Starting tonight on PBS is a re-run of the British TV "reality" show Regency House PartyGreat Ch4 site!...take the test "Are you a Vulgarian?"
"Part 1 of this four-part Regency-era “mating game” played out at a Herefordshire country estate introduces the would-be couples and lays out the achingly formal courting rituals they must honor. Accordingly, the singles have chaperones to keep them in line. But in Regency England “marriage was a business,” narrator Richard E. Grant says, and it's also up to the chaperones to determine “who's got the money and who's got the class” and steer their charges in the right direction. Strangely, though, the first couple to pair off don't have much of either. And their romance isn't slow in coming."
"Produced by PBS, it is one of those "experiential history" programs that throw modern people into a period of history; this house party was set in my most beloved regency period. The decor, the formality, the dresses and pleasantries...oh my, and even possibly a little romance. A handful of single gals and guys spend 9 weeks at a summer "house party" which would have been common during the regency period, all with the goal of securing a most advantageous marriage. The only thing missing was a tad more untoward behavior...where is a good Lydia Bennet when you need one? I highly recommend checking this out, just look at all that white cotton muslin. And those short cut jackets on the men? Yes, cut at the waist so as to accentuate the arbor vitæ..."
Ahem..not Victorian, assuredly...but a good romp nonetheless!
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2 comments:
I saw this when it first came out and oh my dear gods what a bunch of whiners.
Of all the guests I think only Captain Glover was the only one who tried within the strictures. The rest just complained about the things they didn't like or only made a half hearted attempt.
Wasn't as good as some of the earlier ones.
Honestly, i must agree..but it's worth watching if only for the clothes!! but the whining seems to be a constant no matter what time period they are covering! but that's what people want to see, people who don't and have difficulty with the situation and drama. the Victorian one had those whining kids and mother (and she had a maid!)...and the iron-age one (i was so looking fwd to *that* one!) and it was just as disappointing. i reckon they don't get historic re-enactors to do these kinds of shows because 1. we already have the clothes and 2. we would submerse ourselves so much into the time period it wouldn't be good TV...people seem to like the "fish out of water" discomfort....vile people! now, where's my roman skull?! LOL
~Red
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