Lego Masters (USA) - General Discussion

[blackwing]

5 hours ago, alexa said:

I still think it is very possible they intended on the final three the entire time, but just pretended someone would leave for the drama.  They do this in all of the reality shows.... Dancing with the Stars does it all of the time.  They start an elimination and then say, everyone is staying!  Wow!  lol.  But I get what you are saying, as it is true there is also much manipulation in these shows as well.  Either way I am glad it didn't end with just Sam/Jessica, and the two guys.  It needed a third competitor, or at least a stronger one than Sam/Jessica, imo.

I guess it depends on whether the judges were taking overall body of work and past performance into consideration.  Because if that's the case, how did the Douche Bros get eliminated when they did?  I think if Sam and Jessica made it to the final three, they made it because they deserved it.  They proved themselves to be a strong team by virtue of outlasting others.

It also depends on what the judges considered to be an "epic" model.  Tyler and Amy's model was the complete package.  Sam and Jessica's was a beautiful sculptural work of art.  The kind of pieces of you see at Legoland but on a smaller scale.  Mark and Boone's model really highlighted the fact that they just weren't particularly good at creating Lego sculptures.  Their building was blocky and boring.  Their original concept with the pull out adventure pods was criticized by the judges as boring.  Their half-computer with all of the imaginative blocks was criticized back then as blocky and linear.

They just didn't hear what the judges were saying.  Their strengths were that they created playsets the could be found in stores, with fun minifigures and funny details.  They relied too much on the minifigures throughout the competition.  So if the judges were looking for a winner who could create a playset that kids would actually have fun playing with, then I agree they could have been the winner.  It would have been great fun playing as the Pizza Guy's evil pizzamen army.  Or with the Ewoks.  Or with the characters in the Food Truck tower.  Sam and Jessica's peacock and monkey... you obviously can't really play with it.  It's just a sculpture.

Both teams played to their strengths.  Sam and Jessica proved they were great with sculptures.  Mark and Boone proved they were great with architecture and fun use of minifigures.  It would have been helpful if the judges had pointed out throughout the competition what they were looking for.  The Douche Bros got repeatedly criticized for their lack of creativity and storytelling and thus they got eliminated.  But I wonder if the judges had emphasized that they were looking for sculptural creations, that Mark and Boone would have been eliminated earlier.  I thought the week in which they produced their half computer was clearly a sculptural week, and they only survived because other teams messed up worse.

That's why I think Tyler and Amy's finished product was head and shoulders above the other two teams in the finale.  It really could be described as "epic".  There was absolutely nothing at all epic about Mark and Boone's blocky building.

[Catfi9ht]

On 4/18/2020 at 8:13 PM, Eolivet said:

Ultimately, the show felt a little bait-and-switch to me, as I thought it was going to be more like the first episode. Where they built an amusement park and instead of, "I can see the character motivation behind the placement of the ferris wheel," it was "golly, that ferris wheel sure is pretty! And look at it spin!"

I wouldn't call shenanigans exactly, but I do feel like the criteria evolved as the show went on, and they became more and more impressed with Tyler and Amy's "storytelling," that they decided to make it a bigger and bigger part of the judging criteria until it became Lego Storytellers, and Tyler and Amy became shoo-ins for the win.

I completely agree. This show felt heavily edited to tell a particular narrative the producers wanted to tell rather than exhibit the competitors' skills. I think the obvious example is the movie genre episode where the judges kept adding criteria in order to force the Bros to use their golden brick.

While I love the concept of a Lego competition show, the editing and format of this show was too fake and over-the-top for me. I understand that type of show appeals to some people. It's just not for me. I still hold Face Off as the gold standard of competition shows. I doubt I'll watch next season.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Catfi9ht
Because I can't spell movie correctly the first time. :)

[Fukui San]

One thing I don't think we've mentioned on here is the extent that the teams were forced to be in their "costumes" every single moment they were onscreen. Every person had one look and they couldn't wear anything different, from the beardos plaid to the cosplay girls to, well, everyone. I know if I were going to be running around building stuff for 12 or 24 hours that I wouldn't want to be in a goddamn suit and tie like Tyler was. I think most reality TV shows do something like this but in this case it was more glaring than usual.

[Catfi9ht]

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

One thing I don't think we've mentioned on here is the extent that the teams were forced to be in their "costumes" every single moment they were onscreen. Every person had one look and they couldn't wear anything different, from the beardos plaid to the cosplay girls to, well, everyone. I know if I were going to be running around building stuff for 12 or 24 hours that I wouldn't want to be in a goddamn suit and tie like Tyler was. I think most reality TV shows do something like this but in this case it was more glaring than usual.

Awesome point. I think I remember trying to calculate the amount of time it takes to film an episode. It was essentially impossible for them to film a challenge in one sitting including crew build, setup, and tear-down. Yet, they presented each episode like it was filmed in a single day. 

An example of that is the bridge building episode where there were originally only a few weights. All of a sudden a bunch of extra weights appeared and a plexi-glass shield that wasn't there during the first bridge test. Not to mention the clean-up and reset time that was required between each test.

[blackwing]

43 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

Awesome point. I think I remember trying to calculate the amount of time it takes to film an episode. It was essentially impossible for them to film a challenge in one sitting including crew build, setup, and tear-down. Yet, they presented each episode like it was filmed in a single day. 

An example of that is the bridge building episode where there were originally only a few weights. All of a sudden a bunch of extra weights appeared and a plexi-glass shield that wasn't there during the first bridge test. Not to mention the clean-up and reset time that was required between each test.

Or the "24 hour build" with the contestants wearing the exact same outfit the whole time.  Surely they took a break to sleep and eat.

I'm curious about the breaks.  I presume if you need to go to the bathroom, you just go and it's on your own time.  Snack or water breaks?  We never saw anyone ever eating anything, and it's unreasonable to think that people aren't drinking water throughout the day.  Do you just step out for a few minutes to drink some water?  Was it hidden underneath the tables and we just didn't see it?  What about lunch and dinner? I would assume they have to stop shooting at times and set up things and feed people.  Are you allowed to continue sketching ideas out on those tablets and planning? 

What resources do you have access to?  I'm particularly interested in whether they have access to the internet for research... looking at pictures of griffins or peacocks to use as a model.  Scenes from Star Wars for reference.  Or is it all in their head?  I'm particularly curious about the bridge building episode.  What if somebody has absolutely no idea how to build a bridge?  The gay couple looked completely lost but even they were able to come up with a definite model and type of bridge.  I would hope there was at least some kind of 10 minute "introduction to bridges" video that the teams were shown offscreen.

[Taeolas]

Hopefully now that the show has finished, we'll have some more behind the scenes details. 

 

Early on, I think we figured that the builds had to be multi-day builds, but for show consistency, the contestants would be dressed the same. Bathroom breaks and snack breaks are likely done on the contestants time. Interviews (Talking Heads) moments are show times that a team would be given back. There's probably designated meal break times that don't count as well. Meal breaks and rest breaks are probably "stop now and step away" moments, which would probably be a bit annoying if you just got in the zone for part of the build. 

But the multiple days of filming seems pretty obvious considering the guest stars were usually only around for half of the build time. The second day of filming was when the guest star wasn't around. 

 

As for the bridge testing, I figure after the first bridge blew past their weight expectations, production kept putting more and more weight on. When the show's safety officer realized how much weight was being held up by plastic so close to unprotected people, they probably blew a gasket. The shields to contain collapses and the absolute NOT A GRAM MORE weight limit was put in as a compromise to let production continue. 

[meredithalmighty]

I really enjoyed watching Season 1 of Legomasters with my 9 year old daughter. It's the first non-cartoon TV show that my daughter really got into. 

What I liked about the show:

- The contestants were very nice and respectful of each other. 

- I thought the show had some great lessons about friendship and teamwork for my daughter. The show served as a springboard for me to have useful conversations with my daughter.

- I liked the variety- it was  also very rewarding to see the contestants improve their lego story each week.

- I loved how each team got to pick their own subject for the finale. 

Does anyone know when Season 2 will be shown?

[Taeolas]

Season 2 is probably going to be Winter 2021 (January to May 2021). They announced they are casting for a new season; but Covid may delay production. Still this show was in Winter 2020, so they'll probably try to keep the same period. 

I honestly don't have any idea how to see it, but there are UK and Australia versions of this show that would probably be similar to watch. Hopefully some streaming service or something will get the rights to show the other nation's shows. 

[meredithalmighty]

I would love to watch the other countries version of the show. I tried a YouTube search and came up empty. I have Disney Plus, and Netflix along with DTV. I'm also kind of irritated that Fox hasn't been re-running the episodes, I accidentally deleted the first half of the series and one episode got pre-empted by a president speech. 

Does anybody know if the contestants have a deal with legos to sell replication brick kits of their creations? I'd love to build the peacock from the finale and the broccoli creation of Amy and Tyler. 

Overall- I thought it was a fun family show. Yes, the editing was wonky but I think the show did a great job on the casting. 

[blackwing]

Finally, I saw that Lego Masters was officially renewed today for a second season!  Happy.  I would like them to make some changes in presentation, I hope we get more focus on the details of each model.  Or that they at least put these on the Fox website.

[roamyn]

21 hours ago, blackwing said:

Finally, I saw that Lego Masters was officially renewed today for a second season!  Happy.  I would like them to make some changes in presentation, I hope we get more focus on the details of each model.  Or that they at least put these on the Fox website.

I'd like them to get a new, less cheesy host.  And write better lines for said host.

[ProfCrash]

I would love more focus on what they are building and how. There are some cool bricks that they use in a unique way.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Directors Guild of America nomination!

Reality Programs
David Charles - Eco Challenge, “3,2,1…Go!” (Amazon)
Jon Favreau - The Chef Show, “Tartine” (Netflix)
Ken Fuchs - Shark Tank, “1211” (ABC)
Joseph Guidry - Full Bloom, “Petal to the Metal” (HBO Max)
Rich Kim - Lego Masters, “Mega City Block” (FOX)

[blackwing]

I saw a promo on last night's Masked Singer.... Season 2 premiere is on June 1!

Will Arnett, looking extra tan, is returning as host, along with the Wonder Twins as technical experts.

I do hope the show is going to address some of the camerawork issues but I'm not expecting any changes.  I still would prefer more focus on the builds (including extended looks and zoomed in shots) and less on the personal lives of the contestants.  I truly don't care about their relationships.  And I mean all of them.  Tyler and Amy's baby, the lumberjacks singing, the bickering 3rd place team, the gay couple squealing in mock fright and saying "hold me", the dad and son crying, etc.

I am here to see really cool and creative Lego builds.  That's pretty much it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

13 hours ago, blackwing said:

I am here to see really cool and creative Lego builds.  That's pretty much it.

Same here. I don't really need to know the particulars of the relationships between the team members. Just build cool looking stuff.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S2.E1: LEGO Day Parade

Quote

The talented teams are introduced and tasked with building an eye-catching float in the first-ever LEGO Day Parade.

Original air date: 6/1/21

[FnkyChkn34]

On 5/31/2021 at 9:37 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

S2.E1: LEGO Day Parade

Original air date: 6/1/21

I'm very excited for this to return tonight!  Yay for some new TV!

[twoods]

Those moving dragons were on another level than all the other builds, it was ridiculous. 

[mertensia]

Loved the dragons. The four seasons one was kind of cluttered.

I'm glad they kept everyone; I imagine there are lots of nerves for the first build.

Just out of curiosity, are those motors easy to work with or finicky?

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Those moving dragons were on another level than all the other builds, it was ridiculous. 

Absolutely! The number 1 & 2 picks were correct. 
Why didn’t the married couple do a wheel inset to have the sheep leaping in a loop over the bed?

[Taeolas]

I'm glad when they don't eliminate in the first episode; IIRC they didn't last season either. The Golden Brick makes the first build important, while not leading to an elimination. 

 

And I agree, the Dragons were incredible, and the Viking ship was a worthy second place. 

 

Most of the builds were good but were blown out of the water by those two builds. 

 

The sheep was good but completely missed the motion requirement. All they had to have was a gear to make Sheep #2 go back and forth and it would probably have been a valid #3 or 4 place. 

 

The Food float was great; very float-like in general. 

[Koalagirl]

I wish we were able to get a longer look at the floats but I guess they had to speed through them because of the number of teams.  I guess we won’t get to see more detail until the number of teams gets reduced.  This was a great start though.

[alexa]

I thought this was better than last season in the sense that there wasn’t a lot of drama, and the host was toned down a bit.  I enjoyed it, and the builds.

[FnkyChkn34]

Agree with all the comments that the #1 and #2 were definitely the best.  As soon as I saw the dragons, I thought they'd win.  Colorful, the best movement, told a great story...  This show is pretty awesome!

The host and the "drama" doesn't really bother me.  I liked getting to know the "biker pair" because they are super sweet and any stereotype that Will was trying to give them (jokingly, I know) doesn't seem to apply.  

I also liked that the one team immediately had to get in the jab about how they beat Tyler and Amy at a different competition; but, that also puts a target on their back and makes them cocky.

[xfuse]

10 hours ago, Taeolas said:

The sheep was good but completely missed the motion requirement.

They had motion. They had the kid in the bed move. 

8 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I wish we were able to get a longer look at the floats but I guess they had to speed through them because of the number of teams.

I don't get why this show is not two hours long. It's my main problem with the show. We don't get to see much of the builds. There were floats there that I didn't see until the parade.  A show that is 42 minute long and we get WA and the judges for about 30 minutes of it. I don't want to see them, I want to see the builds.

[akg]

10 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I wish we were able to get a longer look at the floats

Agreed. I was especially annoyed by the animated bits they did for most of the presentations. They confused things a little considering part of the challenge was to include motion. Going from the animated party float with everyone dancing to just the rotating record was a weird choice. The team should have had more movement but the show didn't need to highlight things so clearly.

 

1 hour ago, xfuse said:

They had motion. They had the kid in the bed move.

Did they explain what that motion was supposed to be? It kind of looked like the kid was having a seizure. 

 

8 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I liked getting to know the "biker pair" because they are super sweet and any stereotype that Will was trying to give them (jokingly, I know) doesn't seem to apply

This is probably awful of me but I'm hoping they tone down the 'in honor of our niece' mentions. I always feel like adding that element makes it harder for the judges to eliminate a team. Not that that is what happens. Although I was surprised there weren't more comments about the last minute switch to just having the legs move instead of the wings.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The dragons were better than everything else, and by quite a wide margin. If that's what they did for the first challenge, I can't wait to see what else they create!

Twelve teams is way too many people for me to remember. The blonde ladies are lucky that this was not an elimination. They should have been cut for not having all four of their wheels working (and that's before you even get to their underwhelming design).

[blackwing]

Glad this show is back, but they are having the same issues as last season with not enough attention to the finished builds.  The first half of the teams presenting got more airtime, two got the animated treatment, and then the last 6 got maybe 10 seconds each.  Pacing and editing is still terrible.  

6 hours ago, akg said:

This is probably awful of me but I'm hoping they tone down the 'in honor of our niece' mentions. I always feel like adding that element makes it harder for the judges to eliminate a team. Not that that is what happens. Although I was surprised there weren't more comments about the last minute switch to just having the legs move instead of the wings.

I don’t like them and they were the only team I found really annoying.  Their skills seemed really bad too.  They basically made a 2d butterfly, it was just two flat wings.   Their only motion was (I think) that the legs slightly moved.  The only reason why they weren’t in bottom two is because of the sob story. The blondes built a great looking swan and got dinged for only two wheels turning, but at least their float looked good and they showed good sculpting skills.  

[FnkyChkn34]

I think the "biker" pair and the blonde ladies, plus the other pair that was in the bottom two that I'm forgetting, know they all got very lucky with no elimination.  I think we'll see them step it up, or they'll be gone.

[blackwing]

18 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I think the "biker" pair and the blonde ladies, plus the other pair that was in the bottom two that I'm forgetting, know they all got very lucky with no elimination.  I think we'll see them step it up, or they'll be gone.

I think some of them just don't have the skills.  The older couple with the dead great-niece and the nerdy engineering team in particular don't have it.  I think the blonde ladies and the husband/wife (sheep jumping over the bed) might have some promise.  But the older couple and the engineers both built very blocky builds.  The engineers especially.  I know they built robots which could be blocky to begin with, but they didn't have to be.

[Black Knight]

I was hoping they'd bring in another host for S2. Will Arnett makes things too much about himself and takes up a lot of time that would be better spent on the teams' builds. This show doesn't need that kind of host.

The winning team made my eyes roll a bit with their overdone shock at being named one of the final two teams. Those dragons were so far ahead of everyone else's builds. I could see them being a bit uncertain about whether they'd win over the Viking ship build, but they had to know they were safely top two. My job dropped when I saw how well those dragons moved. Tyler was a wizard last season with motors and those dragons outdid him.

It sounds like they changed the rules for the golden brick. The explanation this time said something about how if the team who has it lands in the bottom two, they lose the golden brick. Last season, the team had to decide before anything was announced whether they wanted to use the golden brick. So, like Survivor, it would have been possible to be eliminated with an immunity idol golden brick sitting in your pocket.

I was pretty sure I remembered them not eliminating a team in the first season's premiere and I'm glad they kept that going here. I hope they don't feel the need to change it in the third season just for the sake of unpredictability. As noted above, the awarding of the golden brick still makes the first episode competition important.

[FnkyChkn34]

On 6/5/2021 at 6:38 PM, Black Knight said:

It sounds like they changed the rules for the golden brick. The explanation this time said something about how if the team who has it lands in the bottom two, they lose the golden brick. Last season, the team had to decide before anything was announced whether they wanted to use the golden brick. So, like Survivor, it would have been possible to be eliminated with an immunity idol golden brick sitting in your pocket.

I think it's the same.  Before judging starts, they have to decide if they want immunity or not.  If they decide not to use their immunity, but they are in the bottom 2, they lose it because they didn't use it.  IIRC, that's how it worked last year.  

[TimothyQ]

I always crack up when they show someone sprinting across the room. I’m like, dude, it’s maybe 30 feet and you have 14 hours, chill out lol. I’m sure the producers have them do that, though. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S2.E2: Hero Shot

Quote

Teams put a stunt minifigure to the test in an explosive stunt action scene; the duos must craft an immersive build filled with slime, water, glitter and colored dust to create the ultimate action movie moment.

Original air date: 6/8/21

[alexa]

I thought most of them did a pretty good job.  It was kind of fun seeing the explosions.

[mertensia]

Jim and Dawn were the right team to go. 

I know they must have gotten instructions on how the explosives work, how to place them, etc.  but I'm still impressed.

I loved that frog. You know what else I love? That everyone else did, too.

Who is dressing Amy? That yellow thing. Just no. 

[mlp]

1 minute ago, mertensia said:

I loved that frog. You know what else I love? That everyone else did, too.

Who is dressing Amy? That yellow thing. Just no. 

I collect frogs and I wanted that one.  It was so cool and I hated seeing it blown up.

Amy's yellow blouse was almost as bad as her makeup.  They slather it on her in an attempt to make her look pretty and glamorous and it just looks creepy.  

Will is annoying me less than he did last season - so far.  The contestants are less obviously costumed too.  I'm sure the scientists don't usually play with Lego in lab coats but at least no one is in a suit and tie.  This seems like a talented group.  The undulating dragons last week were amazing.

 

[LittleIggy]

No penalty for “killing” your own hero? 😆

[FnkyChkn34]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

No penalty for “killing” your own hero? 😆

Exactly! And they weren't even in the bottom two???  I would have rewarded the father/son duo's effort over killing the hero. The right team went home, but the second to last place was not the right team, IMO. 

[TimothyQ]

15 hours ago, mlp said:

Amy's yellow blouse was almost as bad as her makeup.  They slather it on her in an attempt to make her look pretty and glamorous and it just looks creepy.

And she just needs to own her height. She's always popping one leg out and semi-crouching down. But anyway, the show...

The right team went home. You could tell they were just on such a lower level than everyone else. Not even really sure how they got on except for the sob story about their niece last week.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One thing I have disliked about the explosion/destruction challenges on previous seasons/other iterations of Lego Masters is that it sometimes relies on the aim of the host who's wielding the baseball bat or the bowling ball that destroys the creations. For that reason, I LOVED that in this challenge the builders were given two charges and it was up to them to place them exactly where they wanted them.

I hated Amy's outfit. From the waist up, she was going to brunch. From the waist down, she was going to the gym or the grocery store.

[ProfCrash]

We just watched the episode and I really liked it. The Bikers were the clear losers. All the negative space and the lack of a collapse plus a pretty boring build. I get why the mad scientist team was there but I thought the overall build was awesome. 

There were lots of great builds and explosions. I loved the Violin Guy build. The explosion was awesome and the story we really creative. I actually think that they should have won. Lady bug was pretty cool as well but I liked the story and creativity of the Violin. 

The other builds were pretty sweet. Wizard was nice to see but not as many of the others. I don't think they are long for the show. 

[Eolivet]

On 6/9/2021 at 1:05 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

Exactly! And they weren't even in the bottom two???  I would have rewarded the father/son duo's effort over killing the hero. The right team went home, but the second to last place was not the right team, IMO. 

That team thinks their you-know-what don't stink, and getting away with not adhering to the parameters of the assignment because of their ~technical skill is just reinforcing their massive egos (like bragging they beat Tyler of Tyler-and-Amy in some Lego contest last week). I can only hope they're in for a shock boot.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S2.E3: Make and Shake

Quote

Structural integrity and beauty come together in the most earth-shattering challenge, as teams build a structure strong enough to withstand an earthquake. Find out which designs perform the best and pass the LEGO "brickter scale" rating system.

Original air date: 6/15/21

[mertensia]

This was fun! I was so surprised the red tower with the hexagons did as well as it did.

I liked Tim and Zach; sorry to see them go.

You know what else I like? That they wear safety equipment.

[blackwing]

I get that the parameters of the challenge were similar to the bridge building task last season... build something that is strongest, the weakest risk elimination and the elimination is determined based on aesthetics.

Makes sense.  But wow, the three teams that all made it to 11, their buildings were possibly the ugliest three of them all.  They were basically rectangular prisms, no tapering at the top.  I thought the engineers in particular should have been called out on how thoroughly ugly their building was, it wasn't even a uniform design and they were trying to pass it off as a honeycomb.

I think the brothers from last week who won the golden brick made the right decision to use it.  Or rather, the shorter thinner one with glasses made the right decision.  His brother was pissed.  But with something like this where the worst performing team goes home, to not use the golden brick would be a risk, and he didn't have faith in his structure.  Plus, it just looked ugly.

[TimothyQ]

I liked this challenge but I totally agree that the strongest ones were the least pleasing aesthetically. But I guess if strength was at the top of the brief, you had to go by that metric first. 

Shallow note: Amy looked ah-maz-ing this week. So much better than the yellow top of last week. I know this is all about bricks, but more of that, show. 

[mlp]

That was a super challenge.  I enjoyed it.  I wonder how long it really took to film that episode.  They have to stop and clean up and set everything up again after each building.  Must have been a very long day.

Amy did look much, much better!  And I'm finding Will less intrusive/annoying than last season which is a big plus.

[Eolivet]

I'm distracted by how much that one team looks like Cochran from Survivor. Both of them.

The smug brothers so shocked to be in the bottom cannot go fast enough for me.

[Black Knight]

I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. I liked that there were multiple ways to be successful with the engineering of the buildings, from the tires to the technic(?) to the ball bearings.

I had to roll my eyes at the teams who chose beige bricks for their buildings. You're just immediately shooting yourself in the foot with aesthetics with that color choice. Sure, IRL many buildings are that color, but this is Lego. You got to go with color. You're not trying to make a building fit in within a real city. And other teams will certainly choose color and make your color choice look boring as hell.

Will Arnett sucking up more airtime. I wish they'd at least save some of the more time-consuming stunts for later on when there are fewer teams. There are still 4-5 teams I feel like I basically don't know, three episodes in. I also find it annoying when it's Will interviewing a team during the challenge instead of the Lego judges. With the Lego judges we get useful questions and commentary that actually pertain to the build and challenge.