BLOGS
Returning for a second season tonight is NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? The commercial for Ancestry.com show that features celebrities doing genealogy research in the hopes of answering the titular question about themselves. While way more interesting than its BBC original, not even people who subscribe to a genealogy website are likely to sit through a whole episode.
You might think differently though. Maybe you are enraptured by other people flipping through microfilmed newspapers. Or you find some simple joy in watching people look at PDFs of birth certificates. Even the producers seem to think this is boring b-roll footage. The only effort anyone seems to put into this show is the perfectly timed affecting music that begins to swell as the celebrities struggle to find some emotional meaning in a census record.
If you feel the need to become so bored you start looking up your own great-grandparents for fun (on a Friday night no less!), the show airs on NBC at 8 PM. Tonight's episode will feature Vanessa Williams, who like most of the celebrities the show books, is most likely going to make you ask, "Why do I care who you are?"
Sponsored Links
5 Comments
Add a comment
MOST RECENT POSTS
Today's TWoP News: Thursday, April 17, 2012
The CW Upfront 2012: Recycling All The Pretty People
Modern Family: Best Lines of the Night
Fall TV 2012: What's On When
Thursday, May 17, 2012: Grey's Anatomy
CBS Upfront 2012: Now With Even More Cops, Lawyers and Vegas
Today's TWoP News: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
TNT and TBS Upfront 2012: Boldly Going Where Other Networks Already Went
BLOG ARCHIVES
Going Through Channels
May 2012
15 Entries
April 2012
26 Entries
March 2012
26 Entries
February 2012
25 Entries
January 2012
27 Entries
December 2011
27 Entries
November 2011
26 Entries
October 2011
21 Entries
September 2011
21 Entries
August 2011
23 Entries
July 2011
17 Entries
June 2011
23 Entries
May 2011
19 Entries
April 2011
25 Entries
March 2011
26 Entries
February 2011
23 Entries
January 2011
27 Entries
December 2010
24 Entries
November 2010
26 Entries
October 2010
24 Entries
September 2010
26 Entries
August 2010
25 Entries
July 2010
26 Entries
June 2010
26 Entries
May 2010
25 Entries
April 2010
27 Entries
March 2010
28 Entries
February 2010
27 Entries
January 2010
22 Entries
December 2009
17 Entries
November 2009
26 Entries
October 2009
29 Entries
September 2009
29 Entries
August 2009
26 Entries
July 2009
28 Entries
June 2009
27 Entries
May 2009
29 Entries
April 2009
29 Entries
March 2009
32 Entries
February 2009
28 Entries
January 2009
26 Entries
December 2008
27 Entries
November 2008
25 Entries
October 2008
27 Entries
September 2008
26 Entries
August 2008
26 Entries
July 2008
27 Entries
June 2008
25 Entries
May 2008
26 Entries
April 2008
7 Entries
Television Without Pity • © 2012 Bravo Media LLC • A Division of NBCUniversal •
You've summed up my feelings about this show perfectly. Can't say I've ever had the pleasure of watching, but how interesting can it be to see a complete stranger's family history? And let me guess: they're gonna make a big thing out of some of Vanessa Williams's people being slaves, because that'll be a HUGE surprise and something no one ever thought might possibly be the case...
My family really enjoys this show, even my children. I think they've done a good job of taking you through the journey to get to know your ancestors. The events in each episode are actually far more interesting than in reality since most research is done online and in libraries today - not exotic locations
I love this show! I didn't miss a single episode last year, watching weekly with my family. And I do subscribe to several genealogy websites. I enjoy seeing a persons history unfold, and can't wait for this evening episode with Vanessa Williams. Give it a chance!
As a former history teacher, I can't recommend this show enough. If you can get past the whole "celebrity" thing, it is an amazing lesson in our collective history. Although the stars of each episode are celebrities, their ancestors certainly are not. We can learn a lot about ourselves by looking back.
Wow, I couldn't disagree with the author more but then I am interested in people-- can't stand guns, explosions and car chases. Even if I wasn't interested in human nature it would still be a fascinating show about the history of our country.