General Chat

The thing I like about Clarkson is that he doesn't take life or himself too seriously. Yes, he's cynical, sarcastic, frivolous and opinionated but it's more often than not interesting whether you agree with his opinion or not.

i am sure we would all be interested in missing millions from an inheritence, but i am just expressing the opinion that whatever clarkson does, be it who do you think you are or top gear or anything else, he always seems to come across as a shallow materialistic type who skims the surface of any subject he crosses. and thats just my opinion.

Andy, You just put it so much better than me:-)

think our posts crossed, Susanne! I read yours after writing mine.

My point exactly!!

Come on, do you seriously reckon that Clarkson believed that there was some secret inheritance waiting for him. What he was genuinely interested in was how Kilners could go from being a thriving, forward thinking company to seemingly disappearing without trace. That's what he meant when he said, "so what happened to the money?".

I enjoyed the programme in the same way that I have enjoyed each of the others. Everybody researches ther tree for their own reason and I think that each of these programmes have reflected that, some for practical reasons such as hereditary health conditions, some to answer questions with regard to particular ancestors and even some who just try to collect as many names as possible. Jeremy has an interest in the Industrial Revolution and that was what fascinated him with his family, Had they actually been the ones that invented the Kilner Jar which was such a household name? He joked about the money but the interest there was what had happened to it in the sense of what happened? Did the factories fail to keep up with the changing times or was it squandered? Sue:-)

thanks for all your interesting replies, jeremy clarkson is obviously a guy people love or hate. the only reason i dislike watching him is because he seems to come across as an arogant, shallow and materialistic twit, but i guess some people might quite like that. i still found it an interesting show, despite the host.

This was not as good as the other weeks, i thought it went on a bit about the kilner jars and the history of the factory,and not about finding his family like the previous weeks!! all he was worry about was where had the money gone!! For what I could see,he wasn't bad off anyway!! The programe on bcc3 that followed was brilliant a real story!!very touching much better

I missed last weeks offering but have enjoyed all the ones I've watched. What really bugs me is I don't have BBC 3 and I would really like to watch the programme that follows on from Who Do You Think You Are. Nearly all my research has been done via the 'net so some pointers on what/how to do it 'for real' would be a great help. I for one am very pleased that the Beeb has started to acknowledge that people have an interest in family history. P.S. I enjoyed Clarkson! :-) Viv

I don't know why he was obsessing about the money so much- from what they showed us of his house, he is pretty loaded himself!!!!

I enjoyed the other programmes more becasue the delved into family life and relationships I think he was more interested in the fact that he might have money comming his way. The guy is a tosser,,

Arrogant ? Possibly... but then he's a Yorkshireman, it's in the blood :)

I enjoyed the programme, but what an arrogant man Clarkson was. Diane

Jeremy Clarkson, a prat? No way, he's a bit of a hero of mine, in fact. In a world where political correctness runs amok, he's a breath of fresh air. And what's wrong with a bit of sarcasm anyway? I disagree with the view that lasts nights episode was boring. The episodes tell a story - that's their main purpose, and last nights kept me entertained from start to finish (wouldn't like to say where I'd place it so far in the ones I've seen). It's patently obvious that a researcher does all the clever stuff whilst Jez looked slightly bemused as someone handed him a piece of paper. To explain how things are done during the episode would be to digress and explanations are given at the end as to how information was obtained, amounting to a brief overview to whet the appetite. As always, roll on next week.

Would it be interesting television for the masses,if every week told a similar story ? I think they're just trying to show the variety of things that can be thrown up in research. Clearly they take each "celeb" do a bit of research to see if there's anything interesting, and then lead them down that line. Would if really have been more interesting watchign Jeremy track down three generations of Ag Lab's ?

I was disapointed, it was more of a programme about glass factorys, I only saw half of it. Jo.

I did enjoy last night's programme, although it was more about social history than genealogy. I like Jeremy Clarkson! At least he was honest, admitting that a genealogist had done his tree for him. He is really interested in the Industrial Revolution (re his programme on Brunel) and it was that which he wanted to know about rather than discovering long lost relations. Perhaps that is for another programme? I know he is not considered 'PC' but I'm sure many people agree with a lot of what he says, even if they don't like to admit it! I still think Amanda Redman's was the most interesting so far though. Sue

Well Jeremy Clarkson can't be all bad as my other half actually wanted to watch the programme tonight!! I sometimes think Jeremy's sense of humour is mistaken and I think as he was finding out information, he was at times trying to hide the emotions. Can you imagine how you would feel if handed a book with photos of your ancestors staring out at you? It would be emotional and that would be kept back and in check with cameras pointing at you. I personally would have liked to see him trace the ancestors in the family and not the ancestors of today's pickled onion jar! But as someone else said, how much do they research themselves and how much is guided by programme producers. Jacky :-)

I didnt enjoy this one much either and yes I think Clarkson is a prat too... I see we didnt have him meeting up with any distant rellies as others have done.. Hmm ?? bit to up himself I think! Notice how he hadnt even researched his line himself but got someone else to do it and was only interested in finding out what had happened to the family fortune! Wasnt even interested in the normal people from his tree! I had to laugh though when he was explaining the tree to his daughter at the end... how many of you have been faced with the same 'Ho Hum' expression from your kids/family? I know I get it quite often...LOL Shaz x