The Block

Last night saw The Block season four’s second couple, Polly & Waz, progress to the main event in the wake of Chrissy & Toby who were eliminated second. Tonight; it is experience v amateur as couples Tania & Rod and Carrie & Chris go head to head for spot three.

We begin with a quick recap of the week that was as Scott returns to the Langham hotel to announce pair three to go head to head. After being chosen, the two teams go to the warehouse for the traditional garage door lift up and revelation. As we enter our third night of doing this, the dramatic effects are fading as the lights of the warehouse come on instantaneously after the garage door opens.

Scott runs through the rules, that remain the same, including telling them about the core decoration they must use. After a few tips and points, Scott tells them their time has started as the two teams rush for their rooms.

Each team open their box to reveal a weird looking lamp. Both teams are a little confused as what to do. This room, with the bland walls, also has a Victorian fireplace to one side. The teams wonder what room they want to renovate with Tania and Rod deciding to take the fireplace out as its era doesn’t fit with the modern looking lamp.

Chris & Carrie are off to shop and being Sydneysider’s, they don’t really know their way around the winding Melbourne streets. They have no luck to begin with Carrie’s humour sort of annoying Chris.

Across town, Tania & Rod are trying to sort out their flooring, looking through different rugs and carpets. They choose their carpet and move on to their paint choosing. I wonder if anyone will be leaving their paint behind today. Meanwhile, after a huge chunk of time, Chris & Carrie find a shop to make their first huge chunk of buying with their first major purchase; a lounge.

After deliberation; they realise they don’t want anything from the expensive Nick Scali and leave.

Carrie really just wants more than $5000 to renovate her room. Well, they don’t actually leave; they just haggle down the price on a nice looking suite thanks to a nice woman.

Meanwhile, Rod is busy taking out the fireplace so the couple can work on a modern room with a blank canvas. Tania is out shopping and explains her team’s strategy to us, which is a ‘divide & conquer’ strategy as called by Scott, opposite to Chris & Carrie’s strategy which is to work together. I believe the same situation was the crux of episode one; I can’t remember what team employed what strategy though.

Meanwhile, as Tania scores a bargain on a suite of her own, Scott has just found out that Rod has taken out the fireplace that took him hours to carve. Rod explains how the team are building their room around the lamp, and the fireplace didn’t work with the theme. Scott thinks this is a clever idea.

Carrie begins to work on the lamp, which is very hard to build with the sort of instructions provided. Carrie hopes that everyone got something like the lamp, although we know they didn’t with the last gift being a simple chair and the one before being an even simpler side table.

Meanwhile, Tania is at IKEA buying ANOTHER lamp! Rod tells us in a cutaway that he will be angry if Tania comes back with things that will take forever to set up (like big flat packs). As it happens; Tania comes back with not one, not two, but three!

How is he meant to finish those flat packs when that lamp is such a bitch to set up?!?

Chris & Carrie’s lounge suite is delivered to their happiness, considering it was a pricy suite. On the flip side, Tania’s suite; which was a bargain, didn’t include delivery, and when she works this out, the store has already closed! Oh, no Tania, dah dum!

Day 2 arrives after the break and the teams get on to the final hours of renovations before judging. Tania has a plan to work around yesterday’s follies as the carpeters come in to lay the floors.

Rod is working on the flat packs and is a little annoyed at the time consumption and Tania’s habit of picking out three of them for Rod to do.

Chris & Carrie have hurried to buy a television before buying a few things from IKEA, however with IKEA opening late, their plans begin to crumble. They also find out that some of their products like chairs that they wanted, aren’t in stock.

In the process, Chris has to pay for parking and run other errands in the process as Rod goes to pick up the lounge suite from the day before. He scurries around for some sort of rope to hold down the suite in the back of the truck and finds some warning flags to use.

Meanwhile, Chris & Carrie are worried to find out IKEA hasn’t given them all the boxes needed for their TV Unit; their curtains have come without screws and their chair wasn’t coming together properly. Bloody hell, IKEA’s pretty useless, isn’t it!

In the last half hour, panic and struggle ensures as the teams get their final pieces on their walls, floors and tables before Scott calls time! Their work is over.

We get glimpse of both rooms and I think for the first time, I have a favourite. The first room the judges, Neil & John visits is Rod & Tania’s room which the judges call fantastic. They like the fact that Tania bought a second lamp to compliment the first.

Neil wonders why they took out the fireplace but John just thinks they are minimalists and they have done a good job.

In Chris & Carrie’s room (not my favourite), the judges give very positive feedback (like the paint job) bar the small television sitting in the corner. I actually think the room looks horrible!

Scott calls the teams out and reveals to the other team that Tania & Rod ripped out their fireplace. They still stand by their decision.

Scott reveals that the winning team is in fact Rod & Tania; definitely the right choice, as they move on to compete on The Block!

So another episode down and it has been pretty smooth and fun like usual but where I think this show has a downside lies within the timeframe. I do think that the half hour timeslot makes the show feel just a little bit rushed, but overall, it creates a bite size feel to the show and just makes me want to return for more.

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.8/10

So last night, I broke my ‘The Block’ virginity as the fourth season kicked off with an almighty bang. For a channel nine show, I was very impressed by the smooth clarity and brilliant production of the show, but can it continue with this feat as it ventures further into its new format?

We begin the show with a lengthy recap of yesterday before a preview tells us Toby & Chrissy & Polly & Waz will be battling it out tonight for a place on the block.

The two teams and Scott gather near the garage door and with less drama (considering we all know what is going on), the contestants walk in to view the eight rooms as the lights come on. Scott runs through the rules (read my previous The Block blog for details on these rules but they will pop up throughout this blog) and reminds them of their $5000 budget and the fact they must use a ‘core decoration’.

It’s not too long before the contestants enter their rooms to find the core decoration tonight is a very shiny, silver chair. Toby & Chrissy already begin to argue as they don’t agree what room they want.

Poppy & Waz meanwhile slightly agree to do something ‘fun’ and later agree to do a ‘space themed’ kids room. They make up the kid, ‘Johnny’ with the idea of getting into ‘Johnny’s’ head.

Toby & Chrissie want to do a guest room/ office room mix up of their two ideas and later, begin to shop. It’s not long before the two get lost as well! Oh god, definitely the dysfunctional couple of tonight.

Back at the warehouse, Polly & Waz realise the other team have gone and worried their competition may have a head start however Chrissy & Toby just don’t know what they are doing!

After the break, we return to Polly & Waz who, after two hours, finally go shopping. They are looking for a bunk bed for their kid’s bedroom.

Like a broken record, as we return to Chrissy & Toby, all we see is more arguing and confusion. However, finally, they find some sofas they like. One piece of furniture is a bed and I actually thought they were doing an office/ guest room!!?! No sense there.

Polly & Waz are in heaven as they find a shop full of kid’s bedroom features however they really need spaceship style sheets for their bedding and after being told ‘medieval’ is the theme in fashion right now; they think that they may be thinking behind the times.

The couple meet up with Toby & Chrissy (is it just me, or does Chrissy sound like Chrissie Swan) and there’s a bit of a rivalry that begins as banter between the two teams ensures. Outside, Chrissy meddles with the windscreen wipers of Waz & Polly’s car. And let the dirt games begin.

When Waz & Polly return to the warehouse, they realise they have forgotten their paint (flashback to last night anyone?).

It’s actually not long before we go back into ads!! Wow, I don’t know if it is the rush of blogging this show, but that was REALLY quick!

Back after the break however, Toby has mixed feelings to find out the other team has left their paint at Mitre 10. Polly & Waz has a dilemma; only one person can go collect the paint as snooze will be bringing their bed in. When the bed comes, the delivery man wonders where their (non-existent) carpet is. Polly is a little unnerved about this as the carpet doesn’t arrive until tomorrow. Still, she seems like a quick thinker and quickly changes the plans for the room as she has a few times already.

Chrissy & Toby begin to paint their room as Chrissy goes back out shopping looking for a desk and is not having much luck to begin but in IKEA, she finds a nice cheap desk. But just in case she needs ‘to screw something’ (her words, not mine), she ends up paying for a $200+ set of screws, even though she needs only two screws.

She purchases a desk and a mirror, only to find the mirror is broken and the desk has sold out. She now needs to be available at 9am sharp tomorrow to get the items she needs without being caught up in any rush.

What I like about this show is that the cutaways look fairly real; and this is backed up as Chrissy tells us all about the problems she is having at IKEA as her rival Polly runs past. We can see she is visibly put off what she wanted to say and even attempts to get out of the cutaway, haha.

Polly is in a bit of a rush herself, having not bought all her furniture that she needed.

Chrissy is hiding behind Polly’s car and when she is not looking, lifts her windscreen wipers again! Haha.

Back at the warehouse, Chrissy returns to an angry Toby who isn’t impressed with the fact she has been out for 8 hours and got nothing! Maybe if she spent less time tampering with Polly’s car, she might not have been out for that amount of time.

We then move into Day 2 as Polly & Waz work on their furniture as the floor gets carpeted. Waz has a few concerns with time and realises he won’t be able to paint some of the things he wanted to.

Also strapped for time is the other team and as Chrissy has given Toby an hour to put together their flat pack together. He hires a tradie to put it together, something Polly isn’t too sure is allowed.

Waz quickly gets started on his bunk bed and it looks quite nice. Meanwhile, when Chrissy returns from doing god knows work; she is very panicked, calling her partner Toby an imbecile. Please, put this team on the show for comic relief!

With one hour to go, panic definitely ensures as Toby and Chrissy’s desk falls apart in the final hour. They risk putting it in and finally get on to put the finishing touches in. Like last night; what look like a hopeless challenge, somehow, both teams have been able to create two stunning rooms!

The two rooms are complete and the two judges, Neil and John come in to inspect. They judge Chrissy & Toby’s room. Their office/bedroom is met with mixed reviews. They love how they have integrated the chair into the room but call the desk low and impractical.

Now onto Waz & Polly’s space themed bedroom. They love the kid’s room, and just loved the soft feel they’ve given the chair, with a cushion on it fitting in well.

They love the walls; clean and simple. They also like the bunk beds but some parts of the room look bland. The judges have made a decision on who should go through and Scott gathers the teams out in the hallway as the decision is made.

The team going through to The Block is Polly & Waz. With that, it’s time to say goodbye to Toby & Chrissy.

So with that, it is over, another episode and another team goes through to the block. Well the show hasn’t lost any good quality from last night but does the half hour format bode well? Well, it did seem a little rushed but again, it may just be because of my blogging keeping me too busy to check the time. The only thing they should improve on is timing. This show ran 7 minutes overtime and this would surely put some viewers off.

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.8/10

It all begins, season four of The Block here at 7 O’Block weeknights! Tonight will be the beginning of a very lengthy experiment by Nine as the hit renovation show takes on the timeslot previously reserved by Ten for reality formats. Let’s kick off!

We open swiftly with a view of Melbourne before Scott formally welcomes us to the show; telling us that four couples will be competing in the season with a twist. Unlike last seasons, there won’t be just an apartment to renovate; but four workers townhouses described as renovator nightmares.

He also tells us that over the next four nights; 8 couples will be competing for a place in the Block 2011. And with no proper title theme, we get into it as the night’s first four couples move through the streets of Melbourne to their ‘humble’ abodes.

They first meet Scott Cam at the Langham hotel. These couples are WA’s Shannon and Aaron, VIC’s Jenna & Josh, NSW’s Carrie & Chris & VIC’s Tania & Rod. They all meet on the roof of the hotel with a stunning Melbourne backdrop.

Scott tells us in a voice over that these couples are about to get double trouble. All of a sudden, we see clips of the four other couples before they too walk onto the stage with all contestants in utter disbelief. These next couples are NSW’s Katrina & Amie, VIC’s Laura & Emily, NSW’s Polly & Waz and QLD’s Chrissy & Toby.

Then finally, Scott Cam walks out to meet the contestants. Man it looks like a stunning rooftop. He welcomes the 8 couples to Melbourne before congratulating them on their entry. He summarises the problem; 8 teams yet only four places so they must find out who will stay and who will go.

He tells them that teams will go head to head over the next week in a 24 hour challenge to determine who will move on. This shocks the contestants and they all look genuinely gobsmacked.

The winners of these challenges will move into the Blocks and will be eligible to win the show. He pumps them up before officially starting the competition.

The first two teams to go into the 24 hour challenge are Shannon & Aaron and Jenna & Josh. So basically, I guess we will be doing this in order of appearance. The contestants sum up their thoughts on this before we move to a huge warehouse. Here, we get a sneak peak of Scott building massive rooms in this warehouse; the location of which is secret (does anyone actually know?).

He calls the rooms ‘insane asylums’. The rooms are the same size and are nearly identical bar a few windows. This will act as the elimination battle ground over the next four nights.

The four contestants and Scott walk up to the warehouse roller door and as it rolls up, as dramatic as it is, the contestants all move in to a really dark room. Again with the drama, huge beaming lights then turn on to reveal the rooms.

We return from a break to the rooftop from before but we get a small recap of what we have just seen. Hopefully these won’t be common recaps for the half hour editions. Meanwhile, the contestants are all shocked by the rooms, calling it a ‘definite asylum’.
The contestants will have 24 hours to renovate one room each. They will have $5000 plus a core decoration that must be used. They must impress their judges with their creativity and will have access to cars (definitely an in house promotion) to buy their stuff. Sounds very interesting; this is their one chance to be on the block.

With everything clear; Scott tells them their time starts now. They enter the rooms and each team opens their present containing the core decoration. It is a black side table and both teams although have no idea what room they could make, seem to have an idea of what to do with it.

Jemma & Josh get stuck into planning the room and all of a sudden don’t like the look of the shape of the room.

Shannon & Aaron are already working on their table to get some inspiration. I love Scott’s narration; definitely good for people like me who are new to this show.

Quickly, Jenna & Josh head off to buy some equipment. Josh forgets the measurements of the windows; well, doesn’t even take them. Nah, he’s only joking! They quickly go to a furniture shop to find some flooring.

They also go to Mitre Ten for some paint. They wonder about some of the things they can build including a bookcase however Josh doesn’t like the idea at all.

Back at the warehouse; Shannon & Aaron are off for their equipment and start with their paint. We find out that when choosing paint; Shannon can be very picky and can change her mind quite often.

We see a montage of shops the couple go to as Aaron becomes tired of the constant shopping and no building!

We return from the break and get another recap before returning to the quarrels of Shannon & Aaron. They come up with an idea that entails Shannon doing the shopping and Aaron going back to work. As soon as he returns, we find out his tape measurer is missing. Meanwhile, Josh has also lost his.

Panic entails as the boys try to find their tape measures. Josh finds his in tape measurer and lets Aaron borrow it after he uses it; this costs precious time. Meanwhile, Shannon is also having a few issues.

Jenna & Josh are working together and there are time constraint issues as they find out their paint job is taking longer than expected. They begin to doubt their strategy, wondering if the other couple has the right strategy.

Shannon however is not having good luck before finding a nice bed and matching chair and falls in love with it.

Jenna goes shopping for her team to quickly pick some furniture. She can’t concentrate with the fact that closing time is only hours away. Josh is also not liking some of the colours Jenna is pointing out and concurs that it was a waste of time.

She returns with nothing but Josh comforts her. They are still shocked at the fact that they have no furniture.

Meanwhile, Shannon comes back and while disappointed, comes back with a few bags of furniture.

Meanwhile, another problem, he’s left the paint for the skirtings at the shop and will have no time to paint tomorrow. Not happy, Jan.

Day 2, and they are in fighting spirits as they find out guy’s from Mitre 10 have arrived early and get their skirting paint. They are now a little bit more on track. They kept a clear focus for the five hours ahead.

We return with yet another recap before Jenna & Josh return for day 2 and are getting their head around their design. They work a quick plan and finally, there’s a bit of excitement as Josh works on the table.

Aaron and Shannon race down to IKEA and knowing what they want, they spend only 15 minutes in the shop. Well done, guys. Meanwhile, Jenna & Josh are pleased to see the carpenter early for the job of flooring the room.

Josh & Jenna bicker a little bit as they work out in a panic what they can get in the time they have. Meanwhile, Shannon begins on their flat packs as the flooring is still being done.

Josh and Jenna are now at IKEA however he doesn’t seem to like what is on offer. He ends up buying online and seems to make a nice deal for a secondhand sofa. They do however end up buying a few things from IKEA.

As Shannon continues on his flat packs, Josh returns and begins on his. His couch arrives and it looks good against the wall. Jenna is currently grabbing things that look nice, hoping they will pull the room together.

The contestants are now into their final hours as Jenna picks up the last of her furnishings. She drives off back to the suspense filled warehouse only to reveal she has to go back and get more things. She is one determined chook!

Josh is clearly a little unnerved about this as we see Shannon & Aaron struggle to get their drawers together. They just forget about it and put the rest of their elements in their bedroom. Scott arrives and tells them they have 15 minutes, jokingly telling them that they have to be nice to him, he is in control of executions.

Jenna buys the last of her stuff as we enter the last 10 minutes. The contestants put the finishing touches on their room and like a MasterChef dish; their rooms have somehow come together somewhat beautifully. I can’t tell which room looks better; but I do like the classy bedroom (Shannon & Aaron).

Scott debriefs with the teams and they discuss the highs and lows of the challenge.

After the break we meet the judges, Neil Whittaker and John McGrath. First off, they look at Josh & Jenna’s room. They think it feels young and love the theme. They love the orange chairs and vintage tables.

They do pick up on a bland corner of the room however. They look at the side table, the core decoration. They feel they have built the theme around the table.

Onto Shannon & Aaron’s room and they love the executive luxury feel. Neil doesn’t like the lack of wardrobe and drawers (the team ditched the drawers late on). Neil is amazed that they were able to make the room with $5000. They think the side table fits in well.

The judges hesitantly tell Scott that they have a winner. Scott gathers the two teams in the middle of the warehouse and declares that the judges and he have decided on a winner. Personally, I think it will be Jenna & Josh. It turns out to be Jenna & Josh and Jenna just breaks down as the teams rejoice. That does mean the end of Shannon & Aaron.

So for a show I’ve never seen before, it has been very easy to pick up on it; and I don’t even feel it needed the constant recaps! It was suspenseful; and despite all the things that could and did go wrong; there were two simple, clean rooms produced and they looked amazing. The judging section was also very fun to watch and it didn’t seem as edgy as shows like MasterChef; it was a more relaxed time.

Very impressed; cannot wait for 7 O’Block tomorrow!

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.7/10

The Big Bang Theory, Nine, 8pm
In the season 4 final tonight, Raj moves in with Sheldon after hearing Leonard and Priya engage in a Star Trek fantasy in his apartment. Bernadette receives her doctorate, and the gang teases Howard about not having one

Wimbledon, 7TWO, 9pm
Day 1 starts tonight, with continued live coverage of the oldest and most prestgious tennis tournament. Hosted by Todd Woodbridge and commentary from John Newcombe, Renae Stubbs, Sam Smith and Geoff Masters. Starts on Seven at 11pm. 

Come Fly With Me, Nine, 8.30pm
Catch the last episode for a while, as the creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams take a break to focus on individual projects. Tonight Peter and Judith have got mixed up in the dark arts of voodoo.

The Block, Nine, 7pm
Hosted by Scott Cam, the return of this series sees the couples renovating in Melbourne, not beachside Sydney. Tonight eight couples face a fierce elimination challenge as 8 couples will be wittled to 4 by the start of next week.

Hot Cities, SBS TWO, 7.35pm
The world’s biggest cities are already victims of climate change. Violent changes in weather are one of the most dramatic features of climate change. In the Caribbean, surviving massive storms during the hurricane season is part of everyday life. See how extreme weather events affect Cuba and what is being done to adapt.

Another week has past ladies and gentlemen and I don’t know if it is me, but the sweet smell of grand finales are coming to fruition as some shows begin to wind up. But as I will discuss tonight, another is about to begin!

So firstly, let’s look at the week that’s been and like any other week, with another episode of Dancing with the Stars. This week, unlike last week, the production quality of the show was good and coupled with the dancing marathon that kept me at the edge of the sofa, it was an enjoyable episode and shows Seven that with proper attention, this show can be a real event; and they should damage this by over hyping controversies and cross promoting the hell out of other shows. Although I would argue, the show still needs to improve in the latter department.

In the end, we bade farewell to starlet Brynne Edelsten as the audience finally voted in terms of dancing talent and not popularity.

Onto MasterChef and the iconic Qantas challenge was back with iron fisted chef Neil Perry! The challenge saw plenty of good dishes that were eclipsed in quality by what was to come. Unfortunately for Shannon, Michael, Rachel and Craig, their first class dishes were no match for the others, and they were all sent to elimination with Rachel pulling the short straw and going home. Oh, and did I mention Heston Blumenthal dropped by?

In the nights to come, the drought of knockout dishes this season has been infamously known to suffer from seemed to have broken with outstanding plates being presented on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

On Tuesday, Kate was involved in the closest immunity battle of the season (bar Hayden’s win), only missing out on a win by two points and easily plating up elements that individually, were better than her opponent’s.

Wednesday night saw the contestants cook environmentally friendly, teaching them techniques to lower food wastage. The blue team won and the red team lost however a plethora of outstanding dishes were produced in the process; a huge positive for the show.

Lastly, in a tightly contested elimination challenge on Thursday, bottom two competitors Shannon & Craig were quoted by the judges to have made ‘two of the best dishes of the series’. A huge and stunning accolade and a huge game changing moment; history making dishes were finally being made!

Shannon unfortunately didn’t last too much longer than this as she exited as eliminee 10 and to finish off the week, another heart warming MasterClass.

Onto Australia’s Got Talent and there’s no stopping the competition as eight more acts performed and surprised off the back of Benchmark, Chooka and Cosentino’s successful progression to the finals. Brilliant night, just stunning.

The Amazing Race Australia scrambled to new heights with Chris reaching his lowest point before having it smacked right back in his face thanks to our good friend, Karma. It wasn’t such a good moment when resident comics Mo & Mos were eliminated in eighth place. Hopefully a team can take their place, like Chris and Anastasia took Richard & Joey’s place as most hated team (well, Anastasia has no blood on her hands).

So let’s look at this week to come and we have a new addition to our 2011 reality television family; The Block 2011. This week is elimination week where four of the eight couples say goodbye. I’ve a confession to make; I’ve never actually seen this show! So it will be new to me and hopefully it will make blogging it all the more exciting.

Now I have a strange feeling that a non-elimination leg is afoot for the next episode of The Amazing Race Australia; I actually thought it would be last weeks. I guess we will find out come Monday.

MasterChef is also set to lose a couple more contestants as we head into week 8 of competition and Dancing with the Stars will be one less star the greater.

Lastly, we look forward to what can only be described as an episode full of anticipation with three more people continuing on to the grand final and eight more performers set to take the stage.

So all round; a positive week of reality television and one can only hope for another slice of the same!

With Nine’s regional affiliate in northern NSW and QLD airing The Block at 7.30pm, instead of 7.00pm like they are in the major cities, there are some variences in nightly programming for NBN when compared to Nine.

This will most likley be the case for those in WIN regional markets as well, who are also airing The Block at 7.30pm. NBN and WIN air ACA at 7pm, after having an hour of news, followed by The Block. On Monday the 20th of June, NBN will air The Block until 8.30pm, followed by the season 4 fianle of The Big Bang Theory. Rescue: Special Ops will be a double starting at 9pm.

Nine will have the final Big Bang at 8pm on Monday, followed by the Come Fly With me season end, with then another double Rescue.

On Tuesday, Come Fly With Me will air it’s final episode at 8pm on NBN, therefore RBT will not be shown, to be followed by normal Nine programming. While on Wednesday only one repeat of Big Bang will be shown. On Thursday NBN will see The Block from 7.30pm for an hour.

Watercress Productions may fail to recoup losses on the upcoming series of The Block due to a cooling property market.

The production company bought the terrace of houses to be renovated for the hit channel 9 series which will undergo its fourth season from Monday week, for an estimated $3.6 million; a figure many say cannot be recovered.

News Limited reports that the strip of houses is in the shadows of troubled estate, Housing Ministry.

Watercress had bought the houses for around $2.9 million after auction; and coupled with stamp duty; each house totalled around $950,000.

Catherine Cashmore of JPP Buyers Advocates’ says that the production company will be ‘very, very lucky to break even’.

“The houses are situated across the street from the entrance to a supermarket carpark and under the shadow of Housing Ministry flats, which is a price-killer as far as real estate in Richmond goes.”
 Julian Cress, executive producer of the show is however, optimistic stating ‘“The finishes, the fixtures, the fittings will make them the best product that is available at the time in Richmond by a long way,”

Source: News Limited

Nine’s regional affiliate NBN in northern NSW and QLD will air The Block 2011 at 7.30pm from June 20, instead of 7.00pm as is the case in the metro markets.

Both NBN and WIN in most of their regional markets air News from 6-7pm, with ACA at 7pm instead of 6.30pm, which means The Block would not have been able to air at 7pm without major programming changes to news and current affairs services.

In the past, shows that aired at 7pm in metro markets would air at 5pm or 5.30pm on Nine’s regional affiliates.

The 7.30pm start time for The Block pitches it directly against Masterchef and means some of Nine’s 7.30pm programming will not be seen in these regional markets.

Looking at Nine’s programming for that week, there are a number of Big Bang repeats which will easily be substituted for The Block.

At this stage, there is no indication whether this includes Friday night in NRL markets which would effectlivey bump Friday Night Live NRL to an 8pm start and therefore be no longer be live.

Detailed programming information to come later.

With The Block finishing at 8pm on Monday June 20, subsequent programming will air half an hour later.

Monday June 20
7.00 The Block
8.00 The Big Bang Theory NEW
8.30 Come Fly With Me – season final
9.00 Rescue – double episode

On Tuesday June 21, The Big Bang repeat remains at 7.30pm, RBT at 8pm, Sea Patrol at 8.30, CSI: Miami repeat at 9.30pm.

Wednesday June 22 sees two more Big Bang repeats remaining from 7.30pm, with RPA at 8.30 and the finale of BIG at 9.30pm.

On Thursday June 23, The Block finishes at 8pm, and is followed by the season return of Hot Property at 8pm. At 8.30pm is the premiere of documentary series (is 8.30 Thursday the new doco timeslot for Nine!?) Inside the Human Body.

The first episode is called Creation and covers birth.

From the moment of creation to our last breath, this spectacular series reveals the human body’s ability to amaze and delight. Tonight, the story of the human biological creation is told as we explore surprising medical research revealing the improbable sequence of events that lead to birth. Plus, meet a woman expecting her 16th baby and the oldest conjoined twins in the world.

Even if you never watch channel Nine, it’s a little hard to miss the fact that the 2011 season of The Block will air at 7pm weeknights on Nine from Monday June 20. Nine will be hoping the renovation series – with a rejuvenated elimination based format will help lift the network’s 7pm stance – a timeslot filled with sitcom repeats for years.

However, The Block 2011 is not just restricted to a 7.30pm finish in its first week.

On premiere night, Monday June 20, The Block finishes at 8pm. This moves subsequent programming back half an hour. New Big Bang Theory follows at 8pm, the season finale of Come Fly With Me (a typically short British season) airs at 8.30pm and double Rescue Special Ops from 9pm.

The Block is half an hour on Tuesday and Wednesday June 21 and June 22 respectively and then another hour offering on Thursday June 23. Half an hour again on Friday June 24.

The first week of the block sees eight couples cut down to four who will then compete each week to deliver rooms in their respective properties.

The Block airs 7pm weeknight on Nine – but the question remains – how will this be handled on NBN and WIN who air ACA at 7pm in many markets? Possibly The Block will air at 7.30pm, with some Nine programming skipped such as the Big Bang Theory repeats?

The Block is promoted on the WIN TV website but without confirmation of timeslot, while there appears to be no mention of The Block on NBN. We are waiting to hear what both regional Nine affiliates will be doing with The Block.