Currently there aren't many television shows that I watch on a regular basis, but two have grabbed me for a regular weekly timeslot: The Amazing Race and The Block. Surprisingly both reality shows, but if Alias was currently airing and Love Monkey hadn't been cancelled the mix would be more even.
Amazing Race, now in it's 9th season is an excellent show helping to broaden the horizons of its contestants and viewers alike. One of the most interesting (read: wacko) contestants of this season is Lake, a dentist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi who will help you by relating his name to the ocean if you didn't understand him. Hopefully Lake's horizons will be broadened from his experience on the race and maybe, just maybe, with time he'll cease to tell his wife, Michelle, to, "Shut the f@*# up!" Hmmm... now is that any way to speak to your dental hygenist wife? Click here to view their bio. Thankfully their are still 9 other teams involved in the race.
Now despite most reality television shows becoming completing boring and ridiculous as their ideas get tired and the ratings even more fatiqued The Block is surprisingly refreshing. The primary reason for it's refreshment is in my opinion the fact that the show was not created in North America. This ultimate renovating show was developed and shot down under in Australia. Since not everyone is aware of the show I'll give you a basic rundown.
A small apartment building, thus far consisting of 4 units (2 up, 2 down), located approximately one "block" from the beach is in requirement of massive renovations. The producers ensure that all of the units are of similar value and are appraised as such before the show commences. The show begins with four couples selected, each of which will move to The Block for the duration of the show. Renovation money will be given to each couple at the start along with various other items helpful for completing their renovation such as tools, laptops, cars, etc. The couples then have 100 days to completely renovate their flats and upon completion of the units each one will be sold at auction, a method often employed to sell houses down under. Through the 100 day dash the couples will have to completely renovate one room per week in addition to renovating common areas of the apartments. Now 100 days doesn't seem that bad to renovate an apartment but one of the catches on the block is that in addition to abiding by the local noise bylaws each couple must maintain their day jobs throughout the show. At the end of the competition each couple will keep the difference between the auction price and the reserve price (set at the original appraisal amount). The winning couple receives an EXTRA $100,000!
Season 1 of The Block called world-famous Bondi Beach home while Season 2 calls Manly home.
So if you want some refreshing 'reality' TV check out The Amazing Race or The Block.
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