BS: 1940s House

Subject: BS: 1940s House
From: irishajo
Date: 07 Nov 02 - 12:24 PM

Was there a thread on this series already? Did I miss it?

I know I'm not the only person who watched this! I want to know what you all thought about it!

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 07 Nov 02 - 12:31 PM

Amazing! Boy, those folks hung in pretty well considering the distractions (like Hitler, and our "friend" Werner Von Braun)

When I'm feeling cynical (like right now) seeing something like that gives me a real jolt. (a positive one)

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Nov 02 - 03:42 PM

They showing it over in North America now? Here is the ITV site about it.

For me this was by a long way the best of this whole set of "time travel" reality shows. That was because it was time travel back to my earliest childhood. They kept it pretty spot on, so far as I could see, and the family chosen were just right. And it showed respect to the people who lived through it as parents. At the end of the series, when there's a Victory Celebration, and this is also the way of saying goodbye to the house at the same time, it was pretty moving.

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: chip a
Date: 07 Nov 02 - 04:47 PM

I saw Prarie house, Surviving the iiron age and this. Are there others? This was the best by far. These folks got through it well. Iron age was a bust I thought. We had a thread on the american west prarie house.

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Nancy King
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 12:54 AM

I thought it was terrific. I sat and watched the three hours straight through, without doing anything else at the same time. Very unusual for me. The fact that this was recreating something within living memory and yet so different from our (British and American) current lives made it especially interesting.

The family was really good, especially the kids. This was different from the other series in that it was closely tied to specific historic events in a specific time period. But the telescoping of the five years or so into only 90 days meant that things changed really fast for the family. I think they handled it remarkably well.

I was fascinated to learn that (according to the shopkeeper) SPAM stands for "Specially Pressed American Meat." I wonder.

Cheers, Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Mudlark
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 01:52 AM

I thought it was interesting that the mother (grandmother) continued to spurn supermarkets and shop daily for fresh fare in local shops even after the show ended....and found that it cut her grocery bills in half! compared to pre 1940 House receipts.

If SPAM stands for Specially Pressed American Meat I shudder to think what 'SPAW must stand for...

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Rara Avis
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 02:35 PM

It was a great show. But I thought SPAM was a contraction of SPiced hAM.

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 02:37 PM

I loved it! watched the whole series. I found it very interesting.

Cat

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Willie-O
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 02:49 PM

Specially Processed Alleged Meat?
SPAW....never mind

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Bert
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 02:56 PM

Well I missed it, dammit. I'm looking out for a rerun just to see how they handle whale meat and dried eggs and what to do when you air raid shelter fills up with water.

I know Dad used to soak his dart board in ours.

Did they show kids sheltering under their desks at school? And what about the horrors of the evacuation train, Did they show the teachers hiding in their own compartment and leaving the kids to fend for themselves? I bet they didn't show the state of the toilets on that train either.

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: Melani
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 11:48 PM

I loved it! People were saying, "1940's? That's modern times! What's the big deal?" After all, I can remember my mom keeping house like that in the early '50's. But making them live through simulated WWII was brilliant. One reason these guys came out better than the other shows of the same type was that they had the example of their parents and others to live up to--the TV family were well aware that they weren't really in physical danger. Then the real BBC broadcasts--they had just been complaining about cleaning up the "bomb damage" when they heard the broadcast about liberating Belsen. They got real quiet and turned off the radio. I especially liked the way it affected their real lives afterward, with the mom changing her shopping habits, etc.

Now, as a long-time Rennie, I want to see The Elizabethan House.

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 03:40 PM

For various reasons I can't see them topping the 1940s house, because of the kind of special factors that have been mentioned.

But when they get round to the Sixties, which no doubt they will soon enough, that should be interesting.

I get the impression they put this out in America as one extended special. If that was so, it was a pity. There's this fashion now for throwing everything at people in one indigestible lump, instead of spacing it out. All in one evening as a special, or on successive days, or night after night at the same time. I think weekly segments makes much more sense for most things. They knew that kind of thing back in the '40s.

Subject: RE: BS: 1940s House
From: GUEST,Nick
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 10:45 AM

But I survived growing up in the era of DISCO!
Scarred by it yes, but I will carry on.
Nick