Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the last two episodes were shown yesterday at 4pm. If you drop me an email with your address, I can send you the video (since some of us were at Audley End yesterday afternoon! )
That's unforgiveable - changing the day and time, especially with no notice given at all. This was a very interesting historical re-creation series, the end of which a lot of people will have now have completely missed.
Thanks, Jenni. Since posting my original query, I had finally found the details on the C4 History website and in yesterdays listing in the 'Radio Times',
Given the nature of the series, and the way things had developed in the reconstructed colony, do I detect the hand of some new ultra-'politically correct' C4 scheduler?
Was this deemed not to be suitable material for the mid-evening pre-'Big Brother' watershed? Which could be the reason for tucking it away in the late afternoon schedules on a Saturday, where no-one would see it....
Obviously, we can't have too much in the way of Southern Baptist biblical dogmatism just before watching the ridiculous antics of the self-obsessed exhibitionist freaks in "the house"!
couldnt channel 4 see the similarities between big brother and pioneer house both reality tv both had contestants who broke the rules and were punished both had nudity and alcohol etc.
superb but i missed the last two episodes
i want to go there dress up in 17thc gear and live in a wild part of Maine in a wooden hut well there were little more.
kemal was told to sit on the idiot step and members of pioneer house were tied to a stump for an hour as punishment
the cast were more attractive and more interesting than the mostly 20 something wannabes in big bruvver.
channel 4 would lose money but for the advertising revenue of BB so they are only in it for the money though derek laud is a star derek laud for PM! it seems to me that the most interesting people in BB are always the old gits particularly recalcitrant old gits - is this because i am ssoooo old myself? - i am 50
You want to dress up in 17th Century clothes and experience life in the raw ? Join the Fairfax Battalia and become one of Master Pinchbeck's people at the hiring fair. Oh we can offer you immersion if you want it.
Thank you Ch4 - I was enjoying this series, sat down on Sunday evening and then discovered to my horror that I'd missed the final, and possibly most interesting, programmes.
I missed them too, which was irritating because I'd heard so much about the series. Mark and Ruth Goodman who advised on the series are friends of ours and my chap was responsible for sewing all those breeches and things. They were measured up for clothes but figuring that they would not get fat on a diet of dried peas, they put on lots of weight before they went. Then nothing fitted properly of course. I note that for the most part the participants managed to dispense with many of the standard items of clothing anyhow. Hair under coifs ladies, and never be seen outdoors without your outer garments. Whilst the "bodies" are very fetching they are underwear and no self respecting woman would have gone about in the equivalent of her bra in those days.
Fortunately I spotted it was on and taped it but have not had time to watch it as yet.
Surely they will have to show the last two episodes again at some time as like others have already said, I did not hear the concluding episodes would be at a different time. When taping I thought they were a first showing and the normal time would be respected.
Strange behaviour from Channel 4.
**Just wants to pass some time without any hassle**
It could have been an interesting profile but was hampered by the intrusion of two many 21st century concerns, and very little understanding of the puritan ethic. They didn't even dress properly out of doors! And where were the native Indians who were generous and helpful in those early days in New England.The English had to spin, weave, make clothes, where was all that? Any comments?
They were certainly not chosen for their understanding of what took place. Tv companies would never choose re-enactors for this sort of thing because they would make such light work of it.
Originally posted by pepinouska: And where were the native Indians who were generous and helpful in those early days in New England.
I was quite annoyed when they did turn up in the last episodes - as you say, there were too many 21st century interpretations and reflections. I was rather annoyed by the settler who said she hadn't really thought about the experiment involving the less-friendly aspects of colonialism. We all know so many things which went wrong in all countries settled by outsiders, but that's looking at the situation from a 21st century perspective and with modern day values. I didn't think the experiment was about the rights and/or wrongs of the situations which arose.
I didn't think some issues should have been brought into the experiment because they simply weren't issues at the time. I was first a bit annoyed by the failure of one family to attend Sabbath services because of their personal convictions, then by Jonathan's "coming out" - not that there is anything wrong with either of these today, but I just didn't think they were appropriate issues for the programme to cover. Either the participants immerse themselves (which might involve suspending their 21st century values) or why bother - it's not a true experiment.
Yes, there were very many inconsistencies and inaccuracies so far as authenticity was concerned - but I think, for the producers it was less about providing an exact copy of a north American colony, than getting a fairly accurate idea of what it must have been like for the colonists.
Hence the general insistence on hard work, godly living, attendance at the meeting, etc. Yes - it did go (very much) over the top at times, and you could see the that situation it placed governor Jeff Wyers in was not an enviable one - especially as a real-life pastor, he clearly agonised about some of the decisions he had to make.
We also have to try and put ourself in the place of the founders of these colonies (albeit, this has been somewhat romanticised on the other side of the Atlantic) and realise they were seeking to build a new society that would truly be "a city set on a hill".
In United States culture - even today - those historic principles, ambitions and goals are much more meaningful, and have much greater significance than they could ever have here. That came across well in some of the interviews with Wyers - it was an idealism that we, as non-Americans, couldn't quite relate to.
Ironically, though, it was to be a free society built upon freedom of religion and expression - which wasn't quite what we saw happening in the series.
And wasn't it interesting that the last person we saw arriving, in the trailer (those of us who have yet to see the last two episodes), was the plantation owner, who was clearly more concerned about his profit?
Freedom of religion and expression - posted by Bruce. Yes, these freedoms were important to the first settlers, but what we understand by that must be different from their understanding. I know that with the advent of Governor Winthrop in 1630 Puritanism became a matter of law, and those who disagreed fled westward to Connecticut as my own family did. The city on the hill was too dogmatic for some.All the same I feel that Jeff Wyers should have been stricter with his subjects. In an environment like that everyone has to pull together, and these "colonists" did not appear to understand the dangers of individualism! Backsliders were put in the stocks for the day, or pilloried. Masters had power to beat their servants, and a really lazy lot they appeared to be.....
Leadership failures show up large in these scenarios. The participants were also not a "natural" grouping and whatever you do to take people out of the 21st Century you never succeed in taking the 21st Century out of people. I'm looking forward to my own immersive project but not to the lye soap.
So what is your "immersion experience", Mandy? Is it more than your normal re-enactments? Are you going to be whisked away for a few weeks for total isolation in a CW community?
I appreciate that one will always have 21st century views on moral and other issues of whatever time one is living in, but I don't think it's appropriate that these should be voiced on camera! I'm quite happy with the idea that some re-enactors are always on the outside looking in and commentating as a 21st century observer, but I didn't think that's what these TV programmes were set out to achieve. Perhaps in a follow-up programme, but not during the experience. Perhaps they should just have mimed killing the goat?
Yes, this is something we are working on that is not a public performance or display. We will be at a house some distance from roads and we are trying to live as close to the mid 17th norm as possible. It's going to take a lot of thinking through and planning and I doubt if we will have as long as two or three weeks, but it should offer a flavour of the situation. Don't know where I'm going to get the lice from :-)
I have now watched the final two episodes and want to comment but not spoil it for those who have not yet seen them. Therefore I will start another thread and include "spoiler" in the title.
**Just wants to pass some time without any hassle**
Hi - me and my family were really looking forward to seeing the next episode and then got caught out by the scheduling! Would anyone be able to send us a VHS???
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