New TV series about family history and DNA

[jaywit]

Just a big advert for Ancestry. Not very exciting. As already said ,Rootschatters could have done this just as easily.

Andrew

I wondered how much Ancestry had paid for a 1 hour advert.

Total rip off from Long Lost Family, agreed I don't like Davina but this was much worse.

[Keitht]

I watched it and was distinctly unimpressed. As others have said, RootsChatters could have done as well in very short order. The case of the drummer was mildly interesting, if only becauuse there will always be cases which are hard or even impossible to resolve.

Don't think I'll bother with it again.

[groom]

The most interesting section was about the drummer. There was an actual 2 minutes of insight into what his DNA profile had shown up re his belief that his father was Jamaican but the profile turning up only various regions of Africa.

Wouldn't most people from Jamaica also have similar DNA? Most of the children that I taught, whose parents and grandparents had been born in Jamaica, knew that their ancestors had come from Africa, so I don't really understand why that was such a surprise to him. However, surely if his father had been born in Jamaica of parents who lived or had been born there he would be correct as describing himself as Jamaican?

I was also disappointed with this programme and wont be bothering to watch again.

[Jool]

I watched it last night and to be quite honest I was bored. Too much televised weeping and not enough information on how DNA can be of help in tracing ancestors.  If the series continues like this I don't think Ancestry DNA are going to win many new customers.

[hurworth]

Not sure if NZ'rs will get to see that series eventually, we've just had first episode of second series of a local production DNA Detectives https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/dna-detectives ... it's a reasonably interesting and entertaining watch. They must have limited dna to work from but seem to work out a percentage of markers noting ethnic matches and send each of the 2 per episode off to faraway places to connect with distant relatives by arrangement, occasionally closer connection with something like 2nd cousin. Sponsored by Ancestry DNA ...

I enjoyed last night's show.  I thought it was better than many from the last series. This series has been a long time in production because one of the producers died suddenly.

It still glosses over the explanations a bit though.  IMO they should have explained that Polynesians are an endogamous population, so you will come up with matches with people from all over Polynesia who aren't as closely related as the shared DNA suggests.  Very cool to visit Rapanui though.

I thought it was great that they found a real 4th cousin or something in Syracuse for Jacinda. 

[LizzieW]

I recorded it but haven't watched it yet.  I'm also recording Family Finders at the moment, I think they're repeats, but they're quite interesting although they don't show much research some of which is done by Salvation Army, some by amateur genealogists who find people and some done themselves by the people involved.

[dowdstree]

I watched it on Catch Up last night.

Not very impressed with it and as others have said just an advert for Ancestry.

Don't think I will bother with future episodes.

Dorrie