The Block - General Discussion

[retrograde]

I still hate the contestants judging thing, but it's definitely better when they don't get to see the judges' scores first. It remains entirely strategic, though.

[Sarnia]

OK, I'm not a construction expert, but I really don't understand how the big picture of renovating this building goes. Walls are being demolished (including walls that are not on the plan, WTF) and stairs are being opened (by cutting through concrete slabs) while room are being designed, built, painted and furnished; the roof is not finished beforehand so water is leaking in the newly-made rooms...

 

It might be for TV drama purposes (although I'm not terribly excited to see the contestants waiting around for major structural work to be finished), but I keep thinking that if I was a prospective buyer I would be very worried about the structural integrity and the quality of the finishing. I'm not sure how this building will age (maybe it's not meant to? But still they are expected to sell for over 2 millions dollars?). Maybe I'm biased because I live in a hundred year old house with stone walls that are almost a meter thick, but I feel that this whole building will not be strong and lasting.

[OzTvJunkie]

I felt sorry for Dee & Darren tonight - but loved Darren's decisive "we're going" to the producers as it shows he's not just a timid brow beaten man. 

 

We desperately need a builder on the judging panel. Chris & Jenna hit the nail on the head tonight when talking about the judging. "they are only interested in styling & cushions, not on the execution or architecture". To compliment a black stripe on the sheets of one room was telling, I think.

 

The whole "phonegate" saga was a big pile of nothing. It was cheating - as then Simon & Shannon would hear the unedited version of the judges rather than what the producers want them to hear, and so they need to have had some points removed for trying it. They really seem to be the team that are playing the game the hardest and will do whatever they can to short change the other teams to give themselves an advantage. There's competitive and then there's bad sportsmanship which is what the boys are displaying. 

[xfuse]

 

We desperately need a builder on the judging panel. Chris & Jenna hit the nail on the head tonight when talking about the judging. "they are only interested in styling & cushions, not on the execution or architecture".

As I been saying for years, the judges should be a builder, real estate agent and designer but that is not going to happen because we can't have nice things. These judges care more about the 'picture' than anything else.

 

If there was no rule that said they couldn't record the judges than there the file shouldn't be deleted and there should be no punishment. I have a feeling that they are not going to be in the running for the five thousand. Actually, as long as there is no rule against it I really have no problem with what the boys done. I might have tried it myself because I would want to know if Neale was still influencing the other two judges.

[OzTvJunkie]

I'm pretty sure the boys give all the other teams zero tonight in the hope they'll win the five thousand. The trouble with doing that though, is it'll only work once. Next week the others will start scoring the boys zero and they'll never win another runners up prize again. 

 

I'm surprised no one has ever done the phone trick before. I'd be interested to hear the comments they make that don't make it to air. Just to see how picky & or how much time they spend in the room "critiquing" everything. 

[Kromm]

I felt sorry for Dee & Darren tonight - but loved Darren's decisive "we're going" to the producers as it shows he's not just a timid brow beaten man. 

 

We desperately need a builder on the judging panel. Chris & Jenna hit the nail on the head tonight when talking about the judging. "they are only interested in styling & cushions, not on the execution or architecture". To compliment a black stripe on the sheets of one room was telling, I think.

Indeed. 

 

Then again the couple who got that comment got screwed over week after week with petty crap from the judges (like scoring them almost as low last week as a couple who didn't even complete the right kinds of rooms) to the point where they were totally out of money. My conspiracy hat suggests that a little birdie whispered to the judges that if they kept doing it to the SAME couple over and over again then they'd have the first couple to ever go completely bankrupt.  

 

All of it shows what bull* this show is.  I mean look at the way they magically "fixed" Neale's one big objection to Max & Karsten's room by removing a SINGLE CUSHION.  I laughed SO hard at that sequence.  Meanwhile, because it was completely inconvenient to the story they wanted to tell this week, all they showed was Shayna squealing over the Laundry chute and ignoring the fact that you could clearly see the stupid chute wasn't even cut right (it narrowed to a round opening past the door of the chute, but you could see a wall or floor--it was hard to tell which--where the laundry could easily get caught).

 

Heh. And once more, this time out of Scott's mouth, I love how we get evidence that you Aussies use "No Worries" the same way a lot of people in the American South use "Bless Your Heart" (as a passive-aggressive way to mean the exact opposite thing).

[Nozycat]

No surprise to me that it was the brothers with the phone.  They have already previously demonstrated bad sportsmanship to me.  And even if it isn't technically against a written rule (I can understand why no one would have thought they had to write a rule for that) they knew very well that it was wrong or they wouldn't have hidden the phone.  And of course they wanted to get the upper hand, just like they did with the scoring tonight.  The more I see of them the less I like them - bad form, imo.

 

I don't think I have ever used the expression 'no worries' passive aggressively, (or if I have it's been very rare), but am sincere with it, and rarely experience it as passive aggressive when someone else uses it.

[Kromm]

I don't think I have ever used the expression 'no worries' passive aggressively, (or if I have it's been very rare), but am sincere with it, and rarely experience it as passive aggressive when someone else uses it.

Maybe it's a disease of reality TV then.  In this season alone I've heard it used that way at least 5 times (admittedly three times by Keith, who is not an exemplary human being).

 

Bless Your Heart being used that way, by the way, is part of an even more ridiculously complex pattern of usage. The American South is a very passive-aggressive place certainly.

[xfuse]

It's not only the American South that uses 'Bless your Heart' that way. Also, I have heard and still hear 'Isn't that Sweet' used in the same way. Every place to seems to have a few phrases like that. I know someone who say 'congratulations' to mean anything but.

 

I did notice that when M&K room was being judged by their fellow hamsters that there were bigger problems in their room than Chris not putting the covering over some of his screw heads. We didn't see the judges mentioning it but everyone else seem to.

 

I think the boys were stupid to do the low scoring now. I have no problem with them doing it but they chose the wrong time. Now they are never going to win another five thousand because everyone is going to hold a grudge. They should have waited until their last or next to last room.

[Kromm]

It's not only the American South that uses 'Bless your Heart' that way.

That's actually news to me.  It's so closely identified with that region that I'm surprised.  

[Sarnia]

I think the boys were stupid to do the low scoring now. I have no problem with them doing it but they chose the wrong time. Now they are never going to win another five thousand because everyone is going to hold a grudge. They should have waited until their last or next to last room.

I think they are not the brightest bulb in the box in general, at least the younger one (Simon?). The phone thing was a pretty stupid move. The TV edit of the phone drama was pretty stupid too. It seemed so scripted that the judges would, quite by chance, look under the bed while looking for power points as we have seen them do in every room (not). And then Scotty said that he should be trusted because he would relay all the judge's comments, but he (and the judges) also said that recording their comments would give the boys an unfair advantage, which would be true only if Scotty doesn't actually relay all the comments...

 

I'm really not happy with most of the judging being based on the styling alone. I don't buy a house for the number of cushions on the bed (actually, I really wouldn't know what to do with a dozen or more cushions on my bed... What do you do with them when you actually go to bed? Randomly throw them on the floor?).

It was tough to see Chris & Jenna receiving a lower score than an unfinished room, although I didn't really like their copper wall. I would have liked it better in smaller touches (just the headboard maybe, or just an narrow horizontal panel across the room?).

[Kromm]

I think the boys were stupid to do the low scoring now. I have no problem with them doing it but they chose the wrong time. Now they are never going to win another five thousand because everyone is going to hold a grudge. They should have waited until their last or next to last room.

I actually DO have a problem with doing it.  Like the phone recording it's not against the rules. In fact, the show kind of was encouraging it.  It's a big part of what's wrong with the show, actually.  So the boys had every right to do it, but I personally hate it when people act out the role of petty villain for the cameras (and they were definitely playing it up for the cameras).  

 

I actually respect Dee more.  She's a mega-bitch and I'm sure I'd loathe her if I ever met her.  But at least she's up front about it and it's NOT being done just for the cameras.  She's authentic if nothing else.

[Kromm]

The TV edit of the phone drama was pretty stupid too. It seemed so scripted that the judges would, quite by chance, look under the bed while looking for power points as we have seen them do in every room (not).

We all know how this probably really went down. Production spotted the phone, tipped off the judges, and told them to act out discovering it.

It was a nice touch adding the bit where the judges seemed to be showing it to the production assistant (it was likely the other way around--the clip didn't even have to be re-edited, because nobody in it is discussing how the phone got found).

 

I'm really not happy with most of the judging being based on the styling alone. I don't buy a house for the number of cushions on the bed (actually, I really wouldn't know what to do with a dozen or more cushions on my bed... What do you do with them when you actually go to bed? Randomly throw them on the floor?).

These judges are fools, and I hope they reap the public backlash of being shown up regularly as such. Not that everyone's sour grapes are accurate--many of them just grouse to cover their embarrassment, but the number of times we hear the judges give big deductions for petty crap, and praise petty crap, is very large (also stuff like giving scores around the same range for rooms that have vastly different levels of problems--Max & Karston got screwed over by that at least twice, for example, whereas they only benefited from inflated scoring for the right cushions and bedspreads once).

[xfuse]

 

So the boys had every right to do it, but I personally hate it when people act out the role of petty villain for the cameras

I don't think they were playing the role of villain. I think they were trying to see what they could get away with. They didn't do it to be mean. I know a few people in rl that does the same thing.

 

What bugs me is when contestants on whatever reality show forget why they came on a show in the beginning. When people don't play to win because it could hurt their new best friend. A new best friend who is going to forget about you the moment you are out of wherever you are at.

 

I don't think that Dee thinks she's a bitch. I think she is used to getting her own way and isn't a pushover. What makes her a bitch is situations where she complains about Karstan working early disturbing her sleep but doesn't think about working at tools down disturbing his. Where she complains about not getting the best and biggest.

[Nozycat]

 

I actually DO have a problem with doing it.

So do I, I think it's bad sportsmanship.  Play to win sure, fine, but I don't like such dirty tricks.

[OzTvJunkie]

I'm starting to get a little bored with the show, and was a little over the drama of "phone-gate" so didn't watch the contestants scoring. Who won? Did the boys score everyone zero? 

 

What will the producers do if everyone just starts scoring everyone zero?

[Sarnia]

I'm starting to get a little bored with the show, and was a little over the drama of "phone-gate" so didn't watch the contestants scoring. Who won? Did the boys score everyone zero?

They didn't score zero but they scored everyone low (around 5) so.... they won.

I don't think they act as villains, I think they are behaving in a childish/immature way (testing to see how far they can go as xfuse said, as a child would do with his parents).

[Nozycat]

Yes I agree, I also think the brothers are behaving in a childish and immature way, pushing the boundaries to see what they can get away with.  And to me though technically not against the rules I think they are crossing a line.

[Kromm]

They didn't score zero but they scored everyone low (around 5) so.... they won.

I don't think they act as villains, I think they are behaving in a childish/immature way (testing to see how far they can go as xfuse said, as a child would do with his parents).

With Dee around the boys are pikers in the villain department, I guess.

 

I don't think that Dee thinks she's a bitch. I think she is used to getting her own way and isn't a pushover. What makes her a bitch is situations where she complains about Karstan working early disturbing her sleep but doesn't think about working at tools down disturbing his. Where she complains about not getting the best and biggest.

She knows she's a bitch, IMO.  And she really has it in for Karstan in particular (the popup shop incident is yet another example--she literally didn't CARE that they'd been given instructions to use that space, and of COURSE after she did that ANYONE would be talking about what she did--but she uses THAT natural event to indict them too.

Actually if you think about it, poor Max & Karsten have been the target of EVERY bit of shennigans so far. When the agreements about the 5K prize was broken, M&K were the injured parties.  When the boys pulled their low scoring trick this week, again M&K were the ones who lost a 5K prize they otherwise would have gotten.  Add to that Dee targeting them, and I feel sorry for those two.

[Kromm]

Okay, something new to be incredibly disappointed with on this show.

 

Watching the last episode now I noticed that when Scotty and Shelley take their tour and reach the boys, and they talk about the Japanese wood, the music editors do what MOST of the world considers incredibly racist and play The Oriental Riff behind the scene.

 

(no this is not actually a clip of that, but here's a reminder of what the Riff sounds like--you can also go back and rewatch that scene on the episode if you haven't deleted it off your recorders yet)

 

 

I thought Australia was trying to struggle through it's more racist attitudes the past few years, but the presence of little things like this really makes me wonder how long it's going to take to sink it.

 

 

And regarding the Popup shop.  Did it not occur to ANYONE to go to all of the local radio stations and hawk the shop on air?

Edited August 29, 2014 by Kromm

[retrograde]

I would guess there are rules about them doing media stuff while the show is filming?

 

Anyway, so glad the popup shop thing is coming to an end. Watching strangers buy throw cushions has to be the least interesting addition to the show in a long time. 

 

Still pulling for Chris and Jenna. I hope they can do something cool with the kitchen, though I have to agree that last bathroom was baaaad.

Edited September 1, 2014 by retrograde

[Nozycat]

I liked Chris and Jenna but have gone right off them after the way they treated their trades who have been working their guts out to help them win.

[Kromm]

A lot of new impressions (or old ones proven in a few cases).

 

1.) Chris and Jenna are unexpectedly proving to be real bozos.  It's not their fault mostly that they are so short of money, but it IS their fault how they deal so badly with the trades.  Chris is surly, lazy and stubborn. Jenna is blissfully unaware of how bad Chris bungles everything.  Now we don't much SEE M&K and M&C deal with their trades, for contrast, but both of those teams have to have been as bad or worse with running out of money as Chris and Jenna, but I bet those teams are MUCH nicer to their trades (especially Max) and have their trades feel invested enough in the competition to be patient about the money situation and the insane hours.  But Chris and Jenna?  Clueless about understanding these are skilled, prideful people.  Chris being a sort-of-tradesman on his own seems to make it surprising he's so clueless, but he is.

2.) We got proof this week of how insane the judging is.  Max & Kartsen have consistently been majorly screwed over by the judges, other than the one week they "gave" and scored them fairly, and while the north facing aspect did bump the buyer scores a hair, the score difference was SO huge between them and the others it certainly wasn't all due to that.  The ridiculous things the judges harp on didn't matter to the buyers.

3.) Not surprised Michael & Carlene scored so badly.  Their style is freaking BORING.

4.) Also not surprised D&D scored so well.  Dee is a mean little piece of work, but that said, when actually finished her style isn't that bad.

5.) Good riddance Pop up shop.  Was it REALLY worth it for the amount they seem to have earned?

Edited September 2, 2014 by Kromm

[Sarnia]

I don't get Chris & Jenna this week either, and it's disappointing because I like (liked?) them a lot. The laundry was all kinds of bad (so many tiles, so many UGLY tiles) but I really liked their stair. But the way they dealt with their tradies was really bad. Paying (or not) skilled tradies to do clean-up for hours and then telling them to take one hour off (not paid) before coming back is ridiculous, and Chris should have apologized way sooner.

The difference between the judges' rating and the buyers' choice was hilarious!

[Kromm]

Wow, the show really DOES stand behind the asinine things the judges say.  Scotty "Producer Tool" Cam made sure in his intro to the latest episode to make it sound like the ONLY reason the buyers voted for Max & Karsten was because the apartment was north facing (when in truth even though one buyer prominently mentioned that, the whole lot of them made tons of other glowing comments about the entire apartment, including spaces the judges had panned).

[OzTvJunkie]

I'm so glad I've gradually lost interest over the past 2 weeks. I tuned in for judging on Sunday night, and agreed that Chris & Jenna's used waaaaaay too many tiles (and not good ones at that) but I loved their stairs. Michael & Carlene's stairs looked like a jail cell. 

 

I'm so happy the buyers like everything different to the judges. Just proves that rooms shouldn't be won on cushion or sheet choices, but on the way you've used the room & the execution. Max & Karstan's apartment is the most neutral of all the apartments, and very easy to walk into a stamp your own style into it, without spending a fortune. 

[Kromm]

In a tragic backwards sort of way, just for the sake of her reputation I mean, Dee is lucky about the TIMING of her kid getting sick, if not the actuality of it happening.  Because otherwise all we'd see is the petty bitch, who's a bad sport, holds gigantic out of proportion grudges, who gloated when they won $20K in a row, and who was totally ungracious when her self-declared "enemies" won.

 

Not that Dee isn't right about how arbitrary the judges are, but she BENEFITED from that crap in earlier weeks and was fine then with it.  Was SHE also a "half-wit" when she won some stuff because the judges like her arrangements of colors better that week?

 

BTW: the show really is going to owe Max & Kartson a huge apology if they AREN'T cheaters, because this was like the third episode in a row (EDIT - now it's up to about the fifth episode in a row) where there's been some tease about them cheating (in the case of the stolen jibrock, those teasers acted like it was on purpose, and now we've got big flashy graphics saying "Cheaters?")

 

EDIT - I still don't know how they're going to resolve hanging them out to dry with all the "cheaters" talk, but I KNEW the moment I saw that shot of Max sitting in their done kitchen that the judges would HATE it, because it was white, and the judges hate white, and neutral, and the judges would find some way to call it "bland" rather than neutral, and that they'd also find some way to attack them with something that's equally true of several other kitchens (the "it needs timber" thing), but only point the finger at them for it.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Kromm

[Sarnia]

(I'm not sure it is right to start a topic about the Block NZ here, or if there is enough interest for the show so that it deserves its own section? I thought I would post here and see how many people respond, but if the mods think that a specific section should be created, I'd follow their advice graciously!).

 

So, the third season of The Block NZ has started this week. The format is very (very) similar to The Block AU, four couples renovating houses on a set budget within several weeks, one room reveal per week, challenges, final auction. Anyone watching?

 

This season is starting incredibly slowly since the contestants were brought in houses without a roof, and the show is set in Auckland which is apparently a very wet city, the first room is the garage and the week has been basically spent watching the contestants trying to get the water out of their floor and sleeping in very wet sheets. It's so bad that the reveal have been postponed for 5 days (which will have to be make up for in further rooms) so that at least all houses will have a roof. I don't get the hurry in getting the show started with such unworkable houses, and I hope that the season will get better.

 

Good points : contestants so far are rather likeable, and the challenges are real building challenges (this week there were two : make a bespoke piece of furniture from recycled material, and build a boat from plastic sheets and duct tape and race it around a buoy - with pretty funny results).

Edited November 12, 2018 by tessaray
Changed title to allow for all episode discussion.

[yeswedo]

(I'm not sure it is right to start a topic about the Block NZ here, or if there is enough interest for the show so that it deserves its own section? I thought I would post here and see how many people respond, but if the mods think that a specific section should be created, I'd follow their advice graciously!).

 

Sarnia, for now we can keep it in the same forum and if it's confusing to anyone can move it to a separate forum. I'll modify the title to indicate the discussion is about season 3. Previous NZ seasons can be discussed in a separate thread.

[Kromm]

Have they changed that theme song that sounds like a holdover from the early 1990s?

Edited September 7, 2014 by Kromm

[OzTvJunkie]

I caught the very end of last nights episode - cannot believe Dee was whinging that they didn't win. To call the show unfair, talk about her design eye, and question the integrity of the judges was totally uncalled for. She has more front than anyone who has ever been on this show before. At least the twins accept losing gracefully. 

[Sarnia]

I caught the very end of last nights episode - cannot believe Dee was whinging that they didn't win. To call the show unfair, talk about her design eye, and question the integrity of the judges was totally uncalled for.

 

That was really, really bad. OK you have a good design style Dee, but maybe the other contestants are good as well? You couldn't open one of the units' drawer because it bumped into the fridge, it's not a major issue to fix but it's a flaw; and on a week where everybody seems to have done a really good job, even a small problem like that is enough to have lower score (and there were not that much lower). Calling Max & Karsten "half wits" didn't do much to make me warm up to her. Yes, I know, editing, and probably she's under more stress because of her kid being sick, but there are things you shouldn't say when there's a camera rolling.

 

I really liked Michael & Carlene's kitchen, not so much the brothers' (too cold for my taste and not enough counter space, but I can see why it appealed to the jury, the brothers seem to have figured out the kind of buyers they want). Chris and Jenna was way too dark for me and I hated the copper sink (I wonder how it will age? And what the point of having one in the pantry?). As a whole, do people really need 4 ovens?

 

(and I'm not sure I would use "gracefully" and "twins" in the same sentence! ;) I remember last season where they were loudly - and tearily - complaining that the judges were on a campain against them. But I can't remember them disparaging other contestants).

[OzTvJunkie]

(and I'm not sure I would use "gracefully" and "twins" in the same sentence! ;) I remember last season where they were loudly - and tearily - complaining that the judges were on a campain against them. But I can't remember them disparaging other contestants).

 

That's what I meant about gracefully. They may have thought the judges were against them, but they could see the other rooms were well done, and never called the other contestants names.

I only saw bits & pieces of the kitchens, but I agree with you about the boys. It's actually quite impractical, which I was hoping Shayna might have noticed - there was very little bench space and they wasted what was there under the window by putting a stove top at the front of it.

I liked what I saw of Chris & Jenna's and Max & Karstan's. I didn't see Michael & Carlene's or the D's.

What's happening with the auditing? Has someone really been cheating?

Edited September 9, 2014 by OzTvJunkie

[Kromm]

What's happening with the auditing? Has someone really been cheating?

Does it really matter if anyone's been cheating if the show can milk it and infer guilt for a week straight?

 

I know people sign away their rights when they go on a reality show, but I've come around to agreeing with the twins about how slimy The Block producers are.  Just look at the games they've been playing this time.  If M&K are guilty of something, you come right out and say it.  If they're not, then milking this for a week solid just unfairly slams their public popularity, which given that there's a public auction, seems like a really shitty thing to do.

 

Okay, question for the Oz natives.  Is it just to non-Aussie ears that Carlene has this kind of snooty posh tone to her voice?  What's the deal with that?

Edited September 9, 2014 by Kromm

[Nozycat]

Yeah, mean the way they have been dragging this audit thing out, just tell us already whatever the outcome.

 

Carlene sounds fine to me.

[Sarnia]

Have they changed that theme song that sounds like a holdover from the early 1990s?

I honestly though it was the same theme song than the Block AU. I listen carefully and it's actually not but they could be cousins  (the lyrics are the same : "na nana na nana nana na", very inspired).

[Kromm]

I honestly though it was the same theme song than the Block AU. I listen carefully and it's actually not but they could be cousins  (the lyrics are the same : "na nana na nana nana na", very inspired).

Don't forget the "yeah yeah yeah" part (ugh).  

 

I guess it is the same song.  The actual full original block theme is a bit better, if only because it's got some louder synthesizers.  The NZ version, I guess, just is more of a garage band version.

 

[OzTvJunkie]

Carlene sounds normal to me. We don't really have regional accents like the UK or the US, our accents run on a sliding scale of "ocker" to "posh". Ocker being Paul Hogan, posh being Nicole Kidman. (I'm sure someone else will be along soon with someone more appropriate but I was trying to think of someone non-aussies would know). It all depends on what your parents, & friends, sounded like growing up. 

 

Are you serious? We don't know the final results of the audit thing? Wow the producers have really gone looking hard for drama this year, haven't they? I suppose when their chosen scape goat won last year, they thought they needed to up the ante. 

Edited September 11, 2014 by OzTvJunkie

[retrograde]

On ABC's Reality Check this week (for the non-Aussies, it's a talk show about reality TV) they had the Block's producer (I think?). When asked about the dumb challenges the contestant have to do, his totally serious, remarkably candid answer was that a lot of eight-year-olds watch the show, and they are not so interested in renovating, but they love the challenges. I thought it was for drama and to pad the show out. I'm not sure if his reasoning is better or worse than that.

[Kromm]

This edition of the show is ludicrous.  Has there ever been a season of the show before where THREE teams each (or even TWO) only had one victory apiece at the end?  (and like 75% of the season long point total of the top teams)  Not to mention the shameful sensationalizing going over the top (the so-called cheating being milked for over two weeks in total, and in the end probably being nothing but a tradie submitting an inaccurate bill--but the team in question being screwed over for by the negative attention for that long).  At this point I pray that Chris & Jenna and Max & Karston take the top two auction spots, showing these useless idiot judges up (not that they admitted to any wrong-doing or altered their behavior when that buyer panel disagreed with them).  

 

The reign of lauding the right towels, bedspread, soap dishes, rugs and pillowcases has to end. And now they're eliminating entire classes of design choices, like "all glossy finishes are bad".  

 

it's just embarrassing also (for the show's threadbare credibility I mean) that they scored a 100% finished room (Max & Kartson) a point and a half lower than one without a door (Michael & Carlene), and only a point higher than one that was only 3/4 finished (Chris & Jenna).  In what world does that even begin to make sense on a show about renovation?

 

Idiots.

 

------------------

 

P.S. - I will admit to being amused though by Dee's angry foaming at the mouth rant about how unfair and out of proportion Shayna has been to them scorewise.  Go look the scores up though.  It's true Shayna was the sole lowest score for D&D a number of times (4 times). But here's the thing... Shanya is virtually always the low-scoring judge with ALL of the scores for ALL of the contestants, and D&D have actually been hurt by this less than a majority of the other teams--she was the exclusive lowest scorer 5 times with Michael & Carlene's scores, 5 times with Max & Kartson's, and also 4 times with the Boys).  Only Chris & Jenna have done BETTER with Shayna in comparison, on this front (she was only their exclusive lowest scorer 3 times).  

BTW: As much as she whines and cries and plays victim, Dee has gotten the Jury Prize THREE out of SEVEN times.  So she really needs to put a cork in it compared to teams like Chris & Jenna and Max & Kartson who haven't gotten either the main prize OR the Jury prize more than once (of each type).  And yet I'll bet that if it's not Chris & Jenna who give the zeroes to get the jury prize on the next show--so they can finish their reno--I'm certain it would be Dee & Darren--for far less justification.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Kromm

[OzTvJunkie]

Well you were right about Chris & Jenna with their zero's, Kromm. I don't blame them - they had to do something to be able to pay their trades and finish off their apartment. As Carlene said, I was surprised more there weren't more zeros from others. Dee & Darrens whinge about no money seemed like bad accounting to me - they've won 3 out of 7 jury prizes - one in the week they also won the judging - and how many challenge wins? It's ridiculous. 

 

I think Dee honestly thought she was going to be this years Kyle & Kara and win every challenge - but she'd do one better and win every room too. I think she honestly believes that her styling and presentation is so good & top notch that no one else can beat her. And when the judges disagree, she argues & throws a tantrum like a 2 year old because she didn't win. It's quite pathetic to watch - although talking about Shayna not being in the same room as her at the wrap party is quite worrying and if I were the producers I'd be uninviting Dee & Darren to the party quick smart, unless Dee stops threatening her. 

 

I'm not surprised about the judges scoring the ensuite with no door higher than Max & Karstan's room. No doors on ensuites is a very trendy thing, and a lot of people aren't bothered about them. Personally I couldn't imagine anything worse, privacy in the bathroom is a good thing sometimes. 

[Kromm]

I'm not surprised about the judges scoring the ensuite with no door higher than Max & Karstan's room. No doors on ensuites is a very trendy thing, and a lot of people aren't bothered about them. Personally I couldn't imagine anything worse, privacy in the bathroom is a good thing sometimes.

Except the judges:

a.) said they hated that trend.

b.) clearly indicated they saw the hinges on the wall awaiting the door.

So they awarded it the higher score not because they thought it was trendy, but because they wanted to punish Max and Karston for going with consistency rather than bending like a weed and doing exactly what they wanted.

And that's even before we take into account the scoring that only marginally had them beating a 3/4 complete room.

[OzTvJunkie]

I didn't know they hated the trend or that there were hinges. Silly me for assuming Carlene & Michael were happy with the trend. 

 

The judges inconsistency in judging rooms for the sake of rooms, rather than the couples styling, is pretty much gone now. They definitely seem to hate everything Max & Karstan and Chris & Jenna do, without judging it on it's own merits. And an unfinished room should always be at least 2 points lower than the rest, purely because it's not complete - not matter how much you love the colour of the towels. 

[Kromm]

The person who labeled Max & Karston as "halfwits" was put in charge of the bridal shower? 

[Kromm]

Meh. Why does Dee winning anything put a bad taste in my mouth?

 

At this point I want to see M&K win the whole thing even more, because it's not too hard to figure out that they've been screwed over by the judges the most (despite Dee's claims that she's the big judging victim), and even the judges' ass-covering statements about how "it all came together with the final piece" shouldn't save those judges from having their noses rubbed in it at the end (plus the show itself needs some comeupance over how badly they handled (and dragged out) the whole "cheaters" story-arc and having that couple win might do that.

 

Other conclusions this near the end.  

 

1.) I know the show has already picked it's next two locations, and that's a shame, because I bet they didn't resist going "bigger" still each time.  If they hadn't we might have seen a reality check after the fiasco of this Glasshouse location.

2.) Keith better be making good money as a TV celeb, because I doubt anyone's going to hire him as an actual foreman after this. He just comes off looking worse each season.

3.) The challenges are to blame for a lot--at least what the scaling up of the show each season isn't.  The whole cycle of having tradies do more and more is because they now assume several days off the block each week for challenges, as well as a million arbitrary delays based on some problem out of their direct control.  So the problems with the show being less and less about people actually renovating, and more about who garnishes it at the end with the best cushions, gets worse and worse.  There's also NO reward for consistency and good planning this way.  You know why we rarely saw Max & Kartson other than when Dee rampaged on them, or at challenges, or when some rare outside problem popped up?  Because they project planned really well, so other than the "drama" moments, there wasn't much TO see.  They realistically planned out their scheduling, deadline, and results--which the judges choose to see as "boring and unambitious" rather than "well planned and finished on time".  Versus poor Jenna and Chris, for example, who even before money became an issue showed signs of being massively incompetent at the actual project planning part of this.  The rest fell in the middle by and large between those two extremes, but if they put in some stupid statement, like a funnily sloped ceiling or the color combination of cushions, that clearly counted more than perfect finishes (I think it's safe to assume the couple who usually finished hours earlier had better finishes than the ones who finished right at the tools down--but the final arrangement of cushions always seemed to drive the scores more than those finishes).

[Kromm]

And you can see we're in for a lot more of the same in the next few weeks.  a.) Dee throwing her weight around and being an absolute intolerable steamroller/nasty beast .b.) the phrase "cheaters" being tossed around again for Max & Kartson (and the show only encouraging it c.) the judges calling something clinical and cold (let's take bets M&K create a room with lots of gloss tiles, right?) d.) Michael (and to a lesser extent Shannon and Simon) being stirrers for almost every accusation/witch hunt (Michael is a bitter little sniveling shit most of the time, actually), and Keith the Useless Foreman being a stirrer for everything else.

 

Also, the depths of Dee's hatred for Karston clearly comes into play again.  For all the fighting with Michael and Carlene and even Jenna, it's Kartson we hear her make fun of/mock.  Over and over and over (she must have done it a full dozen times over the course of one episode, for an off-the-cuff "I don't care" statement that hadn't even been directed at Dee specifically).  In light of that, the preview with Max going to a Jewelry store with Dee seems kind of icky.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Kromm

[OzTvJunkie]

I'm not sure where the hatred stems from with Dee. She really seems to hate Max & Karstan A LOT on the show. Do you think it's jealousy that they have the best situated apartment? Or the fact that they don't play the game with Dee and just ignore her?

 

Keith needs to be shot for what he did last night. It's not the contestants fault that Dee & Darren decided to stay behind and bitch about Max & Karstan's extra room, rather than head upstairs to see the new apartment with everyone else. They really didn't make many styling choices, other than paint colour & having timber floors - which Dee would have been on board with anyway. 

 

It was interesting watching it last night with my son, who never watches the show. He was on D&D's side, when the contestants were trying to pick the rooms and M&C wanted to change. I argued a little against this, but mainly left it alone. Then as the program went on, he was more & more shocked at her attitude, so he watched the argument again about the room picks and said - hang on, she's picked the one she wants and is trying to bully everyone into being happy because she doesn't want to change, and is hoping if she does it quickly enough, no one will look at the other rooms and have time to think about their decision, and she'll get her own way. Wow, what a manipulative bitch. 

He's a bright boy. *proud*

Edited September 30, 2014 by OzTvJunkie

[knitta please]

Dee is a disgusting wretch. She insists she's being assertive but she's bullying, aggressive and nasty.

She's ruining the show and I bet she will claim editing made her look bad.

Chris and Jenna have a lot of repairs and finishing to do.

[Kromm]

Dee is a disgusting wretch. She insists she's being assertive but she's bullying, aggressive and nasty.

She's ruining the show and I bet she will claim editing made her look bad.

She's the most blatant, but she's hardly the ONLY bully around.  Her husband Darren seems to have some real prime moments. Michael seems to be a real bitch. Carlene seems to like making nice snarky comments behind people's backs. And Simon and Shannon, while actually fairly open about being sneaky and dishonest about certain things, seem to be Dee's willing cronies in a lot of ways.

 

The more I see of these others, the more I'm willing to forgive Chris and Jenna for the brief period where we saw how shabby they treated their tradies.  Most of that was just them being super-clueless.  At least they aren't deliberately mean.

To be fair, Kartson CAN be a real idiot too.  He flipped a switch at some point between simply being the victim of Dee's overreactions to sometimes deliberately provoking her.  That doesn't make her any less of a psycho attack dog, and he certainly had no obligation to walk on eggshells around her, but he choose to see her overreactions as SO funny that rather than just ignore her as much as possible, he sometimes seemed like he couldn't help himself in baiting her.  Not that the "half-wits" and Dee's "I don't care" mockery were either of those, but even in the past few weeks we've seen him leave breadcrumbs for her Crazy to follow.

 

Some tell me... are the contracts contestants sign to be on reality shows in Australia as iron-tight as the US equivalents?  Because at many times the Twins had some real points about how the show went after them, but Kartson & Max have an even bigger case.  Watching the episode from a few days ago with Scotty's narration about how "they're too good to be true" and the hint once again that they're "dodgy"---well I know it was intended as humour, but on top of the show spending half this season already saying the same kind of things on air about them... humour or not, it's just pounding home the fact that in real life they're probably be called crooks for the rest of their lives now because of this.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Kromm

[OzTvJunkie]

I'm not sure how iron-clad the contracts are - although I'm sure they'd be pretty tight, as channel 9 (the channel that makes The Block) would not put themselves in any danger of being sued by any of the contestants over content or editing. The contestants might have a whinge publicly through other media, but the producers & the station would be fairly untouchable legally, I would imagine. Although it's well known that if someone on a reality show comes across as mean etc, the producers tell them to say it's the editing that made them look that way. 

 

Of course, the editing can't put words in your mouth, or make you have a lousy attitude towards others.