ShareThisBy TERRY MORROW
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Andre Benjamin, half of the hip-hop duo Outkast, is turning his talents to the small screen with the animated musical "Class of 3000" (8 p.m. ET/PT, Friday, Nov. 3, Cartoon Network).
He developed the series, helps write the scripts, approves of the animation, does one of the voices and even writes music for it. Benjamin says he's a cartoon fan and has always wanted to make one.
The series centers on an Atlanta school for musically gifted students, led by a recording superstar who teaches them. Benjamin provides the voice of teacher Sunny Bridges. The original tune for "Class's" score each week may end up on a soundtrack in 2007."Atlanta was really important in doing the show. When we got together, I wanted to make the first true Southern cartoon," Benjamin, an Atlanta resident, says. "This is a true Southern cartoon. Even the voice actors, we had to pick them to make sure they sounded a certain kind of way."
Benjamin says "Class" is a bit of his own story and the teachers who encouraged him.
"It mirrors the school that I went to," he says.
"A lot of these characters were made out of kids I knew growing up. Like even Li'l D is little version of me, and I went to a school in Atlanta called Sutton, and I was in a drama class doing that kind of thing. And it was a fun environment so I just wanted to recreate it in the cartoon."
Highlights for the week of Oct. 29 to Nov. 4 (all times Eastern; listings subject to change; check local listings):
SUNDAY, Oct. 29
_ "House" (1 p.m. USA Network). Here's a prescription for a fall afternoon: Take 10 hours of the hit Fox drama and go sit on the couch.
_ "Vampire Secrets" (8 p.m. History Channel). The Channel About Things That Happened looks at vampires and how they bite into many different cultures.
MONDAY, Oct. 30
_ "General Hospital" (3 p.m. ABC). Laura is ready to run a marathon after being catatonic for four years.
_ "Angel Rodriguez" (9 p.m. HBO). A trouble teen's relationship with his counselor is the focus of this gripping documentary.
_ "The House Next Door" (9 p.m. Lifetime). The neighbors begin to question why a swanky new house is coming up next door. It's not right, and it's spooky if you work in real estate.
TUESDAY, Oct. 31
_ "House" (9 p.m. Fox). David Morse, who used to be a doctor on NBC's medical drama "St. Elsewhere," is a patient who makes smoke come out of House's chimney.
THURSDAY, Nov. 2
_ "The O.C." (9 p.m. Fox). I've been to the real O.C. People aren't nearly this rich and pretty there.
_ "Hacking Democracy" (9 p.m. HBO). Let's look behind the curtain and see how voting machines, which tabulate 80 percent of the votes in our country, really work.
_ "Fat Friends" (10 p.m. BBC America). It's like the real "Friends," but everyone has a weight problem.
SATURDAY, Nov. 4
_ "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" (9 p.m. Food Network). Guy Fieri looks across the nation at take-out places, the dumps to the delicious.
_ "Roseanne Barr" (10 p.m. HBO). Roseanne assumes her last name again and takes to the stage in this new standup special.
