Much of the show's charm comes courtesy of host Hamish Blake (of Hamish and Andy fame). Photo / Supplied
Much of the show's charm comes courtesy of host Hamish Blake (of Hamish and Andy fame). Photo / Supplied
Every time I told someone I was having to watch Three's new reality show Lego Masters Australia this week, I was met with the same reaction: scorn.
I didn't blame them. I once scoffed at the idea of a lego-building reality TV series myself. I watch my kids create thingsout of Lego every day and, let me tell you, it's far from riveting.
Yet here we are with a show that has Lego enthusiasts competing against each other to create giant structures out of those tiny, world-famous bricks - and it's so much better than I could have possibly imagined.
With a format similar to the MasterChef franchise, Lego Masters Australia sees eight teams of two assigned challenges to test their Lego-building abilities.
Hamish Blake enjoying a Lego creation. Photo / Supplied
They're all hoping their design and engineering skills will be enough to impress judge Ryan "Brickman" McNaught, the only Lego Certified Professional in the Southern Hemisphere, especially with a whopping $100,000 cash prize on offer for the eventual series champions.
Much of the show's charm comes courtesy of host Hamish Blake (of Hamish and Andy fame), who's very aware he's fronting a lego-building show and spends most of his screen time gently mocking the entire reality TV genre.
Lego high rise apartment buildings made of Lego looking pretty spectacular on the new show. Photo / Supplied
He keeps his tongue firmly in cheek while discussing a special golden immunity brick the contestants are competing for in the first episode and even does his own "confessionals" alongside the real contestants.
He also makes a big deal about getting to shout how much time's left in the first challenge and quips "this feels like an ad break" when the first of the teams suffers a major Lego tower breakage.
Blake does however balance all that with some genuine enthusiasm for what the teams are creating and, honestly, it would be hard not to get carried away with what's unfolding before him.
For a start, the teams are all given access to 'The Brick Pit', a room where a mind-boggling 2.5 million pieces of Lego are organised by colour and shape, with thousands of tiny figurines lining the walls. And the structures created out of this Lego candy store really do defy belief, with an amazing level of detail that's shown off with some exquisite camerawork during judging.
Host Hamish Blake giving his expertise to contestants. Photo / Supplied
Complementing these creations are the contestants themselves, many of whom make a refreshing change to the usual reality TV stars we see.
There's adorable couple Jimmy and Maddy, whose obsession for Lego spilled over to their wedding day; colleagues David and Gerhard, who bonded over Lego while working on a drilling site in Western Australia; and the sweet pairing of 17-year-old Matt with his grandmother, Lyn.
Of course, if everybody on the show was this lovely it would probably be a bit boring, which I guess is why "brick artist and toy photographer" Kale is also there.
Dressed like an Austin Powers villain, Kale really doesn't like to share his Lego and dismisses his teammate Bilsy for much of the first episode's build. He even smugly proclaims himself to be a DILF. (I extend my sympathies to all the parents whose kids will be asking what that means later.)
But even an unlikeable contestant like Kale makes for a different reality TV competitor than the usual fare we're served up in 2019.
Because unlike other shows where the contestants' desperate thirst for fame is palpable, the people vying to become Australia's first Lego Masters are there because they genuinely live and breathe Lego (and maybe also want a piece of that $100,000 prize).
There's no way some Lego novice could come up with these types of creations just to get on the telly, especially when you consider they have to spend 15 hours on a challenge like the one that opens the show this evening.
And when there is talk of sabotage by taking all the green bricks out of the Brick Pit to thwart a team that's building a massive treehouse, there feels like zero chance anybody would actually act on such nefarious urges – not on a show where contestants shout out things like "Crug-nuggets!" when the going gets tough.
Given that it's airing so soon after the hyper-toxic saga that was Married at First Sight, it's all the more obvious Lego Masters Australia is an increasingly rare beast – a reality TV show that doesn't make you despair for all of humanity.
Lego Masters Australia premieres tonight at 7.30pm on Three
