Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Wildflowers1245 This is a fascinating series on the genealogy of famous people. I love the way these stories unfold layer by layer to reveal the drama that is humanity from the great wars, massive migrations, and religious persecution to stories of everyday life. Birth, census, marriage, property, court and death records provide factual information of those that came before us and are woven with general historical information that is known about the time period to bring to life ancestors who were not previously known. These stories are often poignant and emotional as we come to know personal struggles. They educate us today of the way life used to be; where young children often died from diseases that today are easily prevented, where prejudice was accepted as the norm and a lack of social safety nets led to destitution. It reminds us how far we have come. How medical advances such as vaccinations and contraception have improved lives by saving children from horrible diseases and helping families plan the size of families in order to better support them. For all that is wrong with media today, it can put a spotlight on abuses and human suffering which lead to social change today. It brings to mind that great quotation attributed to George Santayana and repeated by Winston Churchill "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The BBC series is much better than the American version and it is telling that in the States it is referred to as a "reality show" where in the UK it is documentary. I rated the US version an 8 out of 10 for it's scripted feel and it's blatant commercial for Ancestry.com. I rate the UK version a 10 out of 10 for its more in depth analysis.

Reaper Ba Respect the privacy of the deadThis show talks about the private lives of generations of relatives. The show I watched yesterday in Australia about a woman who dug up the 3 marriage contracts of her great great grandfather just to be able to say and chuckle that "he was married 3 times" raises the issue about the privacy of the dead.At present time, NSW laws do not allow people who are not party to the marriage to get copies of marriage certificates. But if they are 30 years old, anyone, not even those related to them can. There is here a certain irony.Likewise from a certain ethical point of view, just because they are dead doesn't mean you can do whatever you like just because you can. If they were living, do you think those people would have allowed very distant relatives to pry into their lives, let alone dig up and get copies of their marriage contracts? Put yourself in the place of the dead. See how it goes.Furthermore, Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides "Article 17 1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honor and reputation." 2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. "Likewise, the OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data provides that "although national laws and policies may differ, Member countries have a common interest in protecting privacy and individual liberties, and in reconciling fundamental but competing values such as privacy and the free flow of information; ".Sometimes its not what we want to do with other people's lives but its what they would have wanted had they been alive

fedor8 "I've never cared about my ancestors, but now that TV is involved I'll be more than happy to investigate it." And pretend that you're emotionally involved in what happened to some people you never met, 150 years ago.Having seen more than a dozen episodes, I've noticed two things about the human subjects: 1) 80% of them hope to find Irish ancestry in their family tree. Whether it be Jeremy Irons or John Hurt - or any other self-deluded, gullible thespian - the quest for negating one's own "englishness" through the process of digging out even a minute trace of Irishness: this takes precedence over everything else.Hurt was absolutely crushed (well... hurt) when he eventually found out that there wasn't an iota of Irish blood in his small Elephant Man body. He had spent his life boasting about an alleged connection to Irish nobility, as if being connected to any branch of any in-bred species of royalty were something to brag about. But it turned out to be a fantasy tale. Now John has to go through the remainder of his life knowing that he is "merely" English... What the hell is wrong with being English? Is it "unhip" due to the fact that the English were always more economically advanced than the Welsh, the Scots, and the Irish? It's an actors' thing, isn't it... To side with the "underdog". Childish.Jeremy Irons could also barely hide his disappointment. He had even stated he "felt he was Irish" simply because he "enjoy(s) spending time" in the Irish countryside! What unique logic. You really can't argue with a thespian's deduction skills. Jeremy "felt" Irish hence he must be one. If only I could live the existence of a clueless actor; there must be some primordial joy in there somewhere in spending a lifetime of not having to ever think hard about anything.2) 90% of the human subjects hope to find dirt-poor factory workers with a history of Socialist/Communist activism (incl. street protests and the like). Nothing gets those dim-witted, attention-seeking, barely educated acteurs more excited than the prospect of cementing their left-wing leanings into the minds of the viewer - as if we don't already know (or as if we care) that it is Marx whom they worship above all other awful icons.There was a middle-aged soap-opera star who was disappointed when she found out that one of her ancestors dug himself out of poverty by building a successful business! "Oh, no, he wasn't dirt poor all his life. That's no good... How am I to remain a Labour voter if one of my relatives was so well off? It's a disaster!" That sort of thing...Or are some of these actors simply afraid that BBC will fire them unless they prove their Marxiworthiness?One of the best episodes was the Colin Jackson one. He visits Jamaica and finds out that he is an unusual mix of black, white, and even Indian ancestry. He even gets his DNA analyzed, defining his racial heritage down to the last percentage point. (7% Indian, for example.) As many episodes with non-white celebrities, the episode was also highly interesting for its details relating to slavery.Another top episode was the one with Jeremy Clarkson. He belongs to a very rare breed of British actors and/or TV personalities who aren't left-wing clowns. His sarcastic comments about rabid environmentalists and their blatant folly were right up there with the best of "Penn & Teller".

teamwak I cannot praise this show enough. It is a rare treat to see a celebrity do a piece without ego, but this show is heartfelt, funny, and moving in equal measures.Some of the celebrity's are shocked by the revelations in their past. Stephen Fry finds himself in Aushwitz, Natasha Kaplinsky finds a Jewish massacre in Belarus, and Barbara Windsors family went through debtor jail.Alistair Mcgowan finds himself in India, and John Hurt doesn't find himself in Ireland. And Nigella Lawson, Jeremy Clarkson, and Jane Horrocks find themselves related to Industrialists.Fantastic and throughly engrossing series. 10/10.