DS Forums

 
 

Who Do you Think You Are? New Series


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 25-08-2015, 15:06
Shrike
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Nottingham
Posts: 11,478
For those who are bored with WWII coming up again and again, apparently Derek Jacobi goes back a few hundred years..
To a monk in the Shrewsbury area during The Anarchy?
Shrike is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 25-08-2015, 16:13
lundavra
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 25,460
For those who are bored with WWII coming up again and again, apparently Derek Jacobi goes back a few hundred years..
To a monk in the Shrewsbury area during The Anarchy?
Pity I was hoping for a Roman Emperor.
lundavra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-08-2015, 19:12
seejay63
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Isle of Man
Posts: 5,737
Pity I was hoping for a Roman Emperor.
With a stutter
seejay63 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-08-2015, 22:24
Kittygodfree
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 995
It depends, I had just as many mysteries in the last two generations as earlier ones - some of which we only discovered in recent years.

There are probably plenty in earlier generations but we never hear of them. A few weeks I found some letters from a family member in some mid 19th Century newspapers and learnt a lot of new things.

The series has developed from the early days when an attempt was made to show people how to research their family in parish records, BMD, censuses etc but it has developed into just telling some interesting stories about famous people's background. The purists might not like that but it can make some fascinating viewing.
Yes, I myself discovered all about my grandfather, but I never knew him or anything about him as he died forty years before I was born and no one was left alive who knew him. I just do not like the format that just tells a story of one relative. It is more like a one off historical drama or travelogue, than a delving deep into 'Who they think they are', as I said just personal taste.
Kittygodfree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2015, 20:46
hansue
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,038
I found it incredibly moving and parts had me in tears, especially when the photograph of her great aunt's beautiful daughter was shown and Jane was told she'd died in Auschwitz.

Perhaps you need to be thankful that you didn't lead her 'boring' life.
Ive just managed to watch this. I agree with you. It was very moving and Jane was excellent. She showed genuine emotion and interest. I learnt a lot more than I knew already. I don't think we realise how lucky we are that we didn't live through this period of history.
hansue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2015, 21:20
anothermi
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 571
Ive just managed to watch this. I agree with you. It was very moving and Jane was excellent. She showed genuine emotion and interest. I learnt a lot more than I knew already. I don't think we realise how lucky we are that we didn't live through this period of history.
I found myself quite moved by the story of her relative's fates during WW II. I also felt very lucky that I didn't live in that period of history but also that I don't live in Syria or other war torn countries that people, just like her ancestors, are trying to flee - only to be blocked and treated like rats! The media now-a-days calls them "migrants" but they are refugees, just like Jane's family members. It was a bit of a wake-up call.
anothermi is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 21:03
anyonefortennis
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: 🇬🇧
Posts: 60,759
Didn't realise he was from East London.
anyonefortennis is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 21:14
mrbernay
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 104,896
Derek Jacobi: It's like a stage set.... Er, Derek, it is
mrbernay is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 21:24
mrbernay
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 104,896
Times haven't changed much.... ISIS doing the same today ...
mrbernay is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 21:56
anyonefortennis
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: 🇬🇧
Posts: 60,759
What a nice man. Very interesting story.
anyonefortennis is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 21:59
Bobby'sgirl
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: South East England
Posts: 2,155
What a nice man. Very interesting story.
Bless him, what a lovely man and a good story.
Bobby'sgirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 21:59
hansue
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,038
Well I really enjoyed that. I would have liked it to have gone on for longer because it was so interesting.
hansue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 22:05
Kittygodfree
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 995
Well I really enjoyed that. I would have liked it to have gone on for longer because it was so interesting.
Yes I agree , it flew by, more like the original format and the sort of episode I prefer delving deep into the ancestry
Kittygodfree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 22:07
ricardoylucia
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 665
Absolutely wonderful programme about Sir Derek Jacobi...Just wished we had more of his story. Wonder if any of his ancestors are still living today?
ricardoylucia is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 22:10
hansue
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,038
Absolutely wonderful programme about Sir Derek Jacobi...Just wished we had more of his story. Wonder if any of his ancestors are still living today?
They certainly could make another programme as there was so much more to learn.
hansue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 23:32
catsitter
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,237
Absolutely wonderful programme about Sir Derek Jacobi...Just wished we had more of his story. Wonder if any of his ancestors are still living today?
They said both his parents are dead, so how could any of his ancestors be alive?
catsitter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-08-2015, 23:44
mariegriffiths
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Bracknell
Posts: 234

This has to be one of the best ever episodes.
I would love to see him play his ancestor in a movie.
The story has everything, royalty, war, political intrigue, court room drama, romantic betrayal, prison break. stunning locations.

I'd love to see an extended version as it seemed to run out of time at the end. Maybe on the Who Do You Think They Are DVD.
mariegriffiths is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 28-08-2015, 07:25
lundavra
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 25,460
Absolutely wonderful programme about Sir Derek Jacobi...Just wished we had more of his story. Wonder if any of his ancestors are still living today?
Who Do You Think You Are magazine usually put unused clips on their website. Also a genealogical researcher sometimes does a more detailed analysis for them or one of the family history websites.
lundavra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 28-08-2015, 13:02
seejay63
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Isle of Man
Posts: 5,737
Last night's was very interesting. Sad that his family went from wealth and prestige to the poorhouse in just a couple of generations.
seejay63 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2015, 00:33
anothermi
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 571
Derek Jacobi: It's like a stage set.... Er, Derek, it is
I agree with Derek's characterization because they were in a room designed to look like the occupants had just stepped out and would be returning shortly. It was convenient for the show to visit this "museum" to illustrate the circumstances the Huguenot refugees lived in.

I remember that room from a different program. It gave us a tour of the Dennis Severs' House. The room Derek saw was on the top floor.
anothermi is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2015, 12:51
Will Whitfoot
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Luxembourg
Posts: 100
I did a double-take when I saw that Huguenot weaver's house. I am sure someone in the last series had Huguenot ancestors - was it Eddie Izzard? -and visited that place.

I found myself thinking "Oh no, not the Huguenot weaver story again", so it was nice to have the lowdown on a very different posh Huguenot from the Court of Louis XIV.

The generations between the ancestor who was Chaplain to the Duke of Devonshire and the ones living in East End slums were left out, perhaps because the riches-to-rags Huguenot saga had been done before.
Will Whitfoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2015, 13:09
seejay63
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Isle of Man
Posts: 5,737
The generations between the ancestor who was Chaplain to the Duke of Devonshire and the ones living in East End slums were left out, perhaps because the riches-to-rags Huguenot saga had been done before.
I haven't seen all the series of WDYTYA so I've not heard any of the other stories of people with Huguenot ancestors. None of the people I've watched have had them so it would have been interesting for them to touch on it as it seemed quite a rapid fall for them.
seejay63 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2015, 13:19
dee123
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 22,432
For anyone who wants some extra episodes to watch i recently found some of the Australian version episodes on YouTube.

There was: Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Melissa George and Jacki Weaver.
dee123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2015, 13:33
hicken
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,338
I haven't seen all the series of WDYTYA so I've not heard any of the other stories of people with Huguenot ancestors. None of the people I've watched have had them so it would have been interesting for them to touch on it as it seemed quite a rapid fall for them.
Really quick. I was massively curious. Drink? Gambling? Fell out with family? I really wanted to know.
hicken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2015, 13:57
lundavra
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 25,460
I haven't seen all the series of WDYTYA so I've not heard any of the other stories of people with Huguenot ancestors. None of the people I've watched have had them so it would have been interesting for them to touch on it as it seemed quite a rapid fall for them.
I am sure there have previously been Huguenot connections.

I once did a few lookups for a friend with a Huguenot background. It can be useful to have Huguenots in the family tree as there a number of charities still running for them.
lundavra is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 17:29.