Skip to main content

The Block: Blocktagon

I watched some Sunday night & forgot to watch last night for the "reveals". Ooops :p On Sunday when they showed the graphics of each teams design, they all looked the same. Same low hanging pendant lights either side of the bed. Who da fuck actually wants a light bulb in their face when they are getting out of bed??

Yep, the GC mum's where annoying me too :p

Were the rooms any good?
 
I haven't caught up with last night's yet as Dancing With The Stars and The Spelling Bee took all night.
But the preview said that one of the rooms was the worst ever.
 
I'm watching, mostly.

The orange team, that met on tinder- forget their names are all kinds of hopeless. Their challenge room was woeful. The only reason they didn't get last place is because the other couple went so far over budget
 
Uh-Oh.....

In 2002, The Block’s latest $7 million property was a crime scene.
Read more at http://www.mamamia.com.au/entertainment/the-block-octagon/#FbDFUOE4d21QAy0r.99

The Block’s new digs have a dark past.

The Channel 9 renovation show debuted it’s 11th season last night, with the show making much of the ugliness of the ‘Blocktagon’ – a derelict hotel in Melbourne’s South Yarra.

image: http://cdn.mamamia.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/07130535/blocktagon1-720x547.jpg

blocktagon1-720x547.jpg

Definitely not seen on AirBnB. Via Channel 9
But the eight level, 34-roomed Hotel Saville has a past.

According to Property Observer, in 2002, a 30-year-old woman was violently raped in one of the rooms by a man who claimed he was a vampire.

The woman, known as Jenny, was found by hotel staff half conscious in the shower of her room, with blood bubbling from her mouth, blackened eyes, teeth marks on her thigh and bruising to her neck and jaw. Part of her tongue had also been ripped out.

The accused, Melbourne man Shane Chartres-Abbott, was later murdered in his driveway, right in the middle of his trial.

Chartres-Abbott allegedly told his victim that he was a 200-year-old vampire who drank blood to stay young.

image: http://cdn.mamamia.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/07134448/blockcontestants-720x547.jpg

blockcontestants-720x547.jpg

Smile: this year’s The Block contestants. Via Channel 9
All this news was a past glossed over last night as this years contestants – including “The Larrakins”, “The Single Mums” and “The Go-Getters”- began their DIY dream.

Real estate agents have a duty to disclose murders, suicides and other material facts that may be off-putting to buyers, and the exact laws around these issues vary from state to state.

In NSW, agents that fail to tell prospective buyers about events that occurred in the property can be hit with fines, but in Victoria, where the hotel is located, agents only have to mention a crime has taken place if asked.

The property was purchased last year by Watercress Pty Ltd, the production company of Channel 9’s The Block for $6.25 million.

image: http://cdn.mamamia.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/07141352/blocksuzivonni-720x547.jpg

blocksuzivonni-720x547.jpg

The Block’s Suzi and Vonni. Via Channel 9
The Herald-Sun Crime reporter, Liam Houlihan, wrote of the bizarre case in his book, Once Upon a Time in Melbourne:

The pair had been meeting for sex for a little over a year when, on August 16, 2002, Jenny rang Shane from her mobile and arranged a rendezvous with him around midnight at the Hotel Saville in leafy South Yarra. Jenny expected a night of steamy passion with the gigolo but instead it became an evening of terror.

On previous occasions both parties had willingly engaged in sex play that was on the fringes, but on that August night kinky gave way to criminal. In the confines of the rented suite they drank red wine together, Shane spoke of money troubles and then he attacked her.

Shane raped Jenny twice, blackened her eyes, sunk his teeth into her thigh, bruised her neck and jaw, and tore out part of her tongue.

Shane then dumped Jenny’s unconscious, bleeding body in the suite’s shower and fled into the night, Jenny’s mobile in his black work bag, her blood still on his jacket.

At 11.20 the next morning the hotel manager found Jenny naked, bruised, bloodied and still not completely conscious.

A Channel Nine spokesman told news.com.au the hotel’s horrific past had “no relevance”.

He also would not clarify if, or how the program intended to deal with the disclosure matter or if the couple renovating the floor where the room was located were aware of the incident.

Would you want to know if something had happened in your home?


Read more at http://www.mamamia.com.au/entertainment/the-block-octagon/#FbDFUOE4d21QAy0r.99
 
I think it's a safe bet that The Block is done. Ratings are significantly lower when compared to episodes of Glasshouse at the same time last year:
Glasshouse Week 7 (September 7-11 2014): 1.427 million viewers
Blocktagon Week 1 (September 6-9 2015): 0.896 million viewers

Glasshouse Week 8 (September 14-18 2014): 1.210 million viewers
Blocktagon Week 2 (September 13-16 2015): 0.893 million viewers

They haven't secured a property for the next one yet (it was over a year ago they purchased the Blocktagon), Nine have confirmed it won't be back in the first half of the year, the ratings are getting to Big Brother levels and they're just running out of ideas...
 
I think it's a safe bet that The Block is done. Ratings are significantly lower when compared to episodes of Glasshouse at the same time last year:
Glasshouse Week 7 (September 7-11 2014): 1.427 million viewers
Blocktagon Week 1 (September 6-9 2015): 0.896 million viewers

Glasshouse Week 8 (September 14-18 2014): 1.210 million viewers
Blocktagon Week 2 (September 13-16 2015): 0.893 million viewers

They haven't secured a property for the next one yet (it was over a year ago they purchased the Blocktagon), Nine have confirmed it won't be back in the first half of the year, the ratings are getting to Big Brother levels and they're just running out of ideas...

Yeah that doesn't surprise me. Honestly it serves nein right for going overboard and shoving it down everyone's throats. Why not try some variety in programming? This isn't JUST because of the poor treatment of BB in favour of The Block but I think it comes into play a tad.

I totally forgot this show was on. I never hear anyone talking about it or on TV or the radio or media at all. But presumably they do and I miss it.
 
It's no Bachelor. There just isn't that much to talk about.

Yeah true. I feel like I was more "aware" of the goings on in past seasons even though I haven't watched in a few years, but maybe that was because I saw bits and pieces so was vaguely aware of who was who.

It's my experience that when I stop watching a show, so to does everyone else. Not that they're copying me of course, just more a "collective unconscious" type of thing. Well except for BB last year, I rode that one out to the bitter end.
 
I haven't watched since Sunday and the room reveals. I think I might be all blocked out.

Yeah I feel like I only watch it for the room reveals. If I miss one of the weekday shows I don't even bother catching up tbh.



They definitely overplayed it with multiple seasons in a year and now everyone's suffering from Block Fatigue. Plus I feel like it's less of a reno show these days. The amount of time I spend watching someone drive around the city singing along to the Top 20 Countdown seems to be increasing every season.
 
The amount of time I spend watching someone drive around the city singing along to the Top 20 Countdown seems to be increasing every season.
You don't even see much of that anymore, it's just pointless stuff blown out of proportion for an hour.

Those singing in the car bits used to be a regular thing but bit the dust after Fans vs Faves... Don't really recall seeing much of them in Glasshouse/Triple Threat.
 
You don't even see much of that anymore, it's just pointless stuff blown out of proportion for an hour.

Those singing in the car bits used to be a regular thing but bit the dust after Fans vs Faves... Don't really recall seeing much of them in Glasshouse/Triple Threat.

They were a regular thing in those seasons and in fact still are this season. Just finished catching up on a few episodes. So far it seems to be focused on more of the build so I'm not really sure we're watching the same show?
 
You don't even see much of that anymore, it's just pointless stuff blown out of proportion for an hour.

Those singing in the car bits used to be a regular thing but bit the dust after Fans vs Faves... Don't really recall seeing much of them in Glasshouse/Triple Threat.

They were a regular thing in those seasons and in fact still are this season. Just finished catching up on a few episodes. So far it seems to be focused on more of the build so I'm not really sure we're watching the same show?

Well I can't say I've done any analysis so can't say for certain the minutes per episode they devote to the driving segments but it feels like a lot to me. Maybe they just stand out more for me due to the fact I hate them so much?
 
Back
Top