What did everyone think of the CeCe Moore special last night?

Question

I was a bit surprised that the GEDmatch controversy was more or less glossed over, but I guess that's TV for the mass market.

Comments

I have tested many relatives and didn't have to follow them around picking up their garbage.  All I did was ask, and pay.  The cost isn't prohibitive for most people.

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You're very fortunate that everyone you ask wants to test. Some people are not happy at the thought of an unknown child in the family, less so if it means they don't want to admit to being a parent, or can't cope with the thought that one of their parents had an affair. How many people respond favourably to a complete stranger, who is a product of rape, requesting a DNA specimen to determine whether that person's father or uncle is the rapist?

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Well, I didn't say everyone.  One of my biggest frustrations is not having a Kelts male who will do a Y-DNA test.

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I watched it and thought they did a decent job with a complex topic.  Had my husband who is an award winning film and video producer watch it...knowing he would give me unvarnished feedback .  First thing he said is this is why the OJ case went the way it did...DNA explanations may be perfectly clear to those who want to learn the science but he thought a lot of TV watchers would not love it because it was too heavy on the science and process and not enough of the human drama.  He said watch the ratings over next 4 weeks...do they go up or down....most TV watchers want drama and to feel like they can identify with someone in a lead role.  He was not sure the non genealogy focused audience would be captivated by it.

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CECE was awesome. Love it when she get creeps out of the public and into prison where they belong.

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I don't own a tv  

I watch stuff on the internet via youtube, crackle, imdb, and tubitv

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I agree, Laura. I am an adoptee, and found my biological relatives using the same methodology CeCe uses in her searches. When I started my "project" 4 1/2 years ago, my closest match was a third cousin with the same name that is on my adoption papers. My father was a scientist, so I had picked up some basic knowledge about DNA, and expanded on it, working this DNA match's tree forwards and backwards, filling it in as new matches appeared. It's tedious work.

Many Ancestry DNA users have their DNA tested simply to know their "Heritage". They just want to see that pie chart, and have no interest in communicating with their DNA matches. It is difficult when they have an alias attached to their DNA test kit, or don't have a tree. There ARE ways around this. Others with whom I have communicated don't understand/don't want to understand DNA, which is fine. I think that you are correct in stating that many TV viewers want to see the human drama, and not the science. I looked online yesterday when I was showing a friend the show's premise, and noticed that CeCe has a previous series in which she does work for celebrities, if I'm not mistaken. That's a connection many people like. (not me) When I saw the DNA Detectives show, I was just blown away that we had independently used the same methodology to find our "targets." --With the exception that I'm sure she has access to a lot more resources than the average person, in addition to her years of experience.

I think she's terrific, to use her unique skills to help law enforcement when they have hit a "brick wall". More power to her!

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I am an Adoption Angel and we do it all the time.  But she has access via the police that we don't.   The "new" system they put in around the 1980s was amazing at what you could find out about people because they started integrating multiple law enforcement and other government based data bases.   I was working on something for the Department of Defense as a vendor and one of my friends who worked in Records was told to practice by putting in names of people they knew.  She put me in and it locked up her screen and shortly after 2 men with federal credentials paid her a visit.  She was badly shaken but they called me with her sitting there with them.  I verified she was a good friend and no harm done.  Those days are long gone!  I had no idea I was on some list.  What I was doing was really not that high up the secrets list.  I think it had more to do with who I was working for at the time.

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Amen. Also proves a crime was committed (rape) especially if the person refuses to take a dna test to prove parentage, all the while refusing to admit a relationship with the person.They know what they are, and so glad dna has made it possible to come back and bite them in the ass.

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CeCe Moore has been awesome helping me find my bio-sperm donor.  She’s a beautiful, humble person inside and out. Law enforcement could keep this “hush hush” so we are very blessed to have this program and her invitation into her life and family. She is one of my top respected persons. We LOVE the show, every episode. Could prove to be a crime preventative/deterrent!

Answer 1

My wife doesn’t understand the genealogy bug, but she loves detective shows. She felt that the show couldn’t decide what it wants to be. I liked it, but afterward I compared it to the show Prison Break — I thought, okay, they used the whole premise. How can they keep it from falling into a rut, with each episode similar to the last? But I’ll watch the next one — maybe they’ll surprise me. I view Cece as a hero, regardless of the show.

Comments

Yes, I wondered the same thing--how will they do the next show so as not to be too repetitive?

CeCe had some good tips.  I had not thought of using FaceBook the way she did (not being a user).

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Genealogical stalking on FB is addictive. I've found it very helpful when working matches who don't have trees (or small trees with incomplete info) or don't answer emails. I find great amusement in what I can learn about people on FB who keep their trees locked elsewhere and won't let me see them.

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Interesting, Leandra!  

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I have used facebook like that, also. MyLife.com (and similar sites) is also good for info on living people, including birth dates and possible related people. I use the information when trying build out trees for surname project.

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.. I was talking to my wife about this tonight and explained how they pretty much clearly covered the technique they used for this. I was also wondering what they would do for the second episode. If they go to far into the weeds they lose their broader audience I suspect.

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Definitely part of the detective work today, especially when you have so many people that do DNA tests and do not bother to tie it to a tree or even do minor work to create a tree.  3 generations is all I ask.  Newspapers are helpful too.

Answer 2

Watched it and agree with most others. For people who do not have background in genetics, how can the program not lose them? For others, how can the 'formula' show now become redundant?

I do think the GEDmatch explanation was useful for people who have seen the term (even on Wikitree), but didn't know what it was or how to use it. Now that they've been introduced, perhaps there were wikiviewers who might add their GEDmatches.

I've got a couple of FB family sites. One in particular can distinguish between related or not via Y haplogroup.

One last comment not related to Ce Ce but relevant to DNA and law enforcement. Blaine Bettinger did a special presentation on DNA, the law and law enforcement for the February RootsTech conference the end of February or early March 2020 in SLC. Hes a genetic genealogist, biochemist, attorney, terrific teacher and really nice person. If interested, I believe you can access the video here: https://www.rootstech.org/video/dna-genealogy-and-law-enforcement-all-the-facts

I attended a seminar he did the first Saturday in February 2020 and he was awesome!

Comments

Thank you, Carol, for this link!