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LEGO Planning Reality Competition Show


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Remember the times when LEGO was a geeky hobby you pursued in a dark basement, shielded from the outside world of non-believers who'd laugh at your childish interests? I don't. But if those days ever existed, they seem to be over now. First The LEGO Movie, then a LEGO Batman movie, not to mention countless LEGO video games - now a LEGO reality competition show? The Guardian reports that a TV show, presumably pursuing the idea of becoming a Master Builder, will launch in 2015. There were actually two "LEGO TV Shows" on a German TV channel (2003 and 2008, if I recall right) but I have no idea how succesful they were, though chances are they have much more potential now. I can actually imagine this working out, if such a kind of show is your thing - I can picture quite a few interesting challenges. How do you LEGO fans out there feel about this?

 

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You know you're going too far when you branch into reality television. I'd be okay with a Joy of Painting-esque show about building with LEGO, but reality competitions are never fun to watch.

I don't know about that. I personally enjoy a few cooking competition shows every now and again (although I prefer the ones where the judges AREN'T needlessly hateful toward underperforming entrants—ones with kids competing are generally nicer than ones with professional chefs competing). And of course shows like America's Got Talent feature all sorts of amazing acts. Really, competitive reality shows can be great so long as the atmosphere remains positive (something Lego would definitely try to ensure) and the entrants are displaying actual talent and creativity instead of simply having to undergo pointless trials for the sake of entertainment (and of course, any Lego reality show would most likely focus on creative building challenges, not endurance competitions or the like). I'll definitely be interested in watching this if it makes it to air.

 

One possible goal of such a show would be to publically test candidates for a Master Builder position, which I'd love, but even if that is the case I don't know if I'd enter. Part of the reason I DON'T yet have a job with Lego is that it's a competitive job market and I'm not a naturally competitive person, so I don't think I'd enter a competition for a Master Builder position just so I could break down and fail on live TV.

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You know you're going too far when you branch into reality television. I'd be okay with a Joy of Painting-esque show about building with LEGO, but reality competitions are never fun to watch.

I disagree. Obviously, there are some reality shows I have little patience for — particularly the ones that use contrived situations to exploit relationship drama. But I've also seen a number of reality shows like America's Got Talent or MasterChef that are plenty fun to watch on television, the same way you might enjoy watching a talent show or cooking competition in person. A show like this with challenges like the actual trials LEGO design job candidates go through to become a master builder would be not only incredibly entertaining, but also informative for those of us who have never been a candidate for that sort of job.

 

On a certain level, reality shows are just glorified game shows, except often they give you more of a reason to care about the people competing and the unique skills and personality traits they bring to the table.

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I don't see what the entertainment value of this would be. What's entertaining about watching someone sit/stand there building a Lego model? The end result of that is interesting, but people surely aren't going to watch half an hour or an hour of television just to see a handful of Lego models (something they can do online in a few minutes).

 

If the contestants' end prize was to get a job at Lego, ie, if there was something more to it than just the building aspect, it might work, but nothing suggests that yet.

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I don't see what the entertainment value of this would be. What's entertaining about watching someone sit/stand there building a Lego model? The end result of that is interesting, but people surely aren't going to watch half an hour or an hour of television just to see a handful of Lego models (something they can do online in a few minutes).

 

If the contestants' end prize was to get a job at Lego, ie, if there was something more to it than just the building aspect, it might work, but nothing suggests that yet.

My friend, they have the ability to cut the footage. You wouldn't be watching thirty minutes of one person building a Lego model; you'd be watching maybe six or seven minutes of each builder in the competition talking about what they're building as they build it, most likely followed by a commercial break, after which the finished models are shown off and judged. Rinse and repeat.

 

Besides, I know for a fact that watching that sort of thing can be entertaining, because I've been to events like BrickFair. And even though I've rarely participated in any of the games or competitions there, I HAVE observed a few and been thoroughly entertained as I watched builders come up with unique builds based on interesting design challenges.

 

Actually, having been to the Lego Store event at NYCC where we got to build with the new Bionicle parts, I can see that kind of thing providing an ADDITIONAL benefit to Lego for having a show like that. If they did something similar for one of the challenges (challenging builders to build a model with parts of an upcoming line which they can't have possibly built with before), it'd be great advertising for the upcoming sets containing those parts.

Edited by Lyichir
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Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

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You had me at Lego but lost me at Reality. It seems eerily similar in concept to Playstation's The Tester, aka the worst reality show ever produced.

 

But I'll definitely watch it because I am a slave to consumerist drama.

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I don't see what the entertainment value of this would be. What's entertaining about watching someone sit/stand there building a Lego model? The end result of that is interesting, but people surely aren't going to watch half an hour or an hour of television just to see a handful of Lego models (something they can do online in a few minutes).

 

If the contestants' end prize was to get a job at Lego, ie, if there was something more to it than just the building aspect, it might work, but nothing suggests that yet.

My friend, they have the ability to cut the footage. You wouldn't be watching thirty minutes of one person building a Lego model; you'd be watching maybe six or seven minutes of each builder in the competition talking about what they're building as they build it, most likely followed by a commercial break, after which the finished models are shown off and judged. Rinse and repeat.

 

Besides, I know for a fact that watching that sort of thing can be entertaining, because I've been to events like BrickFair. And even though I've rarely participated in any of the games or competitions there, I HAVE observed a few and been thoroughly entertained as I watched builders come up with unique builds based on interesting design challenges.

 

Actually, having been to the Lego Store event at NYCC where we got to build with the new Bionicle parts, I can see that kind of thing providing an ADDITIONAL benefit to Lego for having a show like that. If they did something similar for one of the challenges (challenging builders to build a model with parts of an upcoming line which they can't have possibly built with before), it'd be great advertising for the upcoming sets containing those parts.

 

It's only entertaining to you because you're a hardcore Lego fan. Most TV shows obviously have to appeal to millions of people and there aren't millions of hardcore Lego fans. I just can't see how most people's attention would be held by watching people put plastic bricks together, however edited.

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If it involves grown adults running barefoot around a studio with a big beeping timer over them, shrieking in agony as they plunge their arms into giant bins of plastic construction toys and try their hardest not to step on any of the countless pieces falling out of their arms and onto the floor, working in teams to build the best creation to satisfy their current challenge, and then being judged on seventeen different criteria, with the last remaining team being crowned Master Builders and the rest being sent home with a pat on the back and a Megablocks set from the nearest drug store to share amongst themselves as a consolation prize, then yes, I think I would be very interested in watching such a show.

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I should say in more detail what I view as a "reality TV" show.

Chopped, Iron Chef, etc., no. I don't mind those (in fact, in some cases, I like them). Those are more of competition shows, but, most importantly for the point I'm about to make, they're single-episode deals. You have the chefs, you have the food/challenge/whatever, and then it's done, and someone wins. (I also enjoy things like Mythbusters, which I think technically counts as reality TV, but that seems completely different - it's more of just a sciencey show.)

Things like Gold Rush, or Duck Dynasty, or things like that, that is the style that counts as reality TV in my opinion. It has so much director-added drama that it, ironically, is absolutely not "reality" TV.

And that's what I'm afraid this show might become - builders vying for fame, getting slowly eliminated, with lots of drama...

Not my kind of show.

 

Though I'm not certain that's what it will be. It would be cool if it wasn't - but I don't know.

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I mean I can theoretically see it happening; a bunch of people having different challenges every week each with different themes/restrictions. Seems fun. But I think they have to be careful in how they decide to go about the actual building and presentation. If they have contestants building sculptures and the like, it might get a little boring even after editing because they're not gonna be frantically running around doing things all the time- they're gonna sit there and attach one brick to another. With shows like Masterchef there's always some action going on all the time, someone's always doing something.

 

In the end I think it's a bit of a stretch having a Lego reality competition show. People will always be more interested in the end product and not necessarily the process (at least when it comes to MOCs and such). Worst case, though, it goes on for one season and gets cancelled. :P

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You had me at Lego but lost me at Reality. It seems eerily similar in concept to Playstation's The Tester, aka the worst reality show ever produced.

 

But I'll definitely watch it because I am a slave to consumerist drama.

my feelings are basically this but with the added reason of "because i really want to see how bad it ends up being"

 

also i wouldn't necessarily say that The Tester was the absolute worst. i couldn't name you a worse one off the top of my head, but i'm sure there must be one....right?

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If it involves grown adults running barefoot around a studio with a big beeping timer over them, shrieking in agony as they plunge their arms into giant bins of plastic construction toys and try their hardest not to step on any of the countless pieces falling out of their arms and onto the floor, working in teams to build the best creation to satisfy their current challenge, and then being judged on seventeen different criteria, with the last remaining team being crowned Master Builders and the rest being sent home with a pat on the back and a Megablocks set from the nearest drug store to share amongst themselves as a consolation prize, then yes, I think I would be very interested in watching such a show.

I seriously doubt Lego would ever buy a Megablocks set, regardless of why they would want to buy it. :P  They would more likely give them a small little brick-built trophy saying (Thanks for playing, 2nd place, nominated, etc.) or a free little $5 set or something.

 

I hope this isn't a drama-filled staged not-even-actually-reality show. And I would prefer a building competition that's not as rushed as what you described, so the builders would be able to show off their true talent. (But watching people run around crazily trying desperately to build something cool would be sorta funny...)

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When I think of "reality TV" I think of sitcoms. *yawns* 

 

I think the show would be incredibly bad. I'd try to get on it, though. Even if I fail miserably, I can crack a bunch of jokes to entertain the audience. :P

...Except reality TV show has nothing to do with sitcoms? Sitcom stands for situational comedy and refers specifically to a scripted comedy focusing on a group of characters encountering different situations in each episode. Reality TV is something completely different, like a cross between a documentary and a game show.
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As a LEGO fan, I find this intriguing.

 

As a person who watches TV a lot, I find this to be an incredibly horrible idea and yet feel absolutely compelled to try and watch it out of morbid curiosity.

 

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This sounds like an interesting idea to me, but it could go horribly wrong if not done correctly. I will reserve my judgment on it until I see some footage of it, whether it be the show itself or a commercial of it. I'll probably watch it regardless of its quality, just to see what happens on it.

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Well, I do remember watching something like this before. It was more of a fan vs fan thing - which LEGO fan would be more successful in answering a quiz, and then building something awesome based on limiting guidelines? It was pretty entertaining. If this LEGO show turns out to be like that then I can safely say it will be a fun one to watch.

 

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You know you're going too far when you branch into reality television. I'd be okay with a Joy of Painting-esque show about building with LEGO, but reality competitions are never fun to watch.

I don't know about that. I personally enjoy a few cooking competition shows every now and again (although I prefer the ones where the judges AREN'T needlessly hateful toward underperforming entrants—ones with kids competing are generally nicer than ones with professional chefs competing). And of course shows like America's Got Talent feature all sorts of amazing acts. Really, competitive reality shows can be great so long as the atmosphere remains positive (something Lego would definitely try to ensure) and the entrants are displaying actual talent and creativity instead of simply having to undergo pointless trials for the sake of entertainment (and of course, any Lego reality show would most likely focus on creative building challenges, not endurance competitions or the like). I'll definitely be interested in watching this if it makes it to air.

 

I agree. The only time I enjoy reality contest shows is when the judges aren't a bunch of ********. And seeing what other people decide to build would definitely be the most entertaining part. The only issue i'd have with it is the knowledge (from personal experience) that at least half of all "reality" shows are scripted. I really wouldn't want to end up on one, but I know people who'd love to be.

I just hope that with LEGO appearing everywhere now, people won't be oversaturated and turn away from it.

 

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