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Lost in the '70s
A dozen members of the iPod generation confront a challenging, new reality as they step back in time on MTV's 'The '70s House'and cope without today's gadgetry
BY KEVIN McDONOUGH
Kevin McDonough is a freelance writer
July 3, 2005
We've all seen this "reality" before. Or have we? Twelve photogenic young people arrive at a designated location ready to outwit and outlast. But this time, their "real" world consists of a humble split-level ranch with a shagadelic interior decor.
Bert (Bil Dwyer), dressed for an ancient episode of "Let's Make a Deal," greets them at the door, brandishing a clunky microphone and shouting each guest's name and astrological birth sign. Jaws drop and eyes bulge as the unsuspecting players make their way into the sunken living room. Welcome to "The '70s House" (debuting Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.), MTV's new experiment in mind games and competitive cohabitation.
Expecting to appear on "The Real World," or "Road Rules," the kids are shocked to discover that they must immerse themselves in the music, food and fads of 30 years ago. They must study '70s history and lore, and, worse, they must get up and dance the Hustle every time the song blares from speakers placed throughout the house. But before they do, their host, Dawn (Natasha Leggero), demands that they divest themselves of their cell phones, PDAs, iPods and other technical devices from a time now referred to as "the 2000s."
The makers of "The '70s House" felt that this technological deprivation would be at least half the joke. According to MTV senior vice president Jessica Samet, the producers knew "it would be funny to watch kids all born in the 1980s having to live in the '70s and having to live without all of the things they are used to."
While one contestant, Andrew, 19, contends that he had "a blast" in the house, he was challenged by his parents' technology. He'd seen a rotary phone only once, "as a prop in a play I was in." Relying on the single phone "was really bad. ... I couldn't call my mom if I was having a bad day in the '70s." And to make matters worse, "the girls seemed to figure out right away, and they were always on it."
According to Samet, the contestants had phone problems beyond the slowness of the rotary dial. They had a hard time calling their friends because "all of their numbers are stored in their cell phones."
Andrew found phonographs equally mysterious. "I had no idea what I was doing. Every time I would turn a little knob, ... [the needle] would go up and go back down." And having grown used to his iPod, he couldn't acclimate to the more leisurely pace of spinning platters. "We're from the microwave generation. We want things right away. We don't want to wait around until the needle settles."
While he'll never become a vinyl fan, Andrew left "The '70s House" with an appreciation for what he now considers "the great music of the 1970s" and an increased disdain for contemporary artists such as Britney Spears. The first thing he bought after returning to 2005 was a Simon and Garfunkel CD.
But the show is not only about "Feelin' Groovy." Tension arrives in the form of competitions and weekly eliminations. The voice of a man named Oscar announces each new challenge via a vintage speakerphone. Think Charlie of "Charlie's Angels." In episode one, the housemates are required to compete in a basketball game, dressed in short shorts, clunky sneakers, headbands and other regalia out of the old American Basketball Association, even using its tricolor ball. At the last minute they discover they'll be playing in front of a contemporary high school crowd, that jeers at the outlandish outfits.
In a future episode, the housemates take disco dancing lessons from Deney Terrio, choreographer for "Saturday Night Fever," only to find that their dance competition takes place at a hip-hop club, where their prairie dresses and one-piece jumpsuits raise eyebrows, to say the least.
The contestants also compete in trivia contests modeled on '70s game shows and presided over by Bert and Dawn. A veteran of the spoof show "Joe Schmo II" and a guest star on an upcoming episode of "Reno 911," Leggero plays Dawn with mellow aplomb. "For Dawn," Leggero says, "everything is chill ... nothing is going to get you down."
But while Dawn is always having a nice day, Samet is bummed out by the players' scant knowledge of '70s history. "They are totally clueless. They thought the [Iranian] hostage crisis took place in Canada. They think America's bicentennial was in 1972 and that Eisenhower was president during the '70s." Their lack of knowledge even extended to one of the most popular tunes of the classic-rock era. In a fill-in-the blank test, they were asked to complete the song title, "Stairway to ____." "Oddly enough, one of them thought the answer was 'Miami,'" Samet observes ruefully. "We had a lot of moments."
Despite such "setbacks," Leggero found the atmosphere upbeat. "I was prepared for them to think the '70s were gross. But every time we threw something at them, they all got excited."
Just don't ask about the food. One female housemate complained that she gained 10 pounds from the steady diet of Swanson's frozen dinners. And "they complained that it took 25 minutes to cook the dinners because there were no microwaves," Samet says.
But there were some upsides to the technological downgrade. According to Samet, the lack of gadgetry forced house members to "sit around and talk and read magazines and books, and do things that they were not used to doing."
The MTV executive seemed genuinely surprised by how much the contestants liked wearing polyester outfits from the Ford and Carter years. "We looked for the worst clothes of the 70s ... the worst," Samet says.
But don't tell that to Andrew. Now that he's back in the present, his future might entail a wilder wardrobe and wider collars. "I would love to wear leisure suits around all of the time," says Andrew, birth sign Cancer. "I think they look pimp."
A dozen members of the iPod generation confront a challenging, new reality as they step back in time on MTV's 'The '70s House'and cope without today's gadgetry
BY KEVIN McDONOUGH
Kevin McDonough is a freelance writer
July 3, 2005
We've all seen this "reality" before. Or have we? Twelve photogenic young people arrive at a designated location ready to outwit and outlast. But this time, their "real" world consists of a humble split-level ranch with a shagadelic interior decor.
Bert (Bil Dwyer), dressed for an ancient episode of "Let's Make a Deal," greets them at the door, brandishing a clunky microphone and shouting each guest's name and astrological birth sign. Jaws drop and eyes bulge as the unsuspecting players make their way into the sunken living room. Welcome to "The '70s House" (debuting Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.), MTV's new experiment in mind games and competitive cohabitation.
Expecting to appear on "The Real World," or "Road Rules," the kids are shocked to discover that they must immerse themselves in the music, food and fads of 30 years ago. They must study '70s history and lore, and, worse, they must get up and dance the Hustle every time the song blares from speakers placed throughout the house. But before they do, their host, Dawn (Natasha Leggero), demands that they divest themselves of their cell phones, PDAs, iPods and other technical devices from a time now referred to as "the 2000s."
The makers of "The '70s House" felt that this technological deprivation would be at least half the joke. According to MTV senior vice president Jessica Samet, the producers knew "it would be funny to watch kids all born in the 1980s having to live in the '70s and having to live without all of the things they are used to."
While one contestant, Andrew, 19, contends that he had "a blast" in the house, he was challenged by his parents' technology. He'd seen a rotary phone only once, "as a prop in a play I was in." Relying on the single phone "was really bad. ... I couldn't call my mom if I was having a bad day in the '70s." And to make matters worse, "the girls seemed to figure out right away, and they were always on it."
According to Samet, the contestants had phone problems beyond the slowness of the rotary dial. They had a hard time calling their friends because "all of their numbers are stored in their cell phones."
Andrew found phonographs equally mysterious. "I had no idea what I was doing. Every time I would turn a little knob, ... [the needle] would go up and go back down." And having grown used to his iPod, he couldn't acclimate to the more leisurely pace of spinning platters. "We're from the microwave generation. We want things right away. We don't want to wait around until the needle settles."
While he'll never become a vinyl fan, Andrew left "The '70s House" with an appreciation for what he now considers "the great music of the 1970s" and an increased disdain for contemporary artists such as Britney Spears. The first thing he bought after returning to 2005 was a Simon and Garfunkel CD.
But the show is not only about "Feelin' Groovy." Tension arrives in the form of competitions and weekly eliminations. The voice of a man named Oscar announces each new challenge via a vintage speakerphone. Think Charlie of "Charlie's Angels." In episode one, the housemates are required to compete in a basketball game, dressed in short shorts, clunky sneakers, headbands and other regalia out of the old American Basketball Association, even using its tricolor ball. At the last minute they discover they'll be playing in front of a contemporary high school crowd, that jeers at the outlandish outfits.
In a future episode, the housemates take disco dancing lessons from Deney Terrio, choreographer for "Saturday Night Fever," only to find that their dance competition takes place at a hip-hop club, where their prairie dresses and one-piece jumpsuits raise eyebrows, to say the least.
The contestants also compete in trivia contests modeled on '70s game shows and presided over by Bert and Dawn. A veteran of the spoof show "Joe Schmo II" and a guest star on an upcoming episode of "Reno 911," Leggero plays Dawn with mellow aplomb. "For Dawn," Leggero says, "everything is chill ... nothing is going to get you down."
But while Dawn is always having a nice day, Samet is bummed out by the players' scant knowledge of '70s history. "They are totally clueless. They thought the [Iranian] hostage crisis took place in Canada. They think America's bicentennial was in 1972 and that Eisenhower was president during the '70s." Their lack of knowledge even extended to one of the most popular tunes of the classic-rock era. In a fill-in-the blank test, they were asked to complete the song title, "Stairway to ____." "Oddly enough, one of them thought the answer was 'Miami,'" Samet observes ruefully. "We had a lot of moments."
Despite such "setbacks," Leggero found the atmosphere upbeat. "I was prepared for them to think the '70s were gross. But every time we threw something at them, they all got excited."
Just don't ask about the food. One female housemate complained that she gained 10 pounds from the steady diet of Swanson's frozen dinners. And "they complained that it took 25 minutes to cook the dinners because there were no microwaves," Samet says.
But there were some upsides to the technological downgrade. According to Samet, the lack of gadgetry forced house members to "sit around and talk and read magazines and books, and do things that they were not used to doing."
The MTV executive seemed genuinely surprised by how much the contestants liked wearing polyester outfits from the Ford and Carter years. "We looked for the worst clothes of the 70s ... the worst," Samet says.
But don't tell that to Andrew. Now that he's back in the present, his future might entail a wilder wardrobe and wider collars. "I would love to wear leisure suits around all of the time," says Andrew, birth sign Cancer. "I think they look pimp."