First of all, TV and the Amish don't have to be bad.  Amish: Out of Order, Devils Playground, and even the infamous Amish in the City have been relatively well-crafted and at times even poignant shows. But TLC's latest offering, Breaking Amish, just didn't do it for me.  For one, I found myself bored. I'll watch almost anything, but I  found my eyes glazing over after 15 minutes. This show is basically a retread of the show Amish in the City which aired about 10 years ago on the now defunct UPN network. Amish in the City basically worked the same concept: put a group of young Amish people in a luxury-soaked loft in a big city and watch them experience it.  The "fish out of water" concept is nothing new to TV.  Because it is not a new concept if you're going to do it you need to really offer something compelling, otherwise it'll be boring.  And I was bored.
PHOTO: The cast of Breaking Amish
Almost every cast member is what I would call an "outlier," meaning their life experience isn't typical of most other Amish. Â That wouldn't necessarily be a horrible thing, but it skews reality a bit.
Other points:
Some of you may have noticed the name "Elizabeth Coblentz" in a China cabinet in one of the girl's homes. Â It was some sort of knick-knack/family keepsake. Â No, there is no connection with the original Amish Cook. Â In some communities the name Elizabeth Coblentz is fairly commonly.
Some viewers immediately pounced on the fact that they are on TV at all as evidence they are "not really Amish" and I don't think that is the case. Â Views about photography and film vary widely among the Old Order Amish so it's not a stretch to think the producers were able to find some Amish willing to participate. Â The biggest problem with the show, again, in my opinion, is it was just boring. Â I'm sure these are real people with real stories, they just aren't all that interesting of stories or representative of the overall Amish experience. What did you think?
Laurie
I DVR'd it and haven't gotten a chance yet to watch it. After your comments, maybe I don't want to watch it! lol
Kevin
awww, give it a try, maybe I am just a grump!:)
Diann B.
The show put me in mind of Amish in the City also. I wasn't too impressed, thus far, but I will continue to watch, in hopes it will get more interesting as it goes on.
I noticed the name Elizabeth Coblentz in the China cabinet and had wondered about that also, so thanks for filling us in that is was not the original Amish Cook.
Cindy D
I agree and so did the other members of my family. We live near many Amish and enjoy their company. I have watched Amish Out of Order and American Hutterites and found them to be much more interesting.
Paula Osborn
Just seeing the commercials made me not want to waste my time to watch it. I am not a fan of reality TV shows. There are far more interesting things that go on in the world than to make a group of people look bad. There are rebellious Catholic kids or Baptist kids and no one makes a show about them. Leave the Amish alone, stop making them look bad.
Cindy Harrison
I never watched Amish in the City, although I would love to find it on the internet so that I could. I still don't have cable, so found Breaking Amish to watch online. I did notice the Elizabeth Coblentz item. So my take, it was interesting enough to me to watch more. I was annoyed by Jeremiah though. I felt he was the only one who appeared angry an the fact he had grown up Amish & the only one that didn't seem to care if he were hurting anyone. He seemed to think that because he was adopted, he had somehow been only adopted to work & that somehow being adopted made him more unhappy with being Amish than if he had been born Amish. And I have to assume he knows that he wasn't born to an Amish family that died or something so that he was then adopted by another Amish family.
Barb Wright
As I said in my other post,I wasn't impressed. I have never watched reality tv. I'm thinking it should be renamed..there doesn't seem to be much real about it. Another thing that bugged me was all of the commercials!! There was 10 minutes of show,then 12-15 of ads(or so it seemed!). I regret staying up late to watch such a dumb show. I won't do it again.
Tiffanie
I also felt it was just a repeat of the same idea, and a bit of a boring version. The part that did intrigue me were the adopted kids and how that might play out. We don't know what circumstances surround those two and what they've been told or when. But from another adopted person, it can really affect you, especially if you found out later. That's what will draw me back next time.
Nancy LaLiberte
We watched it during the designated time slot. I feel it is better to record it, then play back without the commercials and the constant repeating of what is coming up next.
Breaking Amish -- I too, felt it was rather boring, but also seemed artificial. We also watched Amish:Out of Order, and did enjoy those episodes. The narration by Mose Gingrich added another dimension. I missed a chance to comment on that series, but I was concerned with Michaela, the girl who wanted to become Amish. I thought there were solutions she had not considered and no one seemed to be suggesting them to her.
In Breaking Amish, we thought it was interesting that two of the five young people were adopted. The young man said he had not been born into an Amish family. I had never given thought to Amish adopting English
children.
We will attempt to watch another episode and see if there is an improvement.
Beth Arocha
Interesting concept but was confused when other Amish family members were photographed
Maria-Catharina Mura
I won't watch it.( I used to live in Mennonite countrty with the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite people, known as Holdeman Mennonite) I read Clarence Hiebert's book on The Holdeman People. There was alot on false/inaccurate information in it. I lived, worked and worshiped with them. He did not. There will be those who disagree and that's there right. I am so tired onf people making shows and disrespecting people because they are different or unique. Hollywood can't seem to make any good movies, only so-called reality shows. No one needs to tnink anymore, just be passively entertained.
Something to think about.
lorraine stoddard
I watched it a 1 this morning. I thought they were ungrateful,selfish,brats.
Throught the show all they did was repeat themselves for the entire hour. It was boring.
Joan Hotson
I also thought this was boring and that those two girls made fun of the girl with the dentures was horrible. It was bad enough for those two horrible creatures to video her dentures but much worse that TLC decided to include this. Shame on you TLC ..... never watch this again
bluebarhen
I'm sitting and watching it right now, and I think it's "Breaking Bull", and agree with Lorraine! They seem like ungrateful little brats! Maybe someday they will realize and appreciate the lives they've lived in the Amish/Mennonite community.
Paula Smith
I read the story about the china cabinet items. That said they were from Great Grandma Elizabeth Coblentz.
Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who noticed it.
Nice to know the truth, they weren't from the Amish Cook lady we have read about all these years.
It was sure making me wonder about it.
I do find the show interesting.
Also liked Moses Gingerich on the other show too.
This way they can find out how the rest of the world lives. Whether it be funny or sad. Nice or evil. "English" ways aren't always a bowl full of cherries. Times can be tough !!
I think Jeremiah will stay with the "English" ways. And he will make it on his own. I wish him " the best of luck " !!!
Paula
Rebecca
I watched it the other night on the DVR. It was enough to draw my husband off the computer eventually, but I think that was more because he got tired of asking questions from across the room. I suppose I expected this first episode to be boring - it was - but it didn't put me off for being so. I suppose with any show there has to be a certain amount of set up...background on the "characters" and such. I would have liked to have heard more about the communities they come from. Most of my questions revolved around just that - and it doesn't look as though the show will be answering those questions anytime soon, as it seems more bent on showing the debauchery these kids will be involved in. I'll watch another episode, maybe two, but if it's just going to show these kids going to bars and getting drunk...I'm just not interested.
I did notice the Elizabeth Coblentz name in the china closet. I assumed it was NOT relative to the original Amish Cook, but, for me, it was still the highlight of the show. LOL
Diane
I used to live in NE Ohio and I and my family have always enjoyed going to "Amish Country" ( as we called it. ) We loved the food, the crafts, the hospitality; just really relaxing and having a wonderful time. We did hear stories about some of the Amish that wasn't so nice, but we figured, to each, his own. Not everyone is perfect.
I will say I am very shocked as to Rebecca's attitude on the show. As of tonights episode, I really don't care for her and she acts like she's above everyone else. I will keep on watching to see how they progress. I wish them all good luck!
SC Susie
This show was really disappointing on so many levels. The producers seemed to have to really hunt to find participants and then to almost "bait" the families for some reaction is really bothersome. I felt so sad for the grandfather when chased by the cameras. I can't imagine my own reaction if ever approached by cameras in ragard to my wayward teen. Ugh!!
Carolyn Price
I agree with Paula. I wish they would leave the Amish alone. TLC used to be a great channel to watch, but they have really gone to the dogs in so many ways. I have been so very dissapointed in all the Amish shows that I have viewed, which really have not been that many, as my time is too valuable to waste on such as those.