Season 7: All Episodes Talk

[UsernameFatigue]

I just watched the Ginnifer Goodwin episode and loved it. I had the same questions as others regarding when Pearl died, and about the half brother of her grandfather. Was he ever even mentioned other than when Nellie recorded that she had three children, and her obit which mentioned her two surviving sons? I also thought that Ginnifer's great grandfather was hot, and thought she looked very much like him.

[atir]

So am I the only one who watched Alfre Woodard's show? It was a bit draggy....I think the shows featuring African Americans can be draggy since there are often dead ends with name changing and lack of birth records for slaves. It's heartbreaking to see that your gg granddad was listed among the horses and goats.

I had no idea that AW was 62 & had kids as young as she does.

[zxy556575]

What a warm, intelligent, poised woman Alfre Woodard is. She was a pleasure to watch and really seemed to be in a place/state of mind to fully absorb and appreciate her history more than some other celebrities have been.

[JeanneH]

I really enjoyed the Alfre Woodard episode. She seemed to be very interested in learning about her family, both the good and bad of their situation. No one was beating her (or the audience) over the head with a clue stick in this one. She's obviously been interested in her ancestors before this show came along (or she's a very good actress - scratch that, she *is* a very good actress), as her reaction when she put the information at hand together with information she remembered from her family (such as Alec vs Elic) was delightful.

[sadtvjunkie]

I agree with you atir. This one was a snoozer. They are now scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of people I care about. I'm so tired of the fake acting. Shock and awe over a black person taking the name of their slave owner, of said slaves being sold without their families, etc. It's all in our history, just study it. Don't really understand why we had to watch her barefooted in the dirt and pouring her water all over the ground (twice!). The one lady that was helping her I could just see the thought bubbles over her head, "This woman be crazy! I just want to say my piece and get away from her." Same for the microfiche guy when she broke out into song...

And she was filmed wearing the same outfit as she started out at home in. The only nice thing was this was at least NOT filmed in the winter since the crepe myrtles were blooming in GA and we didn't have to look at the black chevrolet this time.

[BusyOctober]

I'm not African American but I can appreciate Alfre Woodard's barefoot walk on her ancestor's land (as a slave and as a freeman).  I didn't know about the "pouring libations" tradition, but I get it and it made me a little teary.  Since I don't have any slaves or slave owners in my family tree I could never fully understand the experience. But I do empathize & I usually get goosebumps when I hear the stories of discovery that ancestors born as slaves were able to establish roots and grow after the Civil War. 

 

I know it's not the same thing as visiting land where your family was property, but when I went to Sicily to see where my grandmother was born, there were distant relative still living in the house.  I scooped up some of the dirt from the yard and I took a stone from the barn's foundation (with the owner's OK!).  It meant a lot to have something tactile to tie me to my grandmother's family.

[iMonrey]

I liked Alfre's story quite a lot. The really heartbreaking thing about her great grandfather is she has no way of knowing if he ever saw his family again. Did he ever see his parents or any siblings when he was moved away from them? That's sad. I thought the whole story was handled with dignity and grace, or as much as possible under the circumstances.

 

 

Same for the microfiche guy when she broke out into song...

 

Ok, that was awkward.

[ChicagoCita]

I liked this one. I'm really lucky in that I can trace my family back to the 1820s because they stayed in the same fricking place!  My mom lives in a home that my 3x-great-grandfather built. So I have to imagine the thrill of finding an unknown family homestead, but I think her joy was genuine. The first time I found an ancestor, not even a major one, listed in a cemetery book, I burst into tears.

 

The fact that I like her after this show is a testament to her personality, because my Absolute Number One Pet Peeve are people who sing at the drop of a hat.

[RockShrimp]

I thought the story was interesting but the "American history 101" voice overs got old fast. No shit, thanks for letting me know what slavery was.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

I liked this episode, partially because Alfre Woodard is so likable.  

 

But her Great Grandfather paying a poll tax had me crying a little.

 

I do think no matter how much any African American intellectually knows their anscestors were slaves actually seeing them listed in an inventory is still a punch in the gut.

[riverblue22]

I thought the story was interesting but the "American history 101" voice overs got old fast. No shit, thanks for letting me know what slavery was.

 

I don't think it was for you (or me).  But I am wondering if they have realized that some of their audience truly doesn't know the history of slavery and its impact on the country.  I can believe that many of the fans of their other shows may have slept through history class.

 

I've watched several shows like this and it's the first time I recall hearing about Juneteenth and the tradition of walking barefoot on their ancestor's land.  I wish I had thought to do that visiting my ancestor's farms in the past!

[attica]

I like the effect Alfre had on all the historians. She seemed to pull quite a bit of personality out of all of them. I thought the Juneteenth guy was going to ask her out!

 

I didn't know about the "pouring libations" tradition, but I get it and it made me a little teary.

 

I kept thinking "pour one out for the homies" but that might not have been the right, um, mindset. I agree; AW's doing so was quite movingly ceremonial. 

[weightyghost]

Watching Alfre's episode now and yes, singing was awkward. But moving story. I'm never a huge fan of the episodes that the history is solely in the US but I enjoyed the trajectory of her great grandfather.

I do appreciate how the microfiche guy emphasized that Lizzie had something to do with Alec getting land too. Yeah good for him but your great grandmother was probably pretty awesome too.

Of,course I wrote this five min before the end of the episode. So I'm glad she celebrated Lizzie as well

Edited August 16, 2015 by weightyghost

[Blergh]

I actually liked the Alfre Woodward episode but wish we'd found out if there was anyone in the area still living on or near the road named after her ancestor's BIL - or has everyone in the area totally forgotten WHY that road was named after a former slave?

[kassygreene]

I'm sure they looked, and it's possible that no one wanted to go on camera.  

[Linderhill]

anyone have and opinion on the "from the archives" clip show?

[Arynm]

That was a complete waste of time. I don't think I learned anything new and the whole thing just felt cobbled together.

[attica]

Whoever thought clipping together a couple dozen people saying 'wow' would be good teevee needs to rethink their career choices.

[abbottrabbit]

It made me wonder if someone had pulled out at the last minute (ala whatsername, from Gilmore Girls?), and their contract stipulates they won't repurpose more than one UK episode per season, so they had to find another way to fulfill their stipulated # of episodes. 

[Lovecat]

Mostly it made me nostalgic for the 1.5-hour shows they used to have, where they really had time to get into the stories.  I did love some of those bloopers, though.

[iMonrey]

 

Whoever thought clipping together a couple dozen people saying 'wow' would be good teevee needs to rethink their career choices.

 

No kidding. A clip show? Lame. They should have just reran one of the earlier episodes. I never did see the Rosie O'Donnell episode.

[Nena]

It made me wonder if someone had pulled out at the last minute (ala whatsername, from Gilmore Girls?), and their contract stipulates they won't repurpose more than one UK episode per season, so they had to find another way to fulfill their stipulated # of episodes. 

 

Shame they can't borrow some of the Aus/Can ones if they need the extra fill in, then.  Even South Africa or Ireland, thought there'd definitely be a gap in celeb recognition for those.  

[SingleMaltBlonde]

anyone have and opinion on the "from the archives" clip show?

 

Meh.

[Admiranda]

I wish I could give you an opinion on the clip show, but in my area they re-ran the Tony Goldwyn ep instead! (They also re-ran Cynthia Nixon instead of J.K. Rowling.)

[Jadzia]

I actually liked the Alfre Woodward episode but wish we'd found out if there was anyone in the area still living on or near the road named after her ancestor's BIL - or has everyone in the area totally forgotten WHY that road was named after a former slave?

I may have misunderstood, but I thought the road was named for the Woodard slave owner, not the slave who took his name. I thought that scene was near where the slave owner's land so I figured it was a prominent family in the area back then.

 

And I was so disappointed at that clip show. It seems like the season just began, and it is already ending on August 30th. A clip show is such a rip-off since we don't have many new episodes left.

[bybrandy]

Not only do I feel like the clip show was a major major major rip off for an already short and partially repurposed season, why show it in the middle of the season?   It is so random.  They show one real episode, one repurposed episode, one real episode, one fake clip episode.  It doesn't really build a lot of momentum.    

[Kromm]

I do think Alfre drama queened a lot on her episode. All the spontaneous breaking into songs, rituals she pulled out of her ass on the spot, and such (I mean between this show and Skip Gates' show I think we've seen enough slave stories to know Alfre's reactions aren't typical.  I mean "pouring libations" is a real thing, don't mistake me on that, but it's a reclaimed African ritual, not something I think you could legitimately present as some universal staple of African-American culture (as she seemed to be implying). It was harmless, mind you, but I think it's fair to say also a tad kooky in that context.

 

Jo Rowling was one I'd seen the UK version of, so I spent most of my time trying to remember the original and figure out what got cut for time.

 

Haven't seen the clip show yet.  Seems like it's bound to be lame.

[meep.meep]

I finally saw the JK Rowling one.  They take the Brit version, then re-record the narration with an American accent, and show that?  Seemed weird.

 

She was so proud of being French.  The first time they showed her great grandmother's name (Schuch) and she pronounced it "shoosh", I knew she was in for a little foreign drama.  That's a German name.

[Kromm]

I finally saw the JK Rowling one.  They take the Brit version, then re-record the narration with an American accent, and show that?  Seemed weird.

No, they're cut too. The UK episodes air on the BBC.  Which means they don't have commercials. Which means they're 58-59 minutes. The US episodes aired on NBC, and now on TLC.  With commercial breaks.  So they're about 42-43 minutes. 

It's a lot of work--a lot of changes to the narrative taking away a third of the show. It's why only a few UK episodes have made their way to the US program, even though they've had about a dozen people on that show a US audience would probably know well enough.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Kromm

[attica]

I would like it very much if Mark Strong did the US verzh narrations too. I like Mark Strong (and his voice) very much.

[kassa]

It doesn't make sense to me, though, why they don't just put the edited out stuff online as "bonus" material.  Or do they not even bother to have a webpage for this show?

[Chippings]

I just watched the Bryan Cranston episode.  I know they follow the track they see emerging and drop others (as, there was the g-g-grandfather originally from County Armagh in Ireland and they didn't follow his emigration etc..)  So this was an interesting way to craft a genealogical story. 

But what made me jump was the early view of the grandfather's  World War I Draft Registration - and he was interested to see that it said he was Single..  but it also said, above, that his occupation was "Theatrical man" but nothing was said of that!  At the next stop, he read in the military notation that the fellow was an "Actor" and he acted all surprised. - but if he read the Draft card at all, it clearly said he was in the theater.  I went to Ancestry myself and looked it up:  His grandfather reported in 1917 that he "have been quarantined for 11 months" but occupation was "Theatrical Man" in "Vaudeville".

So that means that not only was his father an actor, which of course he knew, but his grandfather was in Vaudeville.  There must be a way to have looked up old vaudeville bills and stuff if he really wanted to know more about that.

In this show the 'road not taken' often frustrates me.    But they found for him some pretty obscure material from the Veterans Home, which was of interest. 

[chitowngirl]

Most know about immigration, census, and military records, so I do like that they introduce different genealogical sources that are available. like the Veterans' home records.

[attica]

I found myself pretty distracted by Cranston's rocking of the mom jeans.

[atir]

He was dressed as a house painter when he was in that lovely cathedral. Notre Dame, i believe.

Seem as tho that line of men were really selfish.

[abbottrabbit]

He was dressed as a house painter when he was in that lovely cathedral. Notre Dame, i believe.

 

I could not get past this. A fairly compelling story, I thought, but he was wearing what looked to be  white denim jorts both in the Cathedral and when meeting with the woman in Montreal. 

[ShelleySue]

I usually dislike when the "celebrities" try to tie their ancestors traits to their own ("He cared about his family.  That must be why I care about my family." . . . "She was an independent woman.  That must be why I'm an independent woman." . . . ).  But in Bryan Cranston's case it seemed to be appropriate to discuss how the habit of men leaving their families seemed to be passed along.

[Lovecat]

But what made me jump was the early view of the grandfather's  World War I Draft Registration - and he was interested to see that it said he was Single..  but it also said, above, that his occupation was "Theatrical man" but nothing was said of that!  At the next stop, he read in the military notation that the fellow was an "Actor" and he acted all surprised. - but if he read the Draft card at all, it clearly said he was in the theater.  I went to Ancestry myself and looked it up:  His grandfather reported in 1917 that he "have been quarantined for 11 months" but occupation was "Theatrical Man" in "Vaudeville".

So that means that not only was his father an actor, which of course he knew, but his grandfather was in Vaudeville.  There must be a way to have looked up old vaudeville bills and stuff if he really wanted to know more about that.

In this show the 'road not taken' often frustrates me.    But they found for him some pretty obscure material from the Veterans Home, which was of interest. 

We saw that too!  Actually re-wound to make sure we hadn't imagined it.  They may have actually looked up some of his vaudeville work (it would be ridiculous to NOT do it!), but cut it for time.  I really do miss the 90-minute version of this show.

[iMonrey]

 

I found myself pretty distracted by Cranston's rocking of the mom jeans.

 

And the dyed hair. I'm hoping it's dyed that color for a role in something because some of the photos they showed of him show him with much grayer hair. It looks so unnatural. 

 

I have to go back and watch this again because I was really tired by the time I got around to it, but didn't his grandfather's second marriage last 41 years at the time the census was taken? So it's not necessarily a pattern of leaving families behind as much as (perhaps) a pattern of marrying too young - probably because they "had to" - and then running off to join the army as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

[Emily Thrace]

I just watched the Bryan Cranston episode.  I know they follow the track they see emerging and drop others (as, there was the g-g-grandfather originally from County Armagh in Ireland and they didn't follow his emigration etc..)  So this was an interesting way to craft a genealogical story.

 

There could be a couple of reasons for that. 1) Considering all the records only list a county in Ireland rather than a specific place it entirely probable there simply were no records beyond the g-g-grandfather. You can often find ship or immigration records for that era but all it takes is someone transposing a letter and you'll never find those records.

 

2)  If you watched the Rosie O'Donnell episode its likely Bryan Cranston's ancestors had a similar story. Most Irish immigrants to Montreal at that time were famine survivors and the stories are heartbreaking. Especially considering that their were only 4 other families with that name at the time in Montreal. It could be his family was one of the cases where an entire community moved at once because there was simply nothing left. I wouldn't blame him if he simply wasn't interested in hearing that. Especially given how little he was likely to find in Ireland. 

 

3) I wouldn't be surprised if one the stops he made in Montreal filled him on some of this and the show simply didn't include it. . The hospitals most of the Irish refugees were processed through would have been run by the Catholic church the same way the children's home was. They may have done other searches and turned up other information. The show may have felt the story of the g-g-grandfathers abandonment was more interesting. (Especially since as I said it was probably something similar to Rosie's story)

Edited August 25, 2015 by Emily Thrace

[DkNNy79]

It was an okay show.  I got a little confused when they got to Montreal.  I guess I missed a part where they discussed how his descendant got to Montreal from Ireland.

 

I've always thought that divorce was really hard to get and had a negative social stigma back in the day.  But it seems, at least with the shows they've aired that it wasn't as uncommon as I thought.  Obviously, its not as rampant as today, but it wasn't as unusual as I thought it was (I'm sure statistics will prove me wrong).  Also, a lot of them seem to be based on desertion by the husband. 

 

I was really sad to hear that his half-aunt passed away of TB at 16.  How sad?  I would've been curious to know if the deserting father knew about it.  Obviously its hard to track, but if he did I hoped he lived with that guilt for the rest of his life.  It was also despicable of him to state that he was single on his enlistment so that he wouldn't have to give them any of his pay.

[Blergh]

I wonder if Grandpa Cranston KNEW of the divorce by his first wife or did he just go ahead and marry Grandma Cranston without bothering with the crossed t's by continuing to simply deny his 1st wife and daughter's existance counting on no one checking to find out otherwise as in his WWI records [and DID he marry Grandma before or after the 1st wife's divorce ]?

   Ironic that his OWN father HAD had a stable marriage and was a devoted family man in spite of what his actual male DNA progenitor pulled by abandoning him before birth. I wonder if Grandpa Cranston had ever HEARD about what his father had had to go through as a fatherless boy in an orphan's home but instead of using that as a spur to do right by his offspring, decided to follow his errant grandfather's ways.

 

  Also, Mr. Cranston kept saying he admired the women who perservered in spite of the abandonments but did he find out what became of them? I wonder if any of them may have somehow remarried or even had children by more stable mates afterwards.

 

   Yeah, I agree it would have been more respectful had Mr. Cranston bothered with long pants at the Cathedral and archives but after all the trouble the researchers had gone to [even to anticipating answers to the likely questions he'd ask], was there ever a possibility they'd have said 'Sorry, don't bother coming in unless you have your knees covered or I'm ditching all this research I spent days on'

[Arynm]

I wonder if a few of these marriages in his families past were marriages of necessity? My guess was that the women found themselves in the "family way" and the man was maybe forced to marry them. Doesn't excuse the men at all,but it might explain why they didn't stick it out. I do hope these women were able to find happiness later in life.

[attica]

My guess was that the women found themselves in the "family way" and the man was maybe forced to marry them.

 

Just as likely the women refused to have sex without marriage, and once wed, the man decided it wasn't so much to his liking. So off he goes to war/join the circus/out for smokes/hits the road.

[abbottrabbit]

I wonder if a few of these marriages in his families past were marriages of necessity? My guess was that the women found themselves in the "family way" and the man was maybe forced to marry them. Doesn't excuse the men at all,but it might explain why they didn't stick it out. I do hope these women were able to find happiness later in life.

 

I was thinking the same thing -- didn't the divorce records for Grandpa Cranston indicate that the marriage and his abandonment both took place in 1912? 

[kassa]

I noted the "theatrical man" "Vaudeville" lines in the WWI enlistment card, and figured that would come into it eventually -- 3 generations of actors in 4 generations of the family is interesting, especially as each generation did not fully raise the next.  To not circle back to it is one thing, but to have him say "I never knew that!" was weird.  It's conceivable that the visits were shown out of order and he saw the WWI card AFTERWARDS, but then there had to be more lying/acting.  I wish they hadn't done it (at least so obviously).

 

Kudos to him for acknowledging his female ancestors for taking up the slack.  At one point he gave the blandest possible praise of the guy for stepping up for his country but you could tell they had pulled it out of him and it was the best he could do. 

[barbedwire]

I thought it was a good episode.  I didn't know he has been a long time, especially by Hollywood standards.  I too wondered about his dyed hair.

[meep.meep]

I was really sad to hear that his half-aunt passed away of TB at 16.  How sad?  I would've been curious to know if the deserting father knew about it.  Obviously its hard to track, but if he did I hoped he lived with that guilt for the rest of his life.  It was also despicable of him to state that he was single on his enlistment so that he wouldn't have to give them any of his pay.

Didn't her death certificate show her last name as Kelly?  So, the wife managed to go back to using her maiden name like she wanted to.

[Ina123]

The 16 year old Kathleen had the name Kelley on her death certificate.

[bybrandy]

 

I've always thought that divorce was really hard to get and had a negative social stigma back in the day.  But it seems, at least with the shows they've aired that it wasn't as uncommon as I thought.  Obviously, its not as rampant as today, but it wasn't as unusual as I thought it was (I'm sure statistics will prove me wrong).  Also, a lot of them seem to be based on desertion by the husband. 

 

This.   I always get annoyed when people say, "people didn't get divorced before..." and I am always, always, always thinking read a couple of census records.    There is nothing new under the sun, really.    Divorce wasn't as common especially among the upper class set.  But both sets of my mothers grandparents were divorced by 1920 and an aunt from both sides of her family by 1940.   Divorce happened.  Abandonment happened.  

 

Life is complicated.   And trying to pretend that complications arose with technology is really letting go of a lot of history.  It's just things are so more widely broadcast now.