Who do you think you are (5)

[RJ_Paton]

There is the old saying 'if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well'

Yes, but what is the job ?

The BBC have not set out to produce a complete instruction course in genealogy the primary purpose of the show/series is entertainment.
Have they done the job well ?

From my understanding much of what was shown was also coloured by Jane Horrocks own wish to concentrate upon the "strong women" (especially one).

Yes they make it all look easy
yes they leave a lot of uncovered territory

but we don't all want to 'buy the book' in order to get the full picture.

    what would your reaction be if someone said "we don't all want to buy the certificates to get the full picture"

Personally I think the show succeeded in only ONE aspect "don't believe all family stories" but overall it was very similar to the first series and in consequence was very weak.

[suey]

In reply to Falkyrn another phrase springs to mind - a little knowledge is a dangerous thing  (I'm full of 'em )

Because we all know how difficult, time consuming not to mention expensive this hobby can become, it's all too easy to sit and pick holes in an otherwise entertaining and interesting TV programme.

I won't stop watching but will stop moaning 

Suey,
who incidentally, just purchased two certs, neither of which belong to my families

[bwgan ceredig]

Excellent point, well made Suey ...the one about the programme that is    not the buying the wrong certs

[MaryA]

Having just returned from an excellent day at the Radio Merseyside Who Do You Think You Are  Event, with a throat sore from talking all day - no I wasn't interviewed, that was left to the leader of the Liverpool FHS and some selected visitors with a good story to tell - I wonder if this programme has a lot to answer for.

I've lost count of the number of people who seemed to be quite surprised to find that they had to actually work at finding a birth or marriage before getting the certificate.

Yes the programmes have been entertaining but I do think they could make things just a little clearer that it's not quite as easy as it looks - and I'm sure the helpers on the stand from the Liverpool Register Office met hundreds of people who they had to advise that they can't just walk into a Register Office and walk out with a certificate just like that

I think the    of the day was the lady who wanted to know where she would go from here - she had her family traced back to the 1830's, but   "Censuses" she said ..... "what are they?" 

Mary

[RJ_Paton]

I do agree that the biggest weakness of the shows is a lack of "realism" and this coupled with peoples expectations of the Internet will lead to a lot of disappointed researchers.

The costs are never mentioned ....
just go onto the Internet and get this census and that one .... showing Ancestry each time .....
getting certificates ,no problems ....
hiring professional researchers....
head off to wherever in the world .....
all blithely announced or done without a qualm of conscience about the costs.

Much of what they show is beyond the pocket of the average "joe public" and I think they should do more to show that side of it ... perhaps an add on during the run of the next series 10 minutes after each show following the same member of the public (for the whole series) as they carry out their own research

[trish251]

I can't see the shows     but enjoy reading about them   

Perhaps the lack of "realism" is met by these "follow up" events - as Mary discussed. We were all beginners at some stage - the show catches the interest and the "Events" answer the questions and provide the reality 

When I first started reseaching it took me weeks to find out what the IGI was all about - I was too embarrassed to ask. The first site I found was ScotlandsPeople & I had spent quite some pounds there before I found out much of what I was looking for was available at no charge on the IGI.

Trish

[kerryb]

Trish

I agree with you, but my problem was that on the web I can do all the research under the sun but start sending me to records offices and I was out of my depth.  Nobody told me to take my research with me or at least know what I was going to look up!!

Kerry

[teen]

very interesting. I descend from john horrocks founder of the cotton, his sister mary is my ggg grand mother.
Great to find out jane horrocks is connected to me through the family line.
Would love to hear from sam horrocks.

[MaryA]

very interesting. I descend from john horrocks founder of the cotton, his sister mary is my ggg grand mother.
Great to find out jane horrocks is connected to me through the family line.
Would love to hear from sam horrocks.

Welcome to Rootschat teen!!

Let's hope Sam Horrocks reads this and gets in touch.

Mary