Hey you guys...!

[jaunthie]

For your consideration:

The cast of the original show The Electric Company:




The cast of the revival show The Electric Company (starts airing next week):



That's right. They're starting up the show again about the power of words and the coolness of reading, but instead of casting experienced, talented, word-savvy and word-loving people like Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, and Bill Cosby, they've cast five teenagers. Who might be very talented for all I know, but word-savvy? Used to making their living with quick wit and in-depth knowledge of words? I find that hard to believe - well, hard to believe that they're as experienced in it and as talented as Bill Cosby and crew, anyway.

And is it just me, or is this new cast noticably less diverse than the old? You'd think it would be the other way around.

Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled that literacy programming is making a comeback onto the airwaves, although I find it very depressing that children's literacy levels at the fourth-grade have fallen back to the levels they were in the early 1970's. And if these people can capture even a quarter of the magic and fun that made the original The Electric Company so effective and fun, they'll have a great run and do a lot of good.

But hip-hop teenagers...?

Sigh. I hope that at the very least, the new show hires Tom Lehrer to write them some new songs.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Sadly they can't hire Tom Lehrer. Because of the settlement that was arranged between the estate of Werner Von Braun and Tom Lehrer's agent, producers, etc., any new music that Tom Lehrer produces is automatically half the property of the estate and Tom Lehrer would have to pay them the royalties in perpetuity.
He decided, not surprisingly, to stop making music.

--J

[jaunthie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember hearing something like that, but I was hoping that either it wasn't entirely true, or that further settlement/accomodation could be reached at this point in time. Honestly, further depriving the world of the genius of Tom Lehrer is just...evil.

Then again...

*sigh*