Who Do You Think You Are? - So Far

With Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are on it's way back this Friday I thought I would take

a look back at all the good, the bad and the discoveries that were made in the first five episodes of this season.

The season started off with a real bang with Vanessa Williams. While Vanessa started off at her family plot in New York she ended up in the hallowed alls of Tennessee. She learned that politics had been a huge part of her family as well as education. She found amazing photographs of so many of her family members as well as the Civil War enrollment of a distant relative. This was an amazing episode and gave us the hope of some really great stories to come.

The second episode of the season was Tim McGraw. As the son of baseball legend "Tug" McGraw he wanted to learn about his fathers side of the family considering that he didn't meet him until he was eighteen. While Tim had some great moments and wonderful finds the researchers seemed to focus on who they found in relation not just to him but to famous people in American history. Yes it is exciting to know that George Washington stayed with your family at one point in time but personally I would have rather they spend more time finding additional relatives.

Rosie O'Donnell is famous for being loud, brash, and sometimes completely out of control. Yet in this episode she displayed a great calmness as she researched one of the hardest times in Irish history. Having always known that she was Irish for her it was just a matter of figuring out exactly where in Ireland they were from and when her family came to America. As always it was fun to see when celebrities find new relatives and Rosie did not disappoint. She not just found one relative but a whole side of the family she didn't know. For me it was great to see an emotional side of her as she toured a workhouse that would be something like the one her family had stayed in. It also showed a resiliency of spirit that her family could go through all that they did and succeed in a new country. One of the only things that really disappointed me was that we didn't get to see her brothers reaction to all that she learned. That is one of my favorite parts of each episode.

The Kim Cattrall episode had apparently aired before as part of the British version of the show. I have it on good authority that it was better the first time but I haven't been able to find it online to see so I have to go from what I know. That being said I think this might have been my least favorite episode of the season. Yes, it was interesting to watch her do most of the research in England but where most of the celebs that come on look into a family line she was only looking for one person. He was a case all into himself but still I would have liked to see her do more research into other members of her family.

Lionel Richie was the last episode that aired before the break and it was a good one to end on. He had lots of information that he was able to find using of all things mostly newspapers. This is something that I think a lot of researchers don't utilize to the best of their ability; including myself. Therefore, it was great to watch as he went back into the mid-1800. Another great part of this episode was the use of fraternal organizations as a means to find family. Again this is another resource hardly used by the layman genealogist. This actually might have been my second favorite episode of the season.

This Friday their back with Steve Buscemi and after that either Ashley Judd or Gwyneth Paltrow. I am looking forward to seeing what the next three episodes have to offer.