Stay Tuned

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 28, 2017 20 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media Slumming it: PBS is notable for giving viewers a look at life in past eras, particularly in Brit- ain. Several popular "Master- piece" costume dramas — "Downton Abbey" and the more recent "Victoria," for ex- ample — tell binge-worthy stories (some fictional, some pulled from history) set in opu- lent 18th- and 19th-century English locales, but the net- work has also aired popular re- ality programming in which modern people live as they would have in various periods in history. The latest of such shows, oft referred to as "living history," is "Victorian Slum House," which premieres Tues- day, May 2, on PBS. The five-part miniseries is similar to its forebears, includ- ing the Peabody winning "The 1900 House," which first aired in 1999; "The 1940 House," which follows a middle-class family "living" in London dur- ing The Blitz; and "The Edward- ian Country House" (or "Man- or House," as it's known state- side), which featured an aristo- cratic family as well as their servants in a lavish Scottish country house in the Edward- ian style. Don't expect syllabubs, stately parlors and five-course meals from "Victorian Slum House," however; this series immerses its participants into the realities of life for the poor- est of the poor in London's no- toriously impoverished and overcrowded East End. A group of modern-day families, cou- ples and individuals spend three weeks in a dilapidated tenement building recreated to house them as the urban poor lived in Victorian London — complete with three tons of imported mud in its courtyard. The series begins in the 1860s, when the abhorrent living conditions of the des- perately poor were mostly ignored, and each episode covers a decade. The slum dwellers all have some an- cestral connection to the East End, and learn tradition- al trades such as tailoring, wood-turning, candle-mak- ing and even smaller-potato tasks in order to scrape to- gether a living. Though temporary, the slummers' stay in the tene- ment gives viewers an idea as to just how grim and difficult life was for those on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Put- ting food on the table and making rent proves to be a constant struggle, and good health and hygiene were all but impossible to maintain in the cramped, overcrowded lodgings and shared outdoor facilities. realtalk B/The Pine Shop 6x7.5 Sale 20% Off Regular Price (Sale ends 05/13/2017) Quality Real Wood Furniture For Every Room in Your Home Sale In Stock and Special Order Sofas, Chairs and Recliners 10% - 30% Off In Stock Mattresses By Friendship, Comfort Design, Klaussner, Norwalk, and Temple

• Cover