Australian reality show which ended up spawning a whole host of other renovating shows which the country's schedules took a while to recover from.
Premiering in 2003, when in Australia Reality Television was still coming into its prime, that series' stars rapidly became national celebrities when the show became a success. The basic format is this: get 4 (or 5, nowadays) couples into a run-down block of flats - which producers have modified so they all have a similar valuation - give them a flat each to renovate on a budget, auction them off at the end, and the couples keep anything they receive above the original valuation, as well as a $100,000 prize for the winner.
This show features tropes including...
- 15 Minutes of Fame: Amity in the first series. She got a record contract halfway through the first series, which became a major subplot, but was dropped after making one album.
- Accidental Celebrity: The 2003 series made Kylie Ingram, Gavin Atkins, Warren Sonin, Phil Rankine and Amity Dry into short-lived
Household Names. - An Interior Designer Is You: The show tends to cast couples who have already renovated a few properties, so they know the basic outlines of what they're doing.
- Groupie Brigade: In the 2003 series contestants had the awkward situation of people turning up at the Block and asking for autographs, which Australia's newest celebrities were only too happy to provide.
- Insistent Terminology: The Commonwealth Bank $1,000 prize.
- Product Placement: Note how the contestants only ever drive Toyota cars, they only use Black & Decker tools, the *Commonwealth Bank money* is from Commonwealth Bank, they only ever drink one kind of beer, and everyone at the auction wears Toyota-branded hats. To the cynic, this show is 12 hour-long adverts.
