Texas Ranch House on PBS

[MKSquared]

At least on our PBS station, the next "__________ House" show starts Monday night at 8 PM. (Check your local listings!) Episodes 1 & 2 on Monday, 3 & 4 on Tuesday. I loved watching Manor House, Colonial House, and Frontier House - I'm excited to see this one. :)


Here is the PBS website (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ranchhouse/) for Texas Ranch House.

"The latest and most ambitious experiment in living history from the makers of COLONIAL HOUSE, this new series sends a group of modern-day people back to the year 1867. It is the era of western expansion, a time of rounding up and branding free-roaming cattle and taming wild horses."

[wallycat]

YAY!!!
I wasn't sure what year the "this house" was in and hoped it would be a much older era.

Thanks for reminding me!

[eas11]

Thanks for the heads up, I would have missed it, most likely. Now it will go on DVR for SOMETIME when I have some time to watch!

[fci5767]

Thanks for the reminder. I set my DVR for all four nights (Mon, Tues, Wed, and next Mon.)

[tbb113]

The Cooke family is local to our area and my son knows one of the daughters. Needless to say...we will be watching :)

[sneezles]

Thanks so much for posting about this, DH will be so excited to watch it and the website is wonderful!

[colleency]

I can't wait! Love the ___ House series!

[fci5767]

What did everyone think of the first episodes? I liked it. Not sure if it will be at the top of my favorite "houses" but pretty good.

Here's a link to a discussion with one of the producers, Ian and Maura. There should be another installment tomorrow with more cast members.
Texas Ranch House Discussion (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/28/DI2006042801152.html)

I can't wait for tonight.

[sneezles]

I watched 2 episodes on Monday (A Home on the Range and The Good, the Bad and The Colonel) and I'm trying to figure out exactly how many episodes there are so that we don't miss recording any of them but Austin's PBS listing is reather confusing since they have a digital as well...confusing for my brain, anyway! :o Best I can figure is 5, is that right?

We enjoyed the first 2 and it makes me soooooo glad I now live in Texas with a/c and can wear shorts! :p

[sage]

I've caught all the episodes so far. Overall, I like it. However, I find I have the same issues with all the "____House" shows where they use a group of people as opposed to just a single family.

The British series did at least two shows (Victorian House and 1940s House) that focused on one family. The rest I have caught were "ensemble casts". The only thing I have found that puts a burr under my saddle ;) is that there always has to be some one that doesn't want to get with the program.

The Brits did one set in (I think) an Edwardian house---they couldn't keep a Scullery Maid to save their lives. The women would come in and get all bent out of joint that the Lord and Lady didn't acknowledge them or talk to them or ask them how their day was going. The didn't get to hang out and do the fun stuff----they had to wash dishes and sleep in a closet. Ummm. You signed up to be a scullery maid.

Colonial House. Seemed like there were lots of folks on this one that just wanted to play dress-up. Put on the clothes and do the fun stuff but work is hard...the food is yucky...we don't like being told what to do.

Frontier House. Don't even get me started on the family from CA where the kids snuck in toiletry items (can't be without the eyeshadow), went inside a house and watched TV, and snuck in a set of boxsprings they found.

On Ranch House---its the maid again. Yes. You can ride a horse. But how many maids do you think go around giving their employers ultimatums that if you don't let me be a cowboy, I'll leave? Seriously. What did you think being the maid in 1867 was going to be like? And dearie---you have the luxury of leaving because the producers aren't holding your hostage. If you were really on a ranch in West Texas in 1867 and the nearest anything was the fort that is 50 miles away and you had no horse---where do you think you would go after you quit?

I understand that its hard to just turn off your 21st century ideas---but isn't that the point? To embrace the opportunity to see what it was like? They appear to get instruction before going out---they meet with historians---they should have some idea on what they are in for---but some of them seem to come across with an attitude of "yeah I know I'm supposed to act this way but I don't want to and you can't make me. Hmph." Yes, it was probably very very hard for women who didn't find complete fulfillment in domestic crafts. Everyone had to work about all the time just to scratch out a living.

So---I'm enjoying it---except for those parts where the 21st century drama sneaks in.

-Shannon

[tbb113]

Shannon- I agree with you completely. Why sign-up if you aren't willing to live the part. I understand with the family that not all of the members might be completely on board with the idea, but the cowboys and the maid sure should be.

Susan - I think there are 8 episodes in total

[sneezles]

I
On Ranch House---its the maid again. Yes. You can ride a horse. But how many maids do you think go around giving their employers ultimatums that if you don't let me be a cowboy, I'll leave? Seriously. What did you think being the maid in 1867 was going to be like? And dearie---you have the luxury of leaving because the producers aren't holding your hostage. If you were really on a ranch in West Texas in 1867 and the nearest anything was the fort that is 50 miles away and you had no horse---where do you think you would go after you quit?



I agree and she probably woudn't have spoken much English, never mind talking as an equal to any member of the family (I mean her bed was in the kitchen and it wasn't really a bed!). What did she think her role was going to be when it was called "the girl who does all work" (I'm sure I have that wrong but it's the general jist). And yes one would expect you to lose your 21st century attitude.

[Grace]

I've caught all the episodes so far. Overall, I like it. However, I find I have the same issues with all the "____House" shows where they use a group of people as opposed to just a single family.

The British series did at least two shows (Victorian House and 1940s House) that focused on one family. The rest I have caught were "ensemble casts". The only thing I have found that puts a burr under my saddle ;) is that there always has to be some one that doesn't want to get with the program.

The Brits did one set in (I think) an Edwardian house---they couldn't keep a Scullery Maid to save their lives. The women would come in and get all bent out of joint that the Lord and Lady didn't acknowledge them or talk to them or ask them how their day was going. The didn't get to hang out and do the fun stuff----they had to wash dishes and sleep in a closet. Ummm. You signed up to be a scullery maid.

Colonial House. Seemed like there were lots of folks on this one that just wanted to play dress-up. Put on the clothes and do the fun stuff but work is hard...the food is yucky...we don't like being told what to do.

Frontier House. Don't even get me started on the family from CA where the kids snuck in toiletry items (can't be without the eyeshadow), went inside a house and watched TV, and snuck in a set of boxsprings they found.

On Ranch House---its the maid again. Yes. You can ride a horse. But how many maids do you think go around giving their employers ultimatums that if you don't let me be a cowboy, I'll leave? Seriously. What did you think being the maid in 1867 was going to be like? And dearie---you have the luxury of leaving because the producers aren't holding your hostage. If you were really on a ranch in West Texas in 1867 and the nearest anything was the fort that is 50 miles away and you had no horse---where do you think you would go after you quit?

I understand that its hard to just turn off your 21st century ideas---but isn't that the point? To embrace the opportunity to see what it was like? They appear to get instruction before going out---they meet with historians---they should have some idea on what they are in for---but some of them seem to come across with an attitude of "yeah I know I'm supposed to act this way but I don't want to and you can't make me. Hmph." Yes, it was probably very very hard for women who didn't find complete fulfillment in domestic crafts. Everyone had to work about all the time just to scratch out a living.

So---I'm enjoying it---except for those parts where the 21st century drama sneaks in.

-Shannon


I SOO agree with this. I tried watching a little last night, but got almost instantly annoyed when those people decided they didn't want to do things the way they were supposed to and just took those saddles anyway. I can't for the life of me figure out why none of these people just cannot do it the way they are supposed to for just a few weeks out of their lives? I can see if it was for a year or something that they might not be able to make it for that length of time, but really, this is a few weeks. And it just ruins the whole experience. For them AND for me. :(

[MKSquared]

...And it just ruins the whole experience. For them AND for me. :(

What bugged me was Maura's (the girl of all work) comment that she wanted to step up and be a hero or a role model to all the girls and women watching. What she's not realizing is that she's ruining the experience for many fans.

Highlight for a comment that may be a spoiler, if you missed last night's second episode:
I'm bummed that Ian's gone. I hope he comes back - I liked his attitude, and, well, he's hot. Pretty happy that Nacho's out of there - looks like it WAS his unsanitary kitchen that caused the cowboys to get sick. Problem is, TRH is seeming to be more and more like Survivor, with people getting booted off the ranch!

[colleency]

There are 8 episodes total, and it seems that most stations are playing it two a night for four nights in a row.

I was beyond disappointed with Ranch House. I was so bored after episode number three that I changed the channel, and I don't think I'll watch the rest of them.

I agree that it's more like an episode of survivor. I was very disappointed that they didn't show us at least some of the training and preparation. A lot of the first couple of episodes seemed to be a lot of cowboys sitting around.

I was appalled that the cowboys let their saddles go. I don't think there would have been any question of that happening back then. The show mentioned that women would have only ridden sidesaddle. Riding sidesaddle is supposed to be pretty dangerous. And women who didn't wear corsets around the house, living 50 miles from the nearest town, probably wouldn't have had too much trouble riding astride.

But I was mainly bored.

[fci5767]

[QUOTE=colleency]There are 8 episodes total, and it seems that most stations are playing it two a night for four nights in a row.

That's good to know. The last two episodes will air here next Monday so I'll have to make sure to avoid this thread after tomorrow morning.

[sage]

AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH.

Episodes 6 and 7 annoyed the ever-loving cr@p out of me. Don't want to give away any spoilers so I'll stop for now. I need to go read on the PBS website about these shows---maybe the point is not to make a genuine attempt at historical accuracy but is supposed to be just a game of dress-up.

The maid is killing me. Mrs. Cooke is killing me. Mr. Cooke is killing me. Geez louise.

-Shannon

[fci5767]

Here's the link for yesterday's Washington post chat with Mrs. Cooke, Nacho, and the executive producer: Washington Post Chat #2 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/28/DI2006042801171.html?sub=AR)

[colleency]

I wish the editors and producers would have cut the show the way the mom saw it. I'd like to have seen more of how the women dealt with the cooking, etc. Of course, they may have shown some of that after I got bored and stopped watching.