In general I was a bit too often too disappointed in the show to truly love it. The family is nice and they enjoy their adventure, we got to meet the amazing Debbie, and there was plenty to see that was interesting and amusing, but it wasn't really a proper full time living history reality show. They only did a few experiences now and then and of course there was a lot of attention for the cooking and eating, but besides that they had modern bedrooms and they were allowed to go home 3 days between each era. This makes it a bit unfair to compare this show to shows like 'The 1900 house', 'The 1940s house' etc, but you can't help doing that anyway. It felt like they were doing things in this show that we had already seen in other shows and because those shows had more time, more budget and involved people actually living the experience 24/7, they generally did it better. If you can't do something similar just as good or better than it has already been done before, don't do it, try something else.
I was also surprised and disappointed at the strange contraptions the cooking was done on. None of the cooking ranges were authentic. Which to me defeated the purpose of the show. The actual daily life bit was a neglected, but the cooking and the food was the star of the show, the main subject. So I think they should have put extra attention on getting that right. And I can tell you from experience that cooking on a retro looking modern range isn't the same as using an original. Via Twitter I learned that this was done because of health and safety. Something that surprises me as there are several historically themed shows and movies that were made at the same time where original stoves were used. I find it difficult to believe that a show these days could not get permission to use at least an 1940s range. If need be, these could even be made safe to use again or a newly build exact replica could be ordered that follow all the new guidelines. Although of course that would take a bite out of the budget.
The costumes & hair and the way the house was decorated were a bit of a hit and miss, the costume and art department didn't always get it right and that is a shame. Most viewers won't notice it but making the atmosphere as historically correct as possible often makes such a big difference, even if you don't know about the mistakes.
The lighting was also not very good but this is a common ailment. Most historical shows have way too bright light everywhere because of course the production crew wants to be sure you see everything. But it is not needed. The show would have looked a lot better with more atmospheric and realistic light.
So in short, a decent and entertaining show but there were too many missed opportunities and room for improvement.
I was also surprised and disappointed at the strange contraptions the cooking was done on. None of the cooking ranges were authentic. Which to me defeated the purpose of the show. The actual daily life bit was a neglected, but the cooking and the food was the star of the show, the main subject. So I think they should have put extra attention on getting that right. And I can tell you from experience that cooking on a retro looking modern range isn't the same as using an original. Via Twitter I learned that this was done because of health and safety. Something that surprises me as there are several historically themed shows and movies that were made at the same time where original stoves were used. I find it difficult to believe that a show these days could not get permission to use at least an 1940s range. If need be, these could even be made safe to use again or a newly build exact replica could be ordered that follow all the new guidelines. Although of course that would take a bite out of the budget.
The costumes & hair and the way the house was decorated were a bit of a hit and miss, the costume and art department didn't always get it right and that is a shame. Most viewers won't notice it but making the atmosphere as historically correct as possible often makes such a big difference, even if you don't know about the mistakes.
The lighting was also not very good but this is a common ailment. Most historical shows have way too bright light everywhere because of course the production crew wants to be sure you see everything. But it is not needed. The show would have looked a lot better with more atmospheric and realistic light.
So in short, a decent and entertaining show but there were too many missed opportunities and room for improvement.