Showing posts with label WDYTYA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WDYTYA. Show all posts

Friday, December 17, 2010

WDYTYA Season 2

The names of the “celebrities” to be featured on Season 2 of NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? have been announced.  

Scheduled to be highlighted in Season Two are : Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd.  

This must be the singers and actors edition. My first impressions are that this group is not as strong as the first season : only Buscemi, O’Donnell and McGraw seem interesting to me.  However, the first season surprised me and hopefully this one will, too.

Gwyneth Paltrow is an actress that I admit I’m not familiar with at all, until I checked Wikipedia I thought she was British; her Quaker and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry may connect with mine.  McGraw’s Scots-Irish ancestry would most interest me.  Rosie O’Donnell might be one of the more interesting ones, with her mother dying at a young age she may not know much about her past. Steve Buscemi is an actor that I’ve enjoyed since Reservoir Dogs and his roots are Sicilian and Irish. Kim Catrall – not sure why she’s in this list – she’s British and has already been highlighted on their version of the show. Lionel Richie – liked his music, but don’t know much more about him.  Vanessa Williams last I knew of her was the Miss America scandal and bad action movies. Ashley Judd has a colorful family, might have some surprises there.

I’m not sure what NBC’s criterion for selecting subjects for the show.  Both season’s shows seem to be dominated by actors and actresses, as if they were the only people who’s past would be interesting enough to hold viewer’s attention.  Politicians who’ve run for President have their family trees in the paper when they receive their party’s nominations, but what about the other Congressmen and Governors who make the news regularly?  Surely the genealogies of some best-selling authors or businessmen would be just as interesting as the Hollywood set.

It would also be nice if the show could somehow highlight research of the more common folk.  Perhaps NBC could solicit viewers to submit their family research problems/questions in some sort of video format, and then the producers could select one or two to highlight.   In my opinion, having the show give some ‘free’ research advice and discoveries would capture the imagination of people better than focusing solely on the rich and famous.

That being said, some choices for folks that I would like to see profiled on the show include: former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, musician John “Cougar” Mellencamp, talk show host Glenn Beck, former Senator/astronaut John Glenn, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, evangelist Franklin Graham, author John Grisham and rapper Sean “Puffy” Combs.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Who Do You Think You Are? and I’m eagerly awaiting this one as well.  I would imagine they will rebroadcast the episodes from the first season as well.  

Friday, March 05, 2010

First Thoughts: Who Do You Think You Are?

I loved the first episode of the American "Who Do You Think You Are?" showing how Sarah Jessica Parker discovered her family's connection to America's past.  

The show differed from "Faces of America" on PBS in that it showed the actual research, and SJP was involved in the process from beginning to end, even sharing the discoveries with her mother.  Having her visit the NEGHS was great, and watching her pour over the records about her Salem witch ancestor was priceless.  Makes me want to dig into my Salem ancestors, one of whom I know was an accuser, to see what information remains to be uncovered.

I could relate to the story about the Gold Rush disappearance, as one of my ancestors went west and didn't come back.  In fact, he was in El Dorado County, CA just like her ancestor.  How neat it must have been to be able to walk where her ancestor mined all those years ago.

Will the non-genealogists be into the show?  I don't know.  My wife seemed interested, but then she knows how crazy I am about the subject.  We also enjoyed "Faces of America" together.

My only concern with the show is that folks who aren't into genealogy will think that only the 'celebrities' have interesting genealogy.  Everyone's story deserves to be told, and whether recent or long-time ago immigrant the stories should be explored. 

Anything that can get others interested in genealogy and at the same time show them that not everything is on the internet is a good thing.