My husband and I have always played a game when watching the Underbelly series, well more of a wager. We bet on how far into the episode we will get our first glimpse of boobs. The loser has to make school lunches for a week. The winner gets a massage.

In Underbelly Razor, it appears we won’t have to wait long with a fantastic bath scene for our viewing pleasure almost immediately. I won’t be letting my husband in on this snippet of information obviously. Making school lunches are the bane of my existence and I could really do with a massage.

Channel Nine has promised us that Razor will return us to the original and best kind of Underbelly. The kind where we were startled by the storyline and had a genuine interest in getting to know the real story behind what show we were watching.

This time round, the story revolves around inner Sydney in the 1920s and in particular the battle between Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh’s fight to gain control of the flourishing gambling, extortion, prostitution and illegal drug trades.

There will be stand over men. There will be pimps, thugs and gunmen. And there will be sex. The scenery and costume already look amazing and I must admit I am looking forward to getting lost in this era.

This has been based on the book, Razor, by Larry Writer.

“Underbelly Razor will bring to life Australia’s two famed vice queens along with infamous gangsters Norman Bruhn Guido Calletti, Big Jim Devine, Squizzy Taylor, Phil “the Jew” Jeffs, John “Snowy” Cutmore and Frank “the Little Gunman” Green.

Starring Danielle Cormack as Kate Leigh, Chelsie Preston Crayford as Tilly Devine alongside a stellar cast that includes Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Jack Campbell, Steve Le Marquand, John Batchelor, Felix Williamson, Khan Chittenden and newcomer Anna McGahan as delectable prostitute, Nellie Cameron.”

Of course, the best thing Channel Nine has done so far is to use Adele’s Rolling in the Deep as the song to promote their series. It makes you pay attention. Let’s hope it lives up to the hype.

Underbelly Razor – Sunday 8.30pm – Channel Nine.

Team Patrick or Team Chris?

You have to choose one, because only one will be left standing at the end of series two which concludes on Wednesday night. I’m talking about Offspring by the way, the TV show that to me, was considerably annoying in the first series because Dr Nina Proudman was so damn ditzy, continually losing her way and floating in and out of reality too often, but thankfully settled down in series two. I can honestly say, it has one of the best love triangles ever seen on Australian Television.

Poor Nina has a bit of a reputation for falling for the hot male doctor at her hospital and this year we have been able to watch her have the pleasure of dating not one, but two of the newcomers. To throw a spanner in the works, re-enter Dr Chris Havel, Nina’s previous (true) love separated by oh, just a wife and child, who he chose over over her at the end of series one.

So Dr Chris is back. And this time he’s unattached. And even though Nina’s relationship with the somewhat damaged and emotional (and oh so very hot, sweet Jesus, this man is amazing) Dr Patrick Reid is only in its infancy, it has us, the viewer, in definite camps. Who should she choose? Should she have the right to choose?

And let’s face it though, it’s not like Nina is the first character to find herself embroiled in an on-screen love triangle. We, as viewers cannot seem to get enough of a three-way love affair, especially if they get the casting and chemistry right.

For example, who can forget the Dylan-Kelly-Brandon love affair in 90210? Wait, before that even, there was the Kelly-Dylan-Brenda three-way affair which in hindsight was super creepy.

Of course Grey’s Anatomy has had its fair share of problems as well, with the whole Addison-McDreamy-Meredith scenario.

And of course the Twilight, Jacob-Bella-Edward three-way is probably the most famous of them all.

So what is it as a viewer, that gets us sucked into these kind of scripts and character situations? Is it because we know inevitably one of the three will lose? Is it because we can relate? Do we wish it was happening to us? Or is it simply, in the case of Offspring, because of this:

Whatever the reason, be sure to tune into season finale of Offspring this Wednesday night, 9pm on Channel 10.

The Block returns this week for 2011 and from what I’ve seen so far, we are in for quite the ride.

This year though, there are a few changes. They’ve shaken things up a little and the stakes are a lot higher. No longer will the couples be renovating a unit, but an entire house. In fact, they will be making over four workers cottages, 10 minutes out of Melbourne city, that have been described as a “renovator’s nightmare.”

First things first though. Curve ball number one.  Initially there are eight couples yet only four spots available on the show. To determine who those four couples will be, there are a series of “super challenges” where couples are paired off in competition with one another. The couple’s are then given a stark white room, $5,000 and 24 hours in which to transform the rooms into any kind of area they so desire.  They are each given an item such as a lamp, chair or table and prompted to work around them for inspiration. The two couples are then judged against one another on their design, functionality and execution.

For my money, I hope they take into account the best personalities because that’s what the viewers will return for. A brilliant room is one thing; a contestant that can make us respectfully love or despise them is another.

The initial eight couples are:

Chrissie & Toby – Married

Polly & Waz – Together 3 years

Katrina & Amie – Sisters

Laura & Emily – Identical Twin Sisters

Shannon & Aaron – Together 5 years

Jenna & Josh – Together 5 years

Carrie & Chris – Married

Tania & Rod – Married

Over four nights you’ll see these eight couples battle it out for a spot on The Block. You’ll get to see them forget to take essential items home from the store, sing off key, generally lose their minds and design some very funky spaces. Melbourne also gets one hell of an advertisement, looking picture perfect and very accommodating in the retail sector.

For mine, I hope the identical twin sisters (for the drama factor) and Chrissie & Toby make it through. They are the best value for money. Whether their rooms were better, well, no I don’t think they necessarily were, but time will tell which four couples make it onto the block and stand a chance to make some serious cash when the houses they renovate are completed and go to auction.

If you think The Block lost its way in the last series, you might want to give another chance this year.

The Block:

Channel 9

Starts Monday 20^th June 7pm.