Turn back time: The family
It is a truth universally acknowleged that ... the BBC makes the very best historical reality shows. The surge in recent years started with Tales from the Green Valley, in which a team of historians and archaeologists lived on a 17th century farm for a full calendar year. The show was followed by Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm with partly the same team of experts, and the next sequel: Wartime Farm is already in the making. These programs are hugely popular, and for a good reason. They mix solid historical information with entertainment: human interaction and humor.
Last year a new kind of historical reality show was broadcast: Turn back time: The High Street. In stead of experts, this time it were ordinary people who underwent the historical experience. Ordinary people, you say? Doesn't that sound a bit too much like other reality shows flooding our screens with very little quality? Luckily, this was not the case and Turn back time turned out to be just as entertaining, but also just as informative as the 'Farm' series. The families taking part in Turn back time: The High Street, for one were really interested in history and went into the experience with much enthusiasm and perseverance. Yes, ofcourse they complained: about the work they had to do, about the food they had to eat and about their sleeping conditions. But only because we would complain as well if we were in this situation, because living history is not a fun ride. Turn back time brought history closer to the viewer, because it was experienced by people just like us.
And just recently, the BBC treated us to a sequel, called Turn back time: The Family. Ordinary families from 2012 were given the unique opportunity to experience life in different eras of the 20th century. Again, this was wonderful television: you really got to know the participants, they were funny and determined to learn from their experience. When I first heard of the theme for this year's series, I wondered whether it wouldn't be to broad and general. While Turn back time: The High Street focused specifically on the development of shops during the 21th century, I was afraid The Family would 'just' be about social history at large. But no, even though The Family was a bit broader in scope compared to The High Street, the focus was very clearly on the family. Subjects like the place of children in the family, the roles of men and women and the influence of worldwide events on family live were touched upon. Because the families were living the lives of their own ancestors (being in the same social class, having the same kind of job), history not only got very close, it also got personal for the participants, which made the series even more involving.
If I would have to say one less positive thing about this series, it would be that it simply is too short. When three families, depicting different social classes, live for one week in a specific era, one hour is simply too short to depict all their experiences! Especially the second episode, about the era from 1918-1930, felt overcrowded with events and information. One can only hope the DVD of this wonderful production will contain some extra material, which no doubt exists!
Also, the new issue of Femnista is out! This issue is all about Sci-Fi and Fantasy with contributions about Doctor Who, The Wizard of Oz, Once upon a Time and many more. For this issue I wrote an article about one of my favourite fantasy novels: Arena by Karen Hancock.
For the next issues of Femnista, there are still some open writing spots. Look here for the subjects and if you've got an interesting idea for an article, go for it!
Read Femnista July Aug 2012
Last year a new kind of historical reality show was broadcast: Turn back time: The High Street. In stead of experts, this time it were ordinary people who underwent the historical experience. Ordinary people, you say? Doesn't that sound a bit too much like other reality shows flooding our screens with very little quality? Luckily, this was not the case and Turn back time turned out to be just as entertaining, but also just as informative as the 'Farm' series. The families taking part in Turn back time: The High Street, for one were really interested in history and went into the experience with much enthusiasm and perseverance. Yes, ofcourse they complained: about the work they had to do, about the food they had to eat and about their sleeping conditions. But only because we would complain as well if we were in this situation, because living history is not a fun ride. Turn back time brought history closer to the viewer, because it was experienced by people just like us.
And just recently, the BBC treated us to a sequel, called Turn back time: The Family. Ordinary families from 2012 were given the unique opportunity to experience life in different eras of the 20th century. Again, this was wonderful television: you really got to know the participants, they were funny and determined to learn from their experience. When I first heard of the theme for this year's series, I wondered whether it wouldn't be to broad and general. While Turn back time: The High Street focused specifically on the development of shops during the 21th century, I was afraid The Family would 'just' be about social history at large. But no, even though The Family was a bit broader in scope compared to The High Street, the focus was very clearly on the family. Subjects like the place of children in the family, the roles of men and women and the influence of worldwide events on family live were touched upon. Because the families were living the lives of their own ancestors (being in the same social class, having the same kind of job), history not only got very close, it also got personal for the participants, which made the series even more involving.
If I would have to say one less positive thing about this series, it would be that it simply is too short. When three families, depicting different social classes, live for one week in a specific era, one hour is simply too short to depict all their experiences! Especially the second episode, about the era from 1918-1930, felt overcrowded with events and information. One can only hope the DVD of this wonderful production will contain some extra material, which no doubt exists!
Also, the new issue of Femnista is out! This issue is all about Sci-Fi and Fantasy with contributions about Doctor Who, The Wizard of Oz, Once upon a Time and many more. For this issue I wrote an article about one of my favourite fantasy novels: Arena by Karen Hancock.
For the next issues of Femnista, there are still some open writing spots. Look here for the subjects and if you've got an interesting idea for an article, go for it!
Read Femnista July Aug 2012