- Who Do You Think You Are? (Irish TV series)
infobox television
show_name = Who Do You Think You Are?
creator =
caption =
starring =
narrated =Arthur Riordan [ [http://www.rte.ie/tv/whodoyouthinkyouare/credits.html Credits] ]
genre = Documentary
runtime = 60 minutes
country = IRL
network =RTÉ One
first_aired =15 September 2008 [cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0915/whodoyouthinkyouare.html|title=Who Do You Think You Are? begins on RTÉ One|date=2008-09-15|accessdate=2008-09-21|publisher=RTÉ]
last_aired = present
num_episodes = 6
imdb_id =
website = http://www.rte.ie/tv/whodoyouthinkyouare/ |"Who Do You Think You Are?" is a six-part [cite web|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0807/1218047756886.html|title=Ahern to receive Mint TV treatment|date=2008-08-07|accessdate=2008-09-21|publisher="
The Irish Times "] Irishgenealogy documentary series that first aired onRTÉ One in 2008. In each episode, a popular Irish personality embarks on a journey to trace theirfamily tree . The series is based on the original version of the franchise, broadcast by theBBC in theUnited Kingdom .In the first episode, RTÉ news reporter
Charlie Bird discovered his great-great-grandfather had been involved in theBattle of the Nile (1798) and served under Admiral Nelson himself, whilst Bird also discovered that his grandfather was a bigamist. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/a-bermuda-triangle-of-bird-family-mysteries-1475313.html|title=A Bermuda triangle of Bird family mysteries|date=2008-09-14|accessdate=2008-09-21|publisher="Irish Independent "]Episodes
:"Episodes may be viewed again on the [http://www.rte.ie/tv/whodoyouthinkyouare/watch.html RTÉ website] ."
Criticism
The series was criticised for its attempts to mimic the original BBC version. The "
Irish Independent " remarked that: "Our [the Irish nation] pool of talent is so small that the entire country knows exactly what Charlie Bird's lifestyle and personal circumstances are. He is an RTÉ "personality", to be wheeled out in each and every situation ...ad nauseam . He is meant to be a working journalist, not a personality star. It muddies the waters of credibility when supposedly serious journalists become personality acts." [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/news-gossip/rte-should-prepare-to-stretch-the-boundaries-1475262.html|title=RTE should prepare to stretch the boundaries|date=2008-09-14|accessdate=2008-09-21|publisher="Irish Independent "] Just before the first episode was broadcast, the "Evening Herald " ironically compared RTÉ's "awkwardly titled" "Where Was Your Family During the Famine? " (also broadcast in 2008), in which celebrities traced their family histories back to the darkest period in Ireland's history, to the BBC version. [cite web|url=http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/rte-cooks-up-an-appetising-drama-1472449.html|title=RTE cooks up an appetising drama|date=2008-09-09|accessdate=2008-09-21|publisher="Evening Herald "]References
External links
* [http://www.rte.ie/tv/whodoyouthinkyouare/ Official site]
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