| Arts & Entertainment

This latest entry in the Thirteen/WNET New York hands-on history series that also included "Frontier House" and "Colonial House" gives a firsthand taste of life in the Old West to 15 people. It premieres over four nights, Monday, May 1, to Thursday, May 4, 8-10 p.m. EDT each night on PBS (check local listings).

The series transplants its participants back to 1867, challenging them to get an authentic 10,000-acre cattle ranch running in two months, with only period tools, clothing and technology to accomplish that task.

The diverse city slickers are divided into two main groups. Playing ranch owners are the Cookes from San Francisco: Bill, a hospital controller; his wife, Lisa; and their three teenage daughters. It is Bill's responsibility to make sure the ranch turns a profit.

Working for them is a team of nine ranch hands supervised by foreman Stan, 56, a retired Army colonel. His cowboy crew includes: Johnny, 22, a brash Englishman whose only experience with horses was as a college polo player; Jared, 30, a Texas geek whose "great-great-great-great-granduncle" founded the Pony Express; and Ignacio "Nacho," a homeless New Yorker who serves as ranch cook. Maura, 25, from Washington, is the household's domestic servant.

The first episode has the ranch hands getting ready for the Cookes' arrival by stagecoach. Interspersed with the strenuous preparations are interviews with the cowboys. Before they arrive, the Cookes must officially register their "brand," a long-held custom in the cattle trade.

At the ranch, Bill lays down the rules: no lying, no laziness and no disrespecting women (especially his daughters). At the welcome dinner Bill makes the ranch hands eat outside, not with his family. However, his Christian wife later invites them to Sunday prayer service at the main house.

Moving past the romanticized iconography of movies and mythology, the series provides an accurate portrait of a cowboy's daily life.

The ranch hands grumble about digging ditches in baking heat, as they must also deal with rattlesnakes, rope burns, ornery horses and saddle sores.

Though the first night centers on preparatory grunt work – introducing characters and establishing relationships – future episodes (not screened) promise more "Rawhide"-style action, including a cattle drive and an Indian raid.

With the unforgiving Texas terrain as a backdrop, the show injects enough reality TV elements to rope viewers – there's already tension brewing between some characters by the end of the first hour – while maintaining its educational tone. PBS is launching a companion Web site at www.pbs.org/ranchhouse.

The series, unlike most unscripted TV fare, emphasizes virtues like honesty, hard work, cooperation and courtesy. None of the participants is trying to get hired (though some will get fired). The only prize being offered is a deeper appreciation for the past.

The first episode contains a few crass expressions.

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DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.