Living in the Past, Iron age reality .

[fish]

Living in the Past was a fly on the wall documentary programme aired by the BBC in 1978 which followed a group of 15 young volunteers recreating an Iron Age settlement, where they sustained themselves for a year, equipped only with the tools, crops and livestock that would have been available in Britain in the 2nd Century BC.
Produced at BBC Bristol by John Percival for BBC Two it consisted of twelve fifty minute episodes airing from 23 February to 11 May 1978.
A follow-up programme aired in the same year Living in the Present discovered what the participants had thought of the experiment and how they were adjusting back to modern day living.

anyone know where we can find the original series?

In 2008, BBC Four's What Happened Next revisited participants in the original series thirty years on from their year living together.

http://youtu.be/zRs-zRoBIc4

[John_McC]

Hi Fish have found this site (bit old now 2009) that an individual talks about making a DVD maybe he still has a copy, but looks like the BBC haven't made the series avalible even some of those that took part have ask to no avail.

http://tdbcelts.org/node/978

[fish]

[David_JAFO]

hello,
This maybe of interest http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/583427/ I'll have a chat with some BBC people I know see if there's anything from the archives. Note you have to register with the BFI (I'm registered).
Regards
David
(Edited)
Try also Bristol City Council archives it's amazing what some of these Councils keep in the vaults.
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/leisu...s-and-archives

[Tetracyclic]

I remember watching the BBC show 'Surviving the Iron Age' in 2001, which was apparently a repeat of the experiment and included three children of the cast members from the original show. That one might be easier to get hold of than the 1978 original.

[dave budd]

the 2001 version was a complete farse, pandering to whimpering hippies and inadequate muppets. I was hoping that it would be a more up to date revisit of the 1978 experiment, but sadly it was not in the end

[delboy]

Bit of a necro post but I remember watching some of this back in 1978. There was also a book about the series, I read it in the mid `80s, it`s quite good. Amazon lists a few second hand copies http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Past-.../dp/0563175176

[Valantine]

The original series was probably in the lot that got accidentally destroyed along with many of the old doctor who episodes

[FishyFolk]

Our "BBC" the NRK is now starting to stream all the content they have made themselves as the NRK is a public tv company and paid for by the TV licence holders.
Anyone can excess the archive and watch for free whatever we please of old shows :-)

[Midge_Fodder]

the 2001 version was a complete farse, pandering to whimpering hippies and inadequate muppets. I was hoping that it would be a more up to date revisit of the 1978 experiment, but sadly it was not in the end

Problem now is the fear if liable. Health and safety now makes it all but impossible to do things properly, as they are too scared of firstly: being sued or secondly, scared of something bad being said about it in the press.