This post is continued from my Multichannel blog. Go here to read the intro.
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The basic premise of Class of 3000: Sunny Bridges (voice of Andre Benjamin) is a musician who gives up the jet-set life to teach prodigies at his alma mater, the Westley School for the Performing Arts.
Beyond that, the 'toon is a fast-moving mashup of topics Benjamin, apparently, likes to bat around. Themes packed into the season premiere storyline include a little nod to Tibetan "circular breathing" and a celebration of organic farming (with dancing fruits and veggies that are "goodness for the soul").
Benjamin throws a lot of darts at west coast celebrity culture. (He grew up in the South and steadfastly resides in Atlanta.)
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First, the precocious kids speculate about why the Uggh boot trend took hold in a warm place like Beverly Hills. When cranky chemistry teacher Dr. Bore won't allow the students anywhere near the tempting "liquid carbonite, " they decide it's time to take charge and rev-up their academic life. They pilfer Sunny's cell phone, loaded with star contacts, and start recruiting celebrities to assume classroom duties. Soon, abandoning the entertainment life to teach at Westley is as trendy as adopting African babies, and the school is quickly overrun with wannabe celebrity teachers.
Grayson Brooding, hot off the cover of Dreamy Actor Digest and the "dreamiest actor ever this week," takes over from Mr. Bore to teach the "science of being Grayson Brooding." He tells the kids to "use that anger."
Stock car star Bobby Jack gives the class some much needed guidance: "Remember, the key to winning is drive straight and turn left." (Not quite as funny as Ricky Bobby's classic line, "if you're not first, you're last" - but not bad.)
Next up for a little skewering is the Entertainment World News Network (thinly veiled World Entertainment News Network) as anchor "Sherri Stevenson" announces on camera: "Usually we don't play music videos on our news show but our boss' son and his friends have made one and they insisted we air it."
Finally, the students of Westley wise up to the limitiations of their glamorous new teachers. Asks one, "why are they here? Most of them read at grade level significantly below ours."
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As always, Cartoon Net' gets top marks for their cool press kits. The Class of 3000 DVD arrived in this collectible retro lunch box, complete with thermos.
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