Monster House

It's not as cool as "Monster Garage," but I like it. They do some outrageous stuff to houses. The part I like best is that all the props must be functional. I'm surprised at the number of houses that have substandard wiring -- Several episodes show electricians literally rewiring houses that are firetraps waiting to spring. Unnerving!

Like "Monster Garage" and other build shows, the success or failure of each week's project is strongly linked to the group's ability to put aside their egos and work as a team. On that front, Jesse James ("Monster Garage") is much more successful than Steve Watson. But, give the man a chance. The show is still new.

I want to see them do a space station house sometime with plasma screens and a functioning control system...

They tried to take the success from Monster Garage and the success from shows such as Trading Spaces and create a hybrid. Sometimes, two rights don't make a right. Instead of the egomaniacal but talented Jesse James, we get some no-talent egomanical hack of a host that puts forward horrible ideas for remodelling people's homes. Sometimes the results are so ugly, impractical, expensive, and impossible to maintain over a long term you can't help but grimace and realize how these people's houses have been ruined. It's literally like Trading Spaces from hell.

Grade: D

I love Monster House. It is a funny & great show. The house they design each week are awsome. The show is creative.

I like this show because it shows you how you can design a great house, in little time. I hope that this show lasts for a long time.

I'm not a big Discovery Channel watcher, but since catching this show, I've been truly addicted. It makes a mix of Monster Garage and random design shows from channels like HGTV. I'm not a car person so I enjoy Monster House much more than the garage version. Don't watch it for the design ideas, which are good in themselves, watch it for the catfights between the carpenters. What makes the show great is the human dynamic between Steve and his crew. Watch the tile layer being a total w***er, sitting around drinking cokes and smoking or watch the cabinet maker going home cause things don't go his way. Or, for you girls out there, watch the token female pitch a fit at not be allowed to touch a power tool. In the end, the show is not so much about what they are making, as it is about the people are are wielding the welders. And while it bears the title of a 'design show' it's not really your typical 'suprise by design'. It's totally addictive and funny, and in my opinion, the best 'design' show out there.

This was one of my favorite shows to watch over 15 years ago. Overall an awesome show, they could have done a little more interviewing on some of the builders to weed out some of the under qualified builders! My favorite episodes were the disco house, the future house and the Hollywood house!