Entertainment & Music The new block 2017

Looking forward to this one - they've moved away from the apartments format that were causing so many headaches and arguments between contestants, and back to the "one house each" ... granted ... the houses are around 100 year old each and have been relocated to their current site. I guess that's the easiest way they can get 4/5 similar condition houses in a row

 

Bleh. If I wanted to watch drama drama tears latte drama drama latte drama argument argument latte drama with an occasional bit of renovation, I have property chat

 

Yeah, to be honest, I'm over it for a very long time. There's more drama than actual work. Grand Designs is preferred.

 

I'm a Grand Designs tragic too - have every DVD series (UK, NZ,Aus) and have watched each numerous times.

I do like to watch reveal night with The Block as there can be some pretty cool ideas.

 

I love the american renovation shows on 9 Life, there's several of them. They actually renovate stuff, and show the purchase/reno/sell numbers, etc unlike the Australian ones or people on these forums.

The Australian renovation shows are crap - its all about who stole whose newly purchased materials, have a fight, go shopping for lounge cushions, and renovate in the last 90 seconds before the judge turns up with their sarcastic and subjective opinions.

 

Agree. Little substance. Other shows you mentioned actually detail their thinking when it comes to building or renovating. Recently I watched this episode where a couple bought timber from American and built it over 3 years... Grand Designs resurrects two 18th-century American barns really good.

 

Don't know if I'll bother with The Block. I'm over contrived dramas and incited nastiness.

If I do watch, I'll record them and skip over all the fluff.
Marg

 

I mainly just watch the reveal episodes. They repeat most of the drama anyway, so it's not like your "missing" out on anything. If they had a reveal episode without a wall of repeated drama it would be preferable.

 

I used to be a grand designs addict, now I find it too stressful and annoying to watch. Blows my mind the amount of money some people throw at a grand design which ends up looking pretty crappy anyway. The draining ones are the ones that take like 4 years. I google images of the blocks bathrooms and kitchens and thats about it. Over watching it too.

 

Yes, we usually only watch the reveals. Can cut down a week of episodes to 20-30 minutes.

Every now and then you can get good ideas from the TV shows. Found the perfect solution to a storage wall problem on Selling Houses Australia. House featured had exactly the same situation as we did, and their solution was ideal for us!!
Marg

 

Genuine dramas may be OK, but not the contrived ones.

Like when an entire episode is based on an "unsolvable" building problem, but in the last few minutes a very simple fix is surprisingly found.
Marg

 

geez.. I feel like I've missed so much by avoiding FTA TV in the past 4 years..
The Block, MKR, The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, The Real Housewives of Melb.. (wait that was fox wasn't it?)

These days I spend my time trying to see how close I can get to touching my eye with a needle before I chicken out.. far more constructive than watching "reality TV".

 

I think The Block this time may be going back to what the original series was like, with the individual houses. I saw in the Sunday paper that one couple had a baby last week, apparently a first for the Block, that is a baby being born to a couple while they are still renovating ... so that should be good drama

 

I've seen the tv ad a few times, and every time I see it I think "wow, those houses are placed so close together, I'm not sure either side will be able to pull a wheelie bin down their side access once a fence goes in".

I hope they all plan on keeping their windows shut, as if they are the old swing-out windows, I think 2 adjoining properties will struggle to have their windows open at the same time

Like many other PC-posters, I'd much rather Grand Designs and some of the 9Life shows - more happens in a much, much shorter time frame (a whole house in one episode - not 8+ weeks of 'drama' filled nonsense.

 

That's a major reason why I watch them.

We were having to re-tile two bathrooms in a tourist accommodation cottage and didn't want to do boring subway tiles - or even more boring square white tiles - then saw on Good Bones where they laid the subway tiles vertical in a shower. Looked amazing so I copied it - and it looks amazing.

There are a coupe of houses on Grand Designs that I really really want to have a similar go at building. I love the Irish container house - and the Kinglake House with it's crushed red brick cage exterior and green roof

http://www.pb-architects.com/completed-photos/
Grand Designs Australia: Series 6 · Episode 3 - Lifestyle Channel

 

It will be refreshing to see them renovate houses rather than units where they're living in each others back pockets.. I vowed never to watch another series after putting up with the drama in the last one.. but will give them one more chance

Seeing the triple gabled roofs, I'm tipping 3 out of the 5 houses will be styled 'hamptons', 1 x bohemian/scandi, and 1 x traditional. If someone chooses art deco, I'm turning it off

 

I love reveal night but I don't bother during the week. Can't bear the drama.

 

Just watch last 15 mins of Sunday nights reveals and that's all you need...