LeVar Burton teases the new Reading Rainbow with gloriously absurd opening credits

(Image credit: Funny or Die)

last updated 8 January 2015

Thanks to the magic of crowdsourcing, LeVar Burton is bringing Reading Rainbow back into serious production — after blowing through his $1 million goal, he's now aiming for $5 million, and with 27 days left, his Kickstarter is up to $3.5 million. But the 1980s theme song will need a refresh, and — surely in the service of publicizing the reboot — Burton has teamed up with Funny or Die to create an absurdist version of the opening credits. "Because I read a book, I can literally do anything" turns into "no man should have power like this." Then destruction. But it's all a story, right? Right? --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.