Handyman Superstar Challenge
Handyman Superstar Challenge is a television game show on HGTV Canada, hosted by Karen Bertelsen. The show seeks to find the best handyman in Canada, with the winner originally being awarded the opportunity to host a show on HGTV in the first season, though no prize is explicitly mentioned in subsequent years. However, the winner of Handyman Superstar Challenge is traditionally given a guest appearance in a Mike Holmes television series.
Handyman Superstar Challenge was filmed at the Evergreen Brick Works facilities in Toronto, Ontario, with episodes taking place on consecutive days.
A US spin-off of the series was created in 2010, to air on HGTV, called All American Handyman. "Handyman Superstar Challenge" was replaced by a successor series on HGTV Canada called Canada's Handyman Challenge.
Format
10 contestants qualify for the competition through submissions to the HGTV website. Since the third season, 20 contestants arrive to Toronto for a qualifying challenge for 10 open competition spots.At the start of each day, the contestants are taken from their hotel rooms at dawn and taken to the site of the challenges. In the first season, there was only one challenge. In the second season, there were two challenges per day: a "handyman" challenge showcasing the contestants' skills in the morning, and a "superstar" challenge showcasing the contestants' presentation ability in the afternoon. Mike Holmes, Jim Caruk, and HGTV casting agent Shasta Lutz are the judges for the first two seasons.
Since the third season, starting with the second day of competition, there is a compulsory challenge in the morning, for which there is a guest judge presiding. The guest judge may offer advice to contestants on their project. When the challenge ends, Mike and Jim arrive to give a preliminary evaluation with the guest judge. After the contestants return and defend their works in front of the judges, and a second evaluation determines which of the remaining contestants will not have to partake in the evening "redemption challenge". Normally, three contestants partake in the redemption challenge, except for the one pairs challenge each year, where two teams partake in the redemption challenge. The redemption challenge is often related to the main challenge, and both Mike and Jim preside over the challenge.
The worst performer, as deemed by the judges, is eliminated from competition.
Eliminations continue until three contestants remain, from which one of the three would be named the Handyman Superstar after a final head-to-head challenge.
Synopsis
Season 1
The ten finalists, as chosen by the judges, for the first season are the following:| Episode | Title | Challenge | Eliminated | |
| 1 | The Pitch | Each contestant must pitch an idea for an HGTV show to the judges, with the contestant having the worst pitch eliminated. | Ivan | |
| 2 | Stick Around | Each contestant has two hours to build and two minutes to present a piece of furniture or a decorative item fashioned from hockey sticks, with the contestant giving the worst combined effort being eliminated. | Ilka | |
| 3 | Finishing School | The eight remaining contestants are split into four teams of two, with each team having to finish a mock room in three hours. Aspects tested include tilework, drywalling, floorboard laying, and wainscotting. The worst team is eliminated. | Paul and Randy | |
| 4 | Meet the Client | Each contestant must give an estimate of the costs of a homeowner's basement renovation. The contestant giving the worst estimate, according to the homeowner, is eliminated. | Richard | |
| 5 | Know it or Blow It | Each contestant must complete three challenges with twenty minutes for each challenge: shingling a doghouse, hanging a door, and installing a toilet. Each contestant is also subject to a 20-question quiz by the judges on their contractor skills. The contestant with the worst overall performance is eliminated. | Ian | |
| 6 | Show Time | Each of the four remaining contestants, after being given acting lessons and a makeover, are to deliver a script, which are then evaluated by an HGTV focus group. The contestant with the worst performance according to both the group and the judges are eliminated. | William | |
| 7 | All Hands on Deck | The three remaining contestants are given eight hours to build a deck. Each contestant is given ample materials and tools, as well as a budget for obtaining additional materials, as well as a team of carpenters, led by a "celebrity carpenter". The contestant with the best deck is named the Handyman Superstar | Glen and Ted |
Season 2
Although the format remains the same for Season 2, various minor changes have been made to match the format of the fourth season of Designer Superstar Challenge, including having the challenges take place on consecutive days, requiring the contestants to live together in a luxury loft, and the initial "three rooms" challenge. The second season also further separated the skill-based "Handyman" challenges and the presentation-based "Superstar" challenges. The look-and-feel is also altered to match the fourth season of Designer, which is also consistent with the third season of Chef and the first season of Hair.The ten finalists for the second season are as follows:
| Name | Hometown | Finish |
| Brian Bailey | Caledon, Ontario | 7th |
| Christina Hillborne | Golden, British Columbia | 2nd |
| Kevin Howe | Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia | Winner |
| Brian "Lex" Leuthel | Aurora, Ontario | 6th |
| Richard McLellan | Delta, British Columbia | 9th |
| David O'Rourke | St. Catharines, Ontario | 2nd |
| Christian Pack | Hamilton, Ontario | 4th |
| Mahendra Henri Persaud | New Westminster, British Columbia | 10th |
| Anastasia Vaskova | Burlington, Ontario | 7th |
| Tony Vieira | Richmond Hill, Ontario | 5th |
| Episode | Title | Description | Eliminated | |
| 1 | Three Rooms | The contestants must face three different challenges, one from each judge. In Shasta's challenge, the contestants must deliver a pitch for a TV show and describe a randomly chosen tool. In Mike's challenge, the contestants are asked to answer seven questions on handyman skills, and also to identify seven problems with a deck. In Jim's challenge, the contestants must cut a square and a circle from a piece of plywood so that it fits over a square and circle template. The one with the worst overall performance is eliminated. | Henri | |
| 2 | Re-Claim to Fame | In the "Handyman" portion, the contestants have three hours to take wood from discarded furniture and create something new. In the "Superstar" portion, the contestants must conduct a 3-minute interview with Steve Kelley and Jim Kelley from Junk Brothers in a television segment titled Reclaim to Fame. The contestant with the worst overall performance is eliminated. | Richard | |
| 3 | Sink or Swim | The contestants have two hours to build a floating dock out of wood, beach balls, pool noodles, barrels, and milk jugs, with a partner. The two contestants with the worst effort are eliminated. | Anastasia and Brian | |
| 4 | Know it or Blow it | In the "Handyman" portion, the remaining contestants must complete three challenges with thirty minutes per challenge: tiling, plumbing, and repairing a screen door. The "Superstar" portion has the contestants preparing and delivering a one-minute Streeter-style rant on a topic of their choosing. The contestant with the worst overall performance is eliminated. | Lex | |
| 5 | Doors, Walls, and Windows | In the "Handyman" portion, the contestants have three hours to frame a wall, including installing a door, a window, drywall, trim, and plaster. In the "Superstar" portion, the contestants must host a segment where they answer "viewer mail". The contestant with the worst installation and the worst presentation is eliminated. | Tony | |
| 6 | Good on Paper | In the "Handyman" portion, the contestants have three hours to purchase lumber and build a piece of furniture given only a diagram. In the "Superstar" portion, the contestants must make a seven-minute presentation on seven different kinds of wood. The worst contestant in both portions is eliminated. In addition, the three remaining contestants are informed of their final challenge. | Christian | |
| 7 | It's an Elevating Finish | In the final challenge, the remaining contestants team up with three contractors to build an outdoor living space. At the end, one is named the Handyman Superstar. | David and Christina |
Season 3
In the third season, 20 contestants are invited instead of ten, although in the first challenge, where contestants have 90 minutes to create a work out of two sheets of plywood, the field is reduced down to ten. Only the ten people advancing from this challenge are considered to be the finalists. Shasta Lutz is not returning in this season, leaving only Mike Holmes and Jim Caruk as judges. However, in every episode there will be a guest judge joining them. Instead of a presentation-oriented challenge, the bottom finishers from the main challenge will compete in a "play-in" elimination challenge later that day.- BYE - Contestant advanced without competing in the evening challenge.
- IN - Contestant competed in the evening challenge, and managed to advanced
- OUT - Contestant has been eliminated
| Episode | Challenges | Eliminated | |
| 1 | After the qualifying challenge, which saw 20 contestants compete for 10 finalist spots by creating works from two pieces of plywood in 90 minutes, the contestants must take on Jim's "cookie-cutter" challenge, where contestants must cut an oval and hexagon out of a piece of plywood and fit it onto an existing block, as well as Mike's skills challenge, where they are quizzed on general handyman skills, fairly obscure tools, and spotting errors in a poorly-framed exterior wall. | Jacques | |
| 2 | The second episode brings the traditional trash-to-treasure challenge, where the contestants have to recycle old furniture to make their creations. The bottom three contestants will have to build something out of three drawers in one hour, with the requirement being that it cannot be a dresser and all three drawers must remain intact. Shell Busey, home improvement expert and founder of the HouseSmart building referral network, will be a guest judge in this episode. | Jason | |
| 3 | In the traditional pairs challenge, the teams of two handymen must build a bridge. The bottom two teams must build, as individuals, a set of stairs in one hour. Cheryl Gillespie, interior designer and canoe.ca contributor, will be a guest judge in this episode. | Gill and Valerie | |
| 4 | The obstacle course challenge, where three challenges, is featured in this episode. The bottom three contestants must install crown moulding on a wall with odd angles, with limited amounts of moulding available. Rob Koci, editor of Canadian Contractor Magazine, will be a guest judge in this episode. | Brad | |
| 5 | The remaining contestants must build an item based on a drawing. The elimination challenge this time is to build a sawhorse and a toolchest based on prefab designs. Douglas Thompson, editor of Canadian Home Workshop Magazine, will be this episode's guest judge. | Joel | |
| 6 | In the new penultimate challenge, the contestants must build a fence. One will advance to the final three, while the other three must construct a wheelbarrow using the materials used in previous challenges as parts. Frank Cohn, a personality on CFRB Radio, will be the guest judge. | Mike T | |
| 7 | The three remaining contestants, each with two members of the Holmes Crew, have eight hours to build their own shed. The members of the Holmes Crew will not be permitted to correct the contestant's errors in design or construction. | Ian and Mike G |
Season 4
Season 4 continues the same format as the third season. In one change, each of the contestants has a space on the "Handyman Superstar Locker" for their toolbelts; contestants take down their toolbelts as they are eliminated. In the center of the locker is the Handyman Superstar Belt with both Mike's and Jim's autographs, which is given to the winner at the end of the competition.| Episode | Title | Airdate | Challenges | Eliminated | |
| 1 | The Lion's Den | July 2, 2009 | Qualifying Challenge: The season begins with the qualifying challenges, where 20 qualifiers compete to see who will fill up the ten contestant spaces. The Lion's Den: The ten contestants must endure separate judges from Mike and Jim. For Jim, it's the traditional template challenge, where contestants must cut a crescent moon and a square from a piece of plywood. For Mike, contestants must answer 15 handyman questions and identify 12 errors in a kitchen setup. | Chalo | |
| 2 | Reclaim to Fame | July 9, 2009 | Reclaim to Fame: The handymen have two hours to build anything they wish from a pile of recycled wood. The guest judge for this challenge is Brian Richer, a master restoration specialist with his own Toronto-area design firm, "Castor", and his own restaurant, "Oddfellows". The Redemption: In the elimination challenge, the handymen have one hour to build a table from seven chairs. | Darrell | |
| 3 | To the Top | July 16, 2009 | Bunk Beds: The traditional pairs challenge this year is to build a bunk bed. The pairings for this challenge are determined by the judges, instead of at random in years prior. The guest judge for this challenge is Cheryl Gillespie, making her second guest judge appearance in this series. Roofing: In the elimination challenge, the handymen have 45 minutes to roof a small peak. Partway through the challenge, it is discovered that Paul was given a different set of shingles than the other three, so for the challenge only two sides had to be done. | Paul Carmine | |
| 4 | Good on Paper | July 23, 2009 | The Line Drawing: The traditional challenge of reproducing a piece of furniture from a line drawing in two hours. Douglas Thompson returns as the guest judge for this challenge. The Sawhorse: In the elimination challenge, the handymen have one hour to build a sawhorse given very detailed plans. | Cathy | |
| 5 | Obstacle Course | July 30, 2009 | The Obstacle Course: The annual challenge has contestants fix a broken window on a door, install a new door, and fix a hardwood floor, with 90 minutes per task. The guest judge for this challenge is Rob Koci, who was the guest judge for the same challenge in the past season. The Brick Column: Contestants have 30 minutes to build a column of bricks. | Corey | |
| 6 | Fenced In | August 6, 2009 | The Fence: The contestants have two hours to build two fence sections and a gate. Shell Busey is the guest judge for this challenge. Stairs to the Final: The contestants have one hour to build a set of stairs. | Steve | |
| 7 | Outdoor Living | August 13, 2009 | The Final Challenge: The contestants, given only a set of furniture, must design and build an outdoor living space. They are given the use of two assistants and six hours to finish the task. | Conor Jesse |