Lego Masters is the perfect salve for hate-watchers

The bar for good reality television may have been set far too low this year, but thanks to a feel-good show about grown adults playing with kids toys, things might just turn out okay after all, writes Victoria Hannaford.

Finally, there’s a reality show that doesn’t require hate-watching to get through a season.

Tuning in to shows we despise is a phenomenon that’s taken over with Married At First Sight, My Kitchen Rules and Bachelor in Paradise, shows now packed with participants so compellingly awful it’s somehow impossible to look away.

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Hate-watching has its own unique pleasures, apart from just viewing a show you ostensibly loathe. It’s joining other hate-watchers online to see who can come up with the most cutting observations online. Some of it, such as commentary about Ivan’s aggressive behaviour in the most recent season of Bachelor in Paradise, is deserved, but often it’s done just for the “joy” of being snarky and superior.

People are tiring of the drama shows like MAFS and Bachelor in Paradise served up. Picture: Channel 10

By season’s finale, characters we love to hate have been endlessly dissected. But there is a real problem with hate-watching: you also end up despising yourself for taking part, even as an audience member. It feels icky to see the worst tendencies in people becoming entertainment, and characters in the shows and viewers are often reduced to reality rubble by the time the last episode airs.

But right when we thought we’d all been rendered dead inside by the relentless, morally bankrupt shenanigans of Nine’s MAFS, along comes Lego Masters, a show that seems to have unexpectedly rewritten the rule book of reality TV.

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It’s gratifying that Nine show’s has obliterated everything else on the box by delivering wholesome, yet strangely gripping blockbuster (yes, the show is made for terrible puns) that’s been a ratings bonanza for the network.

Channel 9’s new show, Lego Masters, is strangely wholesome in comparison to their ratings smash hit, Married At First Sight. Picture: Channel 9

In contrast to their most recent hit, MAFS, the teams of Lego builders competing for a cash prize are made up of dynamic duos instead of gruesome twosomes. Sure, there are some delightfully odd characters — contestant Kale appears to be a Lego obsessed incarnation of Summer Heights High’s Mr G, and Jimmy and Maddy not only had a Lego themed wedding, they also insist on recreating themselves in brick form in every build — but none of the villains we’re used to in reality TV. In fact, there’s not a hint of nastiness; instead, the show focuses on the incredible skill of contestants.

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It’s a delight — and a relief — to have a reprieve from the compulsion of hate-watching. There’s no bad behaviour to be repulsed by; instead of contestants unleashing c-bombs at each other, we hear them express frustration by saying things like “holy crud nuggets”. Lego Masters has generated a fraction of the online commentary of its reality predecessors, and that’s probably a good thing.

Even the judging in the show, from Lego expert Ryan McNaught, aka Brickman, is fair. It’s carefully considered, constructive (yes! another pun!) and heartfelt. Brickman was the first to burst into tears at the show’s initial elimination.

Hamish Blake on Channel 9's new reality series, Lego Masters. Picture: Supplied/Nine

Host Hamish Blake is all too aware that his show is emerging from the ethical quagmire of reality TV, and he openly mocks the genre’s well-worn cliches. He knows Lego Masters is a more innocent incarnation, and deftly dances around the line of sending it up with his gentle ribbing of contestants.

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It’s nerdy, good-natured, dorky fun. Rather than reality TV that depicts the antics of terrible people who have probably been goaded into behaving even more badly by power mad producers (yes, we’ve all seen enough episodes of UnReal to know how it works), Lego Masters is actually inspiring when it comes to showing the power of creativity. But even better than that, there’s no feeling of lingering self-loathing as the credits roll. Let’s hope other networks take note.

Victoria Hannaford is a columnist for the Sunday Mail. @vhannaford