The Block

With the main week of The Block over (to the relief of the producers no doubt considering this laid back week), tonight will be yet another edition of Unlocked where we will get a stronger insight into what the contestants and the judges think of the living areas. A nice sort of way to start the weekend.

We begin with Shelley (minus that fetching hat) running through what Unlocked is all about before we jump to a short preview. After the titles, Shelley reminds us that it was Katrina & Amie who ticked every box in living room week.

They run us through their week winning room which includes a very blatant and corny Windows 7 plug.

We then see the judge’s tour again with added comments from the judges in a cutaway. John apparently knew straight away that the sisters would win the week. Again, this cutaway is able to yet again include a bit of product placement.

The other contestants head into the open inspection, and they are all wowed, including Josh & Jenna who love the portrait. Into the living area, and Polly lets out a very regal ‘la de da’ for it with Waz saying he did expect them to win with all the help they received this week.

Rod & Tania came in second this week, and they are therefore second to show us around. Some more extra judge’s commentary follows before the other contestants enter to give their thoughts.

Katrina & Amie are surprised by the change with Polly giving out another one word comment; ‘disco yah, yah’ before commenting on the dustiness of the room.

Amie doesn’t like their sofa however Katrina does call it cozy. Jenna however loves the lounge, and even passed it in the shop claiming it is definitely ‘Tania’s couch’.

 After the break, we move to Polly & Waz’s house and they give us a tour of their hallway and living area including details on The Great Wall of Waz and that polarising wall mural.

After a few judges’ comments, the contestants enter and are immediately taken by the great wall of Waz with the sisters loving the sensor light. They don’t seem to like the mural or the floorboards in the living area.

No contestant seems to like their half closing blind with Josh & Jenna deciding they should have been in last place.

Josh & Jenna are last to be featured and after giving us a look through their ‘disaster room’ which doesn’t look too bad close up, the judges pass some more comment before the contestants enter to judge!

Tania & Rod love the old antique doorbell sitting atop their hallway, Katrina & Amie call it tacky, and Polly & Waz correctly state that there is too much old stuff (and if you paid attention to the judges comments, you would have thought the same thing).

Rod thinks something stinks, and thinks it may possibly be the cow that went to make up the seat he is sitting on!

After the break, we relive Keith V Josh which was a fight between Keith who thought Josh had dodgy plans in his kitchen that needed to be fixed straight away so Keith could get the kitchen installed, and Josh thought he was bigger and better than him and could take as long as he wanted.

We then take a look back at what is still the unresolved scene when the girls went to that five star spa apparently out of the blue.

After that, we also have a look at Waz’s interesting kitchen idea where the stools hang from the wall, and Tania & Rod’s lunch with John McGrath after winning the Selling Price Is Right challenge.

After the break, we have a look at the way the kitchens are coming along with painting going on with Katrina & Amie painting and Rod having something of a secret up his sleeve. We look back at Waz’s roofing attempts and Josh & Jenna’s bickering during the week.

The judges give their feedback throughout the flashbacks about how they think each contestant will fare in the upcoming kitchen room reveal.

Well, it’s been as good as a magazine show could be but in my opinion, devoting half the episode to old material is a bit much. I found that again, earlier previews of the open inspection kind of took a shine off of the first part of the episode and overall, I wasn’t too excited about this. I know with previous spin off show’s in the past (like The Xtra Factor, BB: Uplate and if you can remember Inside Idol) presenting a point of difference that seems to lack in this one.

Still, a nice end to The Block week, but doesn’t really invite me back on Sunday and TOO much product placement!

Courtney’s Verdict: 6.5/10

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

What to watch on TV Tonight, Friday August 5, 2011.

How to do it night!

MasterChef MasterClass, Ten, 7.30pm.

The final MasterChef MasterClass for 2011 promises to be as entertaining and hilarious as previous years. In thisMasterClass, all top 24 contestants (will that include Matt) will be reunited for one last time before the season concludes on Sunday. The contestants have their opportunity to turn the tables on the judges by offering both Gary and George a mystery box challenge. If last year’s was anything to go by, this will be unmissable television – even if you are one of the many that have dropped off MasterChef this season.

The Renovators – How To, Ten, 9.00pm.

This is the first “MasterClass” for Ten’s new reality competition series, The Renovators. It promises to deliver tips, hints and lots of useful knowledge for do-it-yourself renovators and pros alike. This episode focusses on bathrooms, tackling a room designed by Peter.

Better Homes and Gardens, Seven, 7.30pm.

If you’re not watching Masterchef or the Footy (NRL states), then chances are you are watching Better Homes and Gardens. No escaping the current renovation craze on TV here! Beat rising living costs with great tips to revamp your garden. Karen turns leftovers into a classic fried rice. Rob builds a recycled coffee table your friends will envy – just don’t tell them the price. Plus, Fast Ed makes delicious pot plants you can eat, and take one old table lamp and give it three great new looks. Dr Harry has pet care savings, and the $2000 reno challenge couple tackle an outdoor entertainment area.

A Current Affair, Nine, 6.30pm (7.00pm most regionals)

True to form, ACA capitalise on Masterchef by running a so called “exclusive story” titled “Inside Masterchef” which focusses in particular on last night’s challenge that saw Kate and Alana go head to head attempting to reproduce Zumbo’s kitchen nightmare – the ginger bread house. No doubt rival Today Tonight will carry a similar story.

James May’s Toy Stories – Meccano, SBS ONE, 7.30pm

James and his family of helpers build a life-size bridge made entirely of Meccano – a world first. Once James has found a river to build his bridge over and a design to follow, it takes two months to painstakingly piece together this huge feat of engineering. With the help of a group of engineering undergraduates, James uses 100,000 standard Meccano 1cm wide steel bars, nuts and bolts to achieve his extraordinary model.

Friday Encores.

For those who have missed out on key programming throughout the week, or simply want to watch certain shows again, there are numerous encores throughout the day and night.

GEM have last night’s episode of The Block “Challenge Night” at 5.00pm, a replay of Wednesday night’s Top Design at 7.30pm, and Nine’s most recent Sunday Night movie “Angels and Demons” airing from 8.30pm – which screens in HD.

Ten replay Thursday night’s episode of The Renovators at 3.30pm, and Monday night’s Can of Worms at 10.00pm, after The Renovatros – How To.

Meanwhile, this week’s episode of Crownies is replayed on ABC2 at 10.32pm while SBS TWO replay Dateline and Insight from 7.30pm.

In a few weeks; contestants will be auctioning off their houses! In the meantime, there’s the rest of the house to do in time for outside week next week. Considering most of this week’s episodes are concentrated on the contestant’s taking advantage of the low energy week and not about the kitchen, it will be a relief for the show to have something to show tonight with yet another Scotty’s challenge!

The contestants arise on Day 46 where they all get a text message of a flashy exterior. They all travel to a secret location where Scott talks to them about money, budget and auctions. He spruiks Melbourne’s property market before he tells them that tonight they will have to guess what certain houses will sell for (Hmm… conveniently on the same night as The Renovator’s Stress Test which is based around the same challenge).

The contestants are happy and Scott tells them that we are in Elwood; a suburb with a median house price of $1,333,000.

There is one particular house that they have to guess the house price using only a ten minute tour as their clue. No phones, no internet!

They go through the luxurious pad that is fitted with marble surfaces, mirror screens and intricate walls.

The contestants all have something good to say about this massive house; although Polly didn’t really like the basic kitchen.

Then, the contestants walk through the garage, where a The Price Is Right mock game show set up has been erected for the challenge.

With that, Ed Phillips comes out, cracks a joke about Karl Stefanovic, prompting Scott to release some canned laughter!

In fact, Scott pumps up the sound effects for the entire challenge, which involved the contestants guessing the price of the house. It was just a funny challenge, with Waz saying he needs the machine to crack some canned laughter after he cracks a bad joke.

With that, the contestants open a box in front of them which contains numbers which they must use to find the correct price.

During the process, Scott and Ed banter about the contestants and their backgrounds a la a 90’s game show.

Josh & Jenna guess first, and their guess is $3,000,000. Rod is surprised by the number.

Polly & Waz are next with their turn and guess $3,340,000 with Katrina & Amie guessing $2,740,900.

Tania & Rod are last with $2,575,000.

Ed banters with them about their choices before Ed reveals that the vendor came up with the price of $2,300,000. The auction price is then revealed to be $2,500,000; making Tania & Rod the winners of the first challenge.

They will now be heading onto three more rounds of the same thing.

The contestants then head to Fitzroy, which has a median price of $850,000. They go to a workers cottage to work out what it sold for, for the second round.

They think the size of the house would make it a good buy, but the lack of car space is a downside.

The contestants head into the game show where Ed is now donning a golden bow tie to go with his pre existing suit.

The contestants are just being stupid, pretending they are on a real game show! They guess for the second house which is said to be much lower than $2,500,000.

Josh & Jenna guess $750,000; Polly & Waz guess (after Ed nearly put a ‘nine’ into the slot) $605,000, Katrina & Amie guess $680,000 and Tania & Rod guess $785,000.

Ed then reveals the vendors price to be $750,000 before revealing the actual auction price to be (after a break and an annoyingly long recap) $790,000; again giving Tania & Rod a win.

Next up is Richmond Hill, just around the corner of The Block with a median $850,000 price.

The house they visit is a Victorian house on the outside, but modern on the inside.

Josh & Jenna don’t like the house as they see Edwardian features which period buyers won’t like and the bathroom is ugly and small.

Tania & Rod also have mixed reviews for the house, and Polly wonders where the TV is!

They then proceed to dance around the house as shown in a Benny Hill like montage, before they arrive at the game show set up for round three with Ed Phillips minus the bow tie.

After a bad joke and following canned laughter, Ed gets into the next round.

He offers some advice before the contestants make their choices. After the time limit is up, it’s time to lock it in. Josh & Jenna lock in $1,800,000, Polly & Waz lock in $1,357,000, Katrina & Amie pick $1,450,000 with Tania & Rod choosing $1,650,000.

The vendor’s price is $1,350,000 with the final auction price being $1,380,000 making Polly & Waz the winners for this round! This puts them in second place! They begin to do their silly dance they have been doing all episode.

After a bit more dancing, they are all off to house number four which is a house in Toorak with a median house price of $2,390,000; one of the highest in Australia.

The house they are about to look at is just a massive mansion! Four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a home theatre, and a huge backyard.

Their time begins and they go and inspect. They are all surprised by the house, and they all seem a bit jealous.

This house will be worth three points to the winner, and can therefore mean the difference between the winner and the loser. The sisters want to host a national edition of the Selling Price is Right for a chance at Logie’s glory.

For the last round, Ed comes out with a full gold suit and announces that the winners will go to lunch with a property multi-millionaire, John McGrath where they can ask any question they want. It is a prize they don’t want to lose at this stage.

With a few points of advice from John, and another crappy one liner from Scott, Ed tells them that the house hasn’t been auctioned off, and they have to guess the reserve price.

As the contestants open their box, funny worms pop out in the contestant’s face to the laughter of the other contestants and the hosts.

After a bit of time, it is time for the reveal. Josh & Jenna are first and their number is $4,500,000, Polly & Waz gave it $8,300,000, Katrina & Amie gave it $7,500,000 with Tania & Rod giving $8,500,000.

So the reserve price is revealed to be, after a break, another recap, and a dance, $8,900,000 making Tania & Rod the winners.

They are over the moon with the other contestants ‘praising’ them with another dance.
With that, Ed is gone, as is this funny, fantastic, golden challenge.

Tania & Rod have lunch with John in some very expensive restaurant by the look of it and he gives out advice such as ‘less is more’, ‘remove this remove that’, etc, etc. It seems to be quite a profitable lunch, and it is all topped off with John giving them money.

He also tells them that with the extra garden theme for this year’s Block, he gives them a head start on exterior week with some very big pointers.

And that’s the episode done, and how fun was that! Ok, so there may have been one too many ads, and maybe too many recaps, but it was such a funny challenge!
When I heard that Ed Phillips was coming in, I was a bit sceptical on whether or not he would have anything to contribute, or if he did if it would be worth it, but he was just a bundle of laughs, which went well with Scotty’s stupid noise machine.

A nice, relaxed challenge for a laid back week on The Block with an interesting twist.

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.5/10

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

The contestants are now well into their kitchens and after a few hiccups last night; you just know the length and stress of this entire competition has been engrained into these contestant’s nerves. What will happen tonight; let’s find out?

As the kitchen installations are finalised, the contestants have to find some energy as they begin to add their touches to the kitchens and dining area.

Scott comes to visit Polly & Waz to see how their kitchens are coming along and he immediately shows a liking for the cupboards. He tells them that next week is going to be outside week and it’s gonna be a beauty! They have to have EVERYTHING done on the inside before then and with kitchen week being a bit of a laid back week, they should get moving on some finishing touches to their previous rooms.

They try to get into it, but Waz just wants to eat.

Josh & Jenna have a few things to redo in their house; most notably their living area which they have been working on all week; replacing furniture and getting rid of useless features. They are now up to repainting the room and Josh comes to the conclusion that it is Jenna’s fault the room was crap because she keeps changing plans and her mind!

Jenna is ready to go home, but Josh wants to stay on The Block; and he says this while trying to paint Jenna’s head!

Scott visits Katrina & Amie whose kitchen is nearly done, so they are well into polishing off imperfections in the other rooms.

Scott gives some suggestions which seem to make the girls even more depressed, haha.

Contestants now have to go around the neighbourhood to collect inspiration for their house’s façade which they will have to makeover as part of next week’s exterior challenge.

Josh & Jenna are looking around in the car, and begin to argue about this week’s room, with Jenna accusing Josh for having a boring black & yellow colour scheme idea for everything.

Katrina & Amie are also looking around for ideas for their house and come across a really decent looking home which looks like it has been put there by the production team.

Talking about production, at this point in time, promotions for The Block have started to appear on billboards with Katrina & Amie spotting a huge one with Scott featured on it with the words ‘Made in Melbourne’ written on it. They are overcome with joy.

Polly & Waz are still in kitchen mode and Waz brings Polly to a restaurant that hangs stools on their wall, an idea Waz was thinking about for their house. He convinces Polly that it is a good idea, and they go for it.

To Tania & Rod, and they are well into their kitchen renovations as Scott delivers the news that next week will be flat out and they need inside to be completely DONE!

The girls are a bit tired after weeks of working and Katrina & Amie decide to break the mould with something that we will find out about after the break; something about shaving their heads!

They go around to see if the girls are free and get Polly, Tania and Jenna to come for a surprise for 3pm. As it turns out, they were only joking when they suggested to Jenna that they want her to shave her head for charity.

As it turns out, they are planning a pampering session. They find some money from out of nowhere which they use to purchase bikinis and swimwear for the girls in preparation for this.

After purchasing the underwear, they give them to the other girls, and they are excited at the prospect of going for pampering. Rod is unhappy that he hasn’t got an invite!

Back at The Block, a jealous Rod decides to create a fun time for the boys, but Josh & Waz want to keep working.

As they arrive at the five star looking spa, the boys decide to have some fun afterall, and create a conga line down the street, led by a near naked Waz!

The girls enjoy their session, and the boys enjoy theirs. It looks like the girls have it better though! I reckon this has been paid for by the production team as a part of a product placement, but hey, it seems like they had a good time.

So, a nice episode overall, and good on the production team for making a relatively boring week fun and inviting. For some reason, the parts where the team let their hair down are always more enjoyable, as it is so different to the norm that is struggle, struggle, struggle, work, work, work. Nicely done and cannot wait for Scotty’s challenge tomorrow!

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.5/10

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

After last night’s MasterChef inspired challenge; the contestants must ditch the dish and grab a hammer to begin one of the hardest rooms in the house; the kitchen! Now, I’m expecting Josh and his plumbing skills to come in handy this week, but can he overcome his problems with Jenna?

It’s day 42, the first day of another week for the contestants. At this point, the kitchens for each team have been chosen and they have arrived for the contestants to assemble.

Waz & Polly decide to sleep in and Rod decides to go into their house and wake them up with the help of a power drill.

Meanwhile, remember a few weeks ago when Josh crashed the Corolla? Well, Jenna has finally picked it up after being replaced, and she is adamant he will never be able to drive it.

Meanwhile, Keith has arrived at Katrina & Amie’s house where tradies are standing idly for direction however Katrina & Amie are nowhere to be seen. He rings them angrily and tells them to return to get the plumber working so the plasterer can begin!

After a break, the contestants have hit the shops for supplies with Jenna running through her marvellous plans.

Rod & Tania head to an auction to use the money they won at the trash & Treasure auction challenge. They both look around and find some lovely metal stools but do they win the auction? Yes! For $450.00 and they are so happy, they think Josh & Jenna could learn a thing or two about their bargaining! But $450.00 for four metal stools? Does that sound right?

The sisters finally arrive home to give a bit of direction, and Keith moves on to Josh & Jenna where he has yet even more words to say to Josh who has not plastered his walls for the time stressed kitchen fitters. Keith gets the kitchen fitters to install the kitchen anyway, meaning Josh will have to plaster around it.

Also, there’s a bit of a plumbing problem with his kitchen with a few pipes not located where they need to be, meaning they can’t even do the kitchen anyway. An annoyed Keith rings Josh to tell him to return, but Josh tells him to settle down as he can’t return but will sort it out himself later on.

Josh then bags Keith’s administrative skills yet again with Jenna calling Josh a smartarse; telling him to watch out when he has kids!

At Polly & Waz’s corner; they finally get around to giving Shiran, the builder, money for his hard work! But do they have enough for themselves? Either way, Shiran is very happy with his pay day.

Waz decides to save labour by doing some manual work himself by installing some roof panels and it is quite a funny site to both the viewers and the experienced tradies.

After working on the roofs, he heads under the house to fix some plumbing. He’s quite confident about what he’s about to do, but is it all a cover for this cocky amateur? He may need a bit of cover after we are all treated to an image of a half naked Waz. Katrina was less than impressed, haha. Polly is very impressed.

Josh arrives back at the house and pays Keith no attention, despite him wanting a word. What a cocky boy!

He finally gets to chat to him about the plaster job and Josh explains the intricate problem and Keith seems to get through to him after Josh reveals his splashback was to go without plaster. Keith tells him he needs it and finally he seems to listen.

They get to other problems however Keith tells Josh that he’ll leave the plans in his hands and will be keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t cut corners.

After the busy day for the other teams, they finally get to look at their kitchens which are all taking shape!

The episode ends with a few diary entries courtesy of Windows 7 and that is that.

A great episode again; always love a good Josh v Keith bicker to watch to keep these episodes heavily entertaining. The kitchens are looking great and it’s nice to see some smiles on the contestant’s faces. Can’t wait for tomorrow as always.

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.7/10

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

On the back of a room win, the sisters along with the other contestants will tonight compete in another Shelley challenge. Can Katrina & Amie create a winning streak? Tonight is going to be another big night of The Block as the contestants also begin their kitchens!

We begin with Scott telling us that we are at day 41. He reminds us of today’s Shelley’s challenge before telling us that he has to get them all woken up and motivated as 41 days can take its toll. He then visits the houses of all the contestants to remind them of challenge day.

Soon enough; they are all gathered outside of the houses. During this time, we find out that Josh & Jenna are going to redesign their living room and throughout the kitchen & dining room week, they will be adding on the extra task of revamping it! Is this going to be too much work? When Scotty comes to tell them about the challenge, they have already started on removing some elements.

They are all still very tired as they wait for instructions. Scotty tells them not to drop the ball this week as it is kitchen week before telling them that today will be a cooking challenge! Hmm… MasterBlock anyone?

The contestants arrive at a set table, where an ever gleaming Shelley is sitting and waiting. She tells Waz to take his hat off at the table before getting into explaining the challenge. As it is kitchen week, she has decided that today, they will be fighting for a home cooked meal. Their challenge is to cook their favourite family dish… for 20 people! They will then be judged by the 20 toughest critics she can find from Melbourne’s finest restaurants. The winners will get an amazing prize (from McCafe we should point out) of $3,000. Runners up get $2,000 with the other two teams going home hungry.

Now, before this actually does turn into MasterChef Australia, Shelley tells them with the hugest smile, that today, they will have to BUILD their kitchen AND THEN cook. They have been given a 3 hour time limit to build their kitchen from flat packs and cook their meal and with the last tarpaulin being taken off, Shelley tells them to get going.

The contestants naturally begin by exploring the flat packs, with Jenna going on a shopping website (yes, another product placement) to find what to buy for their meal.

Polly & Waz are way into it; as are the sisters, but both teams seem a bit confused. With Rod & Tania knowing what to cook, Tania just begins on the shopping list while Rod works easily on the flat packs.

Jenna has a chicken sausage with lentil soup on the cards for her team as Josh flies through the flat pack.

Shelley moves onto Polly & Waz who will be making Israeli Couscous before she moves onto the sisters who will be preparing Chicken and Corn Chowder. I should point out that the sisters have already assembled their first flat pack.

Lastly, she moves onto Rod & Tania who have assembled TWO flat packs and then some will be cooking Burrito Banila.

When we return from a break, all contestants are on the Woolworths website buying groceries (wonder how I know that?) before they continue to assemble their kitchen. Tania & Rod are not being particularly careful with their kitchen, hoping it just doesn’t fall apart.

Shelley announces that an hour has past and they have to put the pedal to the metal if they want to get their meals done in time.

The Woolworths truck arrives and contestants rush to get their groceries first and Polly trying playfully to slow the other contestants down.

With 90 minutes to go, Josh knocks Jenna in the head with a metal measuring device which isn’t a wise idea. Katrina & Amie’s kitchen is now taking shape but it is Rod & Tania who finish their kitchen first.

It isn’t long before Polly & Waz finishes theirs in second (Polly celebrates by wrapping herself in wrap.

The head chefs are called over with an hour to go to see a mountain of product placing cooking instruments (which the winner will get to take home (well, the equivalent of it) in addition). The contestants grab their elements as other team members put the finishing touches to their makeshift kitchen!

Josh & Jenna cut a hole in their bench for their stove tops as the other contestants create theirs pretty much at the same time. Now, it’s cooking time! They have 14 minutes!

After the break, the contestants are all cooking and Shelley wonders if they are having fun. Josh is cooking like a pro with Jenna actually complimenting him. He doesn’t return the compliment, telling her she is chopping the raw sausages up!

Their meal is turning into a disaster after a few mistakes.

Tania & Rod are working on theirs and seem to be having more luck. Polly & Waz are working with fettuccine, dropping the couscous idea. Polly calls her team ‘the fresh food people’. Here we go again!

The sisters are doing well, with their dish on the simmer. They kick back and hope for the best. They even copy a famous line from I think a Continental ad.

Tania & Rod are well into their dish as are Josh & Jenna, but the sisters are laughing at the two team’s complicated dishes.

Man, it isn’t long before Josh & Jenna argue about cooking techniques. They have to hurry; only five minutes to go!

The sisters are plating up and are quite cruisy with it but the other contestants are a little nervous. Polly & Waz have the added task of moving their dish from plates to bowls after a change of heart.

Soon enough, time is up and the contestants are finished with their MasterChef challenge, haha.

They are told to step away with Rod and Tania continuing to plate up!

They aren’t penalised by their rude behaviour!

Shelley congratulates them before letting in the guests. Through a red door come the loved ones of the contestants! Aww… look at the food critics! So they aren’t bringing in top chefs! There are a lot of tears and it is such a nice moment. Almost makes up for all the product placement in the episode… almost.

The loved ones look at the dishes on hand and continue to catch up with the contestants. Shelley tells them that she wont be getting the loved ones to judge; but the food is getting cold, so they all sit down to a nice love filled dinner.

After the nice feast, the contestants return to their makeshift benches before Shelley reopens the door to Adam De Silva and Toby Puttock; the two celebrity judges.

They go to taste Josh & Jenna’s dish first and after a small quizzing of the team, they begin to taste. They call the dish tomato-y, noticing the dish is straight out of the can. Adam can only taste tomato, so they call it one dimensional.

Next up are Waz & Polly with their fettuccine based prawn dish. Toby tells them that he hates seafood and cheese together and Polly wonders if he has ever heard of Spaghetti Marinara!

After a bit of a recap, the judges give their advice on Polly & Waz’s plate. They think their pasta was bland with Polly hilariously calling their shirts bland in a cutaway. The chefs do like the sausages and other condiments, complimenting the style of the home cooked dish.

Polly: Having those men give me comments like that in front of my mummy… I was ready to bash them!

To the sisters and they are very nervous, having seen the previous two verdicts. They think the sister’s dish smells and looks good!

They taste the chowder and they love it; complimenting the textures! Overall, nothing bad at all and they sit pretty in first place.

They then go to Tania & Rod’s table and implies their dish is ugly, but suggest it may be the best dish.

They taste it and Tania acts like Mark’s mum. The judges love it; calling it spot on, and healthy. With that, the judging is done.

The contestants then get to rejoin their families for the verdict.

They then announce that the $2,000 winner is Tania & Rod, with Katrina & Amie winning $3,000 as the overall winners for their delicious meal!

Well, I have two issues with this episode. First off, too much product placement! It is just getting insulting; but I guess some of it was needed (how else would we know where all the food appeared from). Still, it could be scaled back a TEENY bit!

I also have a bit of a problem with a renovation show having a challenge pretty much based around cooking. It was nice to see the family feel get injected into the episode and all topped off with the family members showing up, but to have a challenge like this airing in the same week as MasterChef’s final week, I can’t shake the feeling that they are taking advantage of this!

Other than those; it was a beautifully produced episode with plenty of smiles from Shelley and a lovely ending! And who can’t smile at the family reveal?

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.0/10

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

Nine’s renovating show, The Block yesterday caused chaos when tens of thousands turned up for an open inspection of the transformed houses.

More than 30,000 people lined up to inspect the four homes in Cameron St, Richmond bringing traffic to a standstill. People waited hours on end just to catch a glimpse of their favourite couples.

Looking at lines reaching down Bridge Rd and beyond, host Scott Cam said the turn out was “ridiculous” and he was blown away by the support.

“Without a doubt this is massive,” he said. “The great thing about it is 10,000 of these people are kids. The kids are just loving the show and are right into it and we are very proud of that because we have created family viewing.

“They love to see the construction going on, they love to see the tools in action and all that sort of thing and I think the family loves it, it is a family show.”

The renovation show has pulled Nine out of the ratings doldrums and was last Sunday’s number one program, with a whopping 1.828million viewers and last night came second to MasterChef with 1,724,000. The homes will go up for auction on August the 20th.

Source: Herald Sun

Tonight is the contestant’s fifth room reveal and after last week’s high note; we’ve been promised a disaster room to begin the week. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing!

As we begin the episode, it seems like the production team has stepped up its quality, with close up shots of different elements of the house as a bit of an introduction episode starter.

Keith is doing the rounds to make sure everything, safety wise, is up to scratch. First up are Katrina & Amie, and they explain what they will be doing with no discussion! He does however see that one of Polly & Waz’s windows has been smashed by a scaffolder.

To Rod’s house and Keith notices it isn’t weather tight and with only a few tradies on hand, he’ll have to get busy.

To Josh & Jenna, and they are in the process of returning furniture that won’t fit in their living room. Getting it in the Ute is yet another source of argumentation from the two.

Meanwhile, Rod’s carpet (they’re the only couple to have carpet) has arrived and is installed.

Back to Josh & Jenna’s house and with a bigger area to paint, Jenna gets going with the paint spray. After a failed attempt to spray the high ceiling, she gets some better artillery but the machine she uses gets paint EVERYWHERE, and you just have to laugh, haha.

Rod is relaxing for the first time in a long time, but Jenna calls him out to help with her paint problem and because she has gotten paint outside, Rod jokes that she can’t start one room without finishing another. She has even sprayed a builder’s car.

Meanwhile, with the help of homeMADE’s Jason, the sisters go to buy some furniture for their room.

Josh comes back with more furniture and is less than sympathetic to Jenna’s paint problem. He commands her to get some furniture in but for some reason, he can’t see how a three seater sofa is too heavy for Jenna. He is in a hurry as he needs to finish so the electrician can continue the job.

It’s Polly & Waz’s turn to go shopping for furniture and they find a really nice expandable table. They are happy that they don’t have to hide it from anyone else as it is the last one.

Back at The Block, half of Melbourne’s tradies are at work in the sister’s living area getting everything working. Man, how the hell are they affording all of this?

They go out to buy a home entertainment system, but it seems it was Windows who was buying advertisement space inside the show in what has to be the most disgusting example of product placement to date.

Meanwhile, Polly & Waz are on their way home when half their couch comes off the back of the Ute but to their amazement, it isn’t damage at all.

Rod & Tania’s furniture also arrives as the sun sets. Meanwhile, Amie convinces Keith to go with Katrina to pick up a really heavy coffee table. There’s actually a bigger version in the store that must weigh a ton and for god sake, there isn’t anyone in the store that can help!

They get it to the house with almost no dramas and we are reminded that these girls have NO money left and they must win the room reveal.

Jenna is furious as she goes to pick up her car which had been towed away after sitting in a no parking zone for five minutes. She is concerned about the room reveal being the next day and Josh painting at home.

The morning after, Polly & Waz have had no sleep and neither has Rod & Tania who have had no luck in putting things down.

The frantic last minute touches are put to the houses as Scott comes and announces tools down.

The contestants all come out, except Rod & Tania who are delayed before they come out dressed in Austin Powers’s uniforms for god knows why.

With that, the contestants are off as the judges, John & Neale, come to inspect the half done rooms (as the living room is combined with the kitchen, which doesn’t get renovated until next week).

First up are Josh & Jenna who have been plagued with time issues. Their hallway looks quite horrible to be honest with poor paint jobs, a crappy looking shoe rack, and some poor edges. To the living room and the judges like the couch, but not the feature wall or the books or anything else to be honest again. Not a good start!

To Polly & Waz, who have had tradies working for a fixed price to begin with, and the judges judge their hallway first. The judges love the Great Wall of Waz, but don’t seem to like the execution of the floors.

Polly has sketched on a wall mural of a power line which polarized opinion with the judges. They like the rest of the nice looking living area including the television and shelving, but think they should have added a rug.

Next up are the sisters who have gone all out this week, probably the biggest risk yet. The before and after shots seem to do the room justice and the judges are WOWED by it; calling it ‘million dollars’. The also love that $2,000 picture.
To the living area, and it looks brilliant. The judges love the coffee table, the sofa and the rug but seem to make an advertisement out of the television’s functionality; tut, tut.

To Rod & Tania who have been plagued with bad news this week, have done a marvellous job in my books. The judges like the pictures but are divided on the tiling. To the lounge room, and it too looks great.

The judges seem to like everything about this room but don’t know if it works well for the demographics.

With that, judging is done, and it is results time!

The contestants enter before Scott and the blackboard. Scott wraps up the week with a brief that tells them that the judges were a little less forgiving this week. The judges have said that all of them have made great first impressions, but that’s when the greatness stopped.

To design, and after giving Josh & Jenna some of the judge’s comments, Scott gives them a six; a confronting sign.

Next is Polly & Waz, and they score a six also which may be a better sign for Josh & Jenna. Katrina & Amie must be happy to score a whopping nine, a number that shocked even me.

Rod & Tania finishes design scoring with an eight.

With that, Scott turns the board and without any comments, he writes the scores down. He turns the board, but of course, it is an ad break. We do know that the winner won with a one point margin.

He turns the board and the standings are as followed:

KATRINA & AMIE= 17

ROD & TANIA= 16
POLLY & WAZ= 13
JOSH & JENNA= 12

Making Katrina & Amie the $5,000 winners. Well, who didn’t see that coming.

Scott then tells them that this week they will be doing their kitchen and dining rooms.

Overall, pretty predictable episode with A LOT of product placement, A LOT!  Not a good sign and hopefully not a sign of things to come. Come on guys, pick up your pace!

Courtney’s Verdict: 6.5/10

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

Sorry guys for the late postage of this article; I usually endeavour to have these completed on Saturday; but after such a huge week; I needed to give my little fingers a holiday. Now we can discuss REALITY!

As you may have already seen, AndrewB has commented on the amount of reality saturating the schedules recently, and I have but one thing to say; it’s gonna get BIGGER!

But first; let’s look at the mammoth week that’s been and first, the launch of The Renovators. While it was a soft one, it certainly way a big one as far as launch weeks go, with 26 contestants fighting for the right to choose which of the six houses they want to renovate. After a raft of challenges; including house renovating (of course), exterior and interior designing, flat pack building and of course, nail hammering, Joanne, Luke, Peter, Michael & Fiona all claimed their ideal house. I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I think Joanne picked Sixties Suburban, Luke the Weatherboard house, Peter the Half Done House, Michael the Fibro cottage with Fiona left claiming The Shop.

For those of you who are not watching The Renovators simply because of the sheer amount of reality on at the moment, I suggest you do! I’m not affiliated with The Renovators or Ten in any way; but this show is simply phenomenal when it comes to size and quality. No dodgy fittings or finishings here.

MasterChef cruised towards its finals week and it began last week on a bit of a sweet tooth.

A fun mystery box challenge was in order for the contestants however, instead of ingredients, they were given the name of another contestant whom they had to pick the ingredients for! Very sneaky. The winner; being Michael, got to compete in Tuesday’s final immunity challenge.

Family members came in to cheer on their loved one on Monday as they cooked a dish close to their heart. An added bonus was that all contestants were immune from any elimination with the winner getting to spend a night at home while the MasterChef judges cooked them a meal. Lucky Alana was the winner and she was jetted back to QLD for the all amazing reward.

On Tuesday; Michael was made to compete against Teage Ezard for an immunity pin. A huge challenge, Michael didn’t have the strength to win a place in the final 4; but he really only failed by one point!

Wednesday was the elimination decider; and for the first time ever, contestants had to cook dishes in the MasterChef HOUSE! George rocked up with a few friends carrying with them ingredients close to their hearts that contestants may have never heard of before. Long story short, Michael and Kate were safe, meaning they were the first two to make it through to the final four. Kate won the challenge, and a private MasterClass with Matt Moran.

The three bottom dishes were Ellie, Dani and Alana. As it stood at the end of the episode, Dani and Ellie faced elimination, however with Dani’s immunity pin, Alana faced the prospect of replacing her.

Did she? Well for some reason, it came as a bit of a shock to some people that Dani DID use the immunity pin! Alana faced Ellie, and was a little disappointed at this. It didn’t matter though as Alana triumphed, sending Ellie home in fifth place.

That was MasterChef; now what happened on The Block?

Well, on Sunday, the upstairs area was judged with $10,000 on offer for the winning team! Unfortunately, it was the only week this year with a tie, meaning the winning teams of Josh & Jenna and Polly & Waz only got given $5,000 each.

As the sisters went bust and on the brink of leaving the game, Shelley’s challenge came to the rescue. Featuring Mark & Duncan from last year as replacements for Tania & Rod who had to attend a funeral, contestants had to design a room and create a magazine spread of it. The sisters, for winning the challenge, got given a home entertainment system for their home, a computer (with a touch screen) and shopping advice for a day courtesy of homeMADE contestants Jason & Darren.

In Scotty’s doghouse building challenge, $3,000 was given away to winners Tania & Rod, $2,000 away to runners up Katrina & Amie, and third place getters Josh & Jenna getting $1,000.

In between all this fuss was a huge amount of time spent on exploring The Great Wall of Waz; an exposed brick wall; Josh & Jenna’s arguments and Tania & Rod’s sorrow and struggles.

Top Design had a doozie this week with not one, but two contestants being sent home. These were Leigh & Jo, with Leigh failing an outdoor room challenge, and Jo failing a couch and white room challenge. At the end of this very rushed episode, was a sneak peak at the fact the six remaining contestants are about to be joined by newcomers!

Lastly, The Amazing Race Australia managed to stereotype itself by keeping the frat boy surfers, models and inspirational father/son team, while hilarious farmers Matt & Tom were sent packing just short of the finale.

Speaking of finales, Australia’s Got Talent began its finale, first by inducting Liam Burrows, The Bandit, Benchmark, The Old Fella and Timomatic into the final ten.

Then, all of those acts, plus Jack Vidgen, Cosentino, Ben Price, David De Vito and Instant Bun took to the stage for your votes. It was a spectacular night with only one remaining.

Next week is set to be huge for Australian reality television and that’s despite the fact that there is actually fewer hours of reality television all up next week than there was last week! But what reality television lacks in hours on screen, it makes up for in FINALES!

Australia’s Got Talent is set to have its second part of the 2011 finale on Tuesday where one of the top acts mentioned above will take out the fifth title on the show.

The Amazing Race Australia will also have its finale (albeit in a very crappy timeslot) where either models Sam & Renae, surfers Tyler & Nathan or father/son Jeff & Luke will return to Australia in first place, winning them the prize money.

MasterChef Australia heads into what will be the most uneventful finals week in history, where instead of contestants heading home every night (I used to look forward to this), only two contestants will be eliminated over the course of this week; like any other week really.

The Renovators takes tomorrow off and returns on Monday with more challenges and a double elimination. It ends on Friday with its first ‘how to’ episode.

Top Design finally tells us who will be joining the cast as intruders, and how many there will be. Another elimination will also probably loom for this sinking show.

The Block contestants will reveal their living area and hallway to the judges where $5,000 is up on offer. They then continue their renovations into the kitchen. Another challenge from both Shelley & Scot is also on the cards; as well as another Unlocked episode. I will mention here also that MasterChef also has its final MasterClass of the season on Friday.

So that’s it with that; now to the schedule on when I will put blogs up. Remember, I will be blogging EVERY episode of EVERY show, including finales and other episodes of spoiler potential. Do not read unless you’ve watched the episode, or don’t plan to.

Tonight, I will have The Block & MasterChef up by the end of the night, so no delays.

On Monday, I have some sort of obligation to myself to post finales of shows on the site without delay, so due to The Amazing Race starting late, I’ll have The Block, MasterChef Australia & The Amazing Race up that night, but The Renovators will have to be delayed until around 4.30pm-5.00pm the next day due to commitments of mine. UPDATE: Don’t worry, I just realised I can have this done earlier!

To Tuesday and I’ll aim to have The Block, MasterChef Australia and Australia’s Got Talent up same night, but whatever happens, The Renovators will have to be delayed to Wednesday and should be up by 4.30- 5.00pm also.

Wednesday, well, I have no choice but to have them all up by night’s end, however if I can’t have them all up, I’ll be putting up The Renovators by 6pm the next day as that’s pretty much the earliest I can guarantee (which is why I need them done on Wednesday).

There should be no delays for Thursday or Friday episodes.

Sorry for any inconveniences, and I hope you enjoy the week.

Don’t forget guys, I need your help! If you want to run this blog for a week in September and have the capacity to write even little reviews on some reality programs plus post them on Throng, I’d love to hear from you as I am unable to do so. Contact me via PM on this site, or through c_rose_luvy1980@hotmail.com. Thankyou for all who take on this volunteer work; it would mean a lot to me!

Merlin, TEN, 6.30pm
The final of season 3 we see Morgana crowned as queen and Camelot’s darkest hour has come. Arthur forms a resistance against the new monarchy – but what chance does a small group of fighters stand against an immortal army?

Murdoch: Breaking the Spell? SBS ONE, 9.30pm
For decades, Rupert Murdoch has wielded extraordinary power over the country’s media, politicians and even police officers. Now, after the revelations of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, Murdoch and News International stand accused of corrupting British life. This program tells the inside story of how the media giant’s influence was dramatically challenged.
 
Marie Claire: Under the Cover, 7TWO, 6.30pm
In tonights final, executive fashion editor Jane recruits top Australian designers of the likes of Camilla and Marc and Sass & Bide to create a couture garment from recycled clothes for charity. Things go from ambitious to anxious for art director Matt when editor Jackie throws a spanner in the works just before he leaves for an overseas vacation. Fashion and beauty editor Emily is flying to Germany to interview Heidi Klum. Meanwhile, it’s the end of an era for a staff member very close to Jackie but also the beginning for Marie Claire’s newest member. It all comes to an exciting end with a final farewell to the characters you’ve seen up-close and under the cover.

Megastructures, 7mate, 7,30pm
See how the world’s most iconic hotel, the Burj Al-Arab, redefined the impossible and how it saved Dubai from economic meltdown.

The Block, Nine, 6.30pm
Jenna has a painting disaster in the rush to finish the hallway and living room. The rooms are revealed for the judges and this week’s winner is announced.