Review by The_nibs

I wish I could've seen what this show would've been like had the pandemic not thrown a wrench into filming. It suffers as a result of filming restrictions as contestants are filmed at home which gives it a YouTube-y vibe. The show itself is like a mash up of other shows. History's Forged in Fire is a clear inspiration here as the format is similar (build something, eliminate, build something, run it through several tests, choose a winner). I think the problem with having builders make "x" is that it isn't really highlighting their individual capabilities, they all have vastly different backgrounds. Unlike Forged in Fire contestants who are all blacksmiths, these contestants are more like prop builders, furniture builders, blacksmiths; it's quite varied and I think that's why the results are so mixed and underwhelming. They either need challenges that work to everyone's strengths or they need to cast contestants that are more similar in experience. I'm not saying this in defense of "fairness" I'm saying it because it makes for better television. In this case we had a guy who didn't know how to build a fire extinguisher, and two other guys who made suped up flame throwing leaf blowers that only just accomplished what they were intended for. It sounds good on paper but in reality it wasn't very interesting at all.

They try to shoehorn in a lot of Home Improvement references, more power, grunting etc. They even have a Heidi, I kid you not. It's nice to have a nod but at the end of the day these are real people, not characters from a tv show and I'd rather see them be themselves. I love Richard Karn, he has a natural affinity for hosting and I sincerely hope he has several more hosting opportunities in the future. He's fun to watch. I'd love to see him on HGTV instead of the garbage hosts they've had in the last ten years. He's a warm hearted, genuine guy and basically carries this show. Allen seems uncomfortable in his role here, he looks tired. I think they even splice in shots of him smiling and laughing when he actually isn't in real time because he looks bored when interacting with contestants. While Karn's jokes seem authentic, a lot of what Tim says feels scripted. The chemistry isn't quite right.

I'm hopeful that the show might improve the second time around, but to be honest, I think I would've preferred to see Tim and Richard building things themselves and teaching people how to build things for their homes, like hacks to make life easier in post pandemic life, instead of having another maker showdown series.