone helping build the rug. That said, what were they thinking choosing that!?

That telescope was good.  So was the record plater.

[KeithJ]

The right team went home but there were some really bad choices this episode.  There was practically zero chance of replicating a TV screen and picking the rug?  That was just insane.  The villain angle is really getting old.  And villains never tell their secrets?  Villains always tell their secrets!  

[Maverick]

 The carpet was a crazy choice but so was the chair.   Anything fabric and heavy curves should have been an instant no.   The TV was deemo "difficult" but it was mor e like impossible.   Even the brick masters didn't offer and ideas on how it's t could have been done during their critique.  The record player was ok but the record itself was awful.  Even spinning it looked a blocky record from Superman's Bizarro world. 

 What was the point of having last year's winner if the bottom 2 weren't going to come from the ones that didn't pass inspection?   Pretty sure she was told what to find and since it was only two (with one wrong answer to throw you off fix) so I expected those to be the bottom.  And they should have been.   I have no doubt they love the villain team but they still wouldn't have gone home.  

 I knew the grandfather team would be gone this week.  The whole "it's a tie!" felt like an ass pull. I assume they Pappi wasn't coming back at the end of the last episode but rather than eliminate another team and then immediately bring them back this week they went with the more positive angle of everyone did so well it was a tie.  

 

[KeithJ]

23 hours ago, Maverick said:

 I knew the grandfather team would be gone this week.  The whole "it's a tie!" felt like an ass pull. I assume they Pappi wasn't coming back at the end of the last episode but rather than eliminate another team and then immediately bring them back this week they went with the more positive angle of everyone did so well it was a tie. 

You're talking about the team challenge?  That was a planned non-elimination from the get go.

[lh25]

The carpet was a terrible choice.  Not only too big to finish in the time allotted but at the same not not as challenging.  It was replicating a pattern on a flat surface.  The 3-D objects were so much more challenging IMHO. 

[JH Lipton]

On 11/2/2023 at 9:54 PM, mertensia said:

Okay, that was so nice seeing everyone helping build the rug. That said, what were they thinking choosing that!?

I hated that.  They should have received a massive penalty for not following the "one-for-one" rule -- it's unfair to teams who do follow the rules (I see this All The Time on Chopped: "You didn't use all the basket ingrediants but we like your sob story better...").  I don't think they deserved either Golden Brick and it makes it difficult to watch the show.

[blackwing]

I'm bummed that Aubrey and Ryan went home.  The screen on their TV wasn't great but even the Brickmasters admitted that it was almost impossible.  Aubrey and Ryan should have at least gotten more credit for it.  Their TV looked great, notwithstanding the screen.  There were lots of other details in it.

The chair should have gone home.  It was a terrible choice.  The colour was completely off (granted, there probably weren't any burgundy bricks), but apart from that, it was a completely blocky and monochromatic and boring build.

On 11/2/2023 at 11:54 PM, mertensia said:

Okay, that was so nice seeing everyone helping build the rug. That said, what were they thinking choosing that!?

20 hours ago, JH Lipton said:

I hated that.  They should have received a massive penalty for not following the "one-for-one" rule -- it's unfair to teams who do follow the rules (I see this All The Time on Chopped: "You didn't use all the basket ingrediants but we like your sob story better...").  I don't think they deserved either Golden Brick and it makes it difficult to watch the show.

Count me among those that hated the help on the rug.  They chose poorly, and if they hadn't used the Golden Brick and gotten bailed out, I would have been upset.

[mertensia]

That was a really nice purse; I'm not surprised Christopher and Robert won. I did think the background color was all wrong though; it blended into the background in the photo.

Wasn't surprised Team Liza Lapira left, though. 

[alexa]

The bag episode was a lot of fun.  I think they all seemed to enjoy the build, except for the box bag team.  Not sure what they were thinking.

[blackwing]

On 11/9/2023 at 10:51 PM, mertensia said:

That was a really nice purse; I'm not surprised Christopher and Robert won. I did think the background color was all wrong though; it blended into the background in the photo.

Wasn't surprised Team Liza Lapira left, though. 

So happy to see that at least one other person here thinks she looks like Queen Latifah’s friend!

I don’t like Christopher and Robert but their bag looked the most like a bag.  However, I feel like the instructions should definitely have said to design a handbag if that’s what the judges were really looking for.  
 

The box looked terrible, the BMs warned them about it looking like a cooler, and it ended up looking like a cooler on wheels.  

[mertensia]

I like Luis and Alex but yeah, it was time for them to go. 

I also liked that they were told: the builds are all you get to use. Make them be more inventive.

[blackwing]

Luis and Alex overall have better skills than Emily and Karen, but they really blew it in this episode.  Their croqueta was nothing more than a taller, shorter version of the original sandwich submarine.  And it was so big and top heavy that they finished the race in last place.  They were an easy choice to go home.

I know they said the best aesthetic build would automatically get into the top 2.  Was the other top 2 slot reserved for the first place finisher?  If so, then Christopher and Robert won both, so they win the challenge. 

I agree that aesthetically their build looked the best, but structurally their car was the weakest car.  It was the only car that significantly fell apart.  Their car lost both the mouth and the tailfin.  It was smaller to begin with, so it was a lot lighter so of course it could move faster and win the race.  I feel like they should have lost points for having the only car that fell apart.  They were warned by the BMs about it being weak and unstable, and it proved to be exactly that.  Past contestants have been sent home for not heeding the warnings of the BMs.

I would have given the win to Paul and Nealita.  Their swamp car was fun and pleasing to look at.  Nealita was a great driver.

 

[mlp]

I really iked the teachers and was sorry to see them go but I can't argue with the decision.  Their build failed on several levels.  

As above, I thought Paul and Nealita should have won.  Their car looked great and stayed together.  The shark was zippy but it fell part.  I guess I didn't completely understand the judging criteria.

[NeenerNeener]

I'm getting really tired of Christopher's villain shtick. I suspect his team is winning this thing, though.

[kirklandia]

"Isn't it crazy how kids love to watch other people playing video games? Shouldn't they be doing something better?  Like watching people build with Lego bricks?  Let's combine these two worlds."

My six-year-old grandson is that kid.  This episode was so much fun - looking forward to re-watching it with him!

Edited November 19, 2023 by kirklandia

[joanne3482]

On 11/18/2023 at 11:05 AM, NeenerNeener said:

I'm getting really tired of Christopher's villain shtick. I suspect his team is winning this thing, though.

I'm finding I'm the opposite. More and more I like them. They're really creative and I really enjoyed how he responded to the fact that their car was going to be in the video game.  He was really pleased by that and I think we saw something genuine in his reaction.  I believe that's probably why they won ultimately. Paul and Nealita's car was better built, but at the end of the day it still looked like a car. From a video game design perspective, the shark car was cooler. 

[FnkyChkn34]

On 11/18/2023 at 12:05 PM, NeenerNeener said:

I'm getting really tired of Christopher's villain shtick. I suspect his team is winning this thing, though.

When we can finally see the glimpses of his true personality, he actually seems like a nice person.  I'm definitely sick of his act too, and I don't understand why he can't just be himself.  

I think it'll be between them and Neena and Sam.  I just love that she's an older woman out there holding her own!  (I know, Sam seems to be the brains behind it all, but he wouldn't be able to do it alone if she was truly dead weight.  She's awesome.)  

[FnkyChkn34]

I think the correct team went home tonight, based on the season as a whole if not just tonight's rollercoaster.  Plus, we never have to hear the ridiculously annoying woman shriek "Christopher!" over and over again.  They should have gone home last week just for that, now that I think about it... but I did like the woman with the short hair.

[mjc570]

I really liked this episode, mainly because of Brickmaster Jamie's contributions.  I never realized how complicated a Lego roller coaster can be, but then I'm not an engineer.

I thought definitely the right team won, Christopher (who more and more seems like a genuinely nice guy) and Robert's build was both technically impressive and artistic.

I do disagree with sending the pink women home, though. I thought that while Paul and Nealita's build di incorporate two loops well, that really was it.  It didn't look like fun, it wasn't in any way original. 

I'm looking forward to the final.  

[mertensia]

Yeah, a simpler roller coaster just wasn't good enough at this point for Emilee and her partner to survive.

Loved the touch of the moving "floor" in Neena and Sam's build.

[blackwing]

I think it was the right time for the Pink Ladies to go home.  None of the coasters failed and their build was the least technical.  I don't understand why they wouldn't even attempt a loop?  The loop piece was a pre-designed piece.  They literally could have just stuck it on just after the end of their drop.  As long as they weren't trying to do a tough turn, I don't see why it would have caused problems.  If they put even one loop in, I think Paul and Nealita would have gone home.

I like Paul and Nealita but they seem by far to be the weakest of the finalists.  Many of their builds look very blocky.  I still think Aubrey and Ryan should have been in the finals.

It seems really obvious that this entire season has been leading up to a Christopher win... so he can take his $50,000 and stuff his basement even more with cluttered Lego sets.  I didn't like their build as much as the BMs did, I thought it was boring and the theming wasn't great.  90% of the time was spent watching the car circle up.  It was a great engineering feat but it came at the expense of other elements of the coaster.  He had to explain the concept of a baby dragon going up into the sky to see the adult dragon, otherwise it would have been lost.

I'm still finding Christopher really annoying.  He is always "on" and always mugging for the camera.  Like when all the teams were looking at the Pink Ladies exiting.  Then Will says something, and Christopher does this overly dramatic superhero turn and pose.  Why?

Neena and Sam's build was great.  The Kraken sculpture was really detailed and I thought the moving waves was a great touch.  I would have given them the win.

 

[FnkyChkn34]

On 12/1/2023 at 12:03 PM, blackwing said:

I'm still finding Christopher really annoying.  He is always "on" and always mugging for the camera.  Like when all the teams were looking at the Pink Ladies exiting.  Then Will says something, and Christopher does this overly dramatic superhero turn and pose.  Why?

 

Because the producers have asked him too, and he has an outgoing personality enough to do what they asked and pull it off.  That's my guess, at least.

[blackwing]

I guess I didn't pay attention last week, because I had no idea in advance that this week's episode was going to be a clip show.  It was a thorough waste of time.  I remembered some of these builds but usually with clip shows there is a fair amount of previously unseen footage.  This was just almost entirely the smashes and crashes.  The only significant new and interesting behind the scenes bit was the Jeff Gordon race.

I spent more time trying to remember who the teams were.  Especially the Season 1 teams.  I can't even remember the names of the mohawk guy and his partner that he had never met in person before ("you just don't understand Lego!").  I can't remember the names of the ones I think we called the Frat Bros, the geeky one in glasses who sobbed when their tower fell, and the buff one with the overly inflated chest and weird lips.

[tv echo]

Season 4 finale will air on Dec. 14... 

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20231129fox06/ 

Quote

LEGO MASTERS
Air Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
Time Slot: 9:01 PM-10:00 PM EST on FOX
Episode Title: (LEG-411) "Four-Ever Finale"
*  *  *
THE TOP THREE TEAMS COMPETE TO CREATE A LEGACY THAT WILL LAST "FOUR-EVER" ON THE ALL-NEW SEASON FINALE EPISODE OF LEGO MASTERS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, ON FOX

The three remaining teams have 24 hours to create a massive build complete with storytelling, creativity and technical aspects to claim the title as LEGO Masters. The team that pushes their creativity and skills to the limit and creates a show-stopping build will take home a $100,000 cash prize, the ultimate LEGO trophy and the grand title of LEGO Masters. And for the first time in the show's history, the winning build will be transformed into a set and displayed at a LEGO flagship store in the all-new "Four-Ever Finale" season finale episode of LEGO Masters airing Thursday, December 14 (9:01-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (LEG-411) (TV-PG L)

Edited December 8, 2023 by tv echo

[mertensia]

Okay, I loved that Will was basically useless during the kitten challenge.  

The lie detector bit was inspired.

[blackwing]

On 12/8/2023 at 4:07 PM, mertensia said:

Okay, I loved that Will was basically useless during the kitten challenge.  

The lie detector bit was inspired.

I thought the lie detector bit was stupid and obviously staged.   Just another excuse to keep propping up Christopher in their season-long narrative of "what a calm and collected villain, he can even beat a lie detector on his way to winning Lego Masters".

[alexa]

All of the builds were underwhelming and it has been clear who they wanted to win for a while now.  I can’t say I am surprised about the winner as the others did too personal of a build that would not make for a good actual build for random Lego customers.  The plane was not that well done in my opinion but gave more options for a real build.

[mjc570]

I was really expecting the builds from Sam/Neera and Christopher/Robert to be amazing, and they just weren't.  I agree that the plane was probably well engineered, but who really is excited by a big plane with a few random tourist attractions stuck on top?  I'm a very casual (adult) Lego player, but putting together large swathes of monocolors juts doesn't  appeal.

Sam and Neera's tree was at least texturally interesting, and contained a number of activities.

What surprised me (well, shocked to be honest) was how much I liked Paul/Nealita's build.  It was colorful, and looked like it would be fun to put together.  I know everyone kept saying how much they had improved, but except for the telescope, I really didn't see it.  I agree it may not have been as visually impressive as the others, being less massive, but I think it would certainly appeal to people like me.

[mertensia]

I was underwhelmed by all 3 builds. 

Yeah, congrats to Christopher and Robert, but it wasn't a wow design.

[NeenerNeener]

I can't imagine any of these builds being big sellers for Lego, too personal to these contestants by far. But I suppose something with true commercial appeal would have required more than 24 hours to design, much less build. And probably an army of lawyers to make sure there wasn't any copyright infringement.

[blackwing]

16 hours ago, alexa said:

All of the builds were underwhelming and it has been clear who they wanted to win for a while now.  I can’t say I am surprised about the winner as the others did too personal of a build that would not make for a good actual build for random Lego customers.  The plane was not that well done in my opinion but gave more options for a real build.

I echo this and everyone else's comments.  All three builds were underwhelming.  It seems evident that none of these teams were particularly good at sculpting.  I think back to all three builds from the Season 1 finale, and I think even the "you don't just understand Lego" guy Monkey and Peacock was a far superior build to any of these.

I don't understand the deal with Christopher and Robert's plane.  Yes, it was big.  But it was a terrible looking plane.  Blocky at parts, and the cockpit looked awkward.  If the BMs were going to criticise Aubrey and Ryan for the curve of their TV screen, why did Christopher and Robert get a pass on the awful curves of their cockpit?  The random tourist attractions placed on top makes absolutely no sense.  Is this a plane that's supposed to fly in the air with all that crap on top?  

I imagine the Lego engineers are going to have to scrap all the stuff on top (who wants to play with Christopher's deeply personal Kenyan tree or Robert's Forbidden City??) and just make it into a generic huge plane.  Maybe they have these extra things be side decorations (like they have with the Atari 2600 set, they have three little extra scenes representing the games on the cartridges).

Neena and Sam's tree was huge and I wish there was more attention on the tree and not the deeply personal scenes.  

Of the three here, I think Paul and Nealita's build is the most commercial, it would fit right in with many Lego enthusiast's winter villages.  The team could just redecorate the inside to make things less personal and more like an alpine ski chalet.

The BMs have clearly wanted Christopher and Robert to win, and I find myself just happy the season is done so I don't have to see them anymore.  This season had by far the worst group of builders, none of them approach the level of talent that the top teams in the first two seasons had.

Was there a requirement that each build had to include personal elements?  Because all three teams did it.  What I heard was that the BMs wanted to have a lot of story.  There's plenty of story to be had without having to insert very specific personal vignettes.  If I heard that they wanted a set that was going to be able to sell commercially, I would have done something that would have lots of appeal.  Like Notre Dame Cathedral or the Arc de Triomphe  or the Louvre.  Plenty of story that could have been built around the set with minifigures.  Like someone ringing the big bell of Notre Dame or a gargoyle coming to life and posing for pictures.  Or how about a big city zoo or aquarium?  Tons of opportunities to have story and I bet it would be a big hit.

I think of actual Lego sets that I have and want and wonder what I would want to buy.  It wouldn't be any of these three sets.

Edited December 15, 2023 by blackwing

[KeithJ]

I agree with all the comments on the finale.  None of the builds were that impressive and way too personal.  From a set perspective, I thought that Neena and Sam’s build was the best.

Jamie and Amy are probably not looking forward to trying to turn that plane into an actual set.

[NeenerNeener]

16 hours ago, KeithJ said:

Jamie and Amy are probably not looking forward to trying to turn that plane into an actual set.

I'd be willing to bet money that they scrap the plane part and just turn one of the vignettes into a set, like the Forbidden City.

I liked the sledding hill on Paul and Nealitta's set. That, to me, had commercial appeal.

[mertensia]

3 hours ago, NeenerNeener said:

I'd be willing to bet money that they scrap the plane part and just turn one of the vignettes into a set, like the Forbidden City.

I liked the sledding hill on Paul and Nealitta's set. That, to me, had commercial appeal.

I loved the look of the house. Mid-century? Whatever it was I loved it.

[FnkyChkn34]

I agree with everyone as well!  As an adult Lego collector, the only one that would buy would be Paul and Nealita's.  That plane was boring and doesn't interest me at all.  So what that it was big?  And I already have the Lego treehouse; Sam, next time don't build something that Lego has already done!  I'm sure that was a factor in their judging.  They can't turn a model into a real set that's already a real set...

I think Christopher and Robert are probably nice people in real life, but I didn't like their "villain" schtick, and why is Lego now telling us that evil wins?  

Quite a few bad choices were made in this episode.

[KeithJ]

When I first saw the list of "celebrities" for the Holiday Bricktacular I wasn't too impressed but I though the show ended up being hilarious.  They all did a great job.

[mertensia]

Marshawn was a great choice. "That's cheating!"

Will's face as he read that line was priceless.

[alexa]

That celebrity episode and the builds were better than many in the normal episodes.  So much fun, with a lot of detail and color.

Edited December 20, 2023 by alexa

[Black Knight]

On 10/6/2023 at 6:58 AM, joanne3482 said:

I felt like they were being a little over-dramatic about the safety of the kittens when it came to the guy team who was in the bottom two. My idiot kitten once jumped from the top shelf of a 6' shelving unit and neatly landed on the sofa. They're more durable than you think.

(I'm just now finally watching S4, and if I had known there was a kitten episode, I would never have put it off this long! Squee!)

While it was a bit over-dramatic - cats are tough creatures and kittens are so lightweight it's hard for them to hurt themselves falling - I still understood the decision. The show knew that catwalk wasn't attached to the other module and would fall if the kitten tried to walk on it, and that other module didn't look all that steady on its four skinny legs either. There's always that 1% chance the kitten lands in an awkward position that dislocates something or bangs their eye against an extruding Lego brick. And at that point the viewer backlash would be tremendous, the charity would be furious, and it would all come down to that the show knew the build wasn't stable. Actually, most likely the show would have to scrap the entire episode rather than dare show any of it, and then hope nothing leaked out - but they'd still have the angry charity to deal with, so good luck with that. The call was the right one.

The entrepreneurs' act might get old for me later, but for now it's cracking me up, particularly when they talked about beta testing the kitten. Heh. I can't be bothered since they really did end up building the best build from a kitten's perspective. I know it was a little busy and unfocused from a human perspective, but for a kitten there was lots of entertainment.

Will is as mostly unfunny as ever, and it pleases me to see more teams not bothering to play along with the lines that fall flat.

[joanne3482]

45 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

While it was a bit over-dramatic - cats are tough creatures and kittens are so lightweight it's hard for them to hurt themselves falling - I still understood the decision.

It was awhile back but I think I was fine with them not allowing the cat to actually test the unsteady build, but more how OTT the hosts were about the safety of the cats. Their level of gravitas was excessive.