Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Who Do You Think You Are? is on TLC

Lots to learn on treks taken by famous folks on reality show
By Mark Schadenberg
Reality TV offerings vary on the many stations dedicated to that format / genre as you can compete for the best wedding, raise19 children, have a wedding on a program about counting 19 children, renovate your kitchen, cheer for your favourite pastry chef in a baking competition, or depart your Amish community for life in the big city.
Of all the shows I have discovered – many with my daughter having control of the the remote control -- Who Do You Think You Are (WDYTYA)? would be the program that is the most intriguing, in my opinion.
Everyone will select their favourites among the portrayal of TLC interesting families, a woman from Long Island who can apparently communicate with those who have left our room, plus crazy couponing, hoarding, living small in a big world, and other crazy obsessions.
My choice will still be the documentary of a family tree as famous people discover connections to their past – a slice of history for the lives of celebrities such as Canadian Rachel McAdams of St. Thomas, along with Jim Parsons, Cynthia Nixon, Cindy Crawford, Valerie Bertinelli, Kelsey Grammar, Minnie Driver, Zooey Deschanel and singers Reba McIntyre and Kelly Clarkson, and others. I haven't seen all these episodes but was reeled in by both the Grammar and Driver biographies.

With an obvious sponsorship by www.ancestry.com, the Driver 60-minute feature had the Good Will Hunting actress returning to her England roots to discover her Dad had a brother who was a locally renowned stage actor. Driver had always been curious how she was possibly bitten by the acting bug.
Driver's Dad, meanwhile, had been a Second World War hero, who suffered post-traumatic mental issues during his tenure in the British air force.

The Grammar doc was also about important connections, as the Frasier and Cheers star was introduced to a late relative (through looking at census records and other research materials) who had died from alcoholism. It is widely known that Kelsey Grammar has personal issues with addictions, and the actor discusses the links with brave honesty.
Grammar's tale also include a descendant who had travelled across the U.S. via stage coach to hopefully discover riches in a gold rush trek to the Seattle area. The actor obviously made millions portraying am on-air doctor at a Seattle radio station.
That particular TLC episode of WDYTYA sparked my interest in watching The Grapes Of Wrath movie again, which starred Peter Fonda, and was based more on The Great Depression dust bowls, but parallels could easily be made to any family searching long distances for greener pastures.
Many full episodes are on the TLC website. It's commonly thought that as time passes on people find more entertainment on the internet (YouTube and ITunes as more examples) than on television, but those programs often direct people to the web, but that's a journey to write about on another day.

LINKS:
www.ancestry.com

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . . Destination


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