The Block NZ (series 3)

The third series of The Block NZ premiered on 26 August 2014 and ended on 18 November 2014. It ran four nights per week, Tuesday–Friday.

The series was set in the Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier, and was judged by Home and Garden editor Shelley Ferguson and architect Mark Gascoigne.^[1]

Contestants

Kiwibank Block Out Live

The series was the first to feature the Kiwibank Block Out Live online game, a bingo-style game designed to be played by viewers watching the show live. It consists of a grid of nine squares, each containing an event or quote from the show. When the event is broadcast, viewers have a few minutes to tap the corresponding square. The first person to unlock all nine squares on a given night wins a $100 gift card.^[3]

Controversy

In mid-March, Eyeworks, the company that produces The Block NZ, sent letters to households in the area surrounding the future site of the show in Point Chevalier to say that filming would start in late May or early June. Around 20 members of the neighbourhood met to try and prevent the show from being produced there because of safety, traffic, light, and noise concerns.^[4] After Eyeworks decided to not halt their plans, they took the production company to court. While the show was not relocated, restrictions—such as a noise curfew after 6 p.m. and on weekends, and the crew only being able to park in set areas—were put in place.

Episodes

No. in series	No. in week	Title	Original air date	Viewers
Week 1
1	1	Episode 1	26 August 2014 (2014-august-26)	326,590[5]
In the rear carpark of MOTAT, teams are presented with a Rush Hour-style array of cars, one of which is their Honda. They have to move the other cars—only backwards or forwards, not turning left or right—so that their own can be driven out. Maree & James finish the challenge first, followed by Alex & Corban, Jo & Damo, and, in last place, Quinn & Ben. Teams then drive to a warehouse in Grey Lynn, where they have to traverse three walls: the first by constructing scaffolding; the second by building a frame to climb up, then descending in a scissor lift; and the third by demolishing it with a sledgehammer. They then travel to the Bunnings Warehouse carpark, where they have to pack a given amount of luggage into their car. After completing the challenge, teams travel to an apartment complex.
2	2	Episode 2	27 August 2014 (2014-august-27)	249,170[6]
Teams have 48 hours to design an upmarket hotel suite and build it from just the wooden framework, without the help of any tradespeople. Each team has a prescribed brief to design their room to, with the teams choosing from the four styles in the order they arrived at the complex in the previous episode.
3	3	Episode 3	28 August 2014 (2014-august-28)	235,680[7]
Teams finish creating their hotel suite, which are judged by the series' judges Shelley Ferguson and Mark Gascoigne. As winners, Jo & Damo travel to the site of The Block to decide which team have which house.
4	4	Episode 4	29 August 2014 (2014-august-29)	229,880[8]
Jo & Damo choose house 4 and randomly select which houses the other teams have. Quinn & Ben are allocated house 1, Alex & Corban are allocated house 2, and Maree & James are allocated house 3. They then have to make their houses waterproof enough for their first night on the building site.
Week 2
5	1	Episode 5	2 September 2014 (2014-september-02)	310,010[9]
Mark announces that teams are to renovate their garage. They then go to the challenge warehouse to create a piece of wooden furniture, which they are to use in their houses. Jo & Damo build a console table, Quinn & Ben build an outdoor lounger, Maree & James build a bench planter, and Alex & Corban build a retro side table. The challenge is judged by series 1 judge Stewart Harris, who declares Maree & James second, and Alex & Corban the winners. Teams then return to the site to continue building their garage.
6	2	Episode 6	3 September 2014 (2014-september-03)	287,250[10]
Teams continue renovating their garage.
7	3	Episode 7	4 September 2014 (2014-september-04)	299,210[11]
Teams continue renovating their garage. In the middle of renovation, they go to a Point Chevalier beach to construct a raft from plastic sheeting and duct tape, which they sail to a buoy 100 metres offshore and then back, before picking up a red flag from the shore. As winners, Alex & Corban win an 80″ Sharp Quattron Pro TV, while runner-ups Jo & Damo win a 70″, and remaining teams Maree & James and Quinn & Ben get a 60″. Back at the building site, Quinn announces that she is pregnant, despite the producers advising her not to get pregnant until The Block has finished filming.[12]
8	4	Episode 8	5 September 2014 (2014-september-05)	239,230[13]
Because of the extensive rain, the room reveal date for the garage is extended by five days. Quinn visits an obstetrician to determine if she can continue on the The Block, although its verdict is not revealed.
Week 3
9	1	Episode 9	9 September 2014 (2014-september-09)	273,090[14]
Quinn & Ben reveal that Quinn can continue on The Block NZ. However, she has certain restrictions placed on her, such as not being able to lift heavy objects.
10	2	Episode 10	10 September 2014 (2014-september-10)	315,960[15]
Teams are given a Canon camera to take a photo that they will print on either aluminium, canvas, or glass. Series 2 judge Jeremy Hansen judges the photographs, and determines Alex & Corban the winners. They choose Jo & Damo to join them for the prize dinner. After completing the challenge, teams to the building to site to continue renovating their garage.
11	3	Episode 11	11 September 2014 (2014-september-11)	268,610[16]
Series 2 contestants Pete & Andy make a cameo appearance to demonstrate driving a digger for the Freedom Furniture digger challenge before judging it. Each team has to drive through a cardboard box obstacle course and pick up four items of furniture before placing them on a podium in order of price. Each box knocked adds 30 seconds onto the time taken. Alex & Corban finish with a total time of 22:42, Jo & Damo with a time of 22:22, Quinn & Ben with a time of 22:10, and Maree and James with the shortest time of 20:48. As winners, Maree and James get a $5000 Freedom Furniture gift voucher.
12	4	Episode 12	12 September 2014 (2014-september-12)	227,960[17]
Teams finish renovating their garages, which are then judged by the series judges, Shelley Ferguson and Mark Gascoigne. Alex & Corban, with a total score of 18⁄20, have the highest score and win $4000 to go towards their budget on The Block.
Week 4
13	1	Episode 13	16 September 2014 (2014-september-16)	335,810[18]
Mark announces that this week's room will be a family room, and that teams will score the other teams rooms out of ten. Out of a possible score of 30, Maree & James get a score of 19, Jo and Damo score 21, Quinn and Ben score 22.5, and Alex and Corban score 24. Mark comments on Alex & Corban's plan for their family room that it doesn't fit the judges' brief of a 'family-friendly' room.
14	2	Episode 14	17 September 2014 (2014-september-17)	278,170[19]
In the challenge warehouse, teams have four hours to upcycle a chest of drawers to put in their teenager's bedroom. Each team is allocated a Bunning's Warehouse gift voucher worth between $100 and $400. The chests of drawers were judged by Janice Kumar-Ward, a judge from series 2. Maree & James win the challenge, winning a $30,000 bathroom upgrade. Alex & Corban place second, Ben & Quinn third, and Jo & Damo last.
15	3	Episode 15	18 September 2014 (2014-september-18)	260,620[20]
Teams head to an indoor rock climbing facility where they have to stack crates while the female of each team climbed up the stack. Because of Quinn's pregnancy, she was unable to participate in the challenge. The Edge presenter Jay Jay Feeney took her place. Jo & Damo win the challenge, climbing up 12 crates and winning $5,000 worth of window treatments.
16	4	Episode 16	19 September 2014 (2014-september-19)	293,190[21]
Teams finished their family rooms, which were then judged. Despite not following the brief, Alex & Corban were not marked down for it.
Week 5
17	1	Episode 17	23 September 2014 (2014-september-23)	321,050[22]
Mark announces that this week's rooms will be the bathrooms and laundry, and Shannon announces that this week will include The Block NZ‍ '​s ubiquitous dinner Wars challenge. Alex & Corban are randomly selected to choose the order that the teams. Each team will be assigned an ingredient that they have to use in their They decide that they will host their dinner party that night, Jo & Damo second, Quinn & Ben third, and Maree & James last. Alex & Corban, using their compulsory ingredient of bok choy, host their dinner party with an Asian theme. It receives mixed reviews from the other contestants.
18	2	Episode 18	24 September 2014 (2014-september-24)	284,550[23]
Jo & Damo host their dinner party with a Grecian and superhero theme. Other teams noted how much attention had gone into the food. To entertain the guests, Jo & Damo hired Stephen Witt, a 2014 Nominee for the Billy T Award. The next team to host their dinner party, Ben & Quinn, had rib eye steak as their compulsory ingredient. Their theme was farmyard animals. For entertainment, they had a petting zoo of bearded dragons, rabbits, gerbils and rats. Site foreman Peter Wolfkamp evicts Jo & Damo's head tiler from the site after parking in the wrong place for the third time. Because of this, Jo & Damo have to pay a $975 Auckland Council fine.
19	3	Episode 19	25 September 2014 (2014-september-25)	264,690[24]
Maree & James hosted their dinner party with a Hawaiian theme. Their compulsory ingredient was eggplant. The scores from Dinner Wars were revealed, with each team marking the others out of ten for entertainment and ten for cuisine. Quinn & Ben placed first, largely due to their "strategic scoring".
20	4	Episode 20	26 September 2014 (2014-september-26)	283,13[25]
Other teams had mixed thoughts on Quinn & Ben's scoring. While Maree was bitter, Damo said that it was understandable with Quinn being pregnant, and that he and Jo "would've done the same if we'd had to."[26] Teams finished their rooms, which were then judged. Alex & Corban placed first, winning the $4000 prize.
Week 6
21	1	Episode 21	30 September 2014 (2014-september-30)	291,300[27]
Mark announces that the brief for this week's room is a bedroom for a child aged up to 10. That evening, he calls the teams to the courtyard to say that because of the week lost doing the garage, they also have to do a teenager's room, for a child aged at least 16. On top of this, they need to paint their exteriors, because of the scaffolding being taken down.
22	2	Episode 22	1 October 2014 (2014-october-01)	292,660[28]
Teams were given 15 minutes with two Point Chevalier Primary students each to listen to their idea of their ideal desk. Maree & James are tasked with building a boat-style desk, Jo & Damo, an aquarium-styled desk, Ben & Quinn, a robot-styled desk, and Alex & Corban, a tree-style desk. Teams were then given 3 hours and $400 to construct them. The desks were judged by the winner and runner-up of the "Biggest Blockaholic" competition. They declared Alex & Corban's desk the winner, earning them a $25,000 wardrobe package.
23	3	Episode 23	2 October 2014 (2014-october-02)	291,450[29]
At North Harbour BMX track, teams were given three hours to design and construct a bicycle entirely from plywood. When the three hours was up, they had to a relay race to the finish line. Because of Quinn's pregnancy, Jackie Thomas, winner of the first New Zealand X Factor series, raced with Ben. Mare & James placed first, winning a $2,750 small kitchen appliances pack from Breville, along with $2,000. Jo & Damo placed second, Alex & Corban third, and Quinn & Ben last. Back at the building site, teams continued working on their rooms. Alice Pearson, winner of the previous season of The Block NZ, visited each of the teams and gave them a bit of advice.
24	4	Episode 24	3 October 2014 (2014-october-03)	289,250[30]
Teams finished renovating their child's and teenager's bedrooms. The two rooms were judged and scored separately. Maree & James won the child's bedroom, while Alex & Corban won the teenager's bedroom.
Week 7
25	1	Episode 25	7 October 2014 (2014-october-07)	301,980[31]
In the challenge warehouse, Mark announces that this week, teams will be renovating their kitchen and dining room. Teams visited Peter Hay Kitchens to outline how they wanted their kitchens to look. Teams judged the other teams' child's room and teenager's separately, and gave both a score out of 10. Jo & Damo got the highest score, winning the $1000 prize money.
26	2	Episode 26	8 October 2014 (2014-october-08)	299,690[32]
27	3	Episode 27	9 October 2014 (2014-october-09)	327,780[33]
28	4	Episode 28	10 October 2014 (2014-october-10)	246,160[34]
Week 8
29	1	Episode 29	14 October 2014 (2014-october-14)	322,360[35]
30	2	Episode 30	15 October 2014 (2014-october-15)	313,870[36]
31	3	Episode 31	16 October 2014 (2014-october-16)	321,840[37]
32	4	Episode 32	17 October 2014 (2014-october-17)	287,930[38]
Week 9
33	1	Episode 33	21 October 2014 (2014-october-21)	332,090[39]
Mark announces that teams will renovate the remainder of their interiors this week: their living rooms and entryway, as well as any stairwells, downstairs toilets, and hallways.
34	2	Episode 34	22 October 2014 (2014-october-22)	366,790[40]
35	3	Episode 35	23 October 2014 (2014-october-23)	335,330[41]
In the leaky box challenge, teams race to plug up a barrel with holes cut in it which is constantly being filled with water. After 14 minutes, as the first team to have the rubber duck in their barrel flow out, Alex & Corban win $3500 of specimen trees. Jo & Damo place second and get $2000, and Maree & James place third and get $1500. Jo & Damo redeem their prize from a previous challenge and go to SkyCity Auckland, where Damo does the SkyJump.
36	4	Episode 36	24 October 2014 (2014-october-24)	279,130[42]
All teams but Alex & Corban finish their interiors. Because Alex and Corban's rooms were obviously unfinished, the judges decided not to score them. Each team's living rooms and entryways were scored separately; other miscellaneous rooms that were completed during the week were not judged.
Week 10
37	1	Episode 37	28 October 2014 (2014-october-28)	324,010[43]
38	2	Episode 38	29 October 2014 (2014-october-29)	311,370[44]
39	3	Episode 39	30 October 2014 (2014-october-30)	341,090[45]
40	4	Episode 40	31 October 2014 (2014-october-31)	264,830[46]
Week 11
41	1	Episode 41	4 November 2014 (2014-november-04)	422,780[47]
42	2	Episode 42	5 November 2014 (2014-november-05)	359,110[48]
43	3	Episode 43	6 November 2014 (2014-november-06)	388,820[49]
44	4	Episode 44	7 November 2014 (2014-november-07)	277,140[50]
Week 12
45	1	Episode 45	11 November 2014 (2014-november-11)	314,770[51]
46	2	Episode 46	12 November 2014 (2014-november-12)	361,430[52]
47	3	Episode 47	13 November 2014 (2014-november-13)	320,080[53]
Teams created a viral video with a personality from a MediaWorks Radio radio station. Alex & Corban teamed up with Guy Williams, Jo & Damo with Jono Pryor, Quinn & Ben with Ben Boyce, and Maree & James with Megan Sellers.
48	4	Live final	14 November 2014 (2014-november-14)	378,340[54]
Week 13
49	1	The Block NZ: Unlocked	18 November 2014 (2014-november-18)	299,390[55]
Teams talk about their time on The Block.

Results

Room reveals

For each room reveal, judges Mark Gascoigne and Shelley Ferguson separately score each couple out of 10. The couple that receives the highest total score wins $4000 to go towards their budget.

In week 1, no cash prize was given—instead, the winner could choose which house each team got to renovate and eventually sell at auction.

In week 9, $8000 was awarded: $4000 to the highest-scoring living room and $4000 to the highest scoring entryway. Other miscellaneous internal rooms that were completed during that week were not scored.

Peer reviews

At the start of the following week, each couple walks through the other couple's room from the previous week and score them out of 10. The couple that receives the highest total score wins $1000 to go towards their budget.

In week 8, $4000 was awarded.

Challenges

Dinner Wars

Week 12's challenges

Throughout the first three episodes of week 12, teams competed in three challenges. The winner of each challenge earned 3 points, the runner-up earned 2 points, third place earned 1 point, and fourth place earned 0 points. As winners, Maree & James got to decide the order that the houses were auctioned.

Auction results

As the team that earned the most profit, Alex & Corban won an extra $80,000. Because Quinn & Ben won so little, and with them starting a family, Alex & Corban gifted them $30,000 of their winnings.

References