Best TV Show of the Week
Who Do You Think You Are?
on NBC
By Ally Matteodo
NBC’s inspiring series Who Do You Think You Are? returned Friday,
February 4th at 8:00 p.m. ET and represents a thoughtful, interesting
Best TV Show of the Week that the entire family can enjoy. This
program focuses on celebrities seeking out their family roots. As they search
for clues into their past, sometimes the uncovered photographs and documents can
lead them across the country, or even across the world. For the premiere
episode this season, singer and actress Vanessa Williams decides to further
research her ancestors with the help of historians and archivists. Williams
begins her hunt for information at the Pine Hollow Cemetery in Oyster Bay, New
York. Her father, Milton Williams, deceased for two years, was buried in this
plot of land, along with the rest of his family, and as Williams takes a closer
look at the gravestones she notices a David Carll, Williams
great-great-grandfather on her father’s mother’s side of the family. When she
talks to John E. Hammond, an Oyster Bay historian, she discovers that Carll
fought in the Civil War—born a free man himself, he selflessly fought for the
freedom of all people within the United States. His infantry regiment comprised
part of the liberating army, and one of his duties was to enforce the
Emancipation Proclamation and make sure that slavery was truly abolished in all
areas of the South. Williams also further investigates the Williams side of the
family. She uncovers a relative named William Fields who served as a
congressman in the 44th general assembly, and who attempted to
institute a law requiring education for all children. These accomplishments
bring tears to William’s eyes as she realizes how courageous and trail-blazing
her ancestors were.
This show holds the viewer’s interest by framing the stories of the celebrities
in the form of a mystery. They’re out to uncover relics and clues that will
lead them on a journey of discovery. Military documents, house deeds, and
census records all contribute to fleshing out a clearer image of who their
ancestors were, and what they went through. History gains a more personal
relevance as dates develop new meaning. When people can place periods of time
within the context of their own life, the world becomes a richer, more
interconnected space. This program makes one appreciate the sacrifices all of
our ancestors made in order to secure rights we take for granted today,
including freedom from oppression and equal opportunity. Who Do You Think
You Are? aptly demonstrates that to know where you’re going, sometimes it
helps to know where you’ve been.
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
