Lego Masters: Episode 1

Lego Masters has now aired its first episode and having now seen it, I was not disappointed! When I first heard it was to be the Lego version of 'The Great British Bake-off', I was slightly put off of the programme because I do not like 'The Great British Bake-off'. However, I quickly became interested in the show and loved to see how it was. I can see why people have made the comparisons as it follows a remarkably similar format but that is it. I found the opening very interesting as it talked about the history of Lego and I was overjoyed to hear the programme make the point that Lego is not just for kids, it is just as loved by many adults, and that the numbers on the box don't matter. One thing I would love to know is how much time and planning went into each build as the end results are remarkable. I would also like to know if any pieces were not allowed to be used as in the builds, I could easily see great chances for certain pieces to be used, yet they weren't. I think that this programme is wonderful for the Lego group because it helps to promote the product to adults by saying it isn't just for kids, plus it inspires many people of all ages to grab some bricks and build something. I would recommend this programme to all young lovers of Lego and most lovers of Lego in general. Please keep reading for a more detailed analysis of the first episode, spoilers will most definitely be included.


When I started watching the episode, I liked how it made the point about Lego not being just for children and this inclusion encouraged me to watch the programme. As wonderful as I found the programme to be, it did unfortunately have its downsides. The main disadvantage is that it seemed to leave me constantly asking questions about particular things, for example it is never mentioned how long the participants had in the trials stage of the competition, it never says how much planning time each team had in the main competition, and the kid's designs seemed more detailed than those of the Cambridge university students. This all distracted me from the main programme, which is a shame because lots of time must have gone into it for the builds to be as good as they were.

I was impressed that Roma Agrawal was on the judging panel for this episode because she not only is a structural engineer, but she has helped to build well known structures such as 'The Shard' in London. However, the joy of a professional such as her appearing on the programme soon ended as she didn't seem to do much in her role as a judge. To me, it seemed like she just made a very brief and fairly vague comment on the final builds, although, I found it funny to see her look very serious when talking to the kids about a rocket chair. I felt as though she should have picked up on more of the detail in the builds, especially with how the mechanism in the Cambridge students' chair worked.

I also feel like more focus should have been placed on the final builds as, once they were built, the testing of the chairs and the inspection of the smaller builds seemed very rushed which is disappointing given the viewer has most likely seen the programme mainly for the amazing final builds. I think it would be much better to show more shots of the final builds from a variety of angles so that the viewer actually has time to appreciate the builds. Another element which was rushed was the introduction of the participants. Only two pairs were looked at in depth, these being the university students and two of the young boys. I think that if they go into depth about contestants they should do this with all of them, not just a limited few, otherwise they should just not do it at all.

I really like the look of the programme as the bright vibrant colours of the build room really fit the Lego theme. Also, the presenter, Melvin Odoom, is charismatic and funny in his role. Even though the jokes made are quite often cheesy, they can be very funny.

Another downside to the programme is that a fair few of the moments seemed staged, for example reactions to when something broke such as one of the kids saying 'this will be a setback' or when someone would be interrupted by someone else when speaking to the camera. I am also surprised at the gender and age ratios of the programme as I expected an equal amount of men and women and more young people, however this is not the case as there, after this episode, is only one woman, and about three young people.

My overall impression of this programme is that it definitely has potential, however it seems rushed in places, unfocused on the builds and more focused on the building without including detail, and was unfortunately a bit too cheesy for my liking. I do think that it will go on to be a good series and that it will improve with time. Personally, I just loved seeing that many people building remarkably good Lego structures in a very colourful room. I hope there will be more focus on the builds and technicalities in the next episode which will be focused on movement and shall feature Richard Osman as a celebrity guest. Lego Masters airs on Channel Four at 8.00PM on Thursday. Please let me know your opinions in the comments below!