Have you ever wondered why people were never smiling for pictures in the “good ole days”? If you cannot think of a reason you need to watch the mini-series 1883 on TV. We watched all ten episodes to the bitter end on Paramount Plus.
The mini-series 1883 was about settlers traveling to Montana from Texas. Right off the bat people on the wagon train were getting killed. Bit by snake, dead. Run over by a wagon, dead. A tornado got a few and then the Indians got a few. Am I missing anything? Oh yeah, several drowned crossing the river. Bandits killed a few, two suicides and two died from smallpox. I told my wife there is going to be no one left if they keep dying like this. Life was hard in 1883, and you will see what life could actually be like back then.
On the trip to Montana, water had to be boiled before you could drink it and every night firewood needed to be gathered for a fire. Fire kept bugs, snakes and animals away. There was no law and order out on the plains. You were on your own. You not only had to be smart, being lucky could also save your life.
This show is so much different than my life today. Most of my problems are solved with the push of a button or making a phone call. At night, I never have to gather wood to build a fire and river crossings are not a problem. We do not have to worry about Indians or bandits robbing and killing us. Small pox is not a problem and river crossing is as simple as driving over a steel bridge. The good ole days were not as good as you may think. If you ever complain about life in 2023, you need to watch 1883. After watching this ten-part series you will understand what life was like back then.
For me, watching the mini-series made me very thankful for the life that we live today. The writers and directors went out of their way to show how difficult life could be traveling cross country on a wagon train.
In the late 1800’s, tragic situations were common place with people dying from problems easily treated today. Most of the country was unclaimed and settlers were moving to these areas in an effort to improve their lives.
If you enjoy mini-series with lots of laughter and happy situations this show might shock you. (They warn you at the beginning.) If you are my age, you may consider yourself shockproof or at least semi shockproof from everything we have seen through the years. This is a sad depressing show that might just make you very thankful of the life that you are now living. It also might make you thankful that you did not live in “the good ole days”.
