Overview: Renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. weaves together genealogical detective work with cutting-edge DNA analysis to trace the ancestry of a diverse array of trailblazing public figures.

The result is a captivating cross-section of history, illustrating that diversity is both America's strength and its constant.

DVD Verdict: 'Finding Your Roots' continues the excellent PBS series with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as host with research provided by professional genealogists as Prof Gates explores major personalities' genealogies with them.

What this series demonstrates is that by visiting one's ancestral roots' locations, one can come to appreciate their ancestors even more than just using computers to do research. And, it helps all of us recognize that we are not isolated but all one very large family that share many common ancestors, no matter what our heritage.

As we quickly learn, genetic genealogy has helped tremendously within this viewpoint and so I would not have known about it without Dr. Gates, Jr. or this incredible show. African Ancestry.com has been a real disappointment, but Ancestry.com has the largest libraries of DNA, and has an incredible service and supportive website and resources.

The stories of these people here in Season 5 include a host of celebrated guests including actors Laura Linney, Marisa Tomei, and Michael K. Williams; authors George R.R. Martin and Sheryl Sandberg; journalists Christiane Amanpour and Joe Madison; athlete and television personality Michael Strahan; artists Marina Abramovi and Alejandro G. Iñárritu; politicians Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio, and Paul Ryan; and comedians Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, and Sarah Silverman.

Listening and watching along to most all of these you'll instantly find yourself engrossed in their stories, some of which I fully admit I had never heard of before. They are just so moving that you will find yourself searching out their movie/TV history on IMDB!

This highly revealing fifth season advances this journey with a special focus on the experiences of individual families across time, looking at how our ancestors have preserved and redefined cherished traditions as they've crossed the globe.

Indeed, the series (also written by Gates, Jr.) moves fluidly from Asia and Africa to Europe and the Americas, uniting us all through emotional moments that enrich and enlighten - encouraging us to look at our world through a wider, more inclusive lens.

Over the course of 10 one-hour episodes, we see that each guest's family tree is filled with compelling characters - slaves and kings, artists and entrepreneurs, abandoned children and missing parents, revolutionaries, visionaries, and a wealth of ordinary individuals who lived remarkable lives. Fascinating. Truly fascinating. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.