Was the Fans v Favourites theme of The Block planned?

Promos are ramping up for The Block, and thanks in part to Nine’s White Power vax ads, I am already over seeing Scott Cam’s face.

This year it’s a Fans versus Favourites season (a theme used by US Survivor), but was it always planned that way?

With only five teams it seems an odd one to go for. Did covid restrictions mean some teams had to pull out and be replaced? So possibly it was an all-newbies season or an all-star season. Or I’m imaging things.

No air date has been announced yet but last year The Block started in late August.

I only really want to see the kitchens, due to Block fatigue, which begs the question: Would a new host give The Block new life? Would Nine ever give Scott Cam the flick?



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18 Comments

  1. I’m with you, Von. I found the ads absolutely perplexing. There is nothing about them that makes me want to watch this season.
    I wonder if it’s the same advertising company that put together the ads for the COVID shots?

  2. Watching an ad the other night I realised I went to school with one of the newbies, the one with purple hair.
    Oh and the twins are from the last series of Love Island.
    I think they need new judges, focused on selling and an understanding of how people actually live in their homes rather than designer judges. And I think if they renovated properties in the $1-2 million price range, viewers could relate more and the properties would have a better chance of selling. I’m sure they could still dream up some manufactured drama!

    • I’m with you, Erin. What if they got properties in an area of depressed prices, then had to renovate with less money in such a way that maximised the properties value within the constraints of the value of the area? That’s the basic premise of shows like Property Ladder, and it is much more interesting to find what can be done within defined parameters.

      Definitely want new judges with a big focus on practical life. It seemed that last series the contestants who tried to bring in practicality were punished in the judging. If Shaynna could forget being a Block judge, and be like she is on Selling Houses, she might be okay to stay.

    • The only problem with design to sell is that it might end up being bland and follow the same rules (if you’ve gone to a display home you will see they follow the same inoffensive neutral palate) – so all the houses will start to look the same. I think that’s the conflict with this show – wow us with the design but make sure it sells.

  3. White power vax ads? You have got to be joking. I couldn’t give a shite who is encouraging the vax ads as long as they get it done
    Are we supposed to now blindly follow US race politics on this webpage?

    • What white power vax ads, please? If I have to watch The Block to find out, I’ll never know. Scott Cam puts my teeth on edge.

      • I just mean the ad Nine put out encouraging the public to get vaxxed, but every single TV host/newsreader on it was white and all the women were skinny blondes. After a backlash they inserted some token non-white people in the ad who don’t actually work at the network. It was super cringeworthy. I could see Gruen devoting a whole show to it

          • They are on Travel Guides – love them!
            I think the ad is good, they are the only network to do one, and they have used their people, matched to the message. For example, the sports presenter talks of keeping the stadiums full. Maybe the question is not about the ad, but about the regular presenters on that channel.

            If you want to see someone different, Tony Armstrong on ABC Breakfast is a breath of fresh air.

  4. What I love about the Vax ads is that I have seen not a single one yet. Awesome. I do avoid Ch 9 like the plague. That’d be harming myself, watching $cotty.

    If Australia needs $cotty Cam to get us vaccinated, we’re well and truly euchred. He couldn’t get me to walk across the street. Scomo believes in him. What does that say?

    I’ll get my second Astra on Wednesday, btw.

    • I’m two weeks behind you. Let me know if you get a reaction.
      I am dreading my next shot just a little bit because my COVID arm hung around for such a long time ( I wonder if there’s a joke here, given the arm yourself ad. I’m too tired to put much thought into it. )

      • Did we have similar Covid arm, Bobi? My injection site was sore and I had pain when lifting that arm; both those reactions lasted for almost 3 weeks.

        I have a few more weeks before I stop worrying about symptoms of a blood clot, so Covid arm didn’t stress me unduly :).

      • Good luck with your jabs, everyone. I had Pfizer 2 a week ago. Very tired for a couple of days but less severe than expected

      • Yes, my arm was sore for about three weeks plus I had a rash that lasted about the same amount of time.
        I was also unwell on and off for about two weeks. Nothing terribly serious but, given that I haven’t even had a cold for a couple of years, it was a constant reminder that this was a reaction and I was on edge.
        In fact, if I press on my arm it is still a little sore.

    • Let’s be reasonable here – each channel uses the people on their pay check also as a way of promoting their talent along with the community announcement. I don’t find either reason unreasonable.

      I think Scotty is okay, in a way he probably helped push this show through the years. I think though given his red visage he needs to lay off a few things. I think he says less offensive things than Eddie McGuire. There is really enough diversity across all teh free to air tv. I just hate the identity politics slapping us in the face now. Why don’t we wait until people do something wrong.

      on another note, I am due for the second Astra shot in September – minimal reaction on the first shot but my mum stayed in bed for 24 hours with aches and pains after the first jab.

  5. Finally saw the ad. What a peculiar theme. The suburb is hardly the equivalent of Western Sydney (is it??)? Someone hates Shelly though. What a most unflattering filter.

    We assume the fan vs favs is due to the production (and viewers) really couldn’t stomach (afford) the prospect of baby sitting five teams in constant tears. They know the WA team and NSW teams can deliver drama without a massive budget blowout.

    Ahh…vaccines? What is that? Regional NSW have lost their allocation to “Greater Sydney”. LOL. Have you gice seen Jimmy Rees FB ‘Meanwhile in Australia’ series? It might give you a chuckle over the various states bickering.

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