Customer Reviews

1940s House

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The 1940's House is one in a series of PBS projects which place modern families in historical settings in order to study social and economical pressures - along with of course, a study in technological differences. What makes 1940's house particularly unique is that the family isn't just experiencing the household appliances or work ethic or social strata of the day, but are placing themselves in the hands of scientists are particulary interested in wartime Brittain. Brittain was one of the most controlled countries in the world during wartime, but it helped them survive. In this series, the family is subjected to wartime rations, Brittish law (blackout demands and so forth), Bomb raids, and are plunged into the type of hectic schedule the average citizen was expected to keep in order to make sure everyone did their part. The family is made up of a young mother and her two young boys and her parents. Midway, as in many households of the day, the father is sent away for wartime employment and the women are left alone to survive.

My husband and I have been watching the house shows (Manor House, Frontier House, etc.) in historical chronological order. This is obviously the last that we watched, and though this is an extremely hard thing for me to say since they're all so interesting, it is the best. I'm sure some will disagree. However, the major difference we have seen that has endeared this particular series to our hearts is the startling difference in attitude of the family involved.

Sure, the family becomes cranky and upset from time to time (mostly because of hunger and a shortage of cigarettes) but their mindset from the beginning is clear - we here to reenact war. As the grandmother so positively put it, "we don't have to worry about our lives, we haven't had any deaths, so the least we can do is subject ourselves to the other hardships that were experienced". From the beginning the family displays the greatest respect for the project and for the people that truly experienced this period in history. Other House series do give the impression that some of the participants were more interested in stardom than history. Not so with this family. Their sense of duty to the project lends the entire program an appeal missing from other PBS projects.

Perhaps one key factor to this resilient attitude is the fact that they are constantly put in contact with those who really experienced what they are reenacting. On top of this, original BBC broadcasts are played on the home radio, with real footage of people who had survived bomb raids. Throughout the program, you see the family literally beginning to change much the way that people who truly lived in that era would have. The oldest boy, who is not even out of elementary school, becomes a small man. The women become stronger and more independent. All say they have learned to look out rather than always in and see those in need around them.

This is perhaps one of the greatest war memorials we have ever seen - better than any plaque, or cold stone structure. Here, those involved in the project have done the best they can to place themselves in the shoes of the greatest generation - for the sake of "just doing it". My husband and I frequently found ourselves moved to tears.

This series would be marvelous for any family to watch together - and would be a fabulous tool in schools. We need to understand what our elders suffered to bring us the freedom and wealth we have today. It is a shame that our society has become so reliant on materialistic stimulation. On top of that, we have brought narcissism to new heights - all while complaining we don't hav enough. We have so much, but are often too lazy to appreciate it. If you watch only one of the "House" projects, 1940's House is by far the best. Thankfully, more of these wonderful projects are underway with "Regency House" (Jane Austen's period) and "Colonial House" (Pilgrims period)having just been filmed this year.

Having seen Frontier House, Regency House, Colonial House and Manor House, I have to say that 1940's House boldly outshines them in one particular aspect. The family selected was earnest in their attempts to live the way a family of war time Brits would have.

While the concept of the House series is fascinating I've often been disappointed in the people chosen to participate in the various programs. It's almost as if they deliberately choose people that they know will complain, cheat and fail as opposed to someone who would be deeply committed to making it work. I was not disappointed in the Hymers. This family was fascinating to watch as their relationships altered from their year 2000 existence to that of 1940 to 1944. Daughter Kristie finds previously unknown strength and self-confidence, Mom Lyn discovers an even deeper respect for her parent's generation and what they endured, the boys Ben and Thomas draw closer to each other when they live a simpler if more challenging lifestyle. They were not perfect and it was understandable that they should complain a bit but, overall,they all persevered with great humor and love.

This was a very endearing look at the way an incredible generation endured hardship. It will warm your heart.

I love this DVD. I think I've watched it about a half dozen times and find myself now addicted to that era. I had no idea the hardships that people went through. My mother would tell me about rationing here in the US but it was nothing like waht these people went through. The Hymers did a good job of showing the shock and ability to adapt as one after another hardship was thrown at them. This really is very much a show of how politics and issues outside the home unit affect people. Things were happening the Hymers had no control over, they just had to deal with the reduction in food and air raids, etc... I know it wasn't exactly like what people really went through but it sure opened my eyes! I tried to live on the rations allowed for each person for a week. Some of it was easy because I don't do heavy phyiscal activity so I didn't need as much of the fats. However...the tiny bit of cheese and meat did turn into a challenge. And I confess to sneaking more than one Diet Pepsi during my week of denial. The 1940s and all that went along with it and the war are fading in people's memory. The 'Greatest Generation" is passing. Hopefully shows like this will remind us a little of what forced people to rise to the challenge.

This is an excellent program. Unlike Colonial House and some of the other series the family here took their assignment seriously and ended up inspired by their predecessors sacrifices. They literally changed their lives. The children didn't fight over video games even after they went home. There are moments when various members of the family have realizations about that Great Generation that will bring tears to your eyes. The oldest boy (age 8) visits a war memorial and notices that some of the soldiers who died were only 10 years older than him. There is no truer monument to that sacrifice than the lives of the free peoples in the world today.

If the phrase "reality tv" brings forth an image of mind-numbing swill, "The 1940s House" is proof that it doesn't have to be that way. This series is nothing less than an expertly crafted jewel.

Like most people, I tend to have a far easier time picturing events that happened during my lifetime as real than those that came before so, while WWII was very much a part of the lives of my parents and granparents, to me it's always been grainy footage of a distant past. Thanks to this series, I now have a much more vivid picture of the experiences of the homefront during a time when nothing less than the survival of western civilization was at stake. Watching this very likeable, brave, and often funny family deal with the trials and tribulations of life in London during the war has given me a whole new perspective and I give this DVD my highest possible recommendation.

Brilliant, utterly, utterly brilliant is the captivating story of this wonderful English family surviving a World War 2 re-enactment. Aside from some exhaustive attention to detail from the BBC which made it, right down to having a shop and shopkeeper all kitted out for the time period, what makes this far superior to all other reality TV re-enactments is the casting.
This family is underpinned by a wonderfully witty, acerbic, amusing, constantly bemused, vodka drinking, cigarette smoking modern-day gran. A woman who comes out with such fantastic hilarious one-liners, and such sorrow only moments later as she identifies with the era that she is re-creating, that she should be on the stage.
Her grandson, too, is wonderful with an eloquence belying his age as he describes with utter delight and exquisitely precise detail the food his mother now prepares.
The best part of the series is the last episode, as we find out what they missed most and how they've changed. And how, according to her grandson, "Gran went quite barking mad". Indeed, Gran now wants to now live in the 40s, much to her family's incredulousness.
My only small beef is a grating voiced PBS public service announcement cutting across the lovely music during the opening credits thanking everyone for their support. A better way to thank us would be to not ruin an otherwise beautiful piece of work which was already attempting to put us gracefully into the 1940s, only to have us rudely jolted back out. Idiots. Unbelievable.
Rant over. :) Bottom line: this is addictive viewing, and the very, very best of its genre. Don't even hestitate.

The BBC knows how to do reality TV the right way. Their shows actually have a purpose and a point besides humiliating the participants or offending the audience. Imagine! Most of the "House" series (Frontier House, Manor House, etc.) have been highly interesting, entertaining, and informative and The 1940s House is at the top of the heap.

In this series, the Hymers family tries to live for nine weeks as if they were in London during World War II. They are given 1940s makeovers and move to a house that is era-perfect with no access to any modern conveniences. If that isn't enough, they live in a brilliantly simulated wartime environment. Their food is rationed, there are bomb scares at 3:00 in the morning, the father is taken out of the family for several weeks, and one of the women works in an airplane factory. They cope with 1940s awkward appliances and greasy makeup along with the loneliness, fear, and hunger associated with war.

The Hymers family is absolutely adorable. Some participants of other "house" projects have been flippant about their assignments, thereby lessening the impact. But the Hymers take it all very seriously and as a result, their experiences are extremely poignant for the viewer. The family is honest and likeable and the bond they share with each other is exceptional. Even in the worst of times, they never lose their sense of humor and they are perfect examples of the stoicism and hope that got England through those terrible years. It is a very moving experience for anyone, but especially for those of us born after WWII. It is humbling to see what those people had to endure and conquer.

Bravo! Keep 'em coming.

I loved this show as much as I liked the other reality "time-travel" series put on by PBS. While Frontier House and Manor House were better in terms of human interest stories, 1940s House was interesting nonetheless. The family chosen was perfectly suited to life during wartime. With a single mother, and a husband and wife (whom the show separated often) it was easy to see how women left on the home front would have survived. The details put into making the experience authentic, including mandatory blackouts and air raid shelter orders and rationing, really helped to create the feeling of the struggle that war imposes.

I just finished watching this for the first time, and I really enjoyed it very much. My only previous exposure to a "House" documentary was the 1900's house, where a modern day family moves into a Victorian style "time machine" house and must carry on life in that milieu.

The difference between that show and this one are striking - mostly, because 1940's House had a decided purpose, which was to get through the British World War II. 1900's House had no other purpose than to simply experience the life and do the best they could. It didn't come across so well because of the enormous time and cultural differences. I felt that if that family had had a chance to warm up to the period, they may have done better. Also, I believe 1900 House was the first of its type, so the later shows have benefited from the lessons learned.

The Hymers were the perfect family to undergo this treatment. The Grandpa had always dreamed of living in this time period, and his wife, daughter, and two grandsons had excellent temperaments to go along with this. (Unlike 1900 House, where the oldest daughter basically quit about half way through with a thoroughly modern, although just as typical for the period, middle-class attitude about the whole thing.)

With 1940 House, you really feel like you're experiencing the war experience. This family's difficulties and trials perfectly underscore the unusual and trying events the actual participants of the time surely underwent. That's what makes this documentary work so well. Their efforts to overcome the difficulties of living under a war-time regimen portrayed so poignantly the realities of those who lived through those times.

All five members of this family could so easily have come from that time period. In fact, what struck me so powerfully was that, for all practical purposes, they SHOULD be living in that period. In fact, we all should: for all our modern conveniences, we are so vastly lacking in real substance and meaning in our lives. Its more than a shame or travesty, it's a great evil. A very hateful evil.

We can never go back. And which of us will ever face such circumstances as the Hymers, to let us see how much we waste? How little of our lives we truly live. How much real substance we routinely forfeit for the sake of the cheap and the immediate. (These computers be damned, yet.)

Though the Hymers never experienced any real threat of death or danger, they gave us a very real taste of the vitality and meaning of the times they recreated. I heard it said once that during the war, mental hospitals saw over 1/3 of all their patients voluntarily leave, due to the power of what was happening around them. People simply could not dwell upon themselves with all the momentous events taking place. Even this documentary references this statistic: during the war years, female suicides decreased by 50%. There was simply too much to do than feel sorry for one's self.

A part of me wants to make contact with the Hymers, to let them know how powerfully their experience affected me. I would like to encourage them to continue in the vein they established, and not let modern life ruin their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this program. It probably helped that I have an interest in WWII Britain, but the way this show was put together was excellent. I felt that the family was made to experience 1940's Britain in as true to authenticity as they could get. I think one of the most impressive things is that 1940's house wasn't like the other House experiments in that they weren't secluded. They were in a neighborhood surrounded by modern-living people. The fact that the family made an applaudable effort to stick with their time period is a credit to this show and makes it that much more enjoyable to watch.
Having to build a bomb shelter from scratch, experience a close "bomb shell" hit (complete with damage to their house), and having to shop with ration books/stamps in a special shop where supplies and available food changed over time was incredibly impressive!
A show that gets me this excited about living history is saying quite a lot. I highly, highly recommend this program!