Genealogy TV

Tuesday night, 23 September 2014, KETC, Channel 9, began airing the new season of Dr. Henry Louis Gates's fascinating series, Finding Your Roots. The episode featured actress Gloria Reuben, actor Courtney Vance, and author Stephen King, and Dr. Gates was able to reveal information to all of them about their origins. Of particular note was Gloria Reuben, whose Jamaican slave ancestry was traceable directly to Africa, something rarely accomplished in African-American genealogical searches.

If you missed this first episode, you can still watch it online. Go to http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/ to watch the show in its entirety.

*

The new season of Who Do You Think You Are has been playing out on TLC, a cable channel. In the past, their website has offered the series for free, but this year, they seem mostly to have short clips. However, the full episodes have been uploaded to YouTube, where they can be enjoyed by all. If you have not been able to watch on your television, you can still find the series on your computer. Go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=who+do+you+think+you+are+season+5 to find all of this season's shows. You can also find the British and Australian versions of the show, so you can indulge your curiosity about such international stars as J. K. Rowling and Jeremy Irons.