This year, the show comes to us from Whakatane. Jaybe Kiely announced the finalists:
Patrick Wana and Neisha Boyd, Scott Emms and Kathy Davey, Edward Arahanga and Tracy Bennett, Kapi and Helen Tulloch-Tupe, Steven Dain and Kelly Berghan, Lester Grace and Renae Porter.
The couples were announced back in October, and were given a week to prepare a pitch as to how they would renovate the 1930's ex-State houses.
The two teams to compete are:
Yellow Team: Patrick Wana and Neisha Boyd.
Blue team: Kapi and Helen Tulloch - Tupe.
Anonymous
ShagRockBOP,
Mate the Yellow team finished the demolishin by 1 and a half trucks before the blue. The yellow team house area was much cleaner than the blues. The yellow teams workers on that day killed it mate and set the standard for hard work for the reat of the show.
GO YELLOW, WORK ON
ShagRockBOP
The bedroom is awesome; your colors are soft and relaxing Nice earthly colors. Hope you enjoy your bedroom as much as I have looking at it. I wonder if the judges understand the word AROHA.,
I cant understand how you were over budget and yet you never had a flat screen tv and a dvd player in your room and I suppose if you had longer and a bigger budget you may have used the space in the walk in wardrobe better. Wasn’t it a shame that with all their wonderful support that the tv made out that the workers were all sitting around doing nothing, I heard a whisper that they actually finished before the yellow house as they were cleaning up as they demolished ; and the yellow team still had to clean up after they demolished their house – plus they never had half the walls the blue team had so I think they did a great job and deserve a pat on the back for getting all the people there on the day and working as one. I felt sorry for Kapi when they made out he was useless, for the first day everyone is normally nervous and lost so lets hope we see him grow in the show, atleast he can smile about it.
Trevor Albert
I'm not making anything up Anonymous, just passing on what I've heard around the place.
I'm fairly certain you're arguing nuance rather than substantive on most of your points, but any insights you'd care to offer would be most interesting I'm sure. But to avoid insult, perhaps we could restrict ourselves to the creative rather than to political aspects of the season.
I would be genuinely interested to hear from someone in the production about what you saw as the key innovations this year, what perspectives you thought were important to bring out (both during shooting and in the process of cutting), what worked and what didn't in terms of new stuff you wanted to try...
I'm a bit of a trainspotter and have always been a sucker for a good behind-the-scenes, and this season has so much interesting happening off-screen. It would be really cool to get a bit of an insider's view of some of the creative decisions going on - like who came up with the idea of giving Robyn Wright a megaphone?
Anonymous
Untrue Trevor
The first episode was developed over several screenings with programming and did not " reduce anyone to tears" were you in the room?
Ninox were never invited to recut it nor was anyone brought in from Touchdown.
TVNZ is producing the series and has a team of independent people working on it. Don't insult these people with made up stories.
These days any reality/factual series is under constant development up to the day for broadcast to ensure the best possible programmming goes to air.
Rikki
I agree about how important I always think is for both couples to end up with their house - after all they've put so much work, emotion and part of themselves into it each time.
I agree I sometimes haven't like one of the couples, but still would have wanted them to end up with their house.
It's enough that one wins it and the other is able to purchase it. I would hate for someone else to buy one of the houses, don't think that person would be looked on too favourably by anyone either!
And I like to see what work they're doing and how, rather than personal dramas.
Trevor Albert
Yeah, fair point about ep1.
My pick for the thing to watch going forward is how much they focus in on the stress and tension rather than the buildings. From what I've heard there's been a big push by TVNZ over the last few years to ramp up the tension and play more on the human drama. David Baldock and Norman Elder (who were producing it for Ninox up until this season) always rejected that on the principle that the show wasn't really about backing people into a corner, it was about two teams doing this insane but amazing and project and it was about the houses as much as it was about the teams (and there'd be drama-a-plenty along the way anyhow). It'll be cool to see how far they go in shifting the emphasis and what it does to the format.
The other thing to watch for at the end of the show is one team losing their house. TVNZ were apparently desperate for someone to lose the house they'd built last year and when that looked like happening, it ended up being the main sponsor who had to over-ride a TVNZ call to let it happen. Maybe it'll be great for the franchise, but I've followed the show for 6 of the seven years and I have seriously disliked some of the contestants, but I have never wanted any of them to lose their house after what they've been through to get to the auction. Call me sentimental. And maybe call me out of step with teh viewing public. Like I said, it'll be interesting to see how it goes and I'll be looking out for your thoughts.
Rachel
Interesting Trevor!!
The first episode is usually the most boring one for me (except seeing their house ideas) because we're introduced to 8 couples but 6 disappear after the first hour. There's no real incentive on my part to want to get to know them (great if you know them personally though) and their stories.
Trevor Albert
I missed ep1, but heard a rumour that the head of programming nearly cried when she saw the first cut of it. TVNZ had to bring a producer in from Touchdown when Ninox were not available to help re-cut the show.
Ninox, who initially created the concept and had made the last 7 seasons, were rather unceremoniously dropped this year. I understand Ninox found out what was happening from the sponsors and couldn't even get a response from Tony Holden about whether they'd be involved until Rick Ellis intervened late in the piece (I tend to think Rick is good for TVNZ and Tony is just good riddance).
So anyway, I suspect this season will have quite a different flavour to it. I'd love to know what you thought of ep1 and I'll be interested to read what you think of the show going forward.
Rikki
Seems like two nice families.
What a disgusting state the second house was in. Not much more that a frame to work on really.
One guy looked just like the idiot guy last time who put a fishtank in the wall. Know it wasn't his fault they looked like alike, but glad he didn't get through becase I'd have kept thinking of the idiot guy.
Felt sorry for the nice lady with long hair who just lost it in her presentation and then her house kept falling part. Liked them and was hoping they would win.
Rachel
Quite funny how I can google to find the two teams before it's on TV