Some sad news today. Last Friday, after 26 years on the air, the wonderful children's reading show Reading Rainbow has come to an end. The show, hosted by the always awesome Levar Burton, has been getting kids interested in books and reading for a quarter of a century now and I am really sad to think that future generations won't have the show to inspire them to crack open a book.
Growing up, I clearly remember watching the show and loving some of the books they talked about. I also remember the day I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and I thought, "Hey, the guy from Reading Rainbow is on the bridge of the Enterprise! Cool!!!". The show definitely had an impact on my life, much like I'm sure it did on a lot of kids from the last few generations. It's been a staple of PBS programming and its a shame that it's finally meeting its end due to what appears to be simple budget cuts.
Why is it that whenever budgets must be cut, it's always the best stuff that goes first? When states cut spending, it's always education that takes the first hit. When TV networks cut spending, even stations like PBS, it's stuff like Reading Rainbow that unfortunately gets the ax. It's a sad state of affairs, but it's one that happens all too often and in the end we are the ones who are left the worse off for it. I hope that something comes along that is similar to Reading Rainbow that can get kids excited about reading. Nothing can ever replace Reading Rainbow though. Afterall, that show had one of the best opening theme songs ever, and it was pure television gold from that point all the way to the end of every episode.
Farewell Reading Rainbow, you will be missed. But you've given us many great memories, and even greater geeky memories. One of my personal favorite episodes ever was the time Levar took us on a tour of the set of Star Trek: TNG.
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