'Who Do You Think You Are' programmes

[ellyjane70]

don't they make it look easy? A celeb goes in search of ancestors, and researchers go before him and turf out documents to which most of us wouldn't ever have access.

I accidentally was given records at one record office a few years ago that were quickly snatched away from me with a glowering look and 'these are not available for another 50 years' yet the very same records turned up on one of these programmes.

How do they make it possible to bend the rules?

[stepives]

It depends on the relationship of you, and who the records pertain to. As you give no indication of the records that were 'snatched away', I/we cannot answer your question.

These series are a Tv programmes, and are made mostly for entertainment and just snap shot of their relatives lives. (And an 'advertisement' for Ancestry).
Like most people, these 'celebs' are no experts on family history and have little idea where to look for such records.

At least the programs give some 'newbies' (and 'oldies'), ideas of what records exist, and where to find them.

I don't understand why people keep knocking this series of programs, just because they 'have it easy'.

Also, watching someone break down in tears(this week's prog), is hardly what he expected of himself.

I've learnt a lot from WDYTYA, and no doubt others have as well. But mostly I just enjoy watching it.


Steve.

[ellyjane70]

I think one thing we can glean from these programmes is the addiction, the feeling you want to keep researching, and also sometimes, an amazing, newly discovered connection to someone from your past you hadn't previously given much thought to. It is interesting that the emotion shown by some participants is that which we often feel ourselves as we uncover the past

Don't think I'm a slater of these programmes, just a little, well, jealous

[pejay]

I think programmes like this do make genealogy look so easy when it certainly isn't and also do the celeb's pay for certificates - no. Whilst I am not decrying the programme - the producers do only pick particular celebs.

[Jonesy]

The idea of programmes like Who Do You Think You Are, is, other than offering fans of (minor?) celebrities an insight in to their real life, to feed the public's current interest in genealogy.

If the programmes showed the reality of frustration and long, drawn out and expensive research, a) it would turn people off investigating their own family and b) wouldn't make very good tele.

[Jonesy]

the producers do only pick particular celebs.

They have to. If they showed a celebrity's ancestors were all ag labourers and miners, with no skeletons in closets or other juicy stuff, I doubt no one would watch it again...

[Guy Etchells]

don't they make it look easy? A celeb goes in search of ancestors, and researchers go before him and turf out documents to which most of us wouldn't ever have access.

I accidentally was given records at one record office a few years ago that were quickly snatched away from me with a glowering look and 'these are not available for another 50 years' yet the very same records turned up on one of these programmes.

How do they make it possible to bend the rules?

Because many of the rules have no legal standing, but are simply office policies.
Cheers
Guy

[pottoka]

They have to. If they showed a celebrity's ancestors were all ag labourers and miners, with no skeletons in closets or other juicy stuff, I doubt no one would watch it again...

Given the number of people with ag labs and miners and general hoi polloi, I think they could get away with at least one programme showing someone from that sort of background. They could spice it up with tales of misery and disease and unmarked graves that descendants can't find. It might make a whole lot of us feel a whole lot better about our family trees.

[Megan Roberts]

I may be wrong, but I seem to recall after the 1st or 2nd series, it being said that they had abandoned a programme on Michael Parkinson, because his lot were ordinary folk who had not moved around at all.

A lot of the people chosen for the programmes have ancestors who moved - so they jet off to New York, or take the train to Lowestoft .............!!

[Guest]

Because many of the rules have no legal standing, but are simply office policies.
Cheers
Guy

Guy makes a good point. If anyone (in general, not just genealogy) says to me something along the lines of "It's a legal requirement" or "It's to comply with the ??? Act", and it seems unreasonable, I ask them to show me the exact paragraph in the relevant legislation.

Graham