1940's House
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: 1940's House

Car54

Saturday, November 02, 2002 - 07:19 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
1940s House
Into the Unkown/Women at War/The Beginning of the End

One modern family takes on the challenge of domestic life on Britain's home front in 1940s House, a re-creation of a World War II household. This time travel experiment covers the period from the outbreak of the war in 1939 to Victory Day in 1945, compressing the events of six wartime years into two months. Though the military threat is metaphorical, the privations are real, and the pressures create tensions nonexistent in modern society.

The first episode charts the project's background: the renovation of the house and transformation of the Hymers into a wartime family.

In the second episode, the family faces food and fuel rationing and air raid sirens. With the sirens sounding many times a day, the Hymers spend a lot of time in their shelter, waiting for VE Day.

In the third episode, the Hymers explain what the experience meant to them. The series' "war cabinet" considers how well the Hymers fared in comparison to their wartime counterparts.



I did not find this on PBS.org, but on my local PBS station site. Here is starts Nov 6

Seamonkey

Saturday, November 02, 2002 - 08:10 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sounds interesting.. I saw a rerun of the wedding episode of the Pioneer house? series last night.. that really was well-done. I sure did like some of those people.

Tess

Saturday, November 02, 2002 - 08:59 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh, I forgot about this, Car. Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to be sure to catch this. Loved Frontier House and the 1900 House.

Sea, I really liked the couple that got married on Frontier House and the dad, too. They were my favorites by far. Some of the others got under my skin a bit, though.

Seamonkey

Saturday, November 02, 2002 - 10:30 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes!! They were my favorites too, tho I liked the Clunes much of the time too. But Nate and his dad, then his brother, then his bride.. I just really really liked them.

I don't know if our PBS station will have this 1940, but I can hope :)

Heyltslori

Monday, November 04, 2002 - 11:25 am EditMoveDeleteIP
This is on my PBS station on Nov. 6th too. I am really looking forward to it. I loved Frontier House...especially The Brooks'. I didn't see any of 1900 House so if anyone ever hears of it being repeated I would appreciate being told. Thanks :)

Car54

Monday, November 04, 2002 - 11:45 am EditMoveDeleteIP
They showed Frontier House on my PBS this weekend too. Must be a warm up for this one. I hear there are some whiners in this family!

Car54

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 04:14 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Bump...this is on tonight, and in my area it will be repeated several times over the next week.

Twinkle

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 09:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
There were 3 back to back episodes on my local PBS affiliate this evening. Now, of course I couldn't miss The Bachelor or the Osborne interview, so I watched #1 and taped the rest, checking to see what was happening during commercials.

There's a slightly different angle because there were folks contributing to the show who lived through WW II in England, which can't be said of the other "House" series. :)

The whining wasn't extreme, mostly the result of frustration. Food rationing was challenging. Besides a home garden, there were four or five overly cute bunnies that were supposed to be a source of meat. Right. The two young kids in the family immediately bonded with the furry critters, which were eventually taken to a pet shop.

Although I enjoyed what I saw, the show wasn't as interesting to me as the other "Houses", possibly because it was depicting a more recent time frame and everyday life wasn't quite as challenging.

Sia

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 11:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I enjoyed the program tonight. I saw all but the first ten or 12 minutes. Gives me new appreciation for all that my grandmothers endured! My parents were just small then, but my children by contrast are living on EASY STREET and just do not know it.

Tess

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 11:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
aaaaack, I missed the first 15 minutes. Forgot to turn off the vcr so it could record.

Anyone out there who can fill in the first 15 minutes or so? I'd surely appreciate it.

Finqwik

Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 07:59 am EditMoveDeleteIP
What a great show ! The first fifteen minutes as I remember were: They just showed the preparations done to the house and garden to make it authentic. Some audition tapes were shown, short clips showing the other applicants. The audition tape for the chosen family was played I cannot remember the family name.....but anyway they were 3 Generations Grandparents, Daughter and 2 sons. In the audition tape they talked about the Dads 'obssesion' with the 1940's and that was they basis and reason for their application more or less. Then it showed them getting hair cuts and 'dos' and finally leaving their home in Yorkshire with all the neighbours waving union jacks and buntinghung from the street lamps.
When they arrived at the house they were met by Magarete Pattern ( a famous Britsh icon of Domestic chores) who showed them around the house and gave them a weeks worth of recipes to get them started, this Lady also came back later in the show for 'TEA'. In the first week they were not rationed. Anyway hope that fills in the gaps.
I think the show was very well done. I am British and so can remember my mother talking about the war years. And whilst I was born in the late 50,s I think a lot of that 'mend and make do' attitude still prevaled through the sixties.......I was surprised that the Mum did not know how to bake a cake. I'm sure she would have had to have taken 'Domestic Science' at school I really like the final quote from one of the boys something like this " Well apart from Granny's gone bonkers, she seems a lot calmer now". Lynne the Mum/Gran was really transformed by the whole thing I think, and maybe for the better?

Kstme

Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 11:13 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I absolutely LOVED this show! There was nothing about it, except I wish I could have seen more, that I didn't like. The Gran/Mum, Father, Daughter were terrific and those two boys are more than wise beyond their years!

Sia

Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 12:07 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes she was, Finqwik. Lyn surprised herself by decreasing her food budget by 50% following her family's participation in the 1940s House project. She walks to market daily and buys fresh meat and produce daily and no longer relies on ready-made foods. I admire her greatly. I would love to emulate her, but would that mean giving up my beloved p.c. and 'net access? Yikes!

Vanillarose

Friday, November 08, 2002 - 06:24 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I loved this one, too! It was my favorite one yet! I loved the Hymers family. I thought they were perfect for 1940's House and seemed to be the most into it of any of families, yet, and got the most out of the experience, too. I loved how Lyn changed changed so much, and the boys continued such creative play. The boys were adorable, especially little Thomas!

Car54

Saturday, November 09, 2002 - 02:38 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
This is on right now on my PBS station. I am loving this family. The little boys are amazing..what great kids.

Car54

Saturday, November 09, 2002 - 04:09 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well I just watched the whole series in one sitting and this was wonderful. My dad was a sailor for a short time at the end of WWII, and my mom left home to be a Rosie the Riveter in the ship yards. Both my older uncles served, so this is very interesting to me. I have a lot of pictures of my mom at that age as a young woman on her own.

This show was fascinating. I have always read a lot of books that take place during this period. I have such admiration for the family that did this experiment.

Mamaanja

Saturday, November 09, 2002 - 07:25 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree,this was wonderful! I taped it wednesday and finally finished watching it this afternoon. I think the reason I find reality shows so intriguing is I enjoy watching people experience personal growth. I love it when someone conquers a fear of heights to jump out of a plane or hang glide. I love to watch people surprise themselves with their strength and accomplishment. The Mom and Daughter in this show really changed after they decided to stop resisting the process. Wow.

Did anyone else notice the dramatic music that played whenever they showed the five experts around the table? I thought that looked so staged! It amused me. It almost seemed scripted.

Aahhh. I love PBS.

Tess

Saturday, November 09, 2002 - 08:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Finqwik, thank you so much for filling in the first part of the show for me. I still have to watch the last hour. I should do that tonight!

Bastable

Sunday, November 10, 2002 - 08:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
For those of us who loved this show (not only was the historical aspect quite fascinating, but it was by the far the most moving of the three series so far), there is a book version available that details the house, the lifestyle, and the history, with lots of pictures.

You can buy the book version of this or of 1900 House at the Amazon.co.uk site, which is Amazon's British version.

Gadzooks

Sunday, November 10, 2002 - 10:35 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
If you liked 1900 house, Frontier house and 1940's house...stay tuned.....1600 house (Colonial House) is on the way. I'm not sure when PBS is planning on airing it, but I suspect it will be early next year. That should be just as fascinating.

Sia

Monday, November 11, 2002 - 09:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
It seemed to me that in "1040s House" the experts really piled the woes onto the family, stressing them unbelievably! I realize that Brits who lived in London during the war had it even WORSE and for a far longer period of time, but I was afraid for the children. They were said to have been most resilient, but they seemed traumatized to me. Meagre food, interrupted sleep, and the sheer terror of not knowing when they'd be roused from their beds to trek to the back yard to the Anderson shelter really wore on those boys.

Oh, and the "experts" seemed to really relish their roles in turning up the stress for the family, I thought. Anyone else have that opinion?

Bastable

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 12:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Not me, Sia. I think it was edited in such a way as to heighten the drama, but no one in that house was under any illusion that it was real. To the boys, it was like a big game. They were playing. These folks participated because they really loved experiencing it. I don't think there was a drop of "sheer terror" involved, I really don't.

Car54

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 12:43 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I don't think any of them had any thought the circumstances were "real", and if there was a shock, I thought it was because the hardships and deprivations came on so suddenly and got worse very quickly. The real things happened over the course of months or years, and for these people, the changes happened daily.

As for the experts, I thought they took the whole thing very seriously and wanted to make sure the family experienced the reality of how hard life was for the wartime Brits.

I felt like the boys thought they were part of a big game, and at the end, I felt like they were very proud of themselves and of their grandparents and mother for doing so well in the experiment.

Finqwik

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 03:07 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Heads up ! According to my Mum (over in the UK)they have done a 1950's house. Heck ! That seems too recent to me.

Car54

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 03:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think that would be interesting. The 1950's in the UK were still a time of recovery from the war.
This is the kind of reality TV I really enjoy. I have loved each of these living history series. Beats the heck out of peanut butter bikinis.

Vanillarose

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 04:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree with Car and Bastable that it was a big game for the boys. They almost never seemed particularly stressed out at all, but mostly seemed to be having fun, while really learning about what others had gone through.

As for the experts delighting in devising more hardships and deprivations for the family, I thoguht they were just taking their job of making the experience as accurate as possible very seriously. It seemed like everyone from the experts to every member of the family wanted to do the best job possible out of respect for those who actually lived through those awful times. One thing, though, is that because they only lived the experience for 9 weeks they will never really know how wearing it would have been for the people who lived under those conditions for several years.

I can hardly believe there will be a 1950's House, although my son was saying just yesterday that he'd like to see a 1950's House.! I laughed at him because I thought it was so recent! LOL! What's next....1960's Hippie House?! Sign me up for that one!!! :)

Sia

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 11:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Okay, I'm glad you think the boys weren't bothered. I thought they were just so hungry and I know how awful I'd have felt if I were their mother and unable to keep them properly nourished. I don't think I'd have enjoyed the experience, myself. Too tiring, and the unpredictability would have driven me bonkers! The endless charity work, too! I can't imagine how those women ground away like that for years on end, never knowing if the end to the hard times was coming or not.

Laura11103

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 09:28 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I just ordered the tapes from pbs.org for my mom for christmas. I don't know when it's repeated and it's already back ordered, I know my mom will love it and we got something to watch on christmas now, lol (and I'll try no to watch it before christmas, it's a present for HER I will keep reminding myself).

Seamonkey

Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 06:20 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I just ran across this on one of our PBS stations today.. I saw the last two episodes and I guess a wee bit of the first.. loved it!! I never saw anything announcing this here but.. have to admit I could have looked harder..