I was first contacted about consulting for Colonial House in the fall of 2002. By that time the production team had decided upon filming in Maine, and they were very interested in having a consultant who specialized in the early history of that region. Maine has a rich and varied early history that often gets overlooked, so I was eager to join the effort. Also, I was excited to see PBS tackle 17th-century history. The era of the first European settlement of America is a compelling and relevant topic, but difficult to do in a traditional documentary without the vintage photographs and archival film footage of more recent eras.