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Colonial House - Starts May 17th - PBS

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows: Archives for 2004-1: Colonial House - Starts May 17th - PBS users admin

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ARCHIVESTera50 05-20-04  10:32 am
Archive through May 25, 2004Lurknomore25 05-25-04  10:27 am
Archive through May 26, 2004Lurknomore25 05-26-04  11:33 am
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Marysafan
Member

08-07-2000

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 12:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have to agree about the production and the editing. I learned far more from the Oprah show than I did from the PBS show. Oprah pretty much showed us what it was REALLY like, warts and all, while I felt we got a cleaned up, more presentable version on PBS.

On Oprah, the flies were EVERYWHERE! In the food, on the food, and on the people trying to eat the food. There were mice in the loft. It was stifling hot in those clothes. Last night I noticed a few flies on Mr. Voorhees shirts...on Oprah, his shoulders were covered with them. You got no sense of that from PBS.

I, too would love to view the Oprah program again, now that I know the people a little better.

Secondly, I think there should have been better casting from the standpoint of: This is the way life was. This is what will be expected of you. If you cannot comply, please don't apply.

Thirdly, the fact that there was so little success at hunting, fishing, and or trapping again goes to casting. There was no reason why the colony wasn't successful in this endeavor. It was key to a) their survival, and their ability to pay off their debt. I could have built traps for crying out loud, and I ain't no carpenter. These folks just chose not to (or weren't allowed to).

Finally, what was missing (and this is key) is what one of the participants said in the end..."there was no fear of dying". These colonists did not work like their lives depended on it, when in reality they would have. They were no where near prepared for winter, much of it a result of lack of work effort on the part of some of the community. I think slackers would have been severely dealt with.

With their first winter looming large, I doubt Mr. Heinz's school would have been tolerated. In winter perhaps, but definitely not in fall. Same with the portrait painting.

This could have been so much better, I know this because the Oprah show was so fascinating, it's why I tuned in.

Luvmyjrt
Member

09-18-2003

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 1:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Sorry about the post causing a "coffee malfunction", Lurk........I was just so excited when I figured it out! I even to DH, and he responded with "Did you have too many glasses of wine tonight?" Might have been because I also asked why men have nipples. They don't need them for anything!

Gigglesalot
Member

08-14-2003

Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 6:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Good, well reasoned observations and discussions - thanks everyone for making the experience (the series) better. I think it helps to solidify the events in my mind when I can discuss or think about others viewpoints as compared to my own.

Is PBS filming another historical series? Does anyone know if they plan to?


Lurknomore
Member

07-07-2001

Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 2:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Mary you summed it up PERFECTLY Imho!!!! And LOL @ Luv (my fault I should know better...Lurk malfunction hehe).

Spunky
Member

10-08-2001

Friday, May 28, 2004 - 12:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thank you thank you to all who shared views on this "unusual" reality show.
In a family of 4 I'm the only one in the tv room and it's nice to come here and see others who saw the same shows and eager to comment on them.

One last comment.... all the people in the show seemed more....'interesting looking' not only 'colorful' but really "wholesome", as human beings are meant to look like... their 21st century makeup and clothing just didn't seem to make them "interesting looking" as in the show.
The same feeling I have when watching Survivor, I like the people in their "rugged" "lean" look during the show, afterwords they become ...ordinary looking again..(except Rupert, of course, eh, eh).

Anyway, it was nice commenting on this with all of you, I appreciated your intelligent comments and keen observation.

Lurknomore
Member

07-07-2001

Saturday, May 29, 2004 - 11:43 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Drat...I really was toying with going when a friend pointed out an excellent point that hadn't occured to me. To get to Plymouth Plantation you have to take the same road as traffic to Cape Cod. It will be INSANE on a holiday weekend. And to sit in Cape traffic and not actually go to the Cape?! YIKES lol. So guess my questions will go unanswered for now. Maybe they'll have another event at some point.

Puzzled
Member

08-27-2001

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 12:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You summed it up so well, Marysafan.

I've watched all the other shows, like Manor House, in the series, and enjoyed them, but found Colonial House to be very disappointing.

The Voorhees family should have been banished when they decided not to attend the Sunday meetings. In the 17th century, the parents would have "disappeared"--6 ft under.

I couldn't believe that the "judges" made the decision to continue the colony. They never would have made it through the winter--not enough wood was chopped, not enough food, no furs to wear. Economically they were duds, too.

Sanfranjoshfan
Member

09-17-2000

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 1:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Why are so many people surprised that the Voorhees declined to attend church even though they were living by 1628 standards?

If there had been no people in 1628 that declined to attend church services, there would have been no laws to mandate it. Laws like that were designed to force people to conform (people who would not have done so on their on).

The same goes for the profanity....had people not ignored social etiquette and used profanity in a social setting where they knew it was frowned upon, the rest of them would not have felt the need to pass laws to enforce a ban on it.

Also, I agree that the Voorhees would have been a lot more likely to follow all the rules had they believed that they would have really been punished in some way....sitting on a stool for a couple of hours rather than breaking your back chopping wood and planting corn didn't seem like much of a "punishment" to me.

I think they intentionally chose non-believers in order to put the social restrictions and laws to a test. Four hundred years ago, there were plenty of non-believers and nonconformists that existed in the world. The very fact that a person would choose to become a colonist would define that person as one who would take chances and who would express their individuality. Being a colonist took a certain type of person.....it took one who was a risk taker and who "thought outside the box" to use a modern term. It was probably difficult to tap the energy of such a non-conformist type of adventurous personality, while at the same time expecting them to conform....hence the conflicts and the laws imposed to try and control the conflict.

JMO....

Broxi
Member

03-11-2004

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 1:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Sanfranjoshfan I agree 100% with Every Word you posted.

Sanfranjoshfan
Member

09-17-2000

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 1:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ark - (from your post of about a week ago) "I didn't understand the gay guys need to come out to everyone but maybe if I was gay, I'd get it. In order to make it a more true to life experience, I guess he could have been sent immediately away, instead of actually killing him. Because of my 21st century mind set and the fact that these are real people, as opposed to actors, I don't think I would have felt good about it."

I saw that is something a person in 1628 would never have done because he would've been in fear of his life and in fact, in those days, he would have probably felt too ashamed of his feelings to even consider the idea that it was not "sinful".

I think the guy came out because during that 4 months, they were building a true community of support and spirit and dependence. People that never had to live in the closet have no idea how hard it is to be part of a community spirit when he or she is living with a huge secret that keeps a wall up between their true selves and the people they feel they should be bonding with.

You're right....this guy wasn't an actor....he was a real person that was living a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It would have been an even bigger shame if he had felt the need to deny himself that spirit of community (that all the others had) by living a lie. He took a chance that he might be banished when he came out. I'm glad he wasn't, but if they had banished him and if that had really hurt him as a person, it might have made an important point to some of modern day's hetero viewing audience.

He was a modern man trying to become a part of a community spirit that was impossible to achieve by lying. I think he was acting upon the concept presented in this quote:

"Being in the closet takes a terrible toll on your spirit. Every
time you change pronouns or stifle a comment about your
home life, you cause another micro injury to your soul."
- Dr. Susan Love

---------------------------------------------------

Had the guy just been an actor, it wouldn't have been an issue at all. He would just "act straight", knowing full well that all the others were just "acting religious" or "acting jealous" of their lots in life.

Puzzled
Member

08-27-2001

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 7:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You're right, Sanfranjoshfan, there were, of course, unbelievers.

However, they were dealt with harshly--an ancestress of mine was hauled before the magistrates for not attending services, and as it was a first offense, would have been whipped if found guilty.

Then there were delights like jail and eventually, death.

The Voorhees's had the chance to show how intolerable/uncomfortable it was for these people. So, IMO, they blew it.


Gina8642
Member

06-01-2001

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 8:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Seems odd that someone who wasn't religious would sign up to go to the colonies that were filled with religious zealots. That's why they left England, becuase they wanted freedom to practice their religion. So, I think their casting was a bit fake to pick out people who weren't die hard christians of some sect or another. I think it would be second generation colonists, or indentured servents who would not necessarily be avid church goers. I guess even PBS casts for DRAMA just like MTV.

As far as not being able to hunt - that very well might have been true. Hunting perserves in Europe were (and to some degree still are) for the titled classes. Ordinary citizens probably would have no clue how to hunt. If you hunted in England during that time, it would be a good way to get in deep trouble with the law.

Personally, I'm finding the whole series very boring and am having a hard time getting through it. I do want to watch, and now am curious to see Oprah's show. It's all on TiVo, and there's very little else on right now, hopefully I'll get through it all soon.

I was pleased that they pointed out that 90% of the Native American's died between contact and colonization. I remembered learning that in college and wondering why the heck I'd never heard that before. It sure isn't mentioned often.

The Plague in Europe that caused the dark ages only killed like 30% of the population. Imagine if 90% went? Your civilization would just collapse beyond all imagination. It boggles the mind!

Sanfranjoshfan
Member

09-17-2000

Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 2:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
But the Voorhees did show how intolerable/uncomfortable it was for them....to the point that they risked being banished from the colony by avoiding church, and the father actually resigned from his post because it was too uncomfortable for his family.

As for the "casting being fake"....it is, after all, a reality show....they are real people put in a unique situation and they were left to cope as best they could while being filmed. If the producers had just wanted people that would conform to all the behaviors of 1628 (without having the conflicts that a modern mind with a modern education would find in that context), they would have dropped the idea of it being a reality based series and just written a script and hired actors.

This was as much an experiment as it was a history lesson.

Gina8642
Member

06-01-2001

Monday, June 07, 2004 - 7:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, I finally got around to carefully watching this. It's been on my TiVo forever. As with most reality shows, the more I watched, the more I got deeply absorbed with it all. I still haven't quite got through them all, but soon....

Some Comments:

I think PBS did better with their casting this time than with Frontier House. Everyone seemed very interested in doing this and playing their roles correctly and living the life as the colonists did.

I think PBS did a better job running the series than with Frontier House. Last time it was clear that production staff was carrying some nasty gossip back and forth between the houses that created much animosity. I just didn't see that this time. (In Frontier House, the only way for the families to 'know' about these various incidents of cheating or what not, was for production to be gossiping. Very counter productive IMO, and frankly it was entirely the production staff's fault.)

I thought it was a bit bizzare to spring their 'roles' on them just as they were ready to disembark. Realistically a person would know their lot in life before boarding a ship to the Americas and wouldn't suddenly be faced with the prospect of sleeping on the floor for four months at the beck and call of another human being. However, everyone seemed to do a great job taking their roles in stride.

The PBS Colonial House website is quite good. I learned all sorts of good tidbits. My favorite page is Henry the Dog's bio. That was very cute to include. LOL I especially enjoyed his quote (right upper side of page). (Henry's page; Chloe also has a page...)

Good tidbits:

*They allowed them bugspray. Yay PBS! (Survivor has always annoyed me by not allowing bugspray) They said that due to climatic differences their wouldn't have been that many mosquitos in 1628 anyways due to the mini ice age.

*They started without tooth brushes, but the colonists begged for and got them. Again, Yay for PBS!!!! No reason to make someone have dental problems for the sake of a living history programs. That could lead to life long problems.

*One colonist, unnamed, went to the ER for an axe injury. Henry the dog went to the vet after a unfun encounter with a porcupine. Maybe these were covered in an ep I've yet to see? Don't know.