Ralphadeus

TV review; Tales From the Green Valley
BBC2 Fri 19 Aug, 7:30 pm - 8:00 pm 30mins
'The start of a new 12 part series that turns the clock back 400 years. Five experts, archaeologists and historians, take on the challenge of running a farm for a year, as it would have been in the reign of James I'. (BBC)
Only 17thc Tools and Horses
I wasn't going to watch this - I don't normally like tv history - but Sue thought I should as it was against (her words) 'the over-poncification of history' which attracted my interest so as the sound of rustic flute drifted into the kitchen I knew I had to watch. The credit sequence was lovely - all rustic scenes and beautiful buildings... I was getting hooked. This was to be a thinking man's reality tv - no tears or emotions for the gardening strand on bbc2 - just education. In the opening paragraphs the narrator said 'due to health and safety reasons they were not allowed to live on site' so all the usual stuff of shows like the 'Pioneer House' which set people recreating 1620s colonial life were not to be there - no vomiting, no snogging - what sort of tv is this?
Stuart Peachey and Ruth Goodman both came over really well - you sensed they'd done this a million times but they came over as genuine enthusiast-slash-experts. The two labourers did not come over well though - their attempts to demonstrate emotions on camera were so faked it did not work at all and they came across as smug liars. Telling us how easy it was made it seem to me that they obviously weren't doing it right. They needed to sweat for goodness sake if they want people who still work for a living to take them seriously. Some humour was to be had in the 17thc Fanny and Johnny cooking thing and I did enjoy it - the high point for me was the oxen. That almost made up for the strange sensation of being 'spieled at' through the tv.
MY Verdict - a rip roaring success though I doubt I'd watch it again.