Back in Time for Dinner

This delightful experimental time travel show will give you a glimpse at Canada’s history through the lens of a middle-class family. This show is a Canadian remake of the 2015 UK show “Back in time for Dinner.”

The Campus’s are a typical middle-class family in Canada. Mom Tristian, dad Aaron, and their three children Valerie, Jessica and Roberta. Through the next 6 weeks, they will travel through time starting with the 1940s, and their house will be their time machine. The family agrees to do this experiment, wherein the house gets renovated and they are given specific rules and a manual to follow. The manual explains the fashion, the food, the big events of the decade and family dynamics. For instance, part of the 1940s was during WWII so food was rationed. With no electronics, the family’s free time is focused on helping the war efforts by knitting socks and planting victory gardens.

This is a very unique show overall. Imagine it from the parent’s perspective, and reliving a decade when you were a child but now was the parent. Equally from the teens’ perspectives, getting to understand a slice of your parent’s upbringing. The show is littered with experts, both those who lived through the decade and those who are an expert on a given topic. Giving the participants a chance to gain a deeper understanding of their current context.

One of the things I really enjoyed and appreciated from this show was the attention to food and how it’s changed over the decades. It really put into perspective what a fortunate time we live in, as both the parents remark on the time it took to cook eggs, bacon, and toast (a very simple breakfast in 2018) compared to how long it took in the 50s and 60s. Being able to pop over to the supermarket and pick up what we want compared to being given ration cards in the 40s.

The next thing I enjoyed was that every decade has both pros and cons. This show isn’t saying we need to go back to the early 1950s when TV wasn’t around to ensure families spend time with one another. Instead, there are things we can learn from the past and take into the future. Because it’s a family doing the experiment rather than a single person, we also get a variety of perspectives on everything. I would never have considered how lonely the days were for a mother and wife, in the days before dishwashers, washing machines, and cast iron ruled supreme in the kitchen. Tristan, the mother, remarks how she spends most of her days cooking and cleaning while her family spends time together in the next room.

If you’re looking for a reason people should still take home economics, this show is definitely an example. Going from a family where the dad cooks a majority of the time to the gender roles dictating the mother cooks was a problem for this family. Tristian can not cook at the start of this show, and for some viewers that is distressing. Part of what I liked about this was that things did not go smoothly, and it would be suspicious if they did. Even when Aaron is given the chance to help cook, he burns stuff. Something about using the classic appliances when you’re so used to the present-day ones works against your odds. We also need to factor in the “picky eaters,” although the teens give most things a try before saying it’s horrible. I was raised to be willing to try a bite of something before saying it’s not for me, did it always work? No. But I have tried way more dishes than I would have if I could just live off chicken nuggets.

If you’re in the mood for a different kind of documentary, why not travel back in time for dinner? The trailer is here.