# Colonial House



## Irishcat922 (May 17, 2004)

Anyone going to watch this on P.B.S. It looks to be very interesting. On one the ads they had a woman in the stocks for Sabbath breaking. It starts tonight.


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## Puritan Sailor (May 17, 2004)

What time?


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## Irishcat922 (May 17, 2004)

I think at 7 I will find out for sure and let you know.


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## Irishcat922 (May 17, 2004)

Actually It is from 8-10 not sure the time zone, but it is about life in 1628 America. Who knows maybe Thomas Shephard or one of thE Mathers will show up on there.


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## Puritan Sailor (May 17, 2004)

[quote:0db2e6f97f][i:0db2e6f97f]Originally posted by Irishcat922[/i:0db2e6f97f]
Actually It is from 8-10 not sure the time zone, but it is about life in 1628 America. Who knows maybe Thomas Shephard or one of thE Mathers will show up on there. [/quote:0db2e6f97f]
Wow, that right there in the beginning. That would be Richard Mather and John Cotton then.


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## dkicklig (May 17, 2004)

My wife and I are addicted to those shows...we loved Frontier House, and the other one that was filmed in Manitoba where the 2 couples lived for a whole year.

From the previews it looks like there will be some fireworks around mandatory attendance of Sunday worship.


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## Scott (May 17, 2004)

I am going to watch it. We loved Frontier House (in fact, I bought my wife the DVD for Mothers' Day), and we rarely watch TV.

Scott


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## Gregg (May 17, 2004)

Lots of coloniel houses where I live.


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## Mary (May 17, 2004)

I enjoy the &quot;House&quot; series, although I didn't like the Survivor aspect of Frontier House. The yuppie family from California made me see red! (Cheaters!) Other than that I loved it! 

I really enjoyed 1940s House (that the BBC did) and I have to say that those Brits really made our Frontier House people seem whiny in comparison. I guess they really do have a stiff upper lip...

If I'm back from softball in time to catch it, I will definately tune it in. (Although it's raining right now, so maybe we'll be rained out...) I wish I had known yesterday; I would have set my VCR. I never watch PBS anymore. They seem to not play &quot;Mystery&quot; these days...and every time I tune it in, there's a pledge drive. Have you seen the Simpsons episode where Homer pledges a ton of money just to end the pledge drive, and Betty White shows up at his door to collect? Pretty funny stuff... OK. That's enough caffeine for today, Mary. Anyway, thanks for the tip.

Mary (after coffee and diet coke)


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## Irishcat922 (May 17, 2004)

Eight o'clock eastern time.


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## ChristianasJourney (May 17, 2004)

It'll be on next Monday and Tuesday as well.


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## dkicklig (May 18, 2004)

Very interesting... the governor is a baptist pastor and the man chosen as the lay preacher is a liberal religion professor. Hopefully the pastor and his family can return. Nexy episode looks fun, noto only are they thrown into stocks for sabbath breaking some people have to where scarlet letters for moral violations like swearing.


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## Irishcat922 (May 18, 2004)

Theonomy in Action!


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## Ianterrell (May 18, 2004)

I really enjoy these shows. They are educational but not too educational. Explotative but not garishly so. The Frontier House was particularly entertaining.

I'm not a big tv guy, but this stuff is really good drivel.


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## jfschultz (May 18, 2004)

[quote:ad17a667ff][i:ad17a667ff]Originally posted by dkicklig[/i:ad17a667ff]
Very interesting... the governor is a baptist pastor and the man chosen as the lay preacher is a liberal religion professor. Hopefully the pastor and his family can return. Nexy episode looks fun, noto only are they thrown into stocks for sabbath breaking some people have to where scarlet letters for moral violations like swearing.  [/quote:ad17a667ff]

Kathy's and my first take on the assignments was that they picked the wrong person for the lay pastor. (But what would you expect for PBS!) But as things worked out he was the abler man for governor. When the &quot;preacher&quot; had to take over things started to fall apart. (For those who missed it, the governor's daughter's fiance was killed in an auto accident, so the family returned to Texas. The closing shot had the governor returning by himself.)

I especially liked the testimony of the governor's daughter and the contrast with the athiests reaction. It shows that the world just does not get it.


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## sailorswife (May 18, 2004)

[quote:979402d0d2][i:979402d0d2]Originally posted by jfschultz[/i:979402d0d2]

I especially liked the testimony of the governor's daughter and the contrast with the athiests reaction. It shows that the world just does not get it. [/quote:979402d0d2]

Yes, I found that aspect very interesting too, and I had almost exactly the same reaction from a neighbor of mine when I witnessed to her. It really was terrible for the girl to lose her fiance and the show will be less interesting without her and the rest of that family there. From listening to the others comments they had made an impact on the other peoples lives in their short time there.


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## sastark (May 18, 2004)

*So I watched last night...*

...not knowing what to expect. And I liked it! My wife and I both watched and enjoyed it.

I thought it was great that the Baptist minister was appointed governor, and I was not surprised by the fact that the liberal professor (From Chico State, just a short drive up the road for me) was made the lay minister. 

A couple of favorite moments: 

The look of the Baptist minister during the &quot;church&quot; service. Was that utter disgust, or what?

The complete falling apart of the colony when the Baptist minister and his family had to leave. The liberal, not wanting to be &quot;autocratic&quot; (which he had accused the Baptist of earlier), let everyone do his/her own thing (the verse &quot;every man did what was right in his own eyes&quot; came to mind). The result: nothing got done for a whole week.

Certainly looking forward to the next episode!


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## Mary (May 18, 2004)

I watched it last night, and I have to say that the Baptist minister and his family were the most grounded, normal people on the show. I was upset when they had to leave (although I certainly understand why). My heart just broke for Bethany, losing her fiance like that. The &quot;minister&quot; and his wife seem like hippies who haven't figured out that anarchy doesn't work. I laughed out loud when Bethany gave that beautiful talk at Sunday service and then Michelle ranted about how Bethany gives all the credit to God and doesn't take credit for herself!!!! How clueless can you be?!?!

Michelle is rapidly shaping up to be my least favorite person on the show, and I wonder if her husband is going to clue in, like the one husband on Frontier House, who realized that not only did he not LIKE being bossed constantly, but he didn't have to put up with it. He divorced his wife after the series was over.

Did anybody understand how the women went from &quot;let's take turns cooking for the single guys&quot; to &quot;let them fend for themselves 3 days a week?&quot; I didn't see how that degenerated that quickly...

Looking forward to tonight. I'm guessing that if they were real colonists, they wouldn't last the first winter.

Mary


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## Gregg (May 18, 2004)

My Television is pretty well shot, so I don't watch much of anything.:tomb:


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## sastark (May 18, 2004)

[quote:ee8c32be50][i:ee8c32be50]Originally posted by Mary[/i:ee8c32be50]
I'm guessing that if they were real colonists, they wouldn't last the first winter.
[/quote:ee8c32be50]

Unfortunately, that is probably true.

I did like the comment one of the freeman made when they were discussing the women's proposed cooking schedule. It was somthing along the lines of &quot;If we are working in the field all day, how are we going to cook for ourselves?&quot; Put things into perspective. Also, I thought it was typical how the liberal professor didn't want to make any decision. I'm sure he didn't want to offend anyone. Interesting that when you care so much about offending some one, so little gets accomplished.


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## Mary (May 18, 2004)

[quote:f5a1d0cc19][i:f5a1d0cc19]Originally posted by sastark[/i:f5a1d0cc19]
[quote:f5a1d0cc19][i:f5a1d0cc19]Originally posted by Mary[/i:f5a1d0cc19]
I'm guessing that if they were real colonists, they wouldn't last the first winter.
[/quote:f5a1d0cc19]

Unfortunately, that is probably true.

I did like the comment one of the freeman made when they were discussing the women's proposed cooking schedule. It was somthing along the lines of &quot;If we are working in the field all day, how are we going to cook for ourselves?&quot; Put things into perspective. Also, I thought it was typical how the liberal professor didn't want to make any decision. I'm sure he didn't want to offend anyone. Interesting that when you care so much about offending some one, so little gets accomplished. [/quote:f5a1d0cc19]

Yeah, that was pretty ridiculous. Basic logic says that if ANYONE, male or female, does hard physical labor all day, they shouldn't have to come home &amp; cook for themselves. It's only logical that the women look out for the men, since the men are capable of more hard physical labor than the women. (Besides the fact that in 1628, I'm pretty sure there weren't a whole lot of Mr. Moms running around.)

The liberal couple are pretty funny. The wife says she wanted to do the experiment because &quot;she hasn't like the direction the country has headed in the last 3 years.&quot; The husband doesn't want to offend anyone.

And I have to say I wasn't at all surprised that Michelle's husband (it's pretty sad that I don't know his name, only hers) agreed with the women. What happened on the show last night was proof of what happens when there is no chain of command! It's the last 35 years of American history condensed into a microcosm. 

Mary


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## Irishcat922 (May 19, 2004)

That was pretty good last night. He should have never repealed the Sabbath laws though. I thought the Prof's wife made a good point that if the others did not have to keep the Sabbath why should she have to wear a headcovering.


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## dkicklig (May 19, 2004)

Funny enough the lay preacher was disappointed with the ruling. The colonists reactions to the mandatory Sabbath meetings just goes to show the rebellion of people to religion, let alone Christianity. The saddest point was the comparison of what they considered &quot;Puritanism&quot; to Nazi Germany.


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## sastark (May 19, 2004)

I think the problem with the sabbath laws (and the profanity laws, and the modesty laws, etc) was that the punishments were not strong enough for people to not want to commit the crime any more. I mean, if you don't show up for church on Sunday, then your punishment is: instead of having 10 or 12 hours of back-breaking labor, you get two hours of sitting there doing nothing. How does that encourage people to no longer miss church?

Besides, if the liberal religious studies professor was &quot;preaching&quot; on Sundays, I wouldn't want to be there either.

I'm surprised no one has said anything about the servant &quot;coming out&quot;. What would your reaction have been if you were governor?

I did think it was cool that they decided to build a house for the newcomers. That would certainly be a challenge.

Previews for next episode looked interesting. I wonder why the governor and his family will be leaving?

[Edited on 5-19-2004 by sastark]


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## jfschultz (May 19, 2004)

[quote:c9de0a5417][i:c9de0a5417]Originally posted by dkicklig[/i:c9de0a5417]
Funny enough the lay preacher was disappointed with the ruling. The colonists reactions to the mandatory Sabbath meetings just goes to show the rebellion of people to religion, let alone Christianity. The saddest point was the comparison of what they considered &quot;Puritanism&quot; to Nazi Germany.  [/quote:c9de0a5417]

In the 17th century the mandatory Sabbath meetings would be the norm &quot;back home&quot; anyway and a normal part of life. I also suspect that any group of colonialist would have been much more homogenious in their theology. It would not reflect the 21th century American diversity that is the root of the problem here.


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## dkicklig (May 19, 2004)

My wife and I theorize that they specifically choose people from differing viewpoints/beliefs on purpose to provide a 21st century sociological experiment. I believe that the type of rebellion displayed would not have been the norm for 17th century colonists because 1) religion was a normal part of life 2) the punishements were harsher and 3) if there was no discipline the colony would not only fail but people would die.


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## Mary (May 24, 2004)

Gearing up for Week 2 of Colonial House. Actually, I'm having a major moral dilemma. I play in a co-ed softball league Monday nights. Tonight we have a double-header. I am tempted to be &quot;sick&quot; and stay home. Yes, I could tape it. And YES I know how to set my VCR. I'm not a complete Luddite. But I won't get home until after 11 tonight, and then I'll have to watch tonight's before I watch tomorrow's, which means 4 hours of sitting and watching TV tomorrow...not that I've never done that, but it kind of limits my evening.

I'm kind of hoping the incredible rain we have been getting the last few days will continue tonight, so we're rained out. I know, I know, Lou Gehrig would never have wished for rain. But, Commissioner, I knew Lou Gehrig, I served with Lou Gehrig, and Commissioner, I am no Lou Gehrig....

I'm so glad the Baptist family came back. They are the most normal, reasonable people on the show. I'm pretty sick of the bossy woman. The hippie couple are just pathetic. Nothing like being stuck in a time warp. And can I just ask why gay people feel the need to come out all over the place? I have felt the need to express my preferences to anyone. It's PERSONAL. You know, nobody else's business!!!

Any theories out there about why the one guy did a bunk last week? 

Mary :bs2:


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## Irishcat922 (May 25, 2004)

That Voorhees woman is pretty obstinate isn't she? I don't think she would fair so well in 1628. The Merchant is wooping them into shape, even the liberal lay-preacher is coming along. Although it was pretty obvious his wife is really in charge.


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## Mary (May 25, 2004)

[quote:cdf46b717a][i:cdf46b717a]Originally posted by Irishcat922[/i:cdf46b717a]
That Voorhees woman is pretty obstinate isn't she? I don't think she would fair so well in 1628. The Merchant is wooping them into shape, even the liberal lay-preacher is coming along. Although it was pretty obvious his wife is really in charge. [/quote:cdf46b717a]

Irish,

Obstinate is a good word for it. She really gets my goat. The women on this show (Tammy and Bethany excepted) are really annoying me, and actually, the &quot;Preachers wife&quot; is bugging me worse than Michelle. I guess because she's older and should know better. 

OK, I didn't see it last night, but I called my aunt for a quick recap on the way home from softball, so I'm up to speed...

The entire colony wouldn't do too well in 1628, I'm thinking...they are all way too busy being politically correct.

I had an interesting conversation with my aunt about the show over the weekend. (She hasn't attended church in 35 years.) She is annoyed with Michelle also, although she feels she's a princess, while I think she's a shrew. She also feels these guys wouldn't make it through the first winter. She finds the hippies funny too. She, on the other hand, would only grudgingly admit that the Baptist family were a gerat addition to the show, and even though she was really irritated that the gay guy &quot;came out&quot; she felt that the Baptist Minister's reaction was awful. &quot;I mean, 'sin'? C'mon! It's repugnant, but it's not a sin!&quot; When I asked her about Massachusetts and the gay marriage thing, she told me that she knew it was wrong, but she couldn't give it a reason. She just knew. Interesting.

Anyway, looking forward to tonight...

Mary :bs2:


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## FrozenChosen (May 25, 2004)

What channel/time?


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## Irishcat922 (May 25, 2004)

It's on P.B.S. @ 8:00 central. I'm sure they will re-air it. I wonder if any of the colonists made any money off the success of the program?


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## Mary (May 25, 2004)

[quote:a1556de466][i:a1556de466]Originally posted by Irishcat922[/i:a1556de466]
It's on P.B.S. @ 8:00 central. I'm sure they will re-air it. I wonder if any of the colonists made any money off the success of the program? [/quote:a1556de466]

Irish,

You crack me up! PBS is always begging for money!!! I'm quite sure that the colonists aren't going to see one thin dime!

FC, you can probably buy the VHS/DVD of the set (or check it out of the library, which is what I would recommend...cuz I'm sure you've heard by now that money doesn't grow on trees..)

Mary


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## Gregg (May 25, 2004)

A group of conservative Bouncies bringing in a small harvest of money they found growing on trees


:smug_b::wr50:

:smug_b::wr50:

:smug_b::wr50:


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## Irishcat922 (May 25, 2004)

I think tonight Oprah is invading. My wife sometimes makes me sit and watch Oprah with her, Oprah is a good pluralistic relativist, anyway right. She should fit in nicely.

[Edited on 5-25-2004 by Irishcat922]


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## Mary (May 26, 2004)

Random thoughts about Colonial House...

Every time Carolyn Heinz opened her mouth over the last couple of nights, I kept thinking...&quot;And now, deep thoughts, with Jack Handey.&quot;

She really is full of herself. It was fascinating to watch her take complete control, while Michelle got less controlling.

I was saddened to see Danny leave (the black freeman) - next to the Wyers, he seemed the normalest person there.

Was anyone else surprised when they caught up with Dominick after the experiment? I don't remember any mention of faith coming from him during the whole show (of course, I missed a little the very first night, due to baseball). I never even really paid that much attention to him while the show was going on. The only time we really focused on him was the &quot;leaving the colony episode.&quot; 

I felt so sad for Jonathan at the end - saying what he said about God and his faith. Talk about totally missing the boat.

Why didn't they catch up with everybody afterwards? Did they say? They didn't talk to Danny, Amy Christina, Julia, or the family that came in halfway through...

I couldn't decide whether I felt sorrier for Don or Paul at the end of the series.

Anybody else have any thoughts?

Mary


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## dkicklig (May 26, 2004)

During the first hour Don tried to teach Jonathan and Dominick Greek. The last 2 weeks were spent in &quot;creative&quot; pursuits rather than economic profit. The Heinz's idea of a successful colony was one where creativity, art, culture, and learning thrived. Forgetting the fact that if a man doesn't work he ain't gonna eat.

I'd grade the whole thing a B-. The assesors nailed it when they said the experiment failed in that too many people brought 21st century ideals and tried to put them in a 17th century context. Funny enough they got nailed on the lack of mandatory Sabbath attendance.


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## Scott (May 26, 2004)

Overall, Colonial House was a disappointment. Frontier House made me laugh. Colonial House just annoyed me. There were too many anachronistic weird views that interfered with efforts to reconstruct a colony. The Heinz woman reminds me of Hillary Clinton. Her husband was similarly weak. The Vorhees family was absurd. They never should have been there. Good grief - couldn't they at least attend the Sabbath service in an effort to reconstruct colonial life. What did they expect? I recall them saying at the beginning that they did not really want to reconstruct colonial life, just &quot;get back to the land&quot; or something like that. Michelle made a stupid statement about religion - asking if she had been born during this time, whether she would have &quot;martyred&quot; herself in order to not conform to the religion of the time. Martyr herself to what cause? Nothing higher than her own selifish interests - she has no cause. 

The Indian episode last night was a staged platform for PBS to spout liberal anti-American views. It was outrageous, as was the psuedo-history spouted by the Indians. 

The merchant was cool. He had good sense.

Overall, the thing was a big disappointment, especially the undue emphasis on displaying the liberal views of the liberal members of the colony. 

Scott


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## Mary (May 26, 2004)

I thought one of the funniest moments was when Carolyn Heinz said that she was certain that if they had been a real colony they would have succeeded, because they had confidence. Oh, good. Confidence. That's about as useful on a cold winters night as self-esteem. How about having firewood and food!?!?!

I think it's lovely that they are artistic. But there's a reason why they are called &quot;Starving Artists&quot;, not &quot;Fat &amp; Happy Artists&quot;...


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## 9:9 (May 26, 2004)

I give it a D-minus.

The people didn't care anything about legitimacy or following the intent of the experiment. Way too much absurd, self-refuting pontificating.

The Voorhees woman was a lovely depicition of the type of women that has helped guide a generation towards its own destruction.

The Heinz man was a perfect depiction of the vile theological 'academics' that have yearned to spit upon the risen Christ.

Colonial House is easily the weakest of these type of shows that PBS has produced. 

Two thumbs waaaay down.


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## Irishcat922 (May 26, 2004)

I too was a little disapointed with the way it ended. The Indian thing almost made me &quot;cry&quot; I mean sick! Any way there goes another eight hours of my life I will never get back.
Rejoice Always.:bs2:


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## king of fools (May 27, 2004)

I was disappointed with it as well.

I got the feeling that the *unbiased* folks at PBS (Publicly Broadcasting Socialism) picked and chose their people well. I think they knew what they were doing when the created this crew.

I would have loved to have been on the show. Lots of hard work, a chance to debate people on the issues of the day and always having an easy pretext at hand, getting to watch the sabbath-breakers getting tied to stakes.  Good times.


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## LawrenceU (May 27, 2004)

[b:bca4e66735] F [/b:bca4e66735]

A big fat one, too.


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