# Bring Back Reading Rainbow **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567 "2014-05-29T16:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/1 "2014-05-29T16:27:49Z")
Yesterday I was looking for a video of Maya Angelou’s reading on “Reading Rainbow” and I came across this Kickstarter campaign called “Bring Back Reading Rainbow.”\*\* I clicked through and there was only like $150,000 pledged towards their $1mm goal, and that made me sad, so I threw in my $35 and posted a link to Facebook about it. They reached their $1mm goal yesterday around 8 PM (so I guess in about 12 hours?) and right now they’re at $1.8mm with 34 days left to go. I wonder how much they will end up with?! The campaign is smart because it’s not only leaning on America’s love for _Reading Rainbow_ (well, young parent America’s love for _Reading Rainbow_ - I don’t know how people over 40 feel about it!) but also including incentives that are _Star Trek_ related. You can get yourself a paid of real, set-worn Geordie glasses! I didn’t watch the campaign’s video until today. Check it out - the beginning is funny and then there’s a special treat for _ST:TNG_ fans at the end. You can skip all of the “why we are doing this” stuff in the middle. I actually was thinking about _RR_ recently and how I wished I could show it to my nieces, because I loved it so much. And it was captivating. I downloaded some pirated copies of the show but the quality is lacking. I wonder if the new app they build will have an archive of the old episodes?? Some classics on there! Although it would be great to have new classics read by current actors, too! I don’t think there’s a Patrick Stewart or a Morgan Freeman episode! It’ll be fun to watch their total go up, and see if there’s a _Reading Rainbow_ Revival. Anyone else throw their money in? \*\* Not going to link to it because I think there’s a rule against promoting Kickstarters around here. But if you want to be involved you can find it! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/2 "2014-05-29T16:59:11Z")
Well, the series started in 1983, so us old fogie parents also remember it fondly. This showed up on my FL two days ago. I’m glad it’s doing so well. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/3 "2014-05-29T18:16:56Z")
The cameo at the end of the Kickstarter video is great. Be sure to watch all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/4 "2014-05-29T18:46:39Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > well, young parent America’s love for Reading Rainbow And non-parents as well! I donated yesterday shortly after it crossed the $1 million mark. Right now it’s at $1.9 million and will easily break $2 million by the end of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/5 "2014-05-29T19:24:13Z")
NPR’s coverage of LeVar’s worthy effort: [Burton Calls On 'Star Trek' Fans To Bring 'Reading Rainbow' To The Next Generation : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2014/05/28/316715135/burton-calls-on-star-trek-fans-to-bring-reading-rainbow-to-the-next-generation) ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/6 "2014-05-29T19:31:54Z")
videos of many, if not most, of the Reading Rainbow episodes are available at my library. anyone who is interested in revisiting episodes, with children or without, can probably find easily through a library. I do think Mr. Burton means to expand beyond just making the old shows more available, but I’m not quite sure of the details. He probably isn’t either, at this point. Glad to see the effort is doing so well - I have confidence some good things will come of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/7 "2014-05-29T19:52:18Z")
Standard Devil’s Advocacy: RR was a nonprofit/charity that will be turned into a for-profit company. They will charge [subscription fees](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/28/you-might-want-to-reconsider-that-donation-to-the-reading-rainbow-kickstarter/). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/8 "2014-05-29T20:29:58Z")
But, the Kickstarter campaign is to allow them to offer the program to 1500+ schools for free. Everyone else pays the subscription fee. In fact, part of the kickbacks for contributions is to get a free month of the RR app, so they make it pretty evident that there is a subscription fee. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/9 "2014-05-30T02:05:25Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Standard Devil’s Advocacy: RR was a nonprofit/charity that will be turned into a for-profit company. They will charge [subscription fees](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/28/you-might-want-to-reconsider-that-donation-to-the-reading-rainbow-kickstarter/). As opposed to gathering dust for free? ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/10 "2014-05-30T03:14:06Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Standard Devil’s Advocacy: RR was a nonprofit/charity that will be turned into a for-profit company. They will charge [subscription fees](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/28/you-might-want-to-reconsider-that-donation-to-the-reading-rainbow-kickstarter/). Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think Reading Rainbow was ever a nonprofit. Of course, people didn’t have to pay a subscription to watch the show, but PBS had to pay rights fees to the production company. The article goes to great pains to point out that Reading Rainbow isn’t a charity and is charging subscription fees. But, fails to mention the fact that the point of the Kickstarter is to get the program into disadvantaged schools for free. Perhaps, as that article asks, Reading Rainbow is not the best vehicle for teaching literacy. But, I don’t think that means it is an unworthy project. And, like Zipper said, the Kickstarter page makes it very clear what you are paying for and what the Reading Rainbow app entails. I’m pleasantly surprised by how effective Burton’s efforts to fund the return of Reading Rainbow has been. I loved the show as a kid, and I hope this new effort introduces lots more kids into reading. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/11 "2014-05-30T04:01:36Z")
> [@pricciar](#): > > I’m pleasantly surprised by how effective Burton’s efforts to fund the return of Reading Rainbow has been. I loved the show as a kid, and I hope this new effort introduces lots more kids into reading. LeVar Burton is a real hot commodity right now. People who remember him from _RR_ love him - and are people with jobs and careers and money to throw at “the good of humanity”. He’s got the _ST:TNG_ people - didn’t that just come out on Netflix? (Shout out **PSXer** ) The people that forgot about him and didn’t watch _Star Trek_ on Netflix were reminded of him by his appearances on _Community_ and _The Big Bang Theory_. Plus he still looks great, and he’s got that iconic voice that we all remember from growing up with him on _RR_. It’s great that he’s capitalizing on this power he holds over all of us to do something good. We’re all LeVar sheeple and it’s awesome! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/12 "2014-05-30T06:16:16Z")
LeVar did a [Reddit AMA](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/26sn1c/im_levar_burton_but_you_dont_have_to_take_my_word/) today. Lots of amazing stories from him and his fans. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-back-reading-rainbow/689567/13 "2014-05-30T11:42:03Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Standard Devil’s Advocacy: RR was a nonprofit/charity that will be turned into a for-profit company. They will charge [subscription fees](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/28/you-might-want-to-reconsider-that-donation-to-the-reading-rainbow-kickstarter/). Correction: Reading Rainbow **was** a nonprofit that was subsequently liquidated, and the Kickstarter is merely reviving the brand that Burton bought the rights to. I think what’s amazing about this is that Reading Rainbow stopped producing episodes in 2006. The buzz surrounding the Kickstarter makes it sound like they stopped filming in 1987.