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LEGO Masters: A TV Show That Will Knock Your Block Off

LEGO Masters: A TV Show That Will Knock Your Block Off

Posted on by Shari Harrison

Someone has figured out a reality show for adults who love to play with their favorite toy as a kid and turned it up a notch. I am talking about LEGO Masters. It is on Wednesday nights at 9 pm EST on FOX.  It is based on a British show of the same name. The best part about the show is its family-friendly feel.

There are ten teams of two and what a great group they are. The diverse teams are made up of fathers and sons, brothers, couples, friends, and even a team that met at a club for adults who love LEGO. The winners will win $100,000 and a LEGO Master’s trophy. The first week they competed for the Golden Brick, of which the winner is immune from being eliminated at a time of their choosing.

There have only been two episodes so far. It premiered on Wednesday, February 5th and is hosted by Will Arnett (In case you don’t know he is the voice of LEGO Batman, but don’t worry. He will remind you.). He is the perfect host for this show. He has two expert judges with him. Amy Corbett is a senior design master at the LEGO Company. She works on the LEGO Friends line and worked on the concept team for The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. You can follow her on Instagram at @brickmasteramy or on Twitter at @BrickmasterAmy. Jamie Berard is the other judge, and he is a LEGO Brickmaster, with thirteen years of experience with LEGO. He works on LEGO products for teens and adults with a focus on the Creator Expert and Architecture lines. You can follow him on Instagram at @brickmasterjamie. Continue reading “LEGO Masters: A TV Show That Will Knock Your Block Off” →

Beat JENeration #026: Dating Around is Schadenfreude-tastic

Beat JENeration #026: Dating Around is Schadenfreude-tastic

Posted on by Jen Marchese

Well, of course I spent Valentines Weekend watching Dating Around on Netflix.  Duh.

I have loved hate-watch competitive dating since the dark days when it was relegated strictly to game shows. Knowing reruns of The Dating Game or Love Connection were waiting for me after school, I didn’t dilly-dally on the walk home. And one day, maybe, I will tell you about my borderline obsession with MTV’s Singled Out. Curiously, however, this did not translate into much enthusiasm for The Bachelor. I like to think I only made it through one season because I evolved into a better person, but between you and me, there just wasn’t enough of a romance to cringe ratio.

Those wanna-be-bridezillas lining up to fight over some rando dude bro they just met is all cringe. Plus I could never suspend belief enough to buy into an attractive and normal-ish enough guy resorting to on-camera courtship in order to snag a spouse. Premise, is everything. Which is why something like Joe Millionaire actually worked for me. It’s completely plausible that 20 gold-diggers would scratch, claw, and scheme over a wealthy hottie and that a construction worker/underwear model would sign up for the paycheck and an IMDb credit. 

Which takes me to the premise of Netflix’s Dating Around.

Six singles in New York City are followed on a series of blind dates. There’s no prize at the end, just a final shot of that show’s star single and the person they have selected to go out with a second time. As a game show, it sucks, but in my opinion, it is the new pinnacle in competition dating reality.

Continue reading “Beat JENeration #026: Dating Around is Schadenfreude-tastic” →

Beat JENeration #017: Does Paradise Hotel work for me in 2018?

Beat JENeration #017: Does Paradise Hotel work for me in 2018?

Posted on by Jen Marchese

Upon hearing of the return of Temptation Island this January to the USA network, I was immediately excited. It is among the top five reality series ever and the preview trailer looks like fun. Will I actually watch it? Debatable, at least in real time. I don’t know that reality series work for me anymore. I’m even bad about keeping up with Drag Race.

But it did bring up a good question: Would I make an effort to watch Paradise Hotel if it came back? The answer is a resounding “Oh hell yeah” for the best reality series EVER.  And taking that a step further, I was compelled to look Paradise Hotel up on YouTube and start rewatching it right away.

Aside from watching it religiously in its original June – October 2003 run and at least once completely through on the Fox Reality Channel during its heyday (roughly 2007-ish), I don’t think I have watched it since — though it has often been a topic of conversation in my circles through the last 15 years. So, I was very surprised to have learned that there was a Paradise Hotel 2 in 2008. It aired on the Fox Reality Channel, which maybe my cable provider had already dropped by then, but still I feel like I should have known. Someone should have told me!

But my two tickets to Paradise Hotel 2 would have to wait. The first season was calling. And when one is called to rewatch a reality show, one must drop everything else. But being so close to Christmas, one must also look to combine efforts. So, ta-freaking-da, it’s this week’s column.  Continue reading “Beat JENeration #017: Does Paradise Hotel work for me in 2018?” →