Pioneer Quest: A Year in the Real West

This was the first of History Television's "Quest" series' and so far the best. The next two were "Quest for the Bay" (2002) and "Klondike: The Quest for Gold". The premise was simple: take two couples and see if they can survive for a year on a farm, 1870's-style. Shot on location, cut off from the general public and their families and friends, the four "pioneers" are roughing it in the very literal sense of the term. A lot of emphasis is placed on everything being period appropriate, from clothing to tools to farming and hunting. What grows out of such an absolute commitment to the reality of their situation is a glimpse of what most settlers went through on homesteads such as this. The two couples, the Logies and the Treadways, are likable and offer insights into their situation through video-diaries. This footage is fascinating, as it often indirectly captures the inner struggle each one has being a 21st Century middleclass Canadian situated in the late 19th Century. Tom Anniko's narration (which is present in all the "Quest" series) is perfectly matched to rest of the show, lending an old-time-campfire-story touch to each episode. This is truly a series to be sought out by North American history buffs and even the casual channel-surfing everyman/woman. A further point of interest, if you catch this series on tv, is that an additional "Where are they now..?" episode has been added, which picks up with the Logies and the Treadways and shows their lives after this adventure. Investigate the other "Quest" series too, despite what I say about this being the best, as they are very engaging in their own right.

I really wanted to like this but not sure I'll make it to E4. They started too late in the season for planting, the couples were poorly matched and, mascara?

This was an excellent series and certainly portrayed what it might have been like for my ancestors when they homesteaded in the 1860's. It was amazing how the viewer was not distracted by the fact that there was a camera there a lot of the time because I'm sure this had some impact on the quality of life for those homesteaders. Eventually I forgot all about the eye of the camera and focused on the events of the day. I've watched this series more than twice now and each time I watch it I see more and more details about the day-to-day activities that was missed initially. For instance, I started thinking about what I would have done with a burning pig - like where was the shotgun and why wasn't the pig used for food - as I'm sure that would have been the case if this was the real thing. I'm a vegetarian so it would have been very difficult for me to survive on a diet of meat protein. I bet the horses were glad to get back to modern day care and also the cow. I love that fact that you let the golden retriever join the group. But the dentist was the most scary part of the whole show. That drill bit was huge and the noise from the generator quite disturbing for all. I loved the landscape and the journey out of the camp each week on the wagon and sleigh. I wonder what they're all doing now back in reality of modern times. Looking forward to another homesteading experience - maybe on the west coast this time.

I watched it every time it came on TV on whatever channel. I am really ticked as it isn't out on DVD yet, there seems to be a lot of people that watched the whole series, I keep checking online but no luck yet. I especially loved the beautiful Christmas that they had with the music, the Treadwells sing so beautifully together, I was moved listening to them.

Also when the two women were learning things like quilting and baking bread. I loved the Hutterite people that wanted to join in so badly and their beautiful voices.People did visit one another and would do so more than normally especially when there wasn't a church in the series for Deanna and hubby to go to.I have read enough books on early settlers in Muskoka to know that people visited.I think the writer of this show should plan another year for us to see again in another province.THEN put it out on DVD! p.s The people of the town that was nearby were absolutely delightful and warm.

I really enjoyed this show. I think there were some great efforts to keep it real. I would have given it a 10 rating but I felt that the show didn't really go deep enough into how the food was provided. Having lived on a mountain alone and having to haul my own water etc. I know that hunting and storing meat is a huge part of the experience. A couple of small deer don't get these folks through the Winter. The fact that they didn't butcher the pig and smoke the meat was something that I didn't understand. I guess that first time settlers could have made that mistake though. All in all this was a great show that I enjoyed very much. I have recommended it to others. I watched it on Hulu.