LeVar Burton and Jimmy Kimmel imagine the inanity of a Tweeting Rainbow spin-off

(Image credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live)

last updated 8 January 2015

LeVar Burton has famously raised more than $5 million in crowdsourced cash to re-launch Reading Rainbow, his fondly remembered literacy show. The new version promises to be up-to-date and include a mobile app — but what if Burton took the idea to its illogical conclusion? That's the premise of Tweeting Rainbow, showcased on Jimmy Kimmel Live. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like, with modified theme song and all. (The opening credits may be the strongest part of the sketch, but it isn't Burton's first — or best — spoof of the theme song.)

"A tweet is a passport into how someone is thinking or feeling at any given moment," Burton explains to a group of kids. He then walks them through hashtags, retweets, and favorites. Spoof or not, this actually isn't a bad primer for Twitter newbies, like perhaps your parents. By the end of the short bit, they'll actually know (more or less) what he means when he says: "Join us next time when I start a Twitter feud with @KanyeWest. It's gonna be #fun." --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.