1940's House

[Mycroft]

Hey did any of you all catch 1940's House last night in PBS, it may only be in So. Florida though. It was great all about this modern English Family that exprece life during WWII on the homefront in a 1940's house, amazing. They had mock air raids, rationing, etc. Amazingly good.

 

[MrBern]

I saw it when it first aired a few years ago.
Not as compelling as 'Frontier House' but it had its moments...

Colonial House was cool. Especially when Oprah showed up & ended up doing an episode on her own show.

 

[Mycroft]

I saw it when it first aired a few years ago.
Not as compelling as 'Frontier House' but it had its moments...

Colonial House was cool. Especially when Oprah showed up & ended up doing an episode on her own show.

Oh, what did you think of their front gate, I want one of those for my house. (Art Deco) I didn't know it was a series.

 

[MrBern]

I really dont recall the front gate as it was a few years ago that I viewed the show.
PBS did FrontierHouse where they set up several families to live a log cabin existence. It was very moving to see one of the kids argueing against the slaughter of the hog that he had named & raised. The lesson being that a farm animal shouldnt be a pet if you intend to eat it.
Anyway, it was all very dramatic as they were all really immersed in that world. Their goal was to build enuff resources to survive a winter.
It was all very LittleHouse on the Prairie.
It was also striking to see how much weight some of the men lost form constant work.

For 1940s House, it was a bit disappointing that a community was not again built. Instead a single brit family occupied a house that had survived the war. I believe houses on either side had been bombed out.
The family learned a lot of life lessons & seemed to mature a lot form their experiences.

I enjoyed some bits, such as the ladies not really being able to smoke as it was unpatriotic , since it would really be taking smokes from th soldiers.

 

[Salv]

The 1940s house was recreated at The Imperial War Museum in London after the series was first shown here. It's still there and now forms part of the Children's War exhibition at the museum, and is well worth a visit if you're in London. The official Channel 4 website has more details including a virtual tour.

 

[swankysister]

I watched this a few years ago and cannot remember much of it.

I do enjoy Living History series such as Frontier House, Edwardian House, and others. Although I seemed to miss a couple of Australian series that were filmed at the same time and screened consecutively.

The only show that gave me the 'snakes' was Regency House, which was part Living History, part 'dating game' with the justification that that's "what they did in those days".

Honestly, I would have found it very tough to live in the 1940s House and I wouldn't submit myself to such public scrutiny (I'd just want the 'costumes' at the end).

 

[whistlebait]

it was a bit disappointing that a community was not again built. Instead a single brit family occupied a house

1900 House, which was the only one that I got to watch through its entirety, was done the same way, with other people dropping in to see this single family.

 

[nightandthecity]

It is the total lack of a community that makes it so completely unrealistic. And even if they'd created a community they couldn't have recreated its inherited knowledge and functioning traditional culture. I find all these programmes deeply unsatisfactory. You might just as well take a medieval peasant and isolate him in a modern flat in London or New York.

Well OK, you couldn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t do that, but you know what I mean.

These sort of programmes aren?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t designed to help us understand the past they are designed to create problems and conflicts in small groups for the entertainment of the public. Not that different from Big Brother House really.

What gets me most is the way the inevitable problems that people encounter when thrust into an alien environment without a cultural and social matrix encourages the viewer into a simplistic and smug ?¢‚Ǩ?ìoh wasn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t it terrible back then?¢‚Ǩ? attitude.

 

[jake_fink]

I live in 1940s house.

 

[nightandthecity]

I live in Victorian house......

but pretty much as it would have been circa 1939!

 

[Big Joe]

I've seen this series previously and thought it was great. I wish they'd do an American home front version.

Big Joe

 

[MrBern]

House

I've heard comments from old veterans aboutthe hardships of WWII, & how the current generation wouldnt be able to endure it.
These shows basically show how 21st century families cope w/o modern conveniences.
Its interesting to see folks like us trying to live in a really authentic period home. 1940s house tried very hard to simulate the situation, but obviously the familiy doesnt have to fear for its life in a bomb raid. They are merely inconvenienced by having to wake in the middl of the nite & maybe find some of their belongings knocked over.
On the other hand, they did have to undergo the clothing& strict rationing.
So in the end, the experience did effect the way they looked at things.
I had looked forward to the show, but was a littl disappointed by the smaller scope of just a single family.
The other shows did a better job of taking on the task of setting up a group of families. Or in th case of ManorHouse, the large staff of workers & the family. I thought it was hysterical how the scullery maids kept quitting.
Regardless, this is truly a 'reality' show for the thinking viewer.