Family Tree: Digging Up Those Roots "Genealogy Roadshow," which begins on Monday on PBS, is a poor man's "Who Do You Think You Are?" in several ways, and fans of tree-tracing may find it tepid. It occasionally uncovers interesting genealogical nuggets, but the search for them isn't very sexy. The program takes the "Antiques Roadshow" approach and applies it to family history, inviting ordinary viewers to bring questions about their ancestry to genealogists, who chase down answers and serve them up with a history lesson. "Who Do You Think You Are?," a series that began on NBC and is now on TLC, has been doing this with celebrities for several years (as did PBS's own "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr."). The NBC/TLC series has pizazz and, presumably, a bigger budget. In a recent episode, it sent Cindy Crawford to New England and then to several places in Europe to research her forebears (or, more accurately, to listen to an expert who had researched them for her), giving root-digging a telegenic boost. No frequent-flier miles are racked up by the guests on "Genealogy Roadshow." Mostly, its experts just show them computer screens full of census pages and such (research they could have done themselves with a little search-engine savvy). There is little effort to build a thrill-of-the-chase feeling. So the payoffs feel considerably smaller. In the opening installments, inquirers learn whether they are related to a former Tennessee governor, to Davy Crockett, to a famous feuding clan. Historical background is imparted, some of it ridiculously elementary (like a primer on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War). But the show only occasionally conveys the excitement that a good ancestral search brings. Genealogy Roadshow On PBS stations on Monday nights (check local listings). Produced by Krasnow Productions. Stuart Krasnow, executive producer.