Great family. Of all the historical reality shows in the early 00's they had one of the best families. The nanny making jokes about the fuel warden. Lol Who was her grandson. Everyone seems to pull their weight besides the kids, which is understandable. They were hungry often. I wish BBC still made these shows!
9 Reviews
Best of the PBS (Channel 4) Reality Shows
Lorilynn102821 September 2004
Michael Hymers has had what he calls a healthy interest in the 1940s. His wife Lyn, and his daughter Kirstie call it an obsession.
Although their own house is decorated in different decades, 1940s Living Room, 1950s kitchen....etc. Michael's boyhood dream has been to go back in time and live the 1940s homefront experience.
His dream comes true. He with his wife, daughter and two grandsons Ben and Thomas go to live the summer in a house specially decorated and equipped as it would have been in pre-war Britain.
Lyn is my favorite of the family.
With having to deal with the point system for food, air raids, rations, no telephone, no car, one bath a week (5 inches of water), a husband going away to work, doing volunteer work, washing clothes in the sink, hoping to find vegetables in the garden, cooking with almost no ingredients, keeping the house immaculate with sometimes no soap of any kind, no tooth powder, and spending some nights in the Anderson shelter, Lyn carries on. She was a delight to watch.
Her daughter Kirstie who also does housework, cooking, volunteer work, taking care of her children is just splendid.
Her sons are endearing and not at all bratty.
Lyn's husband Michael (dad to Kirstie and grampy Mick to Ben and Tom) is the GENTLEman who works hard and is loving as well. He enjoys teaching the children about Spitfire airplanes. They even made up a board game about the War.
Now I'm an American who up to seeing 1940s House had no interest whatsoever in wartime Britain. Let me tell you, it is so fascinating!
If you get the chance to watch this series, you won't regret it!
Although their own house is decorated in different decades, 1940s Living Room, 1950s kitchen....etc. Michael's boyhood dream has been to go back in time and live the 1940s homefront experience.
His dream comes true. He with his wife, daughter and two grandsons Ben and Thomas go to live the summer in a house specially decorated and equipped as it would have been in pre-war Britain.
Lyn is my favorite of the family.
With having to deal with the point system for food, air raids, rations, no telephone, no car, one bath a week (5 inches of water), a husband going away to work, doing volunteer work, washing clothes in the sink, hoping to find vegetables in the garden, cooking with almost no ingredients, keeping the house immaculate with sometimes no soap of any kind, no tooth powder, and spending some nights in the Anderson shelter, Lyn carries on. She was a delight to watch.
Her daughter Kirstie who also does housework, cooking, volunteer work, taking care of her children is just splendid.
Her sons are endearing and not at all bratty.
Lyn's husband Michael (dad to Kirstie and grampy Mick to Ben and Tom) is the GENTLEman who works hard and is loving as well. He enjoys teaching the children about Spitfire airplanes. They even made up a board game about the War.
Now I'm an American who up to seeing 1940s House had no interest whatsoever in wartime Britain. Let me tell you, it is so fascinating!
If you get the chance to watch this series, you won't regret it!
Fascinating!
IStillAmBig29 August 2005
This program is MUST SEE viewing for anyone with an interest in the 1940's or WWII. To contrast the Hollywood movies of the period with the reality that English citizens were living through at the time is, frankly, a shock. Mrs. Miniver it was not! The family at the center of things take the experiment seriously and that's what makes it work. The entire series of "House" programs has been excellent, and this one is right up there with the best of them. Certainly makes you appreciate how well we have it today, and the people who fought to make it possible.
Every time I watch one of these programs, I come away more grateful than ever for the lifestyle I enjoy today. If I had children, this is definitely a program I would watch with them. I wish they had begun this series of programs when I was young as I feel strongly that while entertaining to watch, the lessons they have to teach make any of us at any age more aware of of how good we really have it.
Every time I watch one of these programs, I come away more grateful than ever for the lifestyle I enjoy today. If I had children, this is definitely a program I would watch with them. I wish they had begun this series of programs when I was young as I feel strongly that while entertaining to watch, the lessons they have to teach make any of us at any age more aware of of how good we really have it.
Delightful Show
Violet1211798 October 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The novelty of throwing a 21st-century family into a previous era would make good television just because of the humor of seeing modern people struggling with wood stoves and funny clothes. But this show goes far beyond that by concentrating on realistic situations that people faced during World War II Britain. This household is put through six years of war in a matter of a few months.
The Hymer family is very likable and everyone is willing to work and live by the time period's rules- a refreshing change from later "House" shows! I really enjoyed Ben as the monitor of the household's fuel usage. They argue, worry, complain, and survive and even triumph by learning to get along within the strict limitations of the period. They live with rationing. The women of the house learn to "make do and mend" their clothing. The whole family has to take refuge several times in the bomb shelter they've built in their backyard.
By the end of the show the whole family has been affected by the experience. The ways in which Lynn had changed her life six months later were especially inspiring.
It's an unromantic and fascinating look at 1940s England. I think it must be more meaningful for people in Ireland and the United Kingdom whose parents and grandparents lived through similar circumstances. I'm American and even I was quite moved by some parts of the show.
Although it's four hours long, the show would be a great resource for the classroom. I love history-based programs, and this is one of the best shows I've ever seen.
The Hymer family is very likable and everyone is willing to work and live by the time period's rules- a refreshing change from later "House" shows! I really enjoyed Ben as the monitor of the household's fuel usage. They argue, worry, complain, and survive and even triumph by learning to get along within the strict limitations of the period. They live with rationing. The women of the house learn to "make do and mend" their clothing. The whole family has to take refuge several times in the bomb shelter they've built in their backyard.
By the end of the show the whole family has been affected by the experience. The ways in which Lynn had changed her life six months later were especially inspiring.
It's an unromantic and fascinating look at 1940s England. I think it must be more meaningful for people in Ireland and the United Kingdom whose parents and grandparents lived through similar circumstances. I'm American and even I was quite moved by some parts of the show.
Although it's four hours long, the show would be a great resource for the classroom. I love history-based programs, and this is one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Wonder how many others could made it through?
heckles9 September 2004
If you think that the discomfort of World War II was limited to that suffered by soldiers on the front lines, watch this for a moving and sometimes right amusing four hours.
The Hymers agree to spend several weeks living the life that home-island Britons had in the 1940s. They dig in their garden for the mass-issue Anderson shelter, they are limited to the food amounts given by rationing, they are berated by official letter for not following the blackout regulations at night.
I wonder how many contemporary Americans, not only permitted but encouraged by our economy to be profligate, could put up for two days with what the Hymers have to face. Example: Lyn Hymers accidentally drops a peach cobbler on the floor. She just scrapes it up and puts it back in the pan. If she didn't, the hungry family would go without some of their alloted calories at dinnertime. Behind the scenes, a board of simulators discuss what can be done to make things more realistic - ie., tougher - for the family.
In the British wartime economy, there was no place for cosmetics or high fashion. You get the impression sex went completely by the boards for Ben Hymers and the Mrs. (On the other hand, "Hope and Glory" and other accounts show that young, impetuous hormones were granted a big loosening of sexual mores.) Nonetheless, Lyn, in her indefegable way, tries to make hair dye from her Victory Garden. The results aren't bad.
When Ben goes away "to work at an aircraft plant up north," Kirstie and Lyn learn to make do so thoroughly that when he returns, he's more of an intruder into the house ecology than the husband. Little wonder soldiers on leave sometimes felt unwelcome and useless, and became impatient to get back to their outfits, where at least they knew they were needed.
On a grim note, the narrator notes that the home next door to the Hymers was bombed in 1940; and in a neighborhood house, a mother was killed by a fall when trying to respond to a baby in a blacked out house. Proof of something "Pvt. Ryan" alluded to - modern war does not only mean deliberate death as the two sides try to kill each other, but it is a fertile breeding ground for fatal accidents as well.
Definitely recommended watching.
The Hymers agree to spend several weeks living the life that home-island Britons had in the 1940s. They dig in their garden for the mass-issue Anderson shelter, they are limited to the food amounts given by rationing, they are berated by official letter for not following the blackout regulations at night.
I wonder how many contemporary Americans, not only permitted but encouraged by our economy to be profligate, could put up for two days with what the Hymers have to face. Example: Lyn Hymers accidentally drops a peach cobbler on the floor. She just scrapes it up and puts it back in the pan. If she didn't, the hungry family would go without some of their alloted calories at dinnertime. Behind the scenes, a board of simulators discuss what can be done to make things more realistic - ie., tougher - for the family.
In the British wartime economy, there was no place for cosmetics or high fashion. You get the impression sex went completely by the boards for Ben Hymers and the Mrs. (On the other hand, "Hope and Glory" and other accounts show that young, impetuous hormones were granted a big loosening of sexual mores.) Nonetheless, Lyn, in her indefegable way, tries to make hair dye from her Victory Garden. The results aren't bad.
When Ben goes away "to work at an aircraft plant up north," Kirstie and Lyn learn to make do so thoroughly that when he returns, he's more of an intruder into the house ecology than the husband. Little wonder soldiers on leave sometimes felt unwelcome and useless, and became impatient to get back to their outfits, where at least they knew they were needed.
On a grim note, the narrator notes that the home next door to the Hymers was bombed in 1940; and in a neighborhood house, a mother was killed by a fall when trying to respond to a baby in a blacked out house. Proof of something "Pvt. Ryan" alluded to - modern war does not only mean deliberate death as the two sides try to kill each other, but it is a fertile breeding ground for fatal accidents as well.
Definitely recommended watching.
Hardship
onepotato229 May 2010
Early on I thought this family was a bunch of complainers. But the big take-away from this really is how hard life was in the wartime era. And as I watched I noted that (as hard as it is to believe) the 1940s family still had it easier than the medieval family. etc. Even if you think you don't have any free time in 2010, it's only due to your sense of privilege, caused by time-saving devices; after whose introduction we promptly forget what immense, bodily labor was involved in the previous chore it replaced (The vacuum omits rug-beating).
The youngest son is a perfect angel in this show. From the moment they put him in his 40s clothes, he looks like he belongs there.
The youngest son is a perfect angel in this show. From the moment they put him in his 40s clothes, he looks like he belongs there.
Must See TV - Really! (slight spoilers)
hanneybean1 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
For anyone interested in "Reality TV" with an emphasis on "Real", check out 1940's House as soon as you can.
The Hymer family from northern England spends 9 weeks living the life of a suburban 1940's family during the infamous London blitz. Everything they use, wear, purchase, read comes from that time period - including ration books, blackout curtains, Victory gardens, and a self-built bomb shelter.
What makes this "House" installment the best in a long line (see "Frontier House", "Colonial House", "1900 House") is the family's willingness to immerse themselves in the project wholeheartedly. You as the viewer really begin to sympathize with the Hymer family's struggles to live a 1940's life with a 21st century mindset. While the father was inti tally the most gung-ho member of the group, I think most people will come away liking the attitude and spirit of the mother the best - she truly embodies the British spirit that was so essential and prevalent during England's darkest hour.
This is 3 hours of "history" that no one will want to end. Children would also enjoy this as there are 2 young boys (ages 10 and 7) who participate in the program wholeheartedly and are really an asset to the program.
The Hymer family from northern England spends 9 weeks living the life of a suburban 1940's family during the infamous London blitz. Everything they use, wear, purchase, read comes from that time period - including ration books, blackout curtains, Victory gardens, and a self-built bomb shelter.
What makes this "House" installment the best in a long line (see "Frontier House", "Colonial House", "1900 House") is the family's willingness to immerse themselves in the project wholeheartedly. You as the viewer really begin to sympathize with the Hymer family's struggles to live a 1940's life with a 21st century mindset. While the father was inti tally the most gung-ho member of the group, I think most people will come away liking the attitude and spirit of the mother the best - she truly embodies the British spirit that was so essential and prevalent during England's darkest hour.
This is 3 hours of "history" that no one will want to end. Children would also enjoy this as there are 2 young boys (ages 10 and 7) who participate in the program wholeheartedly and are really an asset to the program.
An unforgettable history lesson
treeline125 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This entry in the PBS "House" series is outstanding. Here, a modern British family (husband and wife, their daughter, and two grandsons) experience life during WWII with all of its hard work, deprivation, and fear. Costumed and coiffed in 1939 styles, the family certainly looked the part, and their home was outfitted for the period in every detail. They received daily original radio war broadcasts and vintage newspapers and so were able to follow the "progress" of the war. Air raids and rationing contributed to making their nine weeks in the house a sobering and unforgettable experience.
The women of the family worked around the clock but never resorted to cheating or actually quitting, as was the case in other "House" programs. The two little boys were adorable and kept everyone's spirits up. An excellent epilogue filmed six months later showed how much the family learned from their time in the 1940s house and how they had grown and become happier as a result.
This is a wonderful program; it really recreates the British war experience and is one of the best reality shows. I was often moved to tears by the radio broadcasts, war statistics, and haunting music; they made it all seem very real. Highly recommended.
The women of the family worked around the clock but never resorted to cheating or actually quitting, as was the case in other "House" programs. The two little boys were adorable and kept everyone's spirits up. An excellent epilogue filmed six months later showed how much the family learned from their time in the 1940s house and how they had grown and become happier as a result.
This is a wonderful program; it really recreates the British war experience and is one of the best reality shows. I was often moved to tears by the radio broadcasts, war statistics, and haunting music; they made it all seem very real. Highly recommended.
A bit sinister
hitchcockkelly1 February 2023
Although it's as well made as the other PBS reality shows, this one was disturbing. Many of the hardships imposed on the Hymers are by design, not circumstance. A committee of seven or eight experts privately judges them in a star chamber and decides how strict rationing will be and how much they will be fined for infractions. Watching the children go hungry while the experts debated how much to cut the food budget bothered me. The Hymers live more like lab rats than adventurers. It's also hard to get worked up about how much wartime Brits suffered from rationing since it was nothing compared to the hardships undergone by eastern Europeans, Asians and even their own soldiers. The show was simply too narrow in scope and sinister.
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