Lego Masters (USA) - General Discussion

[TVbitch]

Finally finished this up. I found myself just skipping to the final builds just to see them. Might check out the next season to see if it improves but the Australian version is just so much better and I appreciate the artistry of the builds much more.  ...and no Will!

[alexa]

7 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Finally finished this up. I found myself just skipping to the final builds just to see them. Might check out the next season to see if it improves but the Australian version is just so much better and I appreciate the artistry of the builds much more.  ...and no Will!

I don’t remember if anyone said if there is a way to watch that version?

[roamyn]

We finally got around to watching this season, and Will was even worse!

I agree that there was too much emphasis on ‘build it bigger’ ‘build it stronger’, then on sculpting or designing.  

To whomever wrote that Dave & Richard were the Sam/Jessica team of S1, I completely disagree.  For one, D&R won more challenges than any other team, 2) S&J bickered alot the first few challenges; 3) S&J were no where near as talented.  Due to D&R’s technical & design expertise, I was very confused w/Richard’s coral in the mash up.  I’m wondering if they set themselves up to lose on purpose; maybe they were homesick, Dave got very teary talking abt his family.

The only team I really actively disliked this season was Zack & Wayne.  And really it was only Wayne.  Every single challenge was abt him (or him & his family).  If a I was interested in archery, I wouldn’t want him as a teacher.  They were technically masterful, but they didn’t know how to tell a story for the life of them.  Even the castle, while technically amazing, had absolutely no story, and too much blank space.  All they did was stick a mini fig & motorcycle on it (again abt Wayne).

As far as the finale goes, Mark & Steven’s was beautiful & cohesive.  They had moving parts, moving lights, and a complete land.  All W&Z did was stick mini figs in a round tower.  It was EXACTLY like the beard brothers from S1.  To me the Geek twins were a far second, even if their light show wasn’t very good.

But I still think Tyler & Amy’s griffin from S1 would’ve beat the woodsman structure.

[Trekky]

I just finished this. I live in Australia and I have to agree that The Australian version is WAY better. Hamish is a lot funnier than Will (even tho I do like Will).

I can't remember but did Amy and Jaime decide the  winners in S1? The Aussie version, has a different way to decide the winner.

[Sapphire]

Is there a way for Americans to watch the Australian version?

[blackwing]

Apparently the show was renewed back in December for Season 3!  Good news.  I would imagine it should air this summer.

I would hope that they have made some changes to the show, particularly in the way the builds are shown to viewers, but I would assume that everything will be the same.  I'm sure Will will still be the host and I'm sure that he will be as bad/useless as ever.  But at least we get a new season!

[LittleIggy]

12 hours ago, blackwing said:

Apparently the show was renewed back in December for Season 3!  Good news.  I would imagine it should air this summer.

I would hope that they have made some changes to the show, particularly in the way the builds are shown to viewers, but I would assume that everything will be the same.  I'm sure Will will still be the host and I'm sure that he will be as bad/useless as ever.  But at least we get a new season!

Will is the Executive Producer so…

[Black Knight]

On 1/27/2022 at 9:50 PM, LittleIggy said:

Will is the Executive Producer so…

We can always hope he gets another project that means he's not available to host, much like Mayim Bialik's TV series has kept her from hosting much of Jeopardy's season.

I'm sure Arnette would choose a major role in a TV series or film over hosting.

[Traveller519]

Promo for the new season

One of my friends in one of the contestants. I'll poke my head in from time to time to see some of the unbiased discourse, but will likely refrain from posting myself.

[alexa]

On 1/1/2022 at 4:02 PM, Sapphire said:

Is there a way for Americans to watch the Australian version?

I just found it on tubi tv which is free for streaming their shows.

[Taeolas]

On 1/1/2022 at 5:02 PM, Sapphire said:

Is there a way for Americans to watch the Australian version?

For Canadians, Discovery.ca is showing Lego Masters Australia (first season) now. 

It's on right after Battlebots and should be on demand as well. 

[mertensia]

Yes! Someone with clothes sense is dressing Amy this season....so far.

Loved the grandpas' spaceship. 

The garden was boring.

[mjc570]

Glad to see the show back.  A lot of the builds were impressive.  I was prepared to hate the "influencers" until I found out that they were actually LEGO vloggers (I also liked their bows).  I think this was held against them, I thought their build was by far the best.

I think the wrong team went home.  I definitely would have picked the green shirts, maybe because that mom is one of the most absolutely annoying people ever but also because their build didn't work as advertised and was pretty simplistic.

I think the granddads are going to get old (ha ha) pretty fast.  

Edited September 23, 2022 by mjc570
clarity in plurals

[KeithJ]

All the builds were really good but I don’t think Drew and Miranda were the worst.  The doctor bag, smile ship, and garden were all worse.

[mlp]

8 hours ago, mjc570 said:

I think the wrong team went home.  I definitely would have picked the green shirt, maybe because that mom is one of the most absolutely annoying people ever but also because their build didn't work as advertised and was pretty simplistic.

My opinion exactly.  I just wanted that mother out of there.  

I did think the firemen's build was the most impressive so I was glad they won.

As usual, there was too much time spent on Will and his ego and nonsense.  I'd much rather watch the contestants build.  

[ShelleySue]

While waiting for this season to start I watched three seasons of Lego Masters Australia (and the UK version, but I try to purge that from my brain) on Tubi. Now all I can think of is how much I miss Hamish and wish he could come here and replace Will Arnett. I also wish they would show more of the details of the actual completed builds instead of the animations. I’d like to see what they really look like up close. 

[Black Knight]

I watched the premiere last night. When I saw how the episode started, with some time-wasting sequence that had nothing to do with introducing the teams, I knew pretty much nothing had changed from last season.

And sure enough, Will was taking up too much airtime talking about himself and doing his stupid bits. I especially groaned when he resurrected his running gag from last season of picking out teams with something in common and making them awkwardly trash talk each other. Last season it was the brothers, this season it's the Canadians.

And as a result of all the Will filler, there were teams we hardly saw. I don't think we met the Filipino team that did the mango at all until their presentation of it at the end. It also leads to a total telegraphing of the outcome. I knew Drew/Miranda were going home because they had the most airtime and it was also the only, or one of the only, times that they showed Amy and Jaime with a contestant team instead of Will. I've ranted about this before, but we should be seeing a lot more of Amy and Jaime's interactions with the teams, not Will's.

I was sorry the show broke from its tradition the first two seasons of not booting a team in the first episode and awarding the golden brick instead for first-episode stakes, even though I expected that was probably coming just to surprise the teams. (And at least a couple of the teams were definitely surprised.) I don't think Drew/Miranda should have been the ones to go home, but even if I did I still would have liked to see what they'd do with a second build. I know they screwed up with the stories not being visible enough, but they had a nice eye for color and design.

The firefighters' build was impressive and worthy of winning, but seriously, "Stephen and Stephen"? I can see where if you're a man with that name and you've made it to adulthood without switching to Steve, you probably feel really strongly about being called Stephen and never Steve. But do their last names also start with the same letter? That's what reality shows usually resort to when contestants have the same first name and both refuse to go with a different version of it or use their middle name. I guess we'll have to call them "the bigger/smaller Stephen" to differentiate them, unless anyone can pick up some other distinguishing factor. (Their hair's different but not that different.)

[TimothyQ]

So I generally enjoy this show and totally agree that Will takes up way too much airtime. But honestly, the times they show Amy and Jamie with the contestants, it’s all valid nonsense. Their advice is always something vague like “let your personality shine through.” And it’s the same for every interaction. I’d love to see them use their expertise to advise contestants on how to better make a part move or make a strong build without adding weight. It’s just all vagueness. But maybe there’s just not time for that. 

Edited September 24, 2022 by TimothyQ
Spelling error

[Black Knight]

8 hours ago, TimothyQ said:

Their adobe is always something vague like “let your personality shine through.” And it’s the same for every interaction. I’d love to see them use their expertise to advise contestants on how to better make a part move or make a strong build without adding weight. It’s just all vagueness. But maybe there’s just not time for that. 

They did warn Drew and Miranda that the stories needed to be visible, which I think was specific advice although not technical.

A contestant from a previous season wrote on another contestant's blog about some actually useful technical advice that Amy and Jaime had given that was, of course, not shown on air. I realize the show wouldn't have time to do that for their interactions with every team, at least not in the early episodes when there are still so many teams, but if all Arnett's shtick was cut I'm confident they could show snippets for at least a few. Other reality competition shows manage to do this because they're not wasting time on the host.

[FnkyChkn34]

While the mother in the green shirt is super annoying, I can't agree that she should have been sent home.  Their build was more ambitious and tried to have a complicated motorized element; it didn't work, but I think they got just enough more "points" for ambition than the brother-sister duo.  The siblings were told multiple times to make sure that everyone could see the stories inside, and they didn't do it.  Their simple non-motorized roof hinges didn't even work (nor did it look like a soda bottle rocket).  

I do agree that the firemen deserved to win.  Theirs really looked like what they set out to make, and quite frankly, would be a useful rocket ship to have in a space community. 😉

I am also in the minority that Will doesn't bother me.  Every reality show has a host, it's just something that we have to deal with; The Voice spends a lot of time on antics too.

[Shermie]

Will doesn’t bother me either. But I do wish the show would focus more on the builds and the how-to’s than showing the judges and host commenting about the builds and the how-to’s. But that’s also a reality show annoyance across the board.

[ShelleySue]

Am I the only one who doesn't remember names (except for The Firefighters -- Stephen and Stephen)?  To me they are "The Mother and Son, The Grandpappies, the Filipinos, The Influencers, The Boston Team, The Canadian The Siblings, The Doctors, and others I can't remember. Wearing uniforms/outfits really imprints these in my head.

[Shermie]

You’re not the only one. I’m not invested enough in those complete strangers to learn all their names, especially when several will be gone in a few weeks. I keep track the same way, identifying by characteristics.

The showrunners choose this variety of teams intentionally, so there’s not a lot of boring interchangeable 25-35-year-old “models/bartenders/yoga instructors” /cough, Survivor, I’m looking at you.

[mjc570]

I really don't care for any of the contestants (except possibly the Lego makers, since they have good skills and a sense of humor), so at this point I just FF to the final builds.  

I know the show people emphasize one characteristic so we can differentiate the various teams, but I'm pretty sick of having it shoved in my face (yes, we know you are a mother/son (creepy, in my opinion) yes, you are from Canada, yes, you are old) etc.  

[mlp]

Maybe my eye isn't discerning enough but, in the end, all those varieties of explosions looked pretty much the same.  Also most of them looked like the teams had just set whatever the "explosives" were somewhere in an otherwise static landscape.  I did like the display that won but I wish a different team had made it because I find touchy-feely mommy annoying.  I liked the team that was eliminated but their display was the weakest so it was the right decision.  The grandpas will probably go next.  

Chris Pratt is cute and a very good sport.

[Black Knight]

The worst Chris. Ugh, no thanks Show.

I agree with who went home, but I thought the firefighters should have been the other bottom team. The challenge was dinos and they totally failed with their dino. 

I also wish there hadn’t been the special effects component to the challenge. We hardly saw any of some of the builds because the SFX took the focus and airtime.

[Alexlovestv]

Called it that the smile check would be going home (I can't remember their names just yet) and the grandpas would be in the bottom. I noticed that some parts of the episode seemed familiar because of the preview they did a few months ago. That may be why I wanted to turn it off at one point.

On 9/30/2022 at 8:02 AM, ShelleySue said:

Am I the only one who doesn't remember names (except for The Firefighters -- Stephen and Stephen)?  To me they are "The Mother and Son, The Grandpappies, the Filipinos, The Influencers, The Boston Team, The Canadian The Siblings, The Doctors, and others I can't remember. Wearing uniforms/outfits really imprints these in my head.

I'm the same way Shelley Sue.

[mertensia]

The mom annoys me. I don't know why.

I'm betting the grandpas go next.

I was impressed by the winning tableau. They actually had the train moving instead of already crashed.

I do like that the contestants all cheer each other on, and all had a great time cheering on the explosions.

[Shermie]

I’m not a fan of the special effects in any form. It doesn’t have anything to do with building with Lego; it seems like the showrunners just want to add perceived excitement to the show. I think most people watch to see Lego enthusiasts display their building skills, and don’t care about the explosions and lights either.

[FnkyChkn34]

Was it just me, or did the special effects look like CGI?

Also, this episode was really poor timing, given that the Jurassic Park movie came out in the summer and Fox delayed the start of this series.  This was probably my least favorite episode of all the seasons because it was just too disjointed.  I noticed that there was bad editing around a commercial break too, when talking to the Filippino guys, they played the same clip before and after.  Plus, the Lego builds themselves didn't impress me.

Count me in on not knowing anyone's name.

[Black Knight]

16 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I noticed that there was bad editing around a commercial break too, when talking to the Filippino guys, they played the same clip before and after. 

That's an intentional editing choice that occurs a lot on reality shows, so that if a viewer has just joined they'll know what was said before the commercial break that is now being followed up on after the commercial break. Like if a contestant is asked a question and the show goes to commercial break, after the commercial break the asking of the question will be replayed, rather than starting it off with the contestant's answer.

I wouldn't put it past the show to have used some CGI to make the SFX more impressive for TV.

[Omeletsmom]

On 10/3/2022 at 8:15 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

Was it just me, or did the special effects look like CGI?

Yes!  It totally looked like CGI. Maybe there were some practical effects, but they were definitely enhanced in post.

[mertensia]

Yeah, I thought Kerry and Patrick would be the next to go.

Of course Emily and Liam won the Golden Brick. 

The octopus was cute, and I loved the Mexican skeleton.

[ShelleySue]

This article was in our local newspaper. It's about the "Boston Team."

I realize what's missing this season. So far they haven't built anything that fit together with the other teams. Don't they usually start off with a city or park or something like that where they each take a component, construct it and then everyone fits their tables back together? Or does that come later? Or is that Australia?

[Taeolas]

They sort've did that in the first episode, where everyone was building modules on the space station. The problem in that design though is that everything tends to be more compact and it's harder to get an overall big picture view with everything.

Usually they do a city build where everyone takes a neighbourhood and just builds what they want and then pushes everything back together. When they do that you get to see a bigger picture with everything at once. 

I missed how Stephen & Stephen are also Canadian; they're pushing the Fire Fighter angle for them, but for the bull riding they mentioned how they'd done that at Calgary and I had to rewind just to make sure I heard right (and just googled to verify). 

As for this week's ep, the bucking bronco is a good replacement for the shaker table, and has its own challenges. I'm fine with both the top two and the bottom two. The older guys rightfully went home; on the bottom twice in a row and IMO their design was simple compared to the rest.

[mlp]

I thought that the team that built the character who lasted longest would win and the one who lasted the least long would lose and be eliminated.  I figured other things would factor into a decision if two teams ended up with the same score.  So I didn't understand why there were two at the top and two at the bottom.  It seems like the team who scored a 2 should have gone.  I imagine the judges figured that the grandpas had no chance of lasting much longer and the siblings had more potential but it still didn't seem fair to me.

[FnkyChkn34]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

I thought that the team that built the character who lasted longest would win and the one who lasted the least long would lose and be eliminated.  I figured other things would factor into a decision if two teams ended up with the same score.  So I didn't understand why there were two at the top and two at the bottom.  It seems like the team who scored a 2 should have gone.  I imagine the judges figured that the grandpas had no chance of lasting much longer and the siblings had more potential but it still didn't seem fair to me.

Will said that the judging was 50-50, aesthetics and strength.  Aesthetics is what saved the Canadian siblings, I guess. It was a better looking build than the grandpappies, but I liked the skeleton the best. I can see why the annoying mom and son team won... but they're not my favorite. 

I don't understand why they're adding a new team? Interesting twist, but unnecessary...

[Black Knight]

16 hours ago, mlp said:

I thought that the team that built the character who lasted longest would win and the one who lasted the least long would lose and be eliminated.  I figured other things would factor into a decision if two teams ended up with the same score.  So I didn't understand why there were two at the top and two at the bottom.  It seems like the team who scored a 2 should have gone.  I imagine the judges figured that the grandpas had no chance of lasting much longer and the siblings had more potential but it still didn't seem fair to me.

Amy stated explicitly at the introduction of the challenge that contestants would be judged equally on their ability to create a compelling character.

It was nice to see the show reacting to what's happened in previous seasons with a challenge like this, where some teams would just totally throw out aesthetics in order to achieve the top technical place and so we'd be looking at some ugly thing that still won just because it was the tallest or held together the longest or whatever.

I dislike the twist of adding a new team. It's true that the show is still in the phase of eliminating teams that have no chance whatsoever to win, but these day-long challenges are grueling and this new team is getting to come in totally fresh while the remaining teams are a little tired by now.

I do feel a little bad for the new team because the show has really set them up to be hated. And from the teensy bit we saw of them, they came off as cocky teenagers, which is not something that's going to help them overcome the way they've been brought in midseason. I don't know why the show feels like we need drama between teams. TPTB have never trusted Lego to be enough.

[Taeolas]

Yeah, I wonder what the story with the new team is. Were they always intended to be there, but had to be held back (for COVID maybe?). 

I'm not sure if it would ever be done, but I'd love to see a challenge or two sometime where the local Lego Masters are competing not only against themselves, but also against some true Lego Master winners from Australia or the other series. The other masters aren't there to 'compete' but to be part of the challenge somehow. 

[Alexlovestv]

On 10/6/2022 at 1:54 PM, Taeolas said:

They sort've did that in the first episode, where everyone was building modules on the space station. The problem in that design though is that everything tends to be more compact and it's harder to get an overall big picture view with everything.

Usually they do a city build where everyone takes a neighbourhood and just builds what they want and then pushes everything back together. When they do that you get to see a bigger picture with everything at once. 

I missed how Stephen & Stephen are also Canadian; they're pushing the Fire Fighter angle for them, but for the bull riding they mentioned how they'd done that at Calgary and I had to rewind just to make sure I heard right (and just googled to verify). 

As for this week's ep, the bucking bronco is a good replacement for the shaker table, and has its own challenges. I'm fine with both the top two and the bottom two. The older guys rightfully went home; on the bottom twice in a row and IMO their design was simple compared to the rest.

I thought the party pig would be going home, but I'm honestly not surprised that Kerry and Patrick went home. I liked this one better than last week because at least this wasn't a repeat of an older episode.  The Calgary Stampede is a big Canadian tradition and it is a large rodeo. I like the bronco better because it was moving more than the shaker table in the earthquake challenge last year. I thought adding a team was a horrible idea and they should've had them compete since the beginning.

Edited October 8, 2022 by Alexlovestv

[FnkyChkn34]

The Influencers, or someone (maybe the ladies from Boston) - I don't know, now I don't remember, but it doesn't matter... Someone said that they recognize the new team from TikTok.  So were these kids brought in to be ringers?  Did production not like the quality of the builds so far and think they needed to be better?  

And what is the real reason for the delay in airing the show, from the summer until now?

[Maverick]

 Did anyone else think the grandpas were a couple?  Just me?  Ok.

 I don't like bringing in a new team.   Aside from the fact they seem cocky, how is fair that they get a pass on 3 rounds. 

[blackwing]

Finally caught up with the first three episodes.  I completely disagreed with the brother/sister going home in the first episode.  Yes, we couldn't easily see into the build to see all the stories through the windows of their spaceship.  But at least it looked like a spaceship, and it was built very nicely.  I didn't particularly like this team, especially the brother with his Tresemme hair that made him look to me like Jonathan Brandis reincarnated (RIP).

The team that should have gone home was the doctors.  Their "medical bag" looked atrocious, it was a rectangle.  I'm annoyed that they are still in the competition and I'm annoyed that they wear a different set of matching scrubs every episode.  It seems that teams are being asked to wear a particular uniform, and this is the one they were told to wear, but it still annoys me.

On 9/24/2022 at 8:03 AM, TimothyQ said:

So I generally enjoy this show and totally agree that Will takes up way too much airtime. But honestly, the times they show Amy and Jamie with the contestants, it’s all valid nonsense. Their advice is always something vague like “let your personality shine through.” And it’s the same for every interaction. I’d love to see them use their expertise to advise contestants on how to better make a part move or make a strong build without adding weight. It’s just all vagueness. But maybe there’s just not time for that. 

I agree, I wish there was some more discussion of techniques.  In the third episode they talked about ball joints.  What's the difference between a ball joint and other kinds of connectors?  In the first season I thought there were some little quick snippets of instruction explaining what the term that was just mentioned was.  We haven't gotten any at all this season.  After three seasons, I still don't understand the difference between Technic and [regular], or how Technic could help the bullriders stay on the saddle better.

Amy and Jamie do always seem to say the same things over and over.  1) "Let your personality shine through", 2) "Don't lose focus on the big picture", 3) "Make sure you connect all of this amazing building into a cohesive story".  Only very occasionally do they seem to provide any kind of practical advice.

On 9/26/2022 at 9:56 AM, Shermie said:

Will doesn’t bother me either. But I do wish the show would focus more on the builds and the how-to’s than showing the judges and host commenting about the builds and the how-to’s. But that’s also a reality show annoyance across the board.

He bothered me in the past, but I've come to accept that his schtick is part of the show.  I don't mind him as an actor, and I thought he was especially great as the voice of Lego Batman.  I just wish that they didn't have these long extended comedy bits at the expense of showing us the actual builds.

On 10/6/2022 at 3:58 PM, mlp said:

I thought that the team that built the character who lasted longest would win and the one who lasted the least long would lose and be eliminated.  I figured other things would factor into a decision if two teams ended up with the same score.  So I didn't understand why there were two at the top and two at the bottom.  It seems like the team who scored a 2 should have gone.  I imagine the judges figured that the grandpas had no chance of lasting much longer and the siblings had more potential but it still didn't seem fair to me.

I believe that's how it worked last year with the skyscrapers on the earthquake platform.  The teams scoring the highest were in the top 2 and the lowest were up for elimination.  This led to some very ugly, blocky rectangular prisms being among the winning teams.  The team of mathematicians (?) that built some really really fugly "prime number tower" or something like that.  Meanwhile, some of the teams that built beautiful towers didn't last as long.  So I'm glad that this year that aesthetics were part of the judging, not just who lasted the longest.

It sounds like there may have been a height requirement too.  Because it it were me, I would have built a small compact sphere.  The mother/son said something about how their jackalope build had a low center of gravity but the ears gave it the height they needed.

Edited October 10, 2022 by blackwing

[mlp]

What the heck?  My Guide says Lego Masters.  My DVR says it's recording Lego Masters but what I'm actually seeing is a baseball game.  

[FnkyChkn34]

15 minutes ago, mlp said:

What the heck?  My Guide says Lego Masters.  My DVR says it's recording Lego Masters but what I'm actually seeing is a baseball game.  

Same here.  Ugh.  I don't care about baseball, no matter what team it is.

[opus]

4:30 pm ET game got rain delayed to a 7:30 pm ET start.

[mertensia]

Ugh! I got repeats of Young Sheldon.

[Taeolas]

CTV didn't get the memo, so we got the new ep here in Canada. 

Spoiler

Wasn't paying too much attention due to other reasons but what I noticed.

The new team is a bit cocky, but they did put a strong first build in. 

All in all there were a lot of strong builds IMO; there could easily have been a Top 6. 

I'm glad Nick and Stacy won instead of the newbies in any case. 

Bottom two I'm fine for, they both had somewhat uninspired builds IMO and either could have gone. 

[FnkyChkn34]

I read somewhere that this week's episode should air next week at the regular time.

[MagicEyes]

No Lego Masters this week, I guess. It’s supposed to be on now, but the Masked Singer is on instead. I’m not so happy about that, because last week it was pre-empted by local news and the episode isn’t available on streaming services for a week. Do they not want us to watch this show? 😟