Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 47 e pioneering program, pun intended, replicated the conditions of a small farm in 1883. ree families had to contend with largely period- accurate challenges including braving the elements without the convenience of electric heat, modern medicine (with the exception of life-threat- ening emergencies), grocery stores, cars, etc. But despite its pedigree as a product of public broadcasting the program was not without the genre's trade- mark drama: amidst broken rules including smuggled-in toiletries, sneaking off the grounds, and near constant bickering, the show ultimately ended with one of the couple's very public divorce. "Frontier House" was an award-winning show, garner- ing an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Reality) and a Television Critics Associa- tion Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies or Mini- series, and producing a variety of other historical reality spin-offs such as "Colonial House," "Regency House Party," "e 1940s House," so on. But it would also provide a general template for the Montana reality shows to follow; like "Fron- tier House," most reality shows shot in the Treasure State have com- bined the requisite human drama inherent to the form with the rug- ged conditions, stunning locations and, well, inclement weather that only Montana can provide. Or, as Trecie Wheat-Hughes says of her show "Mountain Ma- mas," "Montana is the main char- acter." You might be able to say the same thing about a lot of Montana television shows. "Mountain Ma- mas" is an HGTV show in which hosts Wheat-Hughes and Jackie Wickens help folks to find their ideal home in Montana. Wheat- Hughes says that even on a show like "Mountain Mamas," which doesn't emulate frontier conditions, you still have to contend with the by JOE SHELTON A S "MOUNTAIN MAMAS," THE NEWEST MONTANA-BASED REALITY TV SHOW ON HGTV, gains viewers and popularity, it's a good time to reflect on the wild and woolly history of the form as practiced up here in the wilderness. In 2002, reality television was still young. "Survivor," the tropical patriarch of the genre, was still only two years old, and the Kardashians were yet relatively obscure, known only as the children of a famous litigator involved with O.J. Simpson. It was also the year that Montana would enter the an- nals of the reality television business when PBS's "Frontier House" debuted, giving viewers not only an idea of how difficult a 19th-century homesteader's existence would have been, but also a taste of all the beauty, danger, and, well, quote-unquote "reality" Montana has to offer. Jackie Wickens (right) and Trecie Wheat-Hughes on the set of their show Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters Mountain Men Frontier House "MOUNTAIN MAMAS," AS THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, HAVE ENTERED INTO A RICH HIS- TORY OF REALITY TV SHOWS IN MONTANA—AND THIS LIST HAS BY NO MEANS BEEN EXHAUSTIVE. Ghost Adventures in Dillon Mysteries at the Museum

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