"Frontier House" (Audrey Hall/Thirteen/WNET)

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'The Frontier House'
With Beth Hoppe
Executive Producer
Wednesday, May 1, 2002; 1 p.m. EDT

Executive Producer Beth Hoppe was online before the final Wednesday episodes to answer questions about the drama of this experience – which included a June snowstorm, unanticipated weight loss among the families, encounters with bears, and a family sneaking modern cosmetics into their 1883 experience.

Beth Hoppe (Audrey Hall/Thirteen/WNET)

Hoppe joined Thirteen/WNET New York in 1998 as director of science programs. She was the executive producer for Thirteen's Peabody Award-winning "The 1900 House," which aired in June 2000 and received ratings nearly double the PBS primetime average. Additional credits include executive producer for "The Secret Life of the Brain," "Secrets of the Dead," "Secrets of the Pharaohs," "Warship" and "Taxi Dreams."

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Washington, D.C.: Please briefly explain the selection criteria. I am not the only one speculating that the Clunes were chosen for their looks, or because they could be expected to generate conflicts. Were they honestly your best candidates?

Beth Hoppe: We had over 5,000 applicants from around the country and around the world. What we were looking for as we tried to narrow those down were families who wanted to participate for the historic experience, not just to be on telelvision. I am confident that that's what we ended up with. We did want a diverse group of Americans from different backgrounds and different areas of the country, and we needed people who were willing to be themselves on camera.

Washington, D.C.: This program is terrific, and I'm enjoying it as much as I did 1900 House! It's also answering questions about some people I know that grew up on remote ranches - no wonder they didn't have a childhood, all they did was work.

My question is about the camera crew members - how many were assigned to each family? Where did the crew stay at night? I was watching last night's episode and wondering if the crew had to sneak off into the woods to eat lunch since some of the people they're filming are so hungry....

Thanks.

Beth Hoppe: We had one camera crew and two directors who alternated shows. They would decided how to shoot and how many days to shoot. The crew wasn't there all the time. We averaged three days a week on location. The snow storm day was not planned to be a shoot day, but it was obviously a dramatic event. The families were dealing with the June snow storm better than we were.

We had a production office that was just outside the valley, not in the 1883 section of the valley, and we arranged for the crew to eat meals at the production office. They did not eat in front of the families -- that would have been rude.

Rockville, Md.: Why was Montana chosen as the setting and did any of the participants decide to move there after the show?

Beth Hoppe: Montana is historically the most homestaeded area of the country. It's also an incredibly beautiful place where we can still find the land to recreate how isolated the frontier would have been in 1883. Several of them wanted to stay, but couldn't because the lease on the land was up and they also had lives to get back to.

Alexandria, Va.: I was anticipating that as the three families began that they would band together communally to help each other. In fact, it seems that there is often more of a "bunker mentality," i.e., taking care of your own family vs. reaching out.

Historically, would families in these homesteads band together and support each other, or would they be first concerned with their own families' survival?

Beth Hoppe: That is a great questions, and it's a matter of some debat among our experts. I've come to the conclusion that human beings are human beings, just as they were in 1883, but there's no easy reference. We've done some reseach and it seems in some cases they banded together and other cases they were out for their own survival.

Brandywine, Md.: Where did the families get water? How was it protected when the herd of cows came through? Where did the fencing materials come from and at what cost?

Beth Hoppe: They had to go to the stream to get their water. We did pipe fresh spring water to the edge of the stream because the stream tested positive for ghiardia as it wouldn't have in 1883, and we didn't want our families getting sick.

We were all caught a little off guard by the rancher's decision to drive cattle accross our land. THe rancher also happens to be the owner of the land. So we negotiated and he supplied the fencing materials. He was teaching us a lesson about open range.

Washington, D.C.: Did you decide in advance to choose families from each region of the country: East Coast, Heartland, West Coast? Did families that already live in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho (where they really do live the frontier life all the time) even have a chance of being considered for the show? How much did a family's financial circumstance play into your selection process (obviously you chose families that could leave their jobs, etc. behind). How much did you pay the families for participating?

Beth Hoppe: We wanted people from around the country -- there was no area that was ineligable -- but we didn't want people who were living the sort of back-to-basics lifestyle that would've been too close to the homesteading experinece, and would not be representative of the average American family. Each adult who participated was given a small stipend -- and they each got the same amount -- to help them cover lost income and cover expenses while they were away from their 2001 lives.

Bethesda, Md.: Beth:

Let me start by saying how much my mom and I LOVE "Frontier House." We have been hooked from the first few minutes! Now, for a few questions. How did you decide on these three families out of the thousands that applied? Also, why is the series limited to six episodes (the six are great, but I would love to see more!)? Finally, my mom wants to know if you are going to do this again, with different families. Thank you so much for providing such a humorous and yet sobering look at life in Montana, 1883.

Beth Hoppe: "1900 House" was four episodes; we expanded "Frontier House" to six. And to be honest, it's what we could afford to do and what we thought there was an appetite for. We're thrilled there seems to be an appetite for more, and we're actively developing other American projects. We'd like them to explore a different time and place. We're also talking to our British partners about an English country house project, like a real "Upstairs, Downstairs."

Roslyn, Va.: I am struck by how different this series is from "1900 House." Whereas that series seemed to have "class" despite seeing the family on TV without privacy, this series seems a step shy of "Survivor." Do you think that is a reflection of us as Americans, the impact of reality TV, or the filming or some other factor?

Beth Hoppe: Does our viewer forget Joyce walking down the street in her underwear? crashing around her kitchen? and crying in her garden? It is different because it has more families and more interaction, but I don't think it's less classy just because it doesn't have a British accent.

I think they may be being a little nostalgic about the "1900 House."

Durham, N.C.: What are Nate and his wife doing out in San Francisco now? We love them down here and wanted to know if there's a way to contact them via e-mail. Thanks!

Beth Hoppe: They left the jobs that they had before, and are exploring all the opportunities of they're new married life. You can email care of the Frontier House Web site at www.pbs.org.

Washington, D.C.: AHHHHHHHHH! Will this series be re-aired? I found out about it too late and missed the first two nights. I'm sad because I hear it's excellent! Will I have another chance to watch it?

washingtonpost.com: You can search for program information on the PBS Web site.

Beth Hoppe: Several markets are repeating it this weekend, so go to your local PBS station's Web site, which you can get to through the PBS Web site.

Downtown, D.C.: Okay, this is petty and salacious, but we've got to know: How soon after the end of the series did the Glenns divorce? Or did he just take an ax to her and was done with it?

Beth Hoppe: I hope you'll watch tonight and find out what happens. We visited them near Nashville, Tennessee several months after the homestead experience, and that visit is part of tonight's broadcast.

Bethesda, Md.: Why wasn't Nate's mom at the wedding? Did you pick this couple (Brooks) just so you could have the wedding as part of the broadcast?

Beth Hoppe: Nate's mom is at the wedding. Nate and Kristen were excellent candidates, but it didn't hurt when they brought up the idea of having the wedding in 1883. They had planned a May wedding, and they put it off till July so Nate could build a house.

Arlington, Va.: Great show! How did you decide that the Glenns would get a house when they arrived, that the Clunes would have carpenters finish theirs and the Brooks would have to start from scratch. Did it have to do with the families' personalities?

And thank goodness for the Brooks, who were the least whiny of the bunch.

Beth Hoppe: We didn't want our families to end up spending the whole summer building cabins, so we looked into possible scenarios that would be rooted in historical reality. Our consultant helped us decide what each family may have been able to afford, or in what situation they may have found themselves in 1883.

Oklahoma City, Okla.: First of all, thanks for some compelling viewing! We are absolutely riveted...Having said that, your show has provided my boyfriend and me with a new pejorative: "Boy, is she ever a Karen!" What a gentle, kind-spirited woman! My favorite scene, thus far: Karen angrily scooping out provisions from under her mattress, snarling about how SHE was thrifty and resourceful and knew to WATER DOWN her family's honey, thank you very much!!! Was she terminally threatened by the LA crowd?

On a more serious note, thank you for the poignant picture of true family devotion and pioneer spirit found in Nat and his father. What terrific men.

Beth Hoppe: I know several women whose husbands are having trouble living up the "Nate factor."

Gaithersburg, Md.: How did you avoid being served with arrest warrants from the Feds and the Montana law enforcement for having Mr. Clune making and selling illegal substances (alcohol)? Did you arrange in advance for this segment and make an agreement with law enforcement?

Beth Hoppe: When Gordon chose to make alcohol we were able to obtain an educational license from the state to run the still. By law, anything that he made was not to be drunk. Obviously at the store, it made him money, as it would at the tiem, but none of the alcohol he sold to the store was consumed. Whether or not he stuck to the letter of the law with what he didn't sell, we don't know.

Washington, D.C.: Really Great program, Beth!

I'm wondering if you had a limit that you would put up with from the participants before they were removed from the project? It seems there were numerous incidents with the Clunes that would have put them at "three strikes." Any thoughts of kicking them out?

Beth Hoppe: Simple answer there is yes. When they broke what we considered to be the limits we'd set on 1883 lifestyle, we felt let down. In hindsight their interpretation of what it took to survive makes for a good story, and I'm glad we didn't trust our first instincts.

Alexandria, Va.: I see on the Web site that the kids had to go to school. Were they going to "regular" school or was this a homestead school? Didn't it make it hard for them, jumping between centuries as it were?

Beth Hoppe: Tune in tonight! We had both modern and historic lessons, but that's all covered tonight in the first hour.

Arlington, Va.: Did the participants have prior woodworking or carpentry skills? (I missed the first episode, so maybe the answer is in there) I'm just so impressed to see them hacking away at logs without chopping off any hands or legs.

Beth Hoppe: All of them had some basic skills, but we put them through training for two and a half weeks, and they were under the close superivision of a safety consultant. We had an EMT in the production office 24 hours a day in case of an emergency. Luckily we didn't have any.

Horton, Mich.: Enjoying this very enlightening series very much. The only downfall was the fact that they could not hunt game. I'm sure eating game available helped sustain many pioneers in that day. I know it was against Montana law, but you couldn't get a special permit for the series, it would have added so much to the story. I sound like I am complaining, but reality is reality.

Beth Hoppe: We did apply for a permit and didn't get one, but as it turned out there were already limits on big game hunt permits in 1883.

Washington, D.C.: I am curious how the competition be included in "Frontier House" was conducted, what sorts of questions were asked, and how and who judged the candidates?

Beth Hoppe: There's lots of good information about that on the PBS Web site.

Kensington, Md.: I have found the program intriguing, but I was taken aback during last night's episode in which the children in one family were clearly suffering from hunger. In fact, one of the children appeared to be losing weight and was desperate for food. I have a hard time with this. Although I'm sure that children went hungry in 1883, I don't think that children in this program should be asked to suffer for the sake of authenticity. The adults can do anything they want, but the children are another matter.

Beth Hoppe: They did have food, but they were hungry for certain types of food. And we also verified with the doctor that no one was starving.

Paupack, Pa.: Absolutely great show.

How did you treat Sept. 11, 2001? Did you tell the families what was going on "in the world"?

I think your show may have added new perjoratives to our language -- "You're a Clune," etc.

Beth Hoppe: We immediately told the families about the events of Sept. 11 and gave them the option to find out more through the media. Only one chose to listen briefly to the radio, kristen called home to Boston to make sure everyone was ok. They all quickly decided to continues with the experience.

Cleveland, Ohio: A couple of questions about the wedding: who prepared all of the food besides the cakes? Also, were they allowed to have a modern wedding photographer whom we just didn't see on-camera? (Or were guests snapping away with their 35 mm?) Who made the final decision to allow Kristen to wear the beautiful white wedding dress instead of the more historically accurate "sailor suit"?

Beth Hoppe: In a romatic move that surprised us all, during the training period Nate made arrangements with the costume designer to make a historically accurate wedding dress. There was only one photographer at the wedding and it was the "Frontier House" photographer, Audrey Hall. We did not allow them to take pictures.

We appreciate all the questions and all the interest. Sorry we couldn't answer them all. We hope you'll tune in tonight to see what happens and how well the families do. There's lots of excitement with building a school, having a fair, and our consultants return to assess how well modern families can do as homesteaders.

Beth Hoppe: A good resource for additional information and historic background is a companion book, also called "Frontier House," available in stores now or from Atria Books.

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