'WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?'" PREMIERE WITH VANESSA WILLIAMS

A few thoughts on the season premiere of "Who Do You Think You Are?"
with Vanessa Williams:

-- As many geneabloggers noted, the producers did away with the annoying
summaries of the preceding segments when the show came back from commercial
breaks. Obviously someone took note of the criticism of the summaries from
the first season!

--The "Gloves Or No Gloves" controversy rages on. I've taken the view that the
experts displaying the documents are knowledgeable enough to decide when
gloves are needed. Last night was a perfect example of that when they used white
gloves to handle the daguerrotype at the National Archives.

--I thought Vanessa Williams' ancestry showed that there are many facets to
our ancestry. Not every Irishman came over because of the Potato Famine. Not
every African American was a freed plantation slave. Sometimes we have
preconceived notions on who our ancestors were which hinder our research.

--I felt Vanessa Williams was more involved herself with the research than
some other celebrities from Season 1. I like that she took notes and that she
visited the family cemetery to get some clues as to where to start her search.
I also like that she did much of the voice over narration herself. Whether this
was her decision or the producers' we'll find out in the next episode.

All in all, it was an excellent episode with an interesting story and displaying
good research techniques. I give it an A+!