Whenever senior ABC management are interviewed about the future of the national broadcaster, there’s always a firm line in the sand. Yes, the ABC will look at reality formats when appropriate, but they’re not going to start making shows like The Block. And why would they? They’ve already got three different reality home renovation series airing pretty much every year.
Starting this week on the ABC is Season 8 of Restoration Australia. Hosted by Professor Anthony Burke, it’s a series in which various people tackle the big job of restoring a classic home while struggling with cost overruns, vaulting ambition, legal issues, relationship dramas and tradies of various skill levels.
That’s not to be confused with the ABC series Grand Designs Australia. Hosted by Professor Anthony Burke, it’s a series in which various people tackle the big job of creating a classic home while struggling with cost overruns, vaulting ambition, legal issues, relationship dramas, and tradies of various skill levels.
Neither of them are to be confused with the ABC series Grand Designs Transformation. Hosted by Professor Anthony Burke and Yasmine Ghoniem, it’s a series in which various people tackle the big job of… you get the idea.
Restoration Australia – quick links
Comfort viewing
As you might have guessed, the ABC really does like their home renovation series. That’s hardly a surprise: the UK version of Grand Designs has been a ratings hit and Sunday evening staple for well over a decade now. All respect to UK host Kevin McCloud, the best to ever do it.
The appeal of the format is obvious. Building or renovating a home seems like a fairly straightforward process, and yet time and time again we’re presented with people who, having come up with a project that is beyond their budget, have decided to cut costs by taking on the bulk of the work themselves. Bonus points if they have to keep working at their day job to pay for it, or they have to sell their current home but no worries, the new place will be finished in plenty of time to move in (it never is).
Sticking to the format
The first episode of Restoration Australia sticks firmly to the formula, as a Melbourne couple and their sons decide to renovate a bluestone mansion deep in Western Victoria. Taking on a massive restoration project in the middle of nowhere would be a big job at the best of times. When they decide to take on much of the work themselves you know it’s going to be a bumpy road.
Future episodes promise more of the same, which is exactly how the fans like it. Trying to turn a 19th century post office into a home even though it’s legally not a residence? Taking a rundown convent and trying to convert it into a home before a shock twist that’s so shocking the ABC has kept the episode from reviewers? That’s episode three, by the way, so maybe mark it in your calendars just in case the twist turns out to involve a zombie outbreak or something.
There are more low-key restorations in this season of Restoration Australia as well, including a First Nations family looking to transform a small timber church on the edge of a national park into a celebration of their Gunditjmara heritage and culture, and a former jockey and police officer looking to revive a 200-year-old farm cottage as a haven for her horses.
They’re rarely the episodes people remember, but they’re essential to the format. The whole thing doesn’t work without a few episodes where we get to see nice people winning for once.
Support over snark
That said, while the UK version has seen enough outright disasters to give proceedings some palpable tension, in Australia the worst thing that can happen is that you go over time, over budget or end up having to modify your plans. The result is a softer-edged, more generally feel-good kind of show, where we get a bunch of history mixed in with the building and we’re expected to cheer on the cashed-up renovators rather than see them punished for their hubris.
Suiting this vibe down to the ground is Professor Anthony Burke. He’s a likable, knowledgeable host who keeps things running smoothly when providing historical background and comes across as an interested, engaged spectator when he’s on site. You’d actually look forward to seeing him arrive at your disastrous building project; he’s both soothing and compassionate, someone who can provide grounded insights that somehow always seem to be putting the best spin on things.
If there’s a problem, it’s that he lacks the – for want of a better word – snark of McCloud. McCloud won’t quite laugh in someone’s face when they tell him they’re going to build a mansion out of imported mud in six weeks for less than the price of a flatscreen telly, but there’s always a smirk and a quizzical tone to let us know exactly what he’s thinking.
It’s that slightly adversarial element that lifts the UK version above the local product. McCloud doesn’t want people to fail, but if that’s what they want to do then he’ll enjoy the show. In Restoration Australia, Burke often seems actually concerned when people with more money than sense (though not quite enough money to get the job done) get in over their heads.
His compassion is not a mistake; Burke’s concern is the perfect fit for the softer, gentler tone the ABC is going for. He may never achieve the cult status of McCloud, but you have to be doing something right to host three ongoing ABC series. Even Wil Anderson hasn’t managed that yet.
The ABC my never make their own version of The Block, but the ongoing presence of Restoration Australia – and the various Grand Designs – shows they’re hardly turning their noses up when it comes to home renovation. You can’t go wrong investing in bricks and mortar… though you can end up way over budget and living in a mudhole.
