Wealth, poverty and ‘Victorian Slum House’
Here’s something you won’t find on “The Real World”: abject poverty.
PBS imports the U.K. series “Victorian Slum House” (8 p.m., TV-PG). In this weekly series, contemporary Britons, many descended from residents of London’s East End, participate in a historical reenactment of life in a London tenement, starting in the 1860s.
Different families assume different roles, with vast differences in material well-being and income opportunities. An older man hopes to pay for a modest room for himself and his wife by working in a church bell factory. But after one day’s work, his 21st-century back gives out, leaving them rather stranded in their virtual 19th century.
“Slum” offers a picture of life as the philosopher Thomas Hobbes described it, “nasty, brutish and short.” On the plus side, many of the 21st-century participants enjoy bonding with their spouses, children and partners. After all, it’s tough not to get closer when five or six share a single bed.
Over the weeks, “Slum” will move forward in history. Its dwellers experience changes in laws and social attitudes, as East London’s poor began to organize themselves into a political force.
On television, poverty, or non-affluence, is almost always experienced in the past tense. From “The Waltons” to “Little House on the Prairie” to Dolly Parton’s recent “Christmas of Many Colors” specials, tales of sacrifice are best appreciated in retrospect.
There are many reasons for this. For starters, television has long been an advertising medium, and not every sponsor wants its products associated with characters without money. In addition, the creative class behind most series does not seem terribly familiar with folks of modest means.
Perhaps the main reason for the few shows about the nonrich is that not enough people watch them. The just-completed third season of ABC’s “American Crime” took a harrowing look at the desperately poor. And its ratings were microscopic.
Often, even series about contemporary “regular” folk must be refracted through the prism of wealth. “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Duck Dynasty” may be separated by a half-century of television, but both series are premised on the idea that audiences would not watch shows about country people unless they were actually millionaires.
All of this may explain the reason for the second season of “Below Deck Mediterranean” (9 p.m., Bravo, TV-14), featuring a photogenic crew of a fancy yacht as it ferries flighty rich people from one fabulous destination to the next. Help yourself.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
› Eliminations unfold on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
› Cult brainwashing on “Bull” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› The kids thwart a breakin on the season finale of “The Mick” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› Michael puzzles Lincoln on “Prison Break” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› Einstein finds love and an intellectual equal on the second episode of “Genius” (9 p.m., National Geographic, TV-14).
› Last rites for a Navy Chaplain on “NCIS: New Orleans” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› Casey goes all-out on “Chicago Fire” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
› Time to leave the Framework on “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
› Frank’s widow startles Stan on “The Americans” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
› A park becomes a Marine’s tomb on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
› Terry feels disrespected on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› A misplaced gift on “The Middle” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
› Tracy Brand appears on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
› Mother and daughter phobias on “American Housewife” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
› On two helpings of “Great News” (NBC, TV-14), Carol babysits Chuck (9 p.m.), a daytime soap proves instructive (9:30 p.m.).
› Comic books loom large on “Fresh Off the Boat” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
› Liv becomes domineering on “iZombie” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
› Straddling the line between friend and surrogate mother on “Imaginary Mary” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin.tvguy@gmail.com.