No worries, Juz. The Block isn’t on tomorrow night , however the cricket would be done and dusted by then. Ch 9 will be wearing the chump suits.
Smythe
7 years ago
I’m so sad that there was no Block. I look forward to each episode. This is the best show evah. LOL 😉
WHY
7 years ago
I’m here in Adelaide and I have just watched my recorded Block from tonight – the room reveals and judging in the challenge apartment. John McGrath was also judging tonight.
I won’t say anymore until you have all seen it! :/
Maz
7 years ago
Sorry gice, no internet access last night.
Maz
7 years ago
The beautification and cannonisation of St Julia was completed last night when they received a perfect score from all four judges. Not only did they have best kitchen on the Block but the best room in the entire history of the Block…cough…
With a light intensity reminiscent of an alien abduction scene in the X-Files, the judges bathed in the luminescence of the concetta island. (We note there were no bar stools around it to impede the view. Sponsor got their money’s worth.)
We then turned to the pantry where again the sponsor Aldi was showcased. Neil loved the ladder but there was no discussions about the amenities of the kitchen. Was it functional???
And more importantly, what was the retail price of that kitchen?
S+1 not only get $20k off their reserve (+ the money that was in the safe) they get first pick of auction order. Judging from the BMT schedule which suggests a lower reserve, the Block is set up for them to win.
Maz
7 years ago
The pantry shelving looks rather narrow. Doubt you could fit a cereal packet on there. Was it really worth the 30cm they swiped from Nova’s WC?
Maz
7 years ago
Suffering in comparison was BB’s living space as the black of the kitchen overwhelmed their space.
The dining table observed John was 1m too short and 50cm too narrow.
Neale hated the artwork as it was a 1960s interpretation of the 1920s (personally we thought it invoked the Starbucks logo).
Most of the opprobrium was reserved for the “naughty corner” aka living room. The chairs were oddly angled, the TV was meh and the wall blank. They should have painted the wall black to match the kitchen. Ouch!
Carleen shot daggers at Kim muttering ‘didn’t have the budget’ but their real problem was how dominating the kitchen is (and probably didn’t know until it was far too late to choose furniture and a colour scheme to complement it).
Shaynna proved once again how bitchy she can be, Honey can you raise the temperature from 17 degrees to 22. Like WTF?
Will post the score later but they came third.
Maz
7 years ago
The boys were caned for their meat packer bedroom such was its lack of warmth and luxury.
Shaynna despaired at the lack of colour to accentuate the terrazo. Neale pointed out it featured the worse artwork in the history of the Block…so not art deco. He also loathed the ute seating area.
Lack of budget? No states John McGarth. They had the money but made the wrong choices. (Yeah, stop decorating with Aldi crap).
The came dead last. One of the judges scored them a three.
Maz
7 years ago
Kim and Chris can’t catch a break and rightly prophesied they were doomed doing the hallway.
Upon entering the hallway the hate started (and showed the hypocrisy of the judges as they cut and pasted from everyone else), the artwork was deco, the lighting modern and the round table was provincial (and let’s not mention the decal). A certain other team did not get criticism for their round table. Memo to self: if you ever get selected to go in the Block ensure that you have a custom Christian Cole piece in the hallway and B&W framed photography.
The judges proceed down the hallway and into the laundry. It’s practical,they concede but it is not styled i.e no lit candle or flowers. FFS, it is a laundry!!!!
Then the WC…it’s over tiled, far too much styling and claustrophobic. Ummm, it was agreed upon by the teams that the original floorplan stay the same but S+1 renegaded on that and stole 30cm from the WC. Not that you would know that if you watched reveals only.
Kim and Chris place second last.
Maz
7 years ago
Once again, viewers were left with the impression that Treasurer Kim duded poor lil’ Smug on the budget. They ripped us off $2k moans Karlie, when it reality their budget was closer to $20k for the outdoor area than the $15k stated.
The judges were excited by the prospect of spring when the magnolias and gardenias would lightly scent the area and were a nodding touch to the 1930s (um, yeah, nuh). They thought the sandpit (which frankly looked awkward and just dumped as afterthought) was adorable.
The garden gave a brilliant view of the building.
No mention of whether the plants would survive the intense shade and the amount of maintenance for that little strip of grass.
Nova:6,5,6,5=22 ($20k off reserve)
S+1=10,10,10,10=40 (20k off reserve)
Smug:9,8.5,8.5,7.5=33.5 ($15k off reserve)
Boys: 5,5,6,3=19 ($10k off reserve)
BB:7+7+7+6=27 (Total $25K off reserve)
Maz
7 years ago
Ha-they are trying to pass off the challenge apartment’s terrace as Nova’s terrace proper.
Why is channel 9 bending over backwards for Sasha and Julia? There’s no surprises that they won the challenge. How can a toilet or laundry compete for a wow factor when you have the kitchen to compare?
The girls had nothing to do with the kitchen. It would have been decided on by channel 9 and ordered months ago. Sasha painted a little, I think, they both shopped at Aldi to buy in bulk, lined up the pantry items like ducks at side show alley and voila! Genius!
The illuminated bench looked like a bar, as someone else noted here.
It’s true, unfortunately there is no recognition for the people that worked hard all season ie. Kim and Chris.
So this seems to be a recurring formula to win the block
Method:
Don’t do too much of anything, at any given time
swan off site when you want,
isolate yourselves from the pack and play the victim
have a “breakdown”
have no rapport with fellow contestants
BOOM! You win money off your reserve and the right of first choice in the auction.
‘love your work Maz – very descriptive and entertaining. The end is near!
Smythe
7 years ago
Thanks for the recaps Maz. The Whiners were the winners. How unfortunate. I hope they don’t win The Schlock. They worked hard at whining, crying and complaining but barely worked when it came to the reno.
Maz
7 years ago
Awkward is how we would describe this episode.
Commencing with the Meet the Judges Party. Smug, BB and S+1 entered the party together. Followed by the Boys and then a big build up for Nova to enter with expectations words would be exchanged. Yes, they do confront the judges telling them the comments were too personal. It’s not personal protest the judges. … Not buying it. They know too much about the contestants and the comments were not constructive.
We then move to the next day and the faux fond good byes.
Open Day commences with a pact between Smug and S+1 that if either one wins the Stayz prize they will include the other team. The episode then gears up with the producers hedging their bets that either one of these teams will take out the comp.
The boys appear to be most popular couple with the crowd. The producers are positioning the Boys as the surprise package as it has a ‘good footprint’ for an investor to work with.
The BB selling point seems to be their ‘age’. Mmm, we don’t know many people who buy a property based upon a vendor’s age (unless it is a deceased estate).
So according to the buyer’s advocates, Nova should expect to come dead last.
Why, why, why is Nova’s narrative arc dependent upon S+1 but S+1 have a Nova-free arc.
Juz
7 years ago
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Maz
Maz
7 years ago
Finally, auction day. Smug seem to be getting the favourable ads. Seen none for the boys and Chris and Kim’s ad is support the home team (they must come last 🙁 ).
The Block starts hedges the bets that the auction may not go well blaming Trump’s election.
S+1 lie about the number of interested buyers. The Boys call them out about the number they disclose. Scotty backs the boys up showing S+1 Channel 9’s run sheet.
Maz
7 years ago
Auction Order
Girls 2nd
Smug 1st
BB 3rd
Nova 4th
Boys 5th (refuse to disclose their reserves to the others).
The disharmony continues with Ben telling Dan he doesn’t want to get to know him after Dan tells him he is a very difficult person to know.
On dear God, Julia brings the Feng Shu expert back.
Shellbot
7 years ago
Why would the boys reserve be so low with an extra bed and bath? Did they really waste that much money on non-value-adding things?
It might not have been at Channel Nine’s reserve as opposed to the contestants’ stated reserve as we doubt that the agent would have been that brazen on national TV.
If you look at the BMT schedule compared to what the apartments went for then Nova’s and the Boys’ apartment were sold under cost.
Maz
7 years ago
Will and Karlie take home $815 000 as winners of this year’s Block.
The Block will be back next year. My advice to the new contestants, sob hysterically through most of the Block, do nothing and blow your budget and be young and hot.
If only we had someone to go on the Block with. We could cry twelve weeks straight for $660 000.
WHY
7 years ago
Great work Maz, many thanks.
Smythe
7 years ago
Thanks Maz for the time you took watching the episodes and posting the recaps. I hope next season will be better but I have a feeling it will just be the same old schlock.
Ch 9 and $cotty will be out in force to schlock ’em dead again next year. I watched it all last night… it was like watching badly applied paint dry.
Whether it’s this show or MKR or Ma$terchef , the cheering gets way too overblown for my taste on this glittering occasions.The facial contortions are hilarious with captions only, mind you.
The auctions themselves were endless. We manage to watch most of Escape to the Country, switching back and forth, waiting for the bids to rise.
Bob
7 years ago
This season of the The Bolck has done me in, and I’m out – permanently.
I think I made it to about week 4, and have so little interest I don’t even care about the auction results.
Did I hear that there was one agent representing all the successful buyers. It’s rigged.
I don’t think I will watch next season either unless they get new judges, use individual houses and choose better contestants without all the faux drama. The show is overscripted and has become a soap opera with bad actors and bad writers rather than a competitive reno program.
I watched very little of it this season and even fast forwarded through the auction. I wonder how much the sixth apartment sold/will sell for.
Same here, I watched only the reveals and gave up in the middle and only read the recaps here plus checked the picture galleries of the rooms. The contestants were all unlikable. No one seemed to have anything redeeming about themselves.
The judges need to be exchanged, seriously. They can keep Scotty. I mean, if he is the last thing on that show that actually bothers me, that means shit has hit the fan. 😛
Get proper houses. But I guess it is not that easy to find a property that has 4 or 5 houses on one spot which need renovation. 🙁 As they limit themselves to Melbourne, it is going to be even harder.
For me the show has turned into a drama fest, very American, very overly competitive (like MKR). Enforcing bad behaviour instead of encouraging contestants. I mentioned it once, the New Zealand Block is even worse.
We have Masterchef and GBBO (as well as the Australian version) and those shows show you do not need to be an ass to win. But I suppose that the more drama they offer, the more viewers they expect. In German we call it Krawall-TV. Screaming, crying, backstabbing, encouraging rude and bad behaviour = ding ding ding, hit regarding ratings. -.-
I have liked the NZ version in the past but felt that this season was bad. I can’t say it was worse than AU but they were probably on par with each other when it came to vindictiveness and bad behavior. The girls vs boys concept on NZ was stupid and, hopefully, they won’t do that again. Didn’t like any of the AU teams and didn’t like any of the NZ teams either.
brain dead dave
7 years ago
ACA said tonight that this was one of the best series of The Block. Ha ha.
No, it wasn’t a joke. What do you think this is here? A building site?
ACA actually said this was one of the best seasons of The Block for years.
I know it’s hard to accept and process. I was howling when it happened , ‘cos we know it was one of the worst eva…
Ch 9 being infatuated with itself.
Maz
7 years ago
Final thoughts on this season (not in any particular order):
*Unfortunately, we will see more aggressive competitive behaviour next year as it was rewarded this season. The top three teams were the ones who undermined and openly sabotaged other teams (and that is what made it to air in a PG time slot! ) Playing nice doesn’t win you the Block.
*Budget. It is annoying that most teams can’t budget and seem to spend with abandon. That said, it is interesting that the teams who did better this season (and most previous seasons) had larger cash budget (through room wins and challenges). We wonder what the real budget needs to be to finish the apartment to standard as generally a consolation room win will eventually be awarded to a non winning team so they have a chance to finish.
*Art Deco and its failure. The two top teams did not do Art Deco. If they wanted Modern Art Deco then they should have had a workshop with an expert (not Jenna rambling that Edwardian era Titanic is Art Deco). Judging from the foyer & light fixture we would have said David Jones fit out is Art Deco. Hahaha
*The loggia. The boys and Nova were cursed with the loggia. It was such a difficult space and both teams got caned for it. We don’t understand the reason for its existence. It wouldn’t make sense for it to act as a passage way between the Master bedroom to the Guest Room via the main bathroom when the main bedroom had an ensuite. If it was open, you could have made it a pocket garden…any suggestions??
*The editing. If you watched only on reveal night then you would have had a different impression than if you watched during the week. Weekly narrative painted Chris and Kim in a very bad light and presented S+1 as innocent victims.
*The judges…even the judges have been presented as victims this year http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/reality/neale-whitaker-on-the-block-finale-and-his-best-tip-to-rejuvenate-any-home-20161107-gsk07s.html We disagree. The judges should not known anything about the contestants and reference it back to their occupations or where they live. The Buyers advocates were the most egregious in this regard. Kim and Chris had a point. Comments were personal. The snide comments from the Buyers Advocates were more about them coming from Newcastle than the apartment and were offensive.
*The judges comments were not constructive. There were problems with the wet areas in Kim and Chris’s apartment which could have been arrested in Week one if they spelt out precisely what was wrong with it and why. (We suspect Kim watched way too much Flip or Flop than Good Bones (white bathrooms sell)). It is no good having Dan and Keith trying to convince Kim to put the bath tub in the main bathroom rather than the dead space loggia in redo week as by that time the trust has been broken with the judges who have been telling them they were mere bogans from Newcastle for the past ten weeks.
* You didn’t get an overall sense of the apartments and how areas flowed from the show. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3933182/Dave-Hughes-reveals-secrets-Block-apartments-reveals-bought-house-joining-auction-walking-dog.html
*We noted that there was lower social media participation this year compared to last.
The Block’s not on tonight. How awesome is that ? Wow ! Off the chart.
Luxe! I feel warm yet soulless.
The final reveals are Tues night, I think. Onya Maz.
Ta Dave. I scheduled the post before the guide was up because I keep forgetting to do new ones for Maz
No worries, Juz. The Block isn’t on tomorrow night , however the cricket would be done and dusted by then. Ch 9 will be wearing the chump suits.
I’m so sad that there was no Block. I look forward to each episode. This is the best show evah. LOL 😉
I’m here in Adelaide and I have just watched my recorded Block from tonight – the room reveals and judging in the challenge apartment. John McGrath was also judging tonight.
I won’t say anymore until you have all seen it! :/
Sorry gice, no internet access last night.
The beautification and cannonisation of St Julia was completed last night when they received a perfect score from all four judges. Not only did they have best kitchen on the Block but the best room in the entire history of the Block…cough…
With a light intensity reminiscent of an alien abduction scene in the X-Files, the judges bathed in the luminescence of the concetta island. (We note there were no bar stools around it to impede the view. Sponsor got their money’s worth.)
We then turned to the pantry where again the sponsor Aldi was showcased. Neil loved the ladder but there was no discussions about the amenities of the kitchen. Was it functional???
And more importantly, what was the retail price of that kitchen?
S+1 not only get $20k off their reserve (+ the money that was in the safe) they get first pick of auction order. Judging from the BMT schedule which suggests a lower reserve, the Block is set up for them to win.
The pantry shelving looks rather narrow. Doubt you could fit a cereal packet on there. Was it really worth the 30cm they swiped from Nova’s WC?
Suffering in comparison was BB’s living space as the black of the kitchen overwhelmed their space.
The dining table observed John was 1m too short and 50cm too narrow.
Neale hated the artwork as it was a 1960s interpretation of the 1920s (personally we thought it invoked the Starbucks logo).
Most of the opprobrium was reserved for the “naughty corner” aka living room. The chairs were oddly angled, the TV was meh and the wall blank. They should have painted the wall black to match the kitchen. Ouch!
Carleen shot daggers at Kim muttering ‘didn’t have the budget’ but their real problem was how dominating the kitchen is (and probably didn’t know until it was far too late to choose furniture and a colour scheme to complement it).
Shaynna proved once again how bitchy she can be, Honey can you raise the temperature from 17 degrees to 22. Like WTF?
Will post the score later but they came third.
The boys were caned for their meat packer bedroom such was its lack of warmth and luxury.
Shaynna despaired at the lack of colour to accentuate the terrazo. Neale pointed out it featured the worse artwork in the history of the Block…so not art deco. He also loathed the ute seating area.
Lack of budget? No states John McGarth. They had the money but made the wrong choices. (Yeah, stop decorating with Aldi crap).
The came dead last. One of the judges scored them a three.
Kim and Chris can’t catch a break and rightly prophesied they were doomed doing the hallway.
Upon entering the hallway the hate started (and showed the hypocrisy of the judges as they cut and pasted from everyone else), the artwork was deco, the lighting modern and the round table was provincial (and let’s not mention the decal). A certain other team did not get criticism for their round table. Memo to self: if you ever get selected to go in the Block ensure that you have a custom Christian Cole piece in the hallway and B&W framed photography.
The judges proceed down the hallway and into the laundry. It’s practical,they concede but it is not styled i.e no lit candle or flowers. FFS, it is a laundry!!!!
Then the WC…it’s over tiled, far too much styling and claustrophobic. Ummm, it was agreed upon by the teams that the original floorplan stay the same but S+1 renegaded on that and stole 30cm from the WC. Not that you would know that if you watched reveals only.
Kim and Chris place second last.
Once again, viewers were left with the impression that Treasurer Kim duded poor lil’ Smug on the budget. They ripped us off $2k moans Karlie, when it reality their budget was closer to $20k for the outdoor area than the $15k stated.
The judges were excited by the prospect of spring when the magnolias and gardenias would lightly scent the area and were a nodding touch to the 1930s (um, yeah, nuh). They thought the sandpit (which frankly looked awkward and just dumped as afterthought) was adorable.
The garden gave a brilliant view of the building.
No mention of whether the plants would survive the intense shade and the amount of maintenance for that little strip of grass.
Smug place second.
Scores from last night:
Nova:6,5,6,5=22 ($20k off reserve)
S+1=10,10,10,10=40 (20k off reserve)
Smug:9,8.5,8.5,7.5=33.5 ($15k off reserve)
Boys: 5,5,6,3=19 ($10k off reserve)
BB:7+7+7+6=27 (Total $25K off reserve)
Ha-they are trying to pass off the challenge apartment’s terrace as Nova’s terrace proper.
http://www.domain.com.au/news/from-kmart-pillows-to-priceless-art-these-are-the-freebies-thrown-in-for-the-block-2016-buyers-20161105-gsispn/
Why is channel 9 bending over backwards for Sasha and Julia? There’s no surprises that they won the challenge. How can a toilet or laundry compete for a wow factor when you have the kitchen to compare?
The girls had nothing to do with the kitchen. It would have been decided on by channel 9 and ordered months ago. Sasha painted a little, I think, they both shopped at Aldi to buy in bulk, lined up the pantry items like ducks at side show alley and voila! Genius!
The illuminated bench looked like a bar, as someone else noted here.
It’s true, unfortunately there is no recognition for the people that worked hard all season ie. Kim and Chris.
So this seems to be a recurring formula to win the block
Method:
Don’t do too much of anything, at any given time
swan off site when you want,
isolate yourselves from the pack and play the victim
have a “breakdown”
have no rapport with fellow contestants
BOOM! You win money off your reserve and the right of first choice in the auction.
‘love your work Maz – very descriptive and entertaining. The end is near!
Thanks for the recaps Maz. The Whiners were the winners. How unfortunate. I hope they don’t win The Schlock. They worked hard at whining, crying and complaining but barely worked when it came to the reno.
Awkward is how we would describe this episode.
Commencing with the Meet the Judges Party. Smug, BB and S+1 entered the party together. Followed by the Boys and then a big build up for Nova to enter with expectations words would be exchanged. Yes, they do confront the judges telling them the comments were too personal. It’s not personal protest the judges. … Not buying it. They know too much about the contestants and the comments were not constructive.
We then move to the next day and the faux fond good byes.
Open Day commences with a pact between Smug and S+1 that if either one wins the Stayz prize they will include the other team. The episode then gears up with the producers hedging their bets that either one of these teams will take out the comp.
The boys appear to be most popular couple with the crowd. The producers are positioning the Boys as the surprise package as it has a ‘good footprint’ for an investor to work with.
The BB selling point seems to be their ‘age’. Mmm, we don’t know many people who buy a property based upon a vendor’s age (unless it is a deceased estate).
So according to the buyer’s advocates, Nova should expect to come dead last.
Why, why, why is Nova’s narrative arc dependent upon S+1 but S+1 have a Nova-free arc.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Maz
Finally, auction day. Smug seem to be getting the favourable ads. Seen none for the boys and Chris and Kim’s ad is support the home team (they must come last 🙁 ).
So, if we had counted the ads from watching 9Life today then we could have predicted the order of the auction outcome.
Okay, some one really wants to produce a time travel show featuring Prosegur (aka the reserves delivery).
S+1’s reserve $1 950 000 after challenge apartment win $1 930 000
Nova’s reserve $1900 000 after challenge apartment win $1 880 000
Smug’s reserve $ 1 900 000 after challenge apartment win $1 885 000
BB ‘s reserve $ 1 800 000 after challenge apartment win $1 775 000
Boy’s reserve $ 1 750 000 after challenge apartment win $1 650 000
The Block starts hedges the bets that the auction may not go well blaming Trump’s election.
S+1 lie about the number of interested buyers. The Boys call them out about the number they disclose. Scotty backs the boys up showing S+1 Channel 9’s run sheet.
Auction Order
Girls 2nd
Smug 1st
BB 3rd
Nova 4th
Boys 5th (refuse to disclose their reserves to the others).
The disharmony continues with Ben telling Dan he doesn’t want to get to know him after Dan tells him he is a very difficult person to know.
On dear God, Julia brings the Feng Shu expert back.
Why would the boys reserve be so low with an extra bed and bath? Did they really waste that much money on non-value-adding things?
They are the most popular team….agree, it is low in comparison to the other apartments.
i thought this was strange too. is there something wrong with it, that we haven’t seen?
Smug’s apartment goes for $ 2.6m profit $715 000.
S+1’s apartment goes for $2.59 m profit $660 000.
See kids, crying really does pay off.
BB’s sold for $2.3m profit $525 000.
Good for the super apparently.
Come on Nova!!!
they have a good auctioneer trying to grab every last penny from the buyer!
Thanks, Maz. Glad it’s not one of those years where they get passed in
thou surely he has to accept the offer if its above reserve?!
It might not have been at Channel Nine’s reserve as opposed to the contestants’ stated reserve as we doubt that the agent would have been that brazen on national TV.
I tuned in for 2 mins and that but looked so dodgy. They were acting like it wasn’t on the market. Surely that’s not legal?
Here is a tweet that may explain the situation:
Nova’s apartment sold $2.305m Profit $425 000.
A pool and caravan for Chris and Kim.
Boys apartment sold for $2.25 m . Profit $510 000
We learn $64000 is a first year teacher’s wage in Victoria.
So how does the 4 bedder sell for less than a 3 bedder? Not in demand?
If you look at the BMT schedule compared to what the apartments went for then Nova’s and the Boys’ apartment were sold under cost.
Will and Karlie take home $815 000 as winners of this year’s Block.
The Block will be back next year. My advice to the new contestants, sob hysterically through most of the Block, do nothing and blow your budget and be young and hot.
Thanks for all your work , Maz.
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/block-winners-score-nearrecordbreaking-profit-after-almost-going-broke/news-story/7cf4a30580f74c640a61eb68c82f5946
Thanks so much, Maz. Same time next year??
Only if the cry babies are kept at bay… 🙂
You know what that means: Double the cry babies!
If only we had someone to go on the Block with. We could cry twelve weeks straight for $660 000.
Great work Maz, many thanks.
Thanks Maz for the time you took watching the episodes and posting the recaps. I hope next season will be better but I have a feeling it will just be the same old schlock.
Ch 9 and $cotty will be out in force to schlock ’em dead again next year. I watched it all last night… it was like watching badly applied paint dry.
Whether it’s this show or MKR or Ma$terchef , the cheering gets way too overblown for my taste on this glittering occasions.The facial contortions are hilarious with captions only, mind you.
The auctions themselves were endless. We manage to watch most of Escape to the Country, switching back and forth, waiting for the bids to rise.
This season of the The Bolck has done me in, and I’m out – permanently.
I think I made it to about week 4, and have so little interest I don’t even care about the auction results.
Did I hear that there was one agent representing all the successful buyers. It’s rigged.
I don’t think I will watch next season either unless they get new judges, use individual houses and choose better contestants without all the faux drama. The show is overscripted and has become a soap opera with bad actors and bad writers rather than a competitive reno program.
I watched very little of it this season and even fast forwarded through the auction. I wonder how much the sixth apartment sold/will sell for.
We were under the impression that the additional apartments of each season have been retained by the production company and rented out.
Same here, I watched only the reveals and gave up in the middle and only read the recaps here plus checked the picture galleries of the rooms. The contestants were all unlikable. No one seemed to have anything redeeming about themselves.
The judges need to be exchanged, seriously. They can keep Scotty. I mean, if he is the last thing on that show that actually bothers me, that means shit has hit the fan. 😛
Get proper houses. But I guess it is not that easy to find a property that has 4 or 5 houses on one spot which need renovation. 🙁 As they limit themselves to Melbourne, it is going to be even harder.
For me the show has turned into a drama fest, very American, very overly competitive (like MKR). Enforcing bad behaviour instead of encouraging contestants. I mentioned it once, the New Zealand Block is even worse.
We have Masterchef and GBBO (as well as the Australian version) and those shows show you do not need to be an ass to win. But I suppose that the more drama they offer, the more viewers they expect. In German we call it Krawall-TV. Screaming, crying, backstabbing, encouraging rude and bad behaviour = ding ding ding, hit regarding ratings. -.-
Since the Block is all about rampant greed (and the Baird government loves dispossessing the poor) they could have relocated to Millers Point (too soon?): http://www.domain.com.au/news/government-nets-more-than-100-million-from-public-housing-selloff-in-four-months-20160505-gonaaz/
It was disgusting how the tenants were treated.
In all seriousness, they should do a season in Brisbane. Different architectural style and no underfloor heating.
I have liked the NZ version in the past but felt that this season was bad. I can’t say it was worse than AU but they were probably on par with each other when it came to vindictiveness and bad behavior. The girls vs boys concept on NZ was stupid and, hopefully, they won’t do that again. Didn’t like any of the AU teams and didn’t like any of the NZ teams either.
ACA said tonight that this was one of the best series of The Block. Ha ha.
Really????
Purely a coincidence they are both Channel Nine
Seriously?
Yes, seriously, really ‘ken oath.
No, it wasn’t a joke. What do you think this is here? A building site?
ACA actually said this was one of the best seasons of The Block for years.
I know it’s hard to accept and process. I was howling when it happened , ‘cos we know it was one of the worst eva…
Ch 9 being infatuated with itself.
Final thoughts on this season (not in any particular order):
*Unfortunately, we will see more aggressive competitive behaviour next year as it was rewarded this season. The top three teams were the ones who undermined and openly sabotaged other teams (and that is what made it to air in a PG time slot! ) Playing nice doesn’t win you the Block.
*Budget. It is annoying that most teams can’t budget and seem to spend with abandon. That said, it is interesting that the teams who did better this season (and most previous seasons) had larger cash budget (through room wins and challenges). We wonder what the real budget needs to be to finish the apartment to standard as generally a consolation room win will eventually be awarded to a non winning team so they have a chance to finish.
*Art Deco and its failure. The two top teams did not do Art Deco. If they wanted Modern Art Deco then they should have had a workshop with an expert (not Jenna rambling that Edwardian era Titanic is Art Deco). Judging from the foyer & light fixture we would have said David Jones fit out is Art Deco. Hahaha
*The loggia. The boys and Nova were cursed with the loggia. It was such a difficult space and both teams got caned for it. We don’t understand the reason for its existence. It wouldn’t make sense for it to act as a passage way between the Master bedroom to the Guest Room via the main bathroom when the main bedroom had an ensuite. If it was open, you could have made it a pocket garden…any suggestions??
*The editing. If you watched only on reveal night then you would have had a different impression than if you watched during the week. Weekly narrative painted Chris and Kim in a very bad light and presented S+1 as innocent victims.
*The judges…even the judges have been presented as victims this year http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/reality/neale-whitaker-on-the-block-finale-and-his-best-tip-to-rejuvenate-any-home-20161107-gsk07s.html We disagree. The judges should not known anything about the contestants and reference it back to their occupations or where they live. The Buyers advocates were the most egregious in this regard. Kim and Chris had a point. Comments were personal. The snide comments from the Buyers Advocates were more about them coming from Newcastle than the apartment and were offensive.
*The judges comments were not constructive. There were problems with the wet areas in Kim and Chris’s apartment which could have been arrested in Week one if they spelt out precisely what was wrong with it and why. (We suspect Kim watched way too much Flip or Flop than Good Bones (white bathrooms sell)). It is no good having Dan and Keith trying to convince Kim to put the bath tub in the main bathroom rather than the dead space loggia in redo week as by that time the trust has been broken with the judges who have been telling them they were mere bogans from Newcastle for the past ten weeks.
* You didn’t get an overall sense of the apartments and how areas flowed from the show. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3933182/Dave-Hughes-reveals-secrets-Block-apartments-reveals-bought-house-joining-auction-walking-dog.html
*We noted that there was lower social media participation this year compared to last.
More Block …heaps of Sage. Wonder if they will rope Father Bob in to doing a cleansing ceromony. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4103766/The-Block-opens-casting-renovate-St-Kilda-hotel-murder-rape-stabbings-series-fatal-drug-overdoses-occurred.html
http://www.allhomes.com.au/news/the-block-2017-carlene-duffys-advice-to-successful-applicants-20170112-gtq7ay/
There will always be a couple unprepared.