Arts & Entertainment>TV
from the April 28, 2006 edition

Tubegazing: Texas Ranch House

Texas Ranch House (PBS, May 1-4, 8-10 p.m. EDT) The PBS time-travel series, plopping everyday folks into their forebears' lives, has produced eminently watchable modern TV. The latest installment, "Texas Ranch House," transports a California family of five and an entertaining collection of cowboy wannabes to an 1867 home on the range, where (unbranded) cattle still roam. Combining interviews with footage from their nearly three-month trial under the Texas summer sun, "Ranch House" is engaging, droll commentary on the American dream and how we became the nation we are today. The participants learn early that small mistakes can cost them big. Vermont native Shaun ties his horse up all wrong, and his mount spooks and pulls the entire hitching post from the ground. Shaun is forced to delay his first ride to stay behind and build a new one. Grade A
Get Monitor stories by e-mail:
(Your e-mail address will be protected by csmonitor.com's tough privacy policy.)

In Pictures
Fireworks: A party in the sky

ELECTION '08 Patchwork Nation
The American voter beyond red and blue

FISHERIES Empty Oceans Series
The sea is no longer so vast.


Daily podcast

Monitor Reports

Discussions with Monitor reporters from around the world


Today

Peter Grier

Honduras has two presidents, but no solution to the country's political crisis.




Making a difference
Making a Difference

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change. See how individuals are making a difference, finding solutions, overcoming adversity, and giving back globally.

Jeremy Gilley, founder of the nonprofit Peace One Day, talks with students at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Cambridge, Mass.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

People making a difference: Jeremy Gilley

This actor and filmmaker envisions that world peace begins with just one day of peace.