Yahoo Lifestyle 
The Block fans are all begging for one major change this season: 'Not fair'
Viewers have suggested a surprising new way the judges should critique each of the rooms.
It seems that no matter what they say or do on The Block, viewers will always have a strong opinion of the reality show’s panel of judges. The trio of experts includes interior designers Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer and real estate guru Marty Fox, who joined the series in an official capacity this season after longtime judge Neale Whitaker told Yahoo Lifestyle he had to step back from filming due to “personal” reasons.
While some fans have begged for an entirely new panel of judges on The Block, such as last year’s winners Steph and Gian Ottavio, others have instead suggested a simple change to the way they critique the contestants. One person took to a popular Facebook group this week to suggest that the judges should be assessing the teams’ rooms without knowing who they actually are or what they look like.
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“Does anyone else think that in the interest of fairness, the judging should be blind? Personally I do, as it feels like the judges assign unfair judgement on their perception of the contestants as people,” they wrote, referencing Shaynna's recent comment that Kylie and Brad should inject more personality in their home because she has bright green hair.
Fans agree with major change: 'Not fair'
Others agreed that the contestants’ anonymity while judging would be a welcome change as the current system is “not fair”, and also suggested that the judges should critique the rooms individually so they don’t influence each other’s decisions.
“I think they should go in individually and score before they discuss it together,” one viewer replied, with another adding, “When they get together they tend to feed off each other too much and/or get influenced by the other judges”.
“Couldn’t agree more, that change in itself would surely make judging more interesting to watch. So over the niggle between them currently,” someone else remarked. “I think that may be why they get nasty, trying to prove their point at the expense of demoralising the contestants.”
“I agree that they should not be told until the end who works on which project, and yes they should judge individually and then correlate as they can influence each other a lot. It should always be constructive criticism too for growth,” a different user shared.
“I'm finding the judging to be unhelpful to the contestants. When 3 individuals give conflicting opinions what do you do?” one fan remarked, followed by another who said, “Also when a judge praises an aspect one week and slams the same aspect the next it's hard for contestants.”
Meanwhile, one person said they appreciate the idea of making the judges unaware of whose houses they’re judging but think it would be “pretty hard” to execute.
“They'd know what house they were in [and] if blindfolded they'd get a fair idea of what house they are in,” they pointed out. “Even if they had to reveal their scores in the room on camera they'd have a fair idea as well. If they had a favourite they would get a gut feeling what house they were in and vote accordingly the same as if they didn't like a couple.”
However, someone else pointed out that if the judges never met the teams until the very end of the competition then it could be done.
“It would work if they didn’t know who the contestants were from the outset (therefore wouldn’t know which house belongs to who). Actually think the reveal of contestants to the judges at say the final judging would be quite interesting,” they shared.
Why did Neale Whitaker leave The Block?
After appearing on The Block since season three back in 2010, Neale left fans heartbroken when he announced he would no longer be appearing as a permanent judge in 2024. The interior designer told Yahoo Lifestyle at the 2024 Logie Awards earlier this month that he knew in his heart it was “time to move on”.
“Oh gosh, it was a big decision, but it was something that I had to do for my personal life,” he shared. “After 13 years, it kind of felt like the timing was right. I gave it my best shot for all those years, and it was time to move on.
“It's always going to have a very special place for me, that show, always. And I think if I'm honest, I'll always feel like an honorary member of the show - I don't know whether they'll approve of that, but that's how I feel.”
Another big change this season is that Dan Reilly has become the show’s sole foreman as Keith Schleiger wasn’t able to make the move to Phillip Island, although both Keith and Neale are expected to make guest appearances.
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What nights is The Block on?
The Block premiered on Monday, August 12th and will air on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Channel Nine and 9Now.
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