Line #10 Series/ReadingRainbow


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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reading_rainbow.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:"Take a look, it's in a book..."]]
6
7	->''"I think reading is part of the birthright of the human being."''
8	-->-- '''Creator/LeVarBurton''', actor and children's literacy advocate.
9
10	American children's EdutainmentShow that aired on Creator/{{PBS}} from 1983-2009[[note]]The last new episode was made in 2006.[[/note]], and whose goal was simple — encourage children to read. It was hosted by co-creator Creator/LeVarBurton (yes, ''that'' [[Series/Roots1977 Le]][[WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers Var]] [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Burton]]).
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12	Each episode featured a children's story, usually narrated by a [[SesameStreetCred celebrity]], that focused on a specific theme (i.e., the importance of teamwork or learning about dinosaurs). The show would explore the theme further through various segments, live-action and animated. The last segment of the show would feature children providing recommendations of other books to look for at the library, preceded by [=LeVar=] saying "But you don't have to take my word for it." Every show ended with "I'll/We'll see you next time."
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14	The show was critically acclaimed for its promotion of literacy and for never talking down to its target audience of elementary school-aged children. For all the episodes that covered fun and whimsical topics, there were plenty that dealt unflinchingly with challenging and delicate subject matter, such as love, loss, death, and war.
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16	This show was part of PBS' "triple crown" of children's programming in TheEighties and TheNineties, along with ''Series/SesameStreet'' and ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood''. It would be difficult indeed to find an American of a certain age who didn't watch this program at least occasionally, if not regularly. It's in the same sacrosanct category as Rogers — rarely parodied (but if it is, it's always [[AffectionateParody the positive kind]]), and insulting it will cause [[FlameWar swift and nasty responses]].
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18	''Rainbow'' won a Peabody Award and 26 Emmys, and ended its run as the third longest-running children's program in PBS history (behind the aforementioned ''Sesame Street'' and ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'').
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20	After the show's cancellation, [=LeVar=] Burton attempted to revive the Reading Rainbow IP as an internet-based outreach project. However, this got mired in lawsuits after WNED (the PBS station that produced the original show) alleged that Burton didn't have the legal right to do so (Burton thought he'd bought entire franchise, but turned out to be incorrect).
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22	Undeterred, Burton set up [[https://www.skybrary.org/ Skybrary]], which features a large library of children's books and videos hosted by Burton himself.
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24	Reading Rainbow, meanwhile, was revived by WNED as a series of [[https://readingrainbowlive.com/ live events]] with a rotating cast of hosts.
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26	Burton also has a podcast, "[=Levar=] Burton Reads", aimed at an older audience, namely those who watched the original show and want a similar experience in adulthood.
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28	There is also a [[https://www.youtube.com/user/readingrainbow/ YouTube channel]] featuring a small number of stories that were read during the original run.
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30	----
31	!!Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high!
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33	* ActorAllusion: In the episode "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," [=LeVar=] remarks that "all black Americans have Series/{{roots\|1977}} in Africa."
34	* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Used until 1999.
35	* AffectionateParody: One of them was produced by [[http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c61f805aa7/reading-rainbow-s-new-theme-song-with-levar-burton Funny Or Die]], starring [=LeVar=] himself, showing the problems of taking the theme song's "I can do anything" too literally.
36	* AlliterativeTitle
37	* BirthdayEpisode: "Miss Nelson Is Back", in which [=LeVar=] celebrates his birthday by being made up to look like a movie monster and being the star of famed magician Harry Blackstone's trademark bow sawing illusion. The episode ends with his SurpriseParty held in a bookstore, though given that the entire thing is an episode of ''Reading Rainbow'', it's likely it actually ''wasn't'' a surprise to him in real life.
38	* BrickJoke: In the Egyptian episode, [=LeVar=] pays for a meter outside the Museum of Fine Art to park his camel. The episode ends with the meter expiring, and the meter man giving him a ticket.
39	* BorrowedCatchPhrase: In "Digging Up Dinosaurs", Creator/JerryStiller's dinosaur comedian uses [=LeVar=]'s "But you don't have to take my word for it" catchphrase.
40	* CatchPhrase: Three of them.
41	** "Hi!" (each episode begins with [=LeVar=] saying this word.)
42	** "But you don't have to take my word for it..."
43	** "I'll/We'll see you next time."
44	** "Today's Reading Rainbow books are...."
45	* ChromaKey: [=LeVar=] explains the technique in a 1991 episode about optical illusions.
46	** He does it again when discussing the special effects behind ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.
47	* ClipArtAnimation: Utilized [[OncePerEpisode one book per episode]].
48	* {{Crossover}}: The episode "The Bionic Bunny Show" took us behind the scenes of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' [[note]]on which [=LeVar=] Burton, of course, played Geordi [=LaForge=][[/note]]. Notably, it included the only official HilariousOuttakes of TNG released for over a decade. TNG later completed the crossover by including this episode of ''Reading Rainbow'' as a bonus feature on the Blu-Ray of the second season.
49	* EdutainmentShow: One of the all-time greats; a TV show encouraging kids to read is not as hypocritical as it may sound.
50	* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows: Well, it would've been pretty lame to have a show just called ''Reading'', wouldn't it?
51	* ExcitedKidsShowHost: [=LeVar=] is Type 3 (informative, rarely condescending, not wacky/zany, speaks to children like adults).
52	* GoodAngelBadAngel: In the show's take on ''The Tortoise and the Hare'', this happens to [=LeVar=] as he struggles to pedal a bike up a hill in a race. The angel on the left wearing all white waves pom-poms and encourages him not give up and keep trying. The devil on the right, dressed in black and floating on a cloud of red, tells him to stop and smell the flowers and relax. When [=LeVar=] rejects this idea, the angel gives a cheer of "L-E-V-A-R, pedal that bike and we'll go far!" The devil doesn't give up, though, telling him that by the time he gets up the hill, everyone else will have crossed the finish line. [=LeVar=] rejects that too, saying that even if he loses, he'll feel like a winner for trying. The two later make a brief reappearance as [=LeVar=] trains on an obstacle course. Once again, [=LeVar=] listens to the angel. At the end, when [=LeVar=] finishes the race, the angel tells him that he knew he could do it.
53	* GreenAesop: The episode "Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message" has one about appreciating nature and taking care of the Earth. In fact, many of the episodes featured books of an environmental nature, with the other material in the episode based around it.
54	* HashHouseLingo: After reading "The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner," Levar starts helping in a diner. One customer orders "ice on rice." Taking this literally, he prepares a bowl of rice with ice on it. The waitress clarifies it means "ice cream on rice pudding."
55	* KidHeroAllGrownUp: After reading "The Shaman's Apprentice" Levar reaches the village and is taken to meet somebody: the titular apprentice, now all grown up and the shaman of the village, who is passing his teachings onto his two sons.
56	* LongRunners: Spent 26 years on the air before budget cuts killed it in 2009. Funnily enough, ''Reading Rainbow'' outlived ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' by a few years (when you factor in the movies). In 2012, the show came back as an Internet project.
57	* LosingYourHead: A pair of floating heads startle [=LeVar=] in one episode.
58	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The normally exuberant [=LeVar=] spends the episode "Follow The Drinking Gourd" in a very somber and serious mood, talking about the experiences his own ancestors suffered in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
59	* PieInTheFace: In "Ludlow Laughs," [=LeVar=] is given a "comedy makeover." The pie-in-the-face is part of his routine. He gets into it with the clown on realizing it's meant to be a pie fight.
60	* {{Pilot}}: "Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport", which was shot in 1981, aired as the 8th episode of season 1 in 1983. It featured a completely different credit for a clean-shaved, younger-looking [=LeVar=], and a slightly different 3-note jingle for the book recommendation segment. Not to mention the videotape quality looks noticeably poorer in this episode, in contrast to the rest of season 1.
61	%%* {{Portal Book}}s
62	* ReadingIsCoolAesop: The entire point of the show.
63	* RogerRabbitEffect: Used in the classic intro, although not to the same extent as others.
64	* SesameStreetCred: Many. Celebrity narrators ranged from Creator/BillCosby to Wrestling/HulkHogan.
65	** Notably, the entire cast of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was featured in a 1988 episode that followed ''TNG'' behind the scenes...including a [[HilariousOuttakes gag reel]].
66	* TheStinger: The ending credits for "Digging Up Dinosaurs" are interrupted during the writer's credit by the dinosaur comedian, who finally manages to make his dinosaur audience laugh. The credits resume afterward with the associate producers' credits.
67	* StockFootage: The episode "Space Case" includes a montage of how humans have imagined extraterrestrial life. The featured clips are of the cantina scene from ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'', Jabba's palace from ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', and the glowing aliens from ''{{Film/Cocoon}}''.
68	* TakeOurWordForIt: As the catchphrase indicates, averted.
69	* TitleSequenceReplacement: To the dismay of fans who know and love the original, trippy intro.
70	* TransAtlanticEquivalent: Long running BBC show ''Series/{{Jackanory}}'' which began in 1965 offered virtually the same format to British children.
71	** Another called ''[[Creator/CBeebies CBeebies Bedtime Stories]]''
72	* {{Uncancelled}}: For a certain value of uncancelled. The brand was relaunched as an Internet outreach project in 2012 with an iPad app, but thanks to the success of the Kickstarter campaign in 2014, the app was ported to other platforms (including web-browser-based), underfunded classrooms were given free access to all the content in the app, and [=LeVar=] even has the budget to film new segments for the project.
73	* VoiceClipSong: [[http://youtu.be/-FD1K8OvVCs In your Imagination]].
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75	----
76	->''"We'll see you next time."''
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Context Series / ReadingRainbow