I watched the first episode, it was okay. I like the genre of putting 21st century people in earlier times. Pioneer House was my favorite.
Regency House reminded me of Big Brother (which I watched almost all the way thru once) the people chosen were acting for the camera and did not want to fully emerge themselves into their 18th century characters.
Did you catch any of the other series?
I think I caught the "Colonial House" once, but none of the others. I only saw the last two episodes of "Regency" early this week. They seemed to be "in character" then, so I guess the whole etiquette in everything took some getting used to. I found out that in the original BBC Channel 4 production, they divided the footage into 8 episodes, probably going for an hour each (with some commercial possibly), instead of 4 90-minutes episodes as they did on PBS. They might have not showed the entire thing here in the U.S., which is unfortunate if true.
I watched 2 programs. The idea had possibilities.
My own impression, the persons they chose to play the parts lacked interest. The men and women did not seem to get along at all. I kept waiting for SOMETHING to happen. It never did.
I don't recommend it.
Haven't seen Regency House, would like to though. Loved Pioneer House. Really showed how tough it was back then.
My favorite was Manor House, showed the very rigid class distinctions (Victorian era) which were pretty hard for them to swallow. They put them into their historical positions based on what their jobs/families were in today. It was like a living Gosford Park.