Colonial House

[Yelowsub]

Am I the only complete Kitten nerd? Because the PBS reality shows are the only ones that I will watch. And I LOVE them.



The latest Colonial House is rockin my socks.



It airs May 17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th. On PBS for two hours (there are 8 episodes total).



But the forth episode that aired tonight included one colonist coming out of the closet. There was an article about it in the Advocate a little while ago.



Does anyone else watch it?

"Trying to talk about love is like trying to dance about architecture."

[Hemiola]

Fear not, Yelowsub, you aren't the only one watching .



In fact, I watched all of the "House" series on PBS, and had different reactions to each one.



1. "Colonial House"--of course, no one was surprised at the unspeakable misery and wretchedness of the lives of these people: just think how bad their lives must have been in 17th century England to undertake this sort of enterprise. To be sure, the producers have a problem reconciling that there were two different kinds of colonies: commercial enterprises (like Jamestown, or that little Dutch trading post known as Nieuw Amsterdam ) and "religious" colonies such as Massachusetts Bay and Pennsylvania. All of the anti-"blasphemy" and anti-"profanity" laws wouldn't have been so strictly enforced in a commercial colony (although it's worth noting that a man was executed in Jamestown just on the suspicion that he was a "Papist spy" ).



2. "1900 House"--a little weird for me, since it dealt with an era encompassing the lives of my grandparents! I can remember my grandmother telling me about rubbing salt water on her teeth to clean them (no toothpaste!), and aspirin being pretty much the only available home remedy. Naturally, there was nothing really available in the way of personal grooming products at that time. Still, it was not such a problem when you didn't have anything else (the real "tension" in all of these shows comes from the fact that the 21st century people know about comforts and conveniences that the people of 1900 couldn't even imagine ).



3. "Frontier House"--another study in misery. Yet I had the feeling from reading Laura Ingolls' "Little House" books that life didn't have to be quite so miserable. People were simply tougher and hardier, especially without knowledge of the comforts/conveniences that came later.



4. "1940s House"--this was truly weird, since it encompassed the lifetimes of my parents. Of course we in the USA didn't suffer quite so much as the British did during the war (constant attacks plus serious shortages of food and other necessities), but I can remember my parents telling me about such things as "Meatless Tuesdays" and the near impossibility of obtaining gasoline. Who knows? If the "War On Terror" continues much longer, we may be in for this sort of existence once again !

[Willowlicious]

Ah, my dears, I too am a PBS nerd. I've so far seen "1900 House," "1940s House," "Manor House" and what has aired so far of "Colonial House." I've enjoyed them all, though I think "Manor House" was the best. I'm a complete history geek. Sigh.



Amy

[Hemiola]

Thanks, Amy, I forgot all about "Manor House". It was like watching a "real" version of "Upstairs, Downstairs" (of which I was a huge fan ).



I dare say we will never have to endure a "hierarchical" society like that again (at least, I hope not ). I for one could never think of someone as "one of my betters" simply because they were richer than I was. However, I certainly wouldn't mind being able to afford an army of servants to see to my every want and need.



"Hudson, draw me a bath!"

[Yelowsub]

There was a 1940s house? When was it on? Okay, almost ready to denounce my PBS nerd title.



But one thing that I have always loved about the series is watching how people deal with the power that they are given. Like in Colonial House, the Pastor's wife wasn't big on the rules, she refused to cover her head with the only purpose of raising a ruckus. But the moment she becomes governor's wife, she's organizing banquets by class rank and not seeing why people are upset about following the rules.



It's just been a great show to watch and laugh along with. Only one night left?

"Trying to talk about love is like trying to dance about architecture."