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

[nospringchicken]

I think John Barnes's family is an interesting family made uninteresting by the programme. What he said about the concentration in the father's side of the family is a common genealogical experience as the father's surname is the family's surname for the children, not because of any concentration on sports which felt like a shoehorn. There was no family tree history research. The family is obviously a mixture just like the Manley family but we we were given no indication of the family's background and, as people have said, how the family rose up. To be honest, I've found recent programmes' way of presenting celebrities gives the impression of deviousness - celebrities are presented, hints given sometimes of far more interesting stories and then these stories slyly kept as secrets and sacrificed for some social history/connection to the celebrity's career shoehorned in as if we were too stupid to take a proper skilful genealogy documentary. I'm not saying this is the intention but the impression given. There are plenty of good documentaries which do not purport to be genealogy documentaries which cover famous people and give more genealogy information and skilfully click the person into a context more than these last couple of programmes have - without even travelling around the world, just doing the research and giving a rounded presentation. So there!

[sarahsean]

I found this one  interesting compared to Celia Imrie which i turned off.

 I do agree though it has become  a history show rather than a genealogy show.  However as i knew little about Jamaican independence it was interesting for me especially as this year was the 50th anniversary.  Still i am a history buff so most history programmes are interesting for me.

I am annoyed that it will not be back until later in the year. Stop doing this BBC!

Sarah

[Mavals]

Just been watching some additional footage

http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/footage/13858

The second film I found more interesting as it covers Stephen Hill at the Gleaner and something at the racecourse, but the music was really intrusive.

[Hibee]

The John Bishop programme had to be postponed due to running into an immovable object, in the shape of a Michael Palin series.  It ran into this object due to the insertion, halfway through the WDYTYA series, of a Panorama Special, on care of the elderly.

In my opinion, WDYTYA has been going downhill from the time they did not feel obliged to feature at least one paternal and one maternal ancestor.

Hibee

[sallyyorks]

Agree with other comments , that this series does not go back far enough and is  concentrating on one ancestor too much

Also
Call me cynical but i cant help thinking this WDYTYA is  being aimed at the American market lately  . 

[jc26red]

Call me cynical but i cant help thinking WDYTYA is  being aimed at the American market lately  . 

Spot on, the format is following the US social history style.  its more about selling the broadcast abroad that it is to entertain here. 

[PappyG]

WDYTYA is getting so boring.

It was more like a Stephen Hill documentary than the John Barnes Family Tree.
I can't remember seeing a family tree symbol, once during the entire programme.

Absolute rubbish. If the rest are like this, I won't be watching anymore.

[ankerdine]

This programme should not be written off. The topic was completely new to me and so it opened a new historical era which I should research.

However, it was not a "genealogy programme"; it was just a history programme and a rather boring one too.

I think the BBC should take a typical member of the public and trace their ancestors back as far as possible, using certificates and documentation wherever possible. The trouble with this would be that there probably wouldn't be a "wow" factor.

Judy

[jc26red]

It has nothing to do with the BBC, they just buy the program to air in the UK.

Wall to Wall are the production company and its their format thats changing.