The 1940s House
Encyclopedia
The 1940s House is a British
historical
reality television
programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4
in 2001 about a modern family that tries to the live as a typical middle-class family in London during The Blitz
of World War II
. It was shown on Channel 4
in the UK
in 2001, and in 2002 on PBS
in the United States
and ABC Television
in Australia
. It also aired on TVNZ in New Zealand
. The series was narrated in the UK by Geoffrey Palmer
.
led Channel 4 to revisit the idea of taking a family back in time again, this time with The 1940s House. It was originally conceived with only four episodes. The concept of the show was different from that of The 1900 House: Whereas the first series focused on the family's ability to cope without modern conveniences, The 1940s House focused on the family's ability to pull together under uncertainty and fear.
The house is at 17 Braemar Gardens, West Wickham
, Kent
, in the United Kingdom (now a suburb of Greater London
). Series art director
Lia Kramer, who had helped create The 1900 House, identified the property and oversaw its restoration. The Tudorbethan house, originally built in 1932 by Bradfield Bros & Murphy, was retrofitted to reflect the technology and fashions of a middle-class English home of the late 1930s. It is a gable
-ended, three-bedroom, semi-detached
home. A boiler
fueled by coke
provided hot water, and there was no telephone or refrigerator. Sold for 875 pounds
in 1932, the producers purchased the house for ₤187,000 in 1999. The house was in excellent structural condition, and no major renovations had occurred. Restoration included the removal of central heating and radiators, the custom-fitted kitchen cabinets and appliances, and the carpeting. Removal of the carpeting revealed checkerboard floor tiles. Several fireplaces were restored to working condition, and the original French doors which led outside to the patio were reinstalled. The producers discovered that the house had incurred bomb damage during World War II, and that the owner of the home had suffered a fatal heart attack putting out a fire caused by a bomb in the backyard garden in 1942. The home's original paint was uncovered, and discovered to be bright blues, pinks, and greens. 1940s-era floral wallpaper was purchased and reinstalled in some areas of the home (including the entryway). The house was decorated in a style typical of the 1930s, which included some used Victorian furniture and a small number of Art Deco pieces. The existing beds were replaced by iron bedsteads (including twin beds for Michael and Lyn). When neighbours learned of the project, many donated period home furnishings for free. A 1930s-style gas-fired cooking stove, Belfast sink, draining board, metal-topped table, and fold-down work shelf were installed in the kitchen. The garden was revamped to be typical of a victory garden
.
The family had to act like a typical family of the time, which included the sewing of blackout
curtains, building an air-raid shelter
, and confronting wartime food rationing. Air raids were simulated during the show, forcing the family to take refuge in its air-raid shelter. The near-nightly sound of the air-raid siren (fixed in a hallway in the home) left the family unnerved, even after they returned to their regular lives. The family had to stay in character all the time, including when the boys went to school. Period clothing (including corsets) were worn at all times. At night, Lyn and Kirstie had to set their hair in rollers. Even minor aspects of life (such as the depth of water in the bath tub, which could be no deeper than five inches) were regulated.
A special section was established in the rear of a local delicatessen where the family could shop for 1940s-era food, but which also suffered from "wartime rationing" to mimic real conditions.
Filming began on 15 April 2000, and lasted nine weeks. Unlike other historical reality television shows, the Hymers were not isolated. Their neighbours helped them dig their air-raid shelter, the family visited a retirement home (in costume and in character), and the house was visited by individuals who worked in government or the military during the Blitz. Nonetheless, Lyn Hymers later said in an interview that the family did feel isolated, and never got the sense of community spirit that people living in the 1940s would have felt.
There were five episodes:
A companion book, The 1940s House, was published in 2000 just before the series aired. The companion book was a major success, debuting at Number 1 on the Birmingham Post
's hardcover best-seller list. An activity book for children also accompanied the series. A replica of the 1940s House was displayed at the Imperial War Museum
.
PBS aired the series in the U.S. on one entire night in November 2002, which reviewers and members of the Hymers family felt reduced American viewership. The series also screened in Australia
on ABC Television in 2002, actually airing several months before its predecessor, The 1900 House.
The 1940s House was put on the market for £212,000 and sold to a private owner after production wrapped.
. More than 300 families auditioned for the show. Michael Hymers is a 1940s enthusiast, which was a factor in getting the family chosen for the show. The producers also felt the Hymers were well-spoken but also argumentative, which would make for good television as well as showcase a 1940s family's need to pull together.
The family and producers were advised by a "war cabinet
" of historians and others who helped advise on the home's renovation, educated the Hymers about life in 1940-1941, and evaluated the family's behavior during the show to ensure it conformed to 1940s standards. The show's chief advisor was British historian Juliet Gardiner
. The family was advised on cooking and air-raid issues by home economist
Marguerite Patten
. The "war cabinet" also challenged the family at times: At one point, grandson Ben was named "fuel warden" and was given supervision of the family's fuel consumption. However, the family did admit to some cheating: Michael Hymers used Brylcreem
for his hair, Thomas secretly listened to music by S Club 7
, and both boys obtained modern snacks such as crisps
from schoolmates. Lyn Hymers attempted to trade some of the show's authentic 1940s props to the neighbours for cigarettes. At another point, the family members refused to slaughter rabbits for food, and the producers had to provide them with dressed rabbit carcasses instead.
The family was significantly affected by the experience in the 1940s House. Michael and Lyn Hymers' relationship nearly ruptured, as Michael was away at work much of the time and was not aware of how difficult life was for the rest of the family. Kirstie worried that her children were not getting enough to eat and considered leaving the show. Most family members lost weight and believed their health and physical fitness improved. When the Hymers' other daughter, Jodie, visited the set, the experience proved too traumatic and the Hymers resolved not to see anyone from outside the show thereafter. After the show, however, Lyn Hymers became as much of a 1940s enthusiast as her husband, the family bought a car manufactured in 1949, Michael and Lyn Hymers now shop at neighborhood stores rather than supermarket
s, Lyn Hymers does much more home cooking, and Michael Hymers uses a tin bathtub heated by the home fireplace. Although Ben and Thomas have not given up video games completely, their experiences without them in the 1940s House led them to prefer board game
s or their own made-up games now. The family developed such a taste for Spam
that they now serve it as a birthday dish. Daughter Kirstie, however, admitted that while she learned to sew and cook (among other things), she did not feel she would utilize most of her new skills in her real life. Lyn Hymers admitted that she suffered from depression after the series ended, overwhelmed by how hard life had been for women in the 1940s. Although the family felt the work was hard, the adults also agreed there was less emotional and intellectual pressure and they became much closer during the show.
Evening Chronicle
said "the series gives an extraordinary insight into life as it was lived by the majority of the population during World War Two." The Daily Mail
declared it an "undoubted success", concluding: "...what made this series so watchable was the Hymers themselves: grounded, affable, close-knit when necessary, grouchy when all else failed." The Halifax Daily News
called the show "classy stuff" and concluded that the series' locale (a relatively modern home) made it more attractive to viewers than similar shows set in woods or on the plains. Several reviewers pointed out that the fact-based nature of the show was impressive, with The Hartford Courant
declaring it "a great way to mix the facts of history with the voyeurism of reality programming". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
felt the show was "supremely instructive" and was "compelling in spite of its obvious disclosures" because of the large amounts of factual information imparted by the narrator and "war cabinet" throughout the series. The newspaper also felt that real star of the show was Lyn Hymers, who had to cope with an absent husband and do most of the work. Reviewers often pointed out the show's subtle indictment of economic materialism
. For example, The Guardian
noted: "The relationship of The 1940s House with the present-day is much more complicated. Though never overtly editorial, the series inevitably becomes a critique of modern materialism and complacency."
Not all reviews, however, were positive. Writing in The Times
, Peter Barnard lauded the show's goal of attempting to educate viewers about the past, but concluded that The 1940s House failed in this respect.
The 1940s House was a ratings success, prompting Channel 4 to begin work on The Edwardian Country House
, a new reality series with a much-expanded cast and far greater production budget than The 1900 House and The 1940s House. The series' popularity in the U.S. led PBS to commission an American version of the show, Frontier House
. The 1940s House was a similar ratings hit in Australia. A very large 53 percent of professional, managerial, and skilled workers (the ABC Television network's key social demographic) watched the series.
The 1940s House was nominated for a Huw Weldon Award for Specialist Factual at the 2002 British Academy Television Awards
(BAFTAs).
on VHS
on 22 January 2001, with the company releasing a DVD
version in 2007. A DVD edition was issued in the United States in 2003 by PBS Direct.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 2001 about a modern family that tries to the live as a typical middle-class family in London during The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was shown on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2001, and in 2002 on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It also aired on TVNZ in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The series was narrated in the UK by Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
.
Production and marketing
The success of The 1900 HouseThe 1900 House
The 1900 House is a historical reality television programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The show is about a modern family that tries to the live in the way of the late Victorians in 1900 for three months in a modified house...
led Channel 4 to revisit the idea of taking a family back in time again, this time with The 1940s House. It was originally conceived with only four episodes. The concept of the show was different from that of The 1900 House: Whereas the first series focused on the family's ability to cope without modern conveniences, The 1940s House focused on the family's ability to pull together under uncertainty and fear.
The house is at 17 Braemar Gardens, West Wickham
West Wickham
West Wickham is a place in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is 10.3 miles south east of Charing Cross. West Wickham history dates back to early settlements existing since 1068, although the name `Wickham` is an indication of an earlier Anglo-Saxon settlement...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, in the United Kingdom (now a suburb of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
). Series art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
Lia Kramer, who had helped create The 1900 House, identified the property and oversaw its restoration. The Tudorbethan house, originally built in 1932 by Bradfield Bros & Murphy, was retrofitted to reflect the technology and fashions of a middle-class English home of the late 1930s. It is a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
-ended, three-bedroom, semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
home. A boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
fueled by coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
provided hot water, and there was no telephone or refrigerator. Sold for 875 pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
in 1932, the producers purchased the house for ₤187,000 in 1999. The house was in excellent structural condition, and no major renovations had occurred. Restoration included the removal of central heating and radiators, the custom-fitted kitchen cabinets and appliances, and the carpeting. Removal of the carpeting revealed checkerboard floor tiles. Several fireplaces were restored to working condition, and the original French doors which led outside to the patio were reinstalled. The producers discovered that the house had incurred bomb damage during World War II, and that the owner of the home had suffered a fatal heart attack putting out a fire caused by a bomb in the backyard garden in 1942. The home's original paint was uncovered, and discovered to be bright blues, pinks, and greens. 1940s-era floral wallpaper was purchased and reinstalled in some areas of the home (including the entryway). The house was decorated in a style typical of the 1930s, which included some used Victorian furniture and a small number of Art Deco pieces. The existing beds were replaced by iron bedsteads (including twin beds for Michael and Lyn). When neighbours learned of the project, many donated period home furnishings for free. A 1930s-style gas-fired cooking stove, Belfast sink, draining board, metal-topped table, and fold-down work shelf were installed in the kitchen. The garden was revamped to be typical of a victory garden
Victory garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
.
The family had to act like a typical family of the time, which included the sewing of blackout
Blackout (wartime)
A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...
curtains, building an air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
, and confronting wartime food rationing. Air raids were simulated during the show, forcing the family to take refuge in its air-raid shelter. The near-nightly sound of the air-raid siren (fixed in a hallway in the home) left the family unnerved, even after they returned to their regular lives. The family had to stay in character all the time, including when the boys went to school. Period clothing (including corsets) were worn at all times. At night, Lyn and Kirstie had to set their hair in rollers. Even minor aspects of life (such as the depth of water in the bath tub, which could be no deeper than five inches) were regulated.
A special section was established in the rear of a local delicatessen where the family could shop for 1940s-era food, but which also suffered from "wartime rationing" to mimic real conditions.
Filming began on 15 April 2000, and lasted nine weeks. Unlike other historical reality television shows, the Hymers were not isolated. Their neighbours helped them dig their air-raid shelter, the family visited a retirement home (in costume and in character), and the house was visited by individuals who worked in government or the military during the Blitz. Nonetheless, Lyn Hymers later said in an interview that the family did feel isolated, and never got the sense of community spirit that people living in the 1940s would have felt.
There were five episodes:
- Episode 1: The Home Front (aired 2 January 2001) - The series is introduced, the family moves in, war breaks out, and food rationing is confronted for the first time.
- Episode 2: Into the Unknown (aired 4 January 2001) - Michael Hymers leaves the house for three weeks for work-related reasons, and the family confronts additional rationing.
- Episode 3: Women at War (aired 11 January 2001) - Lyn and Kirstie join the Women's Voluntary ServiceWRVSThe WRVS is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need throughout England, Scotland and Wales....
and work in the war industry. - Episode 4: The Beginning of the End (aired 18 January 2001) - The family suffers from air-raids, sleep deprivation, and bomb damage before learning that the war is over. They also listen to radio stories about the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration campBergen-Belsen concentration campBergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
. - Episode 5: The Homecoming (aired 25 January 2001) - Six months later, the Hymers reflect on their time in 1940s House.
A companion book, The 1940s House, was published in 2000 just before the series aired. The companion book was a major success, debuting at Number 1 on the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
's hardcover best-seller list. An activity book for children also accompanied the series. A replica of the 1940s House was displayed at the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
.
PBS aired the series in the U.S. on one entire night in November 2002, which reviewers and members of the Hymers family felt reduced American viewership. The series also screened in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on ABC Television in 2002, actually airing several months before its predecessor, The 1900 House.
The 1940s House was put on the market for £212,000 and sold to a private owner after production wrapped.
The Hymers family and show advisors
The 1940s House was inhabited by the Hymers family: Father Michael; mother Lyn; daughter Kirstie (age 29 when the series was produced); and Kirstie's sons Ben (age 10) and Thomas (age 7). The family applied to be on the series after reading an ad in Radio TimesRadio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
. More than 300 families auditioned for the show. Michael Hymers is a 1940s enthusiast, which was a factor in getting the family chosen for the show. The producers also felt the Hymers were well-spoken but also argumentative, which would make for good television as well as showcase a 1940s family's need to pull together.
The family and producers were advised by a "war cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
" of historians and others who helped advise on the home's renovation, educated the Hymers about life in 1940-1941, and evaluated the family's behavior during the show to ensure it conformed to 1940s standards. The show's chief advisor was British historian Juliet Gardiner
Juliet Gardiner
Juliet Gardiner is a British historian and a commentator on British social history from Victorian times through to the 1950s...
. The family was advised on cooking and air-raid issues by home economist
Home Economics
Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...
Marguerite Patten
Marguerite Patten
Hilda Elsie Marguerite Patten, CBE , née Brown, is an English home economist, food writer and broadcaster.- Early life and career :...
. The "war cabinet" also challenged the family at times: At one point, grandson Ben was named "fuel warden" and was given supervision of the family's fuel consumption. However, the family did admit to some cheating: Michael Hymers used Brylcreem
Brylcreem
Brylcreem is a brand of hair styling products for men. The first Brylcreem product was a pomade created in 1928 by County Chemicals at the Chemico Works in Bradford Street, Birmingham, England. The pomade is an emulsion of water and mineral oil stabilised with beeswax.Beecham was the longtime...
for his hair, Thomas secretly listened to music by S Club 7
S Club 7
S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, consisting of members Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, de facto lead singer Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. The group rose to fame by starring in their...
, and both boys obtained modern snacks such as crisps
Potato chip
Potato chips are thin slices of potato that are deep fried...
from schoolmates. Lyn Hymers attempted to trade some of the show's authentic 1940s props to the neighbours for cigarettes. At another point, the family members refused to slaughter rabbits for food, and the producers had to provide them with dressed rabbit carcasses instead.
The family was significantly affected by the experience in the 1940s House. Michael and Lyn Hymers' relationship nearly ruptured, as Michael was away at work much of the time and was not aware of how difficult life was for the rest of the family. Kirstie worried that her children were not getting enough to eat and considered leaving the show. Most family members lost weight and believed their health and physical fitness improved. When the Hymers' other daughter, Jodie, visited the set, the experience proved too traumatic and the Hymers resolved not to see anyone from outside the show thereafter. After the show, however, Lyn Hymers became as much of a 1940s enthusiast as her husband, the family bought a car manufactured in 1949, Michael and Lyn Hymers now shop at neighborhood stores rather than supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s, Lyn Hymers does much more home cooking, and Michael Hymers uses a tin bathtub heated by the home fireplace. Although Ben and Thomas have not given up video games completely, their experiences without them in the 1940s House led them to prefer board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s or their own made-up games now. The family developed such a taste for Spam
Spam (food)
Spam is a canned precooked meat product made by the Hormel Foods Corporation, first introduced in 1937. The labeled ingredients in the classic variety of Spam are chopped pork shoulder meat, with ham meat added, salt, water, modified potato starch as a binder, and sodium nitrite as a preservative...
that they now serve it as a birthday dish. Daughter Kirstie, however, admitted that while she learned to sew and cook (among other things), she did not feel she would utilize most of her new skills in her real life. Lyn Hymers admitted that she suffered from depression after the series ended, overwhelmed by how hard life had been for women in the 1940s. Although the family felt the work was hard, the adults also agreed there was less emotional and intellectual pressure and they became much closer during the show.
Critical reception and ratings
The show was well-received by critics. The Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
Evening Chronicle
Evening Chronicle
The Evening Chronicle is a daily, evening newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering Tyne and Wear, southern Northumberland and northern County Durham. It was founded in 1885 by Joseph Cowen...
said "the series gives an extraordinary insight into life as it was lived by the majority of the population during World War Two." The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
declared it an "undoubted success", concluding: "...what made this series so watchable was the Hymers themselves: grounded, affable, close-knit when necessary, grouchy when all else failed." The Halifax Daily News
The Daily News (Halifax)
The Daily News was a tabloid newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia that was published from 1974 until ceasing operations in February 2008.-History:...
called the show "classy stuff" and concluded that the series' locale (a relatively modern home) made it more attractive to viewers than similar shows set in woods or on the plains. Several reviewers pointed out that the fact-based nature of the show was impressive, with The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
declaring it "a great way to mix the facts of history with the voyeurism of reality programming". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
felt the show was "supremely instructive" and was "compelling in spite of its obvious disclosures" because of the large amounts of factual information imparted by the narrator and "war cabinet" throughout the series. The newspaper also felt that real star of the show was Lyn Hymers, who had to cope with an absent husband and do most of the work. Reviewers often pointed out the show's subtle indictment of economic materialism
Economic materialism
Materialism is a mindset that views the consumption and acquisition of material goods as positive and desirable. It is often bound up with a value system which regards social status as being intrinsically linked to affluence as well as the perception that happiness can be increased through...
. For example, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted: "The relationship of The 1940s House with the present-day is much more complicated. Though never overtly editorial, the series inevitably becomes a critique of modern materialism and complacency."
Not all reviews, however, were positive. Writing in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Peter Barnard lauded the show's goal of attempting to educate viewers about the past, but concluded that The 1940s House failed in this respect.
- What I don't get is the point. I don't think Channel 4 gets the point, either. The 1900 House was an interesting piece of work, but the fatal flaw in its successor is that it is materialistic. The point about the Second World War was that it presented the possibility of violent death to every section of the population at any moment, something that is impossible to replicate artificially. Living on Spam or building an Anderson shelter were, surely, the incidental inconveniences of wartime. The real inconvenience was the fear that you could wake up in the middle of the night to find that your bed had been set on fire by a man passing overhead in an aeroplane. It seems to me that The 1940s House replicates wartime living the way a Formula One computer game replicates being Michael Schumacher: you get everything except the downside risk, which is at the very centre of the experience.
The 1940s House was a ratings success, prompting Channel 4 to begin work on The Edwardian Country House
The Edwardian Country House
The Edwardian Country House was an acclaimed British mini-series in the reality television genre, produced by Channel 4. It was first aired in the UK in April, 2002 and was later broadcast in the U.S. on various PBS stations in 2003 as Manor House, where extra footage was added...
, a new reality series with a much-expanded cast and far greater production budget than The 1900 House and The 1940s House. The series' popularity in the U.S. led PBS to commission an American version of the show, Frontier House
Frontier House
Frontier House was an educational reality TV series that originally aired on PBS in April 2002. The show, which was filmed over the course of five months, followed the lives of three family groups that agreed to live as homesteaders did on the American frontier in 1883. Each family was given a ...
. The 1940s House was a similar ratings hit in Australia. A very large 53 percent of professional, managerial, and skilled workers (the ABC Television network's key social demographic) watched the series.
The 1940s House was nominated for a Huw Weldon Award for Specialist Factual at the 2002 British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
(BAFTAs).
Home video releases
The 1940s House was released in the UK by Acorn Media UKAcorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK is a DVD publisher which distributes and sells home video products with a particular focus on British television.- Company history :The company was founded in 1997 when Lesley Fromant set up a branch of parent company Acorn Media in the UK....
on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on 22 January 2001, with the company releasing a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version in 2007. A DVD edition was issued in the United States in 2003 by PBS Direct.
Similar reality series
The 1940s House is one in a line of "time capsule" reality television series to air on Channel 4. Others in the genre include (in order of their airing in the UK):- The 1900 HouseThe 1900 HouseThe 1900 House is a historical reality television programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The show is about a modern family that tries to the live in the way of the late Victorians in 1900 for three months in a modified house...
– A modern family attempts to live like a family in 1900 (the first series to air) - The Edwardian Country HouseThe Edwardian Country HouseThe Edwardian Country House was an acclaimed British mini-series in the reality television genre, produced by Channel 4. It was first aired in the UK in April, 2002 and was later broadcast in the U.S. on various PBS stations in 2003 as Manor House, where extra footage was added...
- A modern family lives like a wealthy Edwardian manor house family, while a group of disparate strangers portrays the manor house servants and staff (the third series to air). This series was known as The Manor House in the United States. - The Regency House Party - Ten modern men and women attend a manor house party set during the British Regency of the 1810s (the fourth series to air)
- Coal HouseCoal HouseCoal House is a Welsh television series made by Indus Films for BBC Wales, and broadcast on BBC One Wales, with a subsequent UK wide repeat of both series on BBC Four. Series 1 was set in the depressed economic coalfields of 1927, while Series 2 was set in 1944 as World War II draws to a close...
– A modern family attempts to live like a family in a 1920s Welsh mining community (with two seasons, this was the fifth and sixth series to air)