University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities 2004 Renovating reality TV Ian Buchanan University of Wollongong,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/artspapers Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Buchanan, Ian, Renovating reality TV 2004, 1-11. https://ro.uow.edu.au/artspapers/1394 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library:
[email protected] Buchanan- Renovating Reality TV http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-April-2004/b... Issue 31-32, April 2004 Renovating Reality TV By Ian Buchanan © all rights reserved Real estate today has become a form of yuppie pornography. - Marjorie Garber, Sex and Real Estate The Block was Australia's hit TV show of 2003. Its viewing audience regularly topped the 2 million mark, easily surpassing all the other 'lifestyle' shows - DIY Rescue, Burke's Backyard, Backyard Blitz, Changing Rooms, Better Homes and Gardens , Location Location, Auction Squad, Hot Auctions , the list is practically endless. Australian made TV drama has meanwhile delivered its worst ratings performance in years, virtually guaranteeing The Block will not only be repeated but cloned as well. David Castran, the managing director of Audience Development Australia, explains it this way: "recent world turmoil has brought people closer to home to focus on what they control" such as the colour of the dining room wall and the type of turf you sow in your backyard.