Brother Vs. Brother - General Discussion

[iMonrey]

I think I actually prefer this format to the previous seasons which I couldn't get through. Jonathan's living room was the clear winner with that wood-paneled accent wall, I had to admit it was astounding. I still wonder how many of these "designs" they come up with on their own though and how much work they're actually doing themselves. Not much, I'll wager. Property Brothers are the fakest of the fake on HGTV.

[MsTree]

The Scott brothers don't need contestants. After all, I tune in to see them and their designs. Looking forward to seeing how they transform the rest of their house(s).

[auntjess]

Drew's living room was just too much seating.  It reminded me of a waiting room serving several doctors.

Who were those people who judged?  I assume they have a show on HGTV.

[jumper sage]

Auntijess - they had like a mini series where they and their bunch of kids (some birthed some adopted) selected a house and then renovated every room.  It was very good and I enjoyed it.

 

I tuned into this and was astounded at how much I hated it.  I can not stand when siblings go overboard on the hijinks.  We get it, you are twins.  My brother and I are 9 months and 10 days apart - so what.  I would never treat my sibling like they treat each other.  First off we are grown up and not 8 years old.  That crap got old when they were looking at house in the beginning.  I'M OUT!

[Gbb]

I actually much prefer this format to the teams. Last season I rarely made it through an episode and just didn't care much about anyone involved. I thought the new format was fun and light and it kept my attention a lot more. I enjoy sibling hijinx, though, and thought the ending with Drew in his princess dress on the Vegas strip was good, pure fun. I can see how it would bug anyone who doesn't.

[auntjess]

I'm sick of sibling hijinks, and couple hijinks with Chuck & Joanna, Hilary & David, and any other hijinks, where something's run into the ground.

That said, I don't mind the format, just tone it down.

Edited June 9, 2015 by auntjess

[needschocolate]

Their sibling rivalry annoyed me when they had teams of contestants, but now that it is just them and the squabbling is so much of the dialogue, I don't find it worth watching.  

 

I thought the Smothers Brothers and their competitive sibling talk was pretty funny, but, at that time I was a little kid who laughed at almost anything on TV and their shtick was relatively innovative.  Now it is old.  Most sitcoms show siblings fighting or putting each other down most of the time, I don't need the same thing on a competitive reality show.  I fast forwarded to the end and didn't see anything that made me want to go back to see what they did.

 

I like the idea of focusing on one room at a time, the old format had so much going on that we didn't get to see much of how anything was done.  Also, I don't think the concept of pitting two HGTV stars against each other is a bad idea, but I would prefer if it was different stars every week.  These brothers seem to be nice enough guys, but I find them lacking in personality and their voices kind of whiny.

 

I hope all of you that continue watching enjoy the season.  I'm out.

[Honey]

It's funny, after watching the brothers for so long now, they don't really even look or sound alike to me anymore.  I can tell who's talking without looking at the TV, just by their voices.  I find Drew a bit more "feminine" than Jonathan.  He also has a more nasally voice.

 

I love the new format.  I love the sibling rivalry thing, I think because I'm an only child.  It's cute.  You can that they're really close.  That being said, Go Jonathan!!

[Donny Ketchum]

For all who enjoy the new format, good for you.  I don't.  I want teams and eliminations.  Not Drew and Jonathan going at each other every week.

 

Enjoy.  I'm gone.

[mlp]

I finally watched the first episode and FF'd through the second.  I don't like the new format either.  Actually, I don't really like the Property Brothers any more because their schtick is so old and so phony.  And I hate their stubble.  I could stand them when they used to be good-looking.  Anyway, I'm not going to bother with the rest of the episodes because I just don't care who wins.

[Rhetorica]

I usually play on my phone until the reveal and only half listen. I did think David Bromstead was cute talking about Jonathan's act with the male strippers. Jonathan did a good job and I was tempted to go to HGTV site to see his "reveal" but didn't.

[iMonrey]

You didn't miss anything. They didn't show much more of the dance than they did on the TV show, just more of Jonathan getting ready for it. He only stripped down to an open shirt and boxer shorts. NBD.

 

This competition was a given. Drew's kitchen was enormous and Jonathan's was tiny. 

 

Here's what was really stupid: Drew wanted to tear down the wall and the support beam, so his contractor says "let me get my engineer over here to see if they're load-bearing." Then the "engineer" shows up and all she does is go up a ladder, peek above the ceiling and look into the attic. You mean to tell me neither Drew nor his contractor could have done that? What sort of useless contractor is this if he can't even tell if a wall or beam are load bearing? I don't know who that woman was but it seemed like a really contrived way to get her on TV, and it just made Drew and his contractor look like they no clue how houses work. And they're supposed to be "experts."

 

Looks like Hilary and David from Love it or List it will be the judges next week. I wonder what other HGTV hosts will turn up and how many of them all know each other.

[NYGirl]

I'm surprised that I'm even tolerating this show.  I am a fan of any show that features the team format and as I've said in the first post the Scotts are pretty arrogant to do away with that just to give us yet another rendition of them squabbling.  I'm pretty sure they're not doing all the work either..just like in their shows.

 

How many more variations of them are we going to have to put up with? 

 

HGTV doesn't realize that less is way better than more.  They just saturate us with the same stuff and people over and over.

 

Anyway I did like Drew's kitchen so much better..I guess due to the size.

[The Cake is a Pie]

I prefer this version to the team competition and elimination format, but then all I'm really interested in is seeing the befores and afters of rehabbed houses. I couldn't care less about contestant squabbling and manufactured drama. The sibling rivalry is obviously played for the camera, but like that it's not the focus of the show and the brothers don't seem to take themselves seriously. I don't care if it's fake or not, I just want to see nice house makeovers and be entertained.

[iMonrey]

If we have to have a Scott show (and it seems we do) I'd rather it be this than countless iterations of Buying & Selling or Property Brothers, both of which are horribly fake. It would appear that HGTV is banking primarily on their personas since the actual jobs they pretend to do on Property Bros. are total B.S. so they might has well dispense with the act and just do something like this.

 

As for their "squabbling" I haven't really ever seen anything beyond superficial and playful teasing, the same as I'd expect from any siblings. It's probably the least innocuous thing about them IMO.

 

I wonder what "national holiday" it was that prevented Jonathan's workers from working. Probably not Memorial Day, too recent. Don't know when this was filmed but I'm guessing either President's Day or MLK Jr. day. One of those post office holidays you get off from work for but never do anything special on.

[LizDC]

Maybe Columbus Day? Some of the trees are looking like it's in the fall.

[latetotheparty]

I was all set to give Drew props for having a woman engineer but then she was so lame I wondered if she was an actress playing a woman engineer.  Sad.

[EyewatchTV211]

Considering Jonathan's disadvantage last week with the smaller kitchen, I'd be curious to see another twist on the show where they have to renovate some sort of identical space.

[iMonrey]

I thought the bedroom challenge should have gone to Jonathan. Turning a 2-bedroom house into a 3-bedroom makes a much bigger difference than just refurbishing the existing bedrooms. But then with David and Hilary judging, it's a crapshoot. Those two bug me. 

 

And accent walls are fine but I thought that wallpaper Drew used in the master was hideous.

[EyewatchTV211]

I thought the bedroom challenge should have gone to Jonathan. Turning a 2-bedroom house into a 3-bedroom makes a much bigger difference than just refurbishing the existing bedrooms. But then with David and Hilary judging, it's a crapshoot. Those two bug me. 

 

And accent walls are fine but I thought that wallpaper Drew used in the master was hideous.

You have completely read my mind. I much preferred Jonathan's work in this challenge, and creating a new bedroom is huge. I also thought the window looking into the open part of the house was super cool. And I HATED the wallpaper on Drew's accent wall. 

[Dawning]

I thought the bedroom challenge should have gone to Jonathan. Turning a 2-bedroom house into a 3-bedroom makes a much bigger difference than just refurbishing the existing bedrooms. But then with David and Hilary judging, it's a crapshoot.  

 

And accent walls are fine but I thought that wallpaper Drew used in the master was hideous.

 

Count me in on this, too. And it was pretty literally a crapshoot, since it was apparently decided via a round of rock, paper, scissors. Was it Hilary that was on Drew's side? I find that surprising, since she specifically should know how big of a deal making an extra bedroom was. I was torn, though, on the window to the open part of the house. I think it probably would be pretty impossible for anyone else to see into, unless you were right up in front of it, but I think it would freak me out a bit (but for a kid's bedroom, maybe that'd be less of an issue). But the view was pretty cool.

 

I would have liked that wallpaper on Drew's accent wall for about a week, and then it would start driving me crazy -- which is true of a lot of things these guys do, but this would be a lot harder to change out than too many pillows or weirdly mismatched furniture.

[iMonrey]

 

Was it Hilary that was on Drew's side? I find that surprising, since she specifically should know how big of a deal making an extra bedroom was.

 

Then again, in every single episode of Love It Or List It, she inevitably fails to give the home owners that extra room she promised because of (insert unexpected repair here). So she's used to saying "Eh, you can make do with two bedrooms." She seemed to be pulling for Drew's house based solely on the design which is her big thing. David seemed to be pulling for Jonathan's house based on the bedroom addition, although they both thought Jonathan's house was Drew's and vice-versa. That might also have been why Hilary was leaning towards Drew's house, because she likes Jonathan's designs and thought it was his.

[LoveIsJoy]

Why do I have the feeling that they taped two different versions of the ending; one giving Drew the win and one giving it to Jonathan? I noticed they didn't actually show the rock,paper,scissors battle. They just announced the results. Probably for editing purposes.

I'm so glad I can DVR this show, so I can FF through all of the hi jinx and scripted banter and only see the parts that interest me. I'm feeling grouchy these days.

[Rhetorica]

Well, that's done. I enjoyed having it on in the background. I'm just about brothered out, I think. I do like the fact that they put the profits back into the community.

[NYGirl]

I call hijinx!  I thought for sure Drew was going to win but he's won every season and it makes Jonathan look weak.  I feel they gave it to  him for sympathy...

[mlp]

I had no intention of watching this after the second episode but there was nothing else on after Master Chef so I had it on in the background.  I don't find the "rivalry" a bit amusing but I can see that it uses up a lot of air time.  The appearance of the "designers" is filler too.  They just come on to flip through sample books and say "Wayfair."  I'm not sure what the third and less attractive brother is there for either.  He contributes absolutely nothing to the show as far as I can see.  All that these brothers do for me is increase my appreciation of Mike Holmes.  I'm looking forward to his new show in July.

[Honey]

Drew's girlfriend is annoying.  Plus, for some reason I always thought Drew was gay.  Hmm.

[MsTree]

I don't find the "rivalry" a bit amusing but I can see that it uses up a lot of air time.  The appearance of the "designers" is filler too.  They just come on to flip through sample books and say "Wayfair."  I'm not sure what the third and less attractive brother is there for either.  He contributes absolutely nothing to the show as far as I can see.  All that these brothers do for me is increase my appreciation of Mike Holmes.  I'm looking forward to his new show in July

 

The rivalry is part of the Brothers act and something their fans expect.

Since Wayfair is a sponsor, the designers shop their catalog online as opposed to shopping in a furniture store. It's more about fabric, scale, and style, and not just about flipping & pointing.

JD (the younger brother) is somewhat of a 'referee' between Jonathan & Drew. I find him adorable.

[suebee12]

I think that JD is actually really cute! And he is the older brother. I have forgotten how to do the "pretty" link but here is his bio off of the Scott brothers site:  http://www.thescottbrothers.com/about-us/j-d-scott/

[auntjess]

I've always preferred Jonathan slightly, and liked his house, so I was glad he won.
I loathe the hijinks on this show and on Love It or List It.
Since the prices were a bit high relative to the comps, I wondered if the lender would reject them, as has happened on several shows. 
Guess we'll never know.

 

 

All that these brothers do for me is increase my appreciation of Mike Holmes.  I'm looking forward to his new show in July

I love Mike's shows, and have a lot on my DVR, but the new show doesn't excite me, and I'd rather have Mike doing what he does, not judge some show.

ETA:
The brothers' house is ugly, and too big for its ugly lot, and has no curb appeal.
And they're from Vancouver, and they picked Vegas?

 

 

Edited June 25, 2015 by auntjess

[iMonrey]

 

I'm not sure what the third and less attractive brother is there for either.

 

Actually I find him more attractive than either Drew or Jonathan, although that's not saying much.

 

So, that was an anti-climactic four episode season. Can you even call it a "season" when there are only four episodes? Anyway, I suppose Jonathan deserved to win if only for turning his 2-bedroom into a 3-bedroom. That alone increases the value of a home regardless of how well you refurbish the rest of it. Although, I hated the color Jonathan chose for the exterior. I supposed it's better than pink, and maybe it looks better in real life but on my TV it looked too dark and gloomy, like a weird bluish-grey color. Ick. 

 

Drew's house had the better backyard with the pool so if it were me I would have bought that one if I had to choose between the two.

[CoolMom]

Actually I find him more attractive than either Drew or Jonathan, although that's not saying much.

 

So, that was an anti-climactic four episode season. Can you even call it a "season" when there are only four episodes? Anyway, I suppose Jonathan deserved to win if only for turning his 2-bedroom into a 3-bedroom. That alone increases the value of a home regardless of how well you refurbish the rest of it. Although, I hated the color Jonathan chose for the exterior. I supposed it's better than pink, and maybe it looks better in real life but on my TV it looked too dark and gloomy, like a weird bluish-grey color. Ick. 

 

Drew's house had the better backyard with the pool so if it were me I would have bought that one if I had to choose between the two.

 

But Jonathan's was in a neighborhood with tennis, golf and other amenities which I am guessing included a pool.  It's not the same as having a pool in your backyard but some people might like that more.  Pool perks with someone else doing the maintenance.

[Gregg247]

So, here we go again.  I like how the boys have chosen completely different types of houses to renovate this year.  Jonathan has an older home in a more established community, while Drew has a McMansion in the outer suburbs.  I like Jonathan's house more.  

Was it owned by a Las Vegas entertainer?  When he was first touring the house, there was all that tacky memorabilia and autographed photos everywhere.  At first, I thought it was Burt Reynolds' house! haha  I think maybe it belonged to a professional impersonator or someone like that.  The house was dated, but I liked the marble floors in the living area that Jonathan immediately tore up and replaced with wood. I also didn't like the 50's furniture Jonathan put everywhere.  It looked uncomfortable and staged.

Drew's house was kind of boring, but I liked how he fixed up the living room/dining room.  It looked like a real home.  I agree with Vanilla ice on Drew's win.

I could do without the goofy "bets" the brothers have each week, which is just an excuse to allow them to "perform" for us.  No one cares, guys!  Just fix the houses!

[CoolMom]

While I like the house Jonathan choose, I like what Drew did with his, so far, better.  I loved the exposed beam when you walk in.  But did they show the contractor cutting that beam???  I thought the reason for such a large beam would be that it's a load bearing wall which would be compromised if they cut it.  Maybe he was cutting something else.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

33 minutes ago, CoolMom said:

While I like the house Jonathan choose, I like what Drew did with his, so far, better.  I loved the exposed beam when you walk in.  But did they show the contractor cutting that beam???  I thought the reason for such a large beam would be that it's a load bearing wall which would be compromised if they cut it.  Maybe he was cutting something else.

Yeah, I am thinking that it was determined the beam was not load bearing, because they raised it up after cutting it in order to open the room more so there definitely was no more load bearing on that beam

[MsTree]

I'm just concerned that Jonathan is going to over-improve the house for the area. Who the heck wants to buy a house in a neighborhood that has bars on all the windows & doors?!?

[CoolMom]

My husband is in commercial construction so I saved the episode for him to see.  He said they probably braced it off  camera.  I love the look of the exposed beam.

Maybe the neighborhood of Jonathan's house was bad but transitioned.  The bars may have been necessary at some point but not now. 

[MsTree]

Maybe, CoolMom...but from the "location map" they used, it appeared to be just east of the 15, which is generally not a good area. Whereas Drew's house was located in the SW area of town, which is generally a better location. Of course not knowing the exact name of the development, it's a crap shoot ;-)

[MediaArchivist]

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and I lived there until after college. Jonathan's house is in the Paradise Crest neighborhood, which is very close to my childhood home. In the 70s/80s, before major sprawl happened and newer homes were built further out, that was one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. The neighborhood doesn't look anything like a typical Vegas subdivision. The lots are large, each house is unique, and there's nice, mature landscaping. It's the complete opposite of the stucco cookie cutter houses right on top of each other you find in subdivisions built after 1990 or so. Unfortunately in the last two decades the area around the neighborhood has gone downhill. The schools the neighborhood is zoned for, Woodbury Middle School and Chaparral High School, are now considered bad. That being said, it's not one of the more dangerous areas of the city. It's a convenient area of town to live in, especially if you work on the Strip, and if you're looking for an old school Vegas neighborhood, it's got some very cool houses with great backyards. It reminds me a lot of the Rancho Circle neighborhood in Vegas http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/rancho-circle-boasts-rich-history-possible-comeback, although I'd say the area surrounding that neighborhood is much worse than what's around Paradise Crest. 

One more thing of interest. Paradise Crest is where Lonnie Hammargren's Castillo del Sol is http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/oct/27/nevada-history-and-more-on-display-lonnie-hammargr/. Neighbors in Paradise Crest were at war with him for a very long time over his insane memorabilia collection. 

Edited June 5, 2016 by MediaArchivist

[jelley]

Was it just me, or does anyone else thing Drew really loved playing the Showgirl?

[Lovecat]

His legs did look damn good in those pantyhose.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

On 6/3/2016 at 9:30 PM, MsTree said:

Maybe, CoolMom...but from the "location map" they used, it appeared to be just east of the 15, which is generally not a good area. Whereas Drew's house was located in the SW area of town, which is generally a better location. Of course not knowing the exact name of the development, it's a crap shoot ;-)

Did they provide the street names?  I do agree with you, I definitely would generally equate the house more in the suburbs as being in a more affluent neighborhood.

[doodlebug]

39 minutes ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

Did they provide the street names?  I do agree with you, I definitely would generally equate the house more in the suburbs as being in a more affluent neighborhood.

Jonathan's house is called Forestcrest on the show and Drew's is Heavenly View.  There are streets with those names in Vegas and, on the first episode, they did show maps with those street names on them when they were looking for houses to remodel.  Of course, just because the show implied those were the streets the houses were on doesn't mean it is actually true.

[NYGirl]

I liked Drew's kitchen better because I'm not a fan of shelving rather than upper cabinets.  I'm also not a fan of too many colors like Jonathan is doing.

I do agree with the cousins with their reasoning that the fridge was too far away from everything else.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

4 hours ago, NYGirl said:

I liked Drew's kitchen better because I'm not a fan of shelving rather than upper cabinets.  I'm also not a fan of too many colors like Jonathan is doing.

I do agree with the cousins with their reasoning that the fridge was too far away from everything else.

It was nice to have an objective reason to ding.

[NYGirl]

All that being said I miss the original concept of the show.  They had 2 teams of people.  In fact Eric from Love it or List it was a runner up.  I hate that it just showcases them and their rivalry.  I also miss HGTV star.  Also Bravo used to have a show called Top Designer.  I love those types of shows.

[MsTree]

9 hours ago, NYGirl said:

All that being said I miss the original concept of the show.  They had 2 teams of people.  In fact Eric from Love it or List it was a runner up.  I hate that it just showcases them and their rivalry.  I also miss HGTV star.  Also Bravo used to have a show called Top Designer.  I love those types of shows.

I like the HGTV competition shows too, but did not agree with the original concept of Brother vs Brother because it was more about their teams competing vs the brothers competing. Now, Brother vs Brother is the true sense of the competition. But that said, I wouldn't mind another show of "teams" competing...just call it something else.

[mlp]

I much preferred HGTV Star and the original B vs. B with teams.  I'm not even sure why I continue watching this because the juvenile "sibling rivalry" drives me nuts and many of the problems they encounter and then solve just in the nick of time seem as contrived as the decorator walking in with an open notebook and announcing she just happened to find the perfect thing on Wayfair.com.  Also I can't figure out why the third brother is even on the show.  He doesn't seem to contribute anything.

[MsTree]

9 hours ago, mlp said:

Also I can't figure out why the third brother is even on the show.  He doesn't seem to contribute anything.

JD is there to be an impartial third party by bringing the guest judges to the brothers individual houses. IMO, he can just stand around and be cute ;-)

[mlp]

15 hours ago, MsTree said:

IMO, he can just stand around and be cute ;-)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.  I don't think he's attractive at all.  He isn't hurting anything by being present.  I just find him extraneous.