Product Details

• Actors: Jonathon Allen, Julia Friese, Carolyn Heinz, Don Heinz, Amy-Kristina Herbert
• Producers: Kari Lia, Mica McCarthy, Rebecca Kelly
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: June 29, 2004
• Run Time: 480 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002BO07Q
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,055 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Colonial House" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Pbs Release Date: 05/06/2009 Run time: 480 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Leave Your 21st Century Ideals Behind, June 22, 2004

By 

Ken Roberts "social historian" (Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Colonial House (DVD)

I really wanted to like Colonial House. I really did. I thought 1900 House was good, Manor House was better, and Frontier House was excellent. I figured by having a whole colony of people, this would be the ultimate living history. Unfortunately, this was not to be. My biggest question is did the Voorhees family even read the rules on the application, or did they go just to prove how 21st century they really are? I mean, she didn't even TRY to live by the 1628 laws. Skinny dipping on the Sabbath? In 1628? INSTEAD OF CHURCH?? And how about Jonathon Allen? To really feel as if it were 1628, and to prove to all he would abide by rules of days gone by, Mr. Allen should have kept his homosexuality a secret until the final day, and especially to not come out in church! That would have proved to all that you were truly trying to live by 1628 laws. Come on folks! If this were truly the seventeenth century, both subjects would have been burned at the stake! If you're going to sign up for a project like this at least TRY to abide by the laws and rules of the times!! That's the whole point - to see if a 21st century human could survive in a different time period. If you want to skinny dip, fine. If you're gay, fine. But neither was acceptable in the time period you were attempting to live in. Even the British guy ventured off to the future for a couple of days to go drinking in a modern pub. Why did you all sign up? To promote your political agendas? This is not a knock at anyone's lifestyle - this is a frustrated viewer and lover of experiments like these "House" shows. All you proved to those of us watching was that you all couldn't hack it. So you decided to make it almost into a 1960's commune instead of a 1628 colony.
To me, the attitude of the Voorhees family really brought the whole project down. Their 21st century ideals spread like a disease to the others in the colony except the first Governor, who was chastised by the rest for truly following the rules of 1628.
At least the participants in the past "House" series, for the most part, made an attempt to live in the chosen period of which they were selected.
I sure hope the powers that be are a little more selective in choosing people for any future experimental "living in the past" House shows. Colonial House was not worthy of the quality I've come to expect from PBS. It was as if Fox or WB took it over and tried to create controversy instead of a quality reality show.

62 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Laughable at Best, December 19, 2006

By 

Calamity Jane - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colonial House (DVD)

PBS should have stopped this fiasco the moment the players refused to play by the rules of the 1600's.

20st century selfishness destroyed this program. What mattered to the players was not what they could do for the community, but how they could please themselves, yet still play the game. The strict rules were ignored and mocked, which made nonsense of the entire production.


In Colonial times you either went to church or you went to your death. The Colonists were highly religious people. That one family chose skinny-dipping over church services on Sunday was ludicrous. They should have stayed home and let another family experience this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

After getting to church you certainly wouldn't tell everyone you were homosexual and expect to survive. But a gay young man decided to out himself one morning prior to service. He was embraced 20th Century style, but would have been stoned 17th century style. He's another one who should have stayed home.

Another young man, bored with the century, left the community and sought out a local pub, a serious no-no according to producers. He later returned to the colony, bragged about his adventures and picked up where he left off. Yawn.

Tisdale, an African-American, couldn't handle the manual labor or his sudden desire to enslave others to do his work. He walked off the show with a frightening and depressing understanding of why slavery came into existence.


The most offensive scene was when the local Indians paid the colonists a visit, only to berate them for what their ancestors had done to "their people". That insulting conversation would never have taken place inside a homesteader's cabin while the homesteaders grinned and apologized for the white man's actions.

As far as offering a peek into 1600 living, Colonial House offers little to nothing. A much better production was FRONTIER HOUSE in which the participants adhered to the rules and regs of the pioneer days.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, would be better with better candidate screening, July 7, 2006

By 

Serene (Marina, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colonial House (DVD)

I watched Colonial House with mixed feelings. After reading the reviews here, I expected to hate it. Overall, I enjoyed many elements of this reality show. First, I liked the setting. Maine was absolutely beautiful, and the costumes were excellent.

I liked the Hentz's. I also liked Jonathon Allen. Despite one over-dramatic episode at the end of disk 1, I felt he really did try to play his role quite well and he was quite likeable. I felt sorry for the governor trying to get people to conform to the rules and laws of the times.

I did not care for the Vorhee family at all. Mr. & Mrs. Vorhee spent a great deal of time showboating, and I hated the part where they went skinnydipping instead of attending church like everyone else. If they want to lead 21rst century lives, why volunteer for this experiment? I felt they were a drag on the show, and the experiment would be better off without them, particularly Mrs. Vorhee whose irritating and shrewish opinions we were subjected to on a regular basis.

Overall, not bad, although Manor House still remains my favorite. Too bad, the show did not screen candidates more carefully. A more committed cast would've made the show more interesting.