Never seen the program, but I am not at all surprised that the families have trouble coping. Nine or ten days is not enough time for people to adjust to a new reality... Nine or ten months might do it. So while I share your feelings about the woman who had a problem with plucking a chicken, I am not in the least surprised.

I do suspect, however, that the producers of such shows delight in getting uncooperative people to participate in such experiments. Where would be the drama if the people involved rose to the challenge? These so-called reality shows strike me as being totally unconnected with reality as we know it.

:Ug, it reminds me of that PBS program...I can't remember the name (there were 2 actually, one in Colonial days and one inthe Pioneer days). One woman from Malibu - voluteer again, crying real tears because she couldn't wear make up.

Please.

It would be more educational if they could get volunteers who could participate and then report back with something useful about the experience.

There is supposed to be another PBS show coming, maybe by Spring. I thought of volunteering, until I read you had to go for almost six months! Too much for husband to manage if we abandoned him!! Plus since the setting is 1860's Texas ranch, I would have had the summer hot weather and couldn't have been a cowgirl! Would have had to do the traditional role of female, wife, homekeeper. Fix all those meals over a stove or campfire. Not my idea of fun, though working the cattle would have been a blast.

I do have a realistic idea of that kind of work.
I saw the PBS participants applications last year, for anyone interested in being part of the Texas Ranch life experience. I have watched the other two shows, have a hard time believing the whining and reasons they are such quitters. Non cooperation in groups, or following rules they KNEW ahead of time, dishonest.

I am looking forward to seeing the new production, should make for an interesting program. Life back then was hard, no doubt about it. I do think I could have stuck it out for six months, but perhaps would have trouble staying strictly in womens common roles. Livestock would not have been a problem, it was the hand washing of clothing, all day to cook all those meals for working folks!! Gardening enough to survive on. Even fighting with cattle needing doctoring would have been easier! Horses, no problem.

This post made me think of those PBS shows, too. There was a British season before the American show, called "The 1870 House" (I think). The British family handled their situation much better than the Americans. I looked forward to the start of the Frontier House episodes, but couldn't believe how immature and ridiculously emotional the American participants were. I find blanket statements about the US as annoying as anyone else, but it was a striking contrast.

I wonder if they deliberately picked the softest, most spoiled of the bunch just to show them at their whiney worst?

I caught parts of "surviving Ted Nugent" and decided that he had a pretty good idea of how they would act when he picked them. Same with "Cowboy U" though less so than the others. The contestants were at least GAME.

But I'm leaning towards something like: "Hey did you get a load of that babe in 10 tons of make up?" "Yeah, bet you a hundred bucks she'll cry like a baby when we take it all away." "Think of the commericals that would make." "We could dump her the first week and get 6 months of commercials off that one!" "Hire her!"

Peace Corps volunteers have that same experience, but they stay in their host countries longer. It's a life-changing experience.

Its all in the editing. even bad azzez have bad moments