BBC TV "WDYTYA?" Series 10 Episode 9 John Barnes

[Hercule Poirot]

I suppose they're delaying transmission of John Bishop if they don't have enough material to bore us with, Barnes was boring last night

[behindthefrogs]

They went from the best programme ever (Celia Imrie) last week to the worst (John Barnes), this week.

[LizzieW]

WDYTYA is supposed to be a program about family history (or at least that's what the web site suggests), not social history !

And mainly socialist social history   or is all social history socialist?

[Jolly Roger]

Unfortunately - the BBC - thinks this programme is and entertaining programme.

As WDYTYA title suggest this.

So it has gone from looking for our ancestors to filling in what they did, at various times in they lives.

Did you notice that they was no dates of birth etc in John Barnes story last night.

Yes it was boring because most of us could not relate to his history as it happened over the pond.

In other programmes we all have WW1 WW" ancestors etc etc.

So as others have said the BBC needs to return to basics and that is look down the lines gic=ve details of how to find people and then branch out - because not evenone who watches WDYTYA are experts like the programme makers like to think we are as new people are joining our excellent hobby every day.

[ann255]

Totally annoyed that last in series is being delayed until later this year, does not make sense. I shall email BBC and post their reply.

Acknowledgement from BBC who hope to respond within 10 days.  I shall post their reply when I receive it.

[mshrmh]

Sorry to say another episode where I drifted off. At one level - the lead up to Jamaican independence - it was interesting, but I found the repeated "reading out aloud" of articles & documents lost my attention. If it had been my family I'd have been engaged as John Barnes obviously was, but to me as a viewer it didn't engage.

I wonder whether the insertion of the Panorama programme into the usual WDTYA slot mid-series & consequent delay to the broadcast of the last episode may be a signal that viewing figures are down? Perhaps the BBC will "demote" is back to BBC2 (or even BBC4) if they continue.

[scintilla]

It was disappointing. I found it more watchable than last week, but like others have said I feel they missed a big trick in not exploring how Stephen Hill was able to rise to the position that he did. I suppose given that it was such recent history it did at least attempt to answer the question posed in the title of the programme. It is much more likely that the ethos of his greatgrandfather and grandfather were passed down to him.

[Mavals]

Found the programme, and the series as a whole, a bit of a "curates egg". There does seem to be more social history rather than genealogy - but equally, our families lived through these times and it could have impacted on their daily lives. Whenever I find a significant historical date in my ancestors details, I do wonder what they thought about, for example, the French Revolution. Did they know about it? did they sympathise? Or the Battle of Trafalgar, how did they feel about the death of Nelson?

The history of independence for former territories is an interesting topic in its own right and might even merit separate programmes, particularly during Black History month.

I too would have loved to know more about Stephen and how he achieved what he did.

[weste]

I for once forgot it was on, i'd been at the record office transcribing for freereg.