PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Bill Rushin — Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:36 pm

Author: Bill Rushin

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:36 pm

I thought that was one of the best episodes of all of them. You could tell she was very excited in what she discovered.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:36 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:36 am

Season of WDYTYA came to an end last Friday with the last episode describing Ashley Judd journey into her past.

However, if live in the US you can watch all the episodes, including some of the deleted and bonus scenes, online on NBC website: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/ .

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:25 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:25 am

Gwyneth Paltrow or once in the family's past Paltrowicz. Yes, this singer and actress roots reach Polish territory. According to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwyneth_paltrow Gwyneth's paternal great-grandfather surname was spelled "Paltrowicz" and he was a rabbi in Nowogród, Poland.

I don't know script of today's episode but I just learned from yesterday's Fred Hoffman GenDobry Newsletter (which archives you can find here: http://polishroots.org/GenDobry/tabid/60/Default.aspx ) that this episode screenplay was produced with a great input of Jewish Records Indexing–Poland http://www.jri-poland.org.

Abstract from GenDobry:
"The coming episode of the documentary series features Academy Award-winner Paltrow, the U.S. born daughter of producer Bruce Paltrow (St. Elsewhere, The White Shadow). Her roots go back to a long line of rabbis named Paltrowicz from northeastern Poland and the towns of Suwałki, Łomża, and nearby shtetls."

This episode starts as usual this Friday evening at 7/8c. But don't worry if you don't have time then. Thanks to today's technology you can watch this one, and all other full episodes, online whenever you want and as many times as you want. Full episodes broadcast so far in season 2 can be found here: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/ (only for users connecting from the US territory).

By this occasion I remind you: You don't have to be a celebrity to experience your own "Who Do You Think You Are?" family story journey to Poland with PolishOrigins.com. There are still openings for Forefathers Traces Tours to Poland in the second half of 2011. See current (as of April 1) FTT availability calendar: http://polishorigins.com/document/calendar . See also FTT Blog.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:00 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:00 am

After two Fridays with repeated episodes this evening with have premiere episode with Steve Buscemi, as usual at 8/7c on NBC.

Watch a preview here: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/from-the-country-of-brooklyn/1314873/ .

And in our Forefathers Traces Tours Blog you can read another research story by Basia from Sydney, Australia entitled: An Aussie trying to find her Polish Roots.. This adventure of uncovering Basia's family is presented in four parts with part one starting here: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2011/03/04/1-an-aussie-trying-to-find-her-polish-roots/ .

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:43 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:43 am

Today is another Friday with genealogy journey. In today's episode of WDYTYA Lionel Richie unravels the ancestral mystery of his beloved grandmother, a music teacher. Click here for preview of the episode: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/preview-lionel-richie/1303550 .

And we just started new four-parts Forefathers Traces Tours story described by Basia from Sydney, Australia. Click here for the first part: 1. An Aussie trying to find her Polish roots. posted today in our FTT Blog. Next chapters will be published on the next three Fridays of March.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:47 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:47 am

Today evening (Friday, Feb 25) Kim Catrall unlocks the 70-year-old mystery behind her grandfather's abandonment of his young family. Watch preview of today's show (also in Europe!): http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/preview-kim-cattrall/1297141/ .

And we today unlock our Forefathers Traces Tours Availability Calendar for 2011. Check it out, there are still plenty days available for your ancestry trip to Poland with PolishOrigins.com: http://polishorigins.com/document/calendar See our FTT Offer details here: http://tours.polishorigins.com .

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:39 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:39 am

Today, Friday Feb 18, at 8/7c on NBC Rosie O'Donnell travels from Jersey City to Ireland on an emotional ride to discover her mother's roots.

By this occasion I invite you to our Forefathers Traces Tours Blog where Louis, who doesn't consider himself as celebrity, travels from Vermont to Poland and meets family as well as finds his gggrandfathers original house built in 1827 Click here to read about and see pictures of Louie, his Polish family and the house: http://blog.polishorigins.com/ or here: Sitting Down In My GGGrandfather’s House.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:19 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:19 am

This Friday (Feb 11) evening Tim McGraw the country music superstar uncovers his father's heritage among the Founding Fathers. More: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/tims-journey-begins/1287041/ .

Only yesterday I came across another TV show "Searching For..." which premiers in Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) this Monday, February 14 at 9/8c. As we can read on the show website: http://www.oprah.com/own-searching-for/Searching-For--OWN-TV :

"Searching For... is a documentary series that follows the real-life work of Pam Slaton, a professional investigative genealogist, stay-at-home mom and New Jersey housewife.

Viewers can expect an intensely personal ride when cameras follow Pam and her clients through each step as they track down lost loved ones. Each searcher's story is different, and the results are unpredictable and emotionally charged. Whether Pam's clients find a joyous reunion, painful rejection or tragic loss, they all walk away with the closure they were desperate to find."

I thought that you living in the USA might be interested in this...

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:11 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:11 am

For all living (or just currently residing) in the US, yesterday's full episode with Vanessa Williams available on-line: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/vanessa-williams/1284559/

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:24 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:24 am

For the visitors from the USA and Canada mainly: Season 2 of WDYTYA starts in a week on Friday, Feb 4th 8/7c with Vanessa Williams as the first featured person.

Source:www.igihe.com

As producers of the show say, a journey into the past reveals that the courage to break barriers runs in Vanessa's family. She learns about the extraordinary lives of her trailblazing ancestors.

If you want to recall the 1st season you can watch all and full episodes only until Feb 5 online here: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/categories/season-1/1197290/

Although you don't have to be a celebrity to experience your own "Who Do You Think You Are?" family story journey to Poland with PolishOrigins (click here for details of our Forefathers Traces Tours offer) and you don't have to spend for that as much as $20,000 (or even quarter of that), I thought you might be interested in the sweepstakes organized by Ancestry.com (you can click on the picture below to learn details).

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:14 pm

Author: Zenon

Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:14 pm

Surnames of the celebrities tracing their family trees on season two announced: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd. More on NBC website: http://www.nbc.com/news/2010/12/16/who-do-you-think-you-are-nbc-announces-the-celebrities-tracing-their-family-trees-on-season-two/

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Tue Dec 14, 2010 4:22 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 4:22 am

I also can't watch videos neither on the Australian SBS nor on the American NBC websites from Poland . It seems they restricted it to the countries where the series are broadcast.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

NancyM — Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:02 pm

Author: NancyM

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:02 pm

Zenon, those links are blocked for me - something about geographical locations ... but I do hope that there will be more episodes next year. Great series!

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:44 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:44 am

While the third series of SBS Australian version of WDYTYA is on air: http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/whodoyouthinkyouare/watchonline/page/i/1/show/whodoyouthinkyouare , the American NBC announced that the series returns on January 21st (I believe new series with new episodes): http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/ .

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Thu Nov 25, 2010 6:15 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 6:15 am

I came across an article about one of future "Who Do You Think You Are?" episodes in Australian SBS channel. The article is entitled "'It was harrowing': Szubanski's TV family search opens old wounds." and it describes experience of uncovering family history of well-known in Australia actress Magda Szubanski realized for one of the next Australian WDYTYA series episodes.

Magda Szubanski was born in Liverpool, England; her father came from a well-off Polish family and her mother was Scottish. She immigrated to Australia in 1966 with her brother, sister, and parents. Below there are a few paragraphs from this article:

---
"The experience, Szubanski says, has "filled in pieces of the puzzle. And it has, to be honest, brought to greater consciousness some of the demons that have haunted me through my life. It's really full-on and I'm still sort of processing all of it." .

(...)Szubanski speaks of her family's history with pride but perhaps a touch of sorrow. "When I first spoke to you, I was still numb and shocked; the Irish experience was Angela's Ashes, maybe worse, and that was harrowing, to be honest.
"I felt for them and what they'd been through but, my God, we're survivors."

Spurred on by the experience, Szubanski does not consider her family history a closed chapter. It is, she says, a work in progress.
"There is a suggestion of Polish nobility and if there's a castle there, I'll find one," she says, laughing. "It fills in huge pieces of the jigsaw puzzle because I really do think we are the end product of the experiences of our ancestors, even if they're not said or known. It affects you.""

---

The whole article can be found here: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/it-was-harrowing-szubanskis-tv-family-search-opens-old-wounds-20101124-186z7.html

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:38 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:38 am

I just received a message informing that the "Who Do You Think You Are?" show received such a great reception that NBC is airing four of the most popular episodes again starting this Friday night (August 13).

The four repeated episodes will show family stories and journeys of: Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Emmit Smith, Brooke Shields.

I especially encourage you to watch Lisa Kudrow episode this Friday. She travels to Belarus and Poland to learn the heartbreaking truth about what happened there during the Holocaust and uncover a 60-year-old mystery for her father.

I also invite you to our Forefathers Traces Tours blog to see recently added pictures from the tours I had with my guests this year so far, click here: http://blog.polishorigins.com .

You don't have to be a celebrity to experience your own "Who Do You Think You Are?" family story journey to Poland with PolishOrigins.com! We still have openings for 2010 Tours in October, November and December.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Zenon — Thu May 06, 2010 12:45 pm

Author: Zenon

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 12:45 pm

sheep17 wrote:

I agree with you BobK. Recently I've had two people ask why it's taking so long
for me to find my family? They have both simply reached Ancestry, put in their
name, and within ten minutes had "their whole family tree" back to 13th century
France, and 10th century England.
Wonder whose family they adopted?

Leonore

Well, next time show these people who didn't experienced the joy as well as hardship of genealogy search by themselves the official research statistics from the first season of the WDYTYA series (source: http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2010/05/01/WDYTYARecapSpikeLeeEpisode.aspx):

* 6,300 hours of research went into the series

* An average of more than 425 hours of research went into each show

* Researchers did preliminary work on more than 20 trees, then whittled that down to 7 due to the celebrities schedules

* A core team of 30 genealogists worked on the episodes, aided by scads of others who visited archives, did record lookups and more.

* Places the crew researched around the world that didnt make it into the show include Germany, England, Ukraine, Russia, Ireland, Korea and Canada

* Repositories visited included the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Massachusetts Historical Society and other state archives, local courthouses, public libraries, churches in New York City and France, and synagogues in Ukraine.

* Filming all seven episodes took 9.5 months

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

sheep17 — Tue May 04, 2010 3:50 pm

Author: sheep17

Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 3:50 pm

I agree with you BobK. Recently I've had two people ask why it's taking so long
for me to find my family? They have both simply reached Ancestry, put in their
name, and within ten minutes had "their whole family tree" back to 13th century
France, and 10th century England.
Wonder whose family they adopted?

Leonore

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

BobK — Mon May 03, 2010 10:53 pm

Author: BobK

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 10:53 pm

I admit it's an interesting show, and I've watched them all, but it shows people nothing about how to go about researching your own ancestors!

Hopefully, it will get viewers interested in looking into doing it for their own family. But I wish they'd do a few minutes on each show about where to start looking - rather than "Brought to you by Ancestry.com" and leaving the impression that all you need to do is pay their subscription fee - and you too will find your 7th century royal ancestors!...

Bob K.

Re: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Anonymous — Sun May 02, 2010 4:07 pm

Author: Anonymous

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:07 pm

Zenon wrote:

Arlene Vic wrote:

Who will be on this Friday? It look like it will be rerun. I hope not.

This is correct, NBC changed WDYTYA episode schedule:

The updated schedule is as follows:
- April 9th ? Sarah Jessica Parker (Repeat)
- April 16th ? No episode
- April 23rd ? Susan Sarandon
- April 30th ? Spike Lee

But there is also a very good news, official statement: The American NBC version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" has been renewed for the 2010-11 season!

I am glad NBC will renew for next season. Do you know who will be on next season?
Spike Lee did have gret show and I enjoy this program.
And also your Polish Orgin is great too.