Perhaps inspired by a growing appetite for reality-based programming, The 1900 House is an experiment in emotional manipulation. The subjects for this time trip were the Bowlers, a fairly average British family who volunteered to live on camera for three months. The hard part of their decision lay in the challenging setting: a completely restored Victorian house outfitted for 1900. Take away the television, central air, and the water heater and the result is hardly livable. Indeed, in one episode the family was treated for smoke inhalation from the wood stove. Far from the attention-deficit production that characterizes American programming, this series focuses on the family's slow burn. Each member of the clan experiences an awakening of sorts. Most changed by the harsh conditions is Joyce, the matriarch, who is neither allowed to work outside the house or to change clothes to go to market. Her four children, nine-year-old Joe, 17-year-old Kathryn, and 11-year-old twins Ruth and Hilary escape each day to school. Even the father, Paul, maintains his updated employment. When the housework becomes unbearable, Joyce undergoes a transformation from corseted maid to turn-of-the-century feminist. Without the ease of modern technology, the Bowler family struggles tirelessly to find both pleasure and meaning in a less defined world. The 1900 House video, broken down into four episodes, captures a paradox of modern cravings in a primitive setting, leaving the viewer grateful for the remote control.
In A Woman's Place, the first breakdown occurs in the grocery store of all places. Joyce exercises free will when she secretly buys modern-day shampoo. In episode three of 1900 House, the women run wild, rebelling against laundry day and corsets. Finally Joyce hires a maid who is also required to wear period clothes and use turn-of-the-century appliances. A rift occurs between employer and hired hand when the family leaves her out of a festive dinner.
