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Anybody else watch Colonial House? I was just in one of those PBS moods and it totally sucked me in last night. Evidently the remaining episodes run tonight, next Monday and Tuesday. 8-10pm.

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From: (Anonymous)

because I've decided that those shows are essentially the PBS version of reality TV, and reality TV is (of course) evil. I mean, how is this really different from Survivor, for instance, except that the challenges are supposedly historical in nature, and there are far fewer hot people to admire in scanty clothing?

Also, the thing that sucks about the Colonial House kind of shows is that *we all know* how to solve many of the problems they face. For instance, in the first episode of Colonial House (the few minutes I saw), they said that in the 1630s, people didn't build privies. They just wandered off in the brush to do their business. Inconsiderate bastards probably didn't even leave a little 'warning' to prevent future visitors from making an unwelcome discovery in the woods the way you do when you're camping. Or, alternatively, the Puritans used a chamber pot and tossed the contents straight out the front door. Disgusting unsanitary uptight religious wackos. If I were there, I'd be like "Say, this doesn't make sense. Let's dig a hole, not too close to the water source, and build a little building over it with a door and a half moon in it and call it a 'privy'! Yeah, that's the ticket."

And finally, the 'realism' of Colonial House and its ilk is pretty questionable. When the Indians showed up, first they lumbered back and forth in the middle distance, perfectly visible to the 'colonists'. (They were also some mighty pale Indians, which further enhanced their visibility.) Now aren't Native Americans supposed to be famous for their woodcraft? I imagine a Puritan looking up one day and going 'Gadzooks, Ezekial! We be surrounded by red men! Methinks I nearly had a heart attack. I did'st hear not slightest snap of a twig beneath their buckskin slippers whilst they drew most stealthily nigh!' Not to mention the fact that the Indians spoke English (albeit in a 'How! Me Squanto!' kind of way to give it the right flavor), and they didn't get to scalp anyone.