[galewind]

I think that the rationale here is that in order to bring FIRST into the spotlight, and to have people pay attention, FIRST has to hitch on to popular people in a mainstream setting to be initially recognized. In this capacity, it was very successful. will.i.am's quotes were pretty spot-on, and things that FIRSTers could appreciate. I honestly felt that every other celebrity talking was absolutely fluff, but to associate them with a special about FIRST brings FIRST a bit more street cred.

I agree with many posters that I wish that there was more about FIRST, but look at your key elements -- they talk about coopertition, they demonstrate how FIRST can transform peoples' lives, they demonstrate why it's important, and they showed that science and technology can be fun. In that regard, I believe that they accomplished their mission.

While it may not have been the special that hardcore FIRSTers would have wanted -- it really wasn't made FOR us, and was a good step to try to change the culture into accepting how important it is to promote science and techology education.

In that regard, I am absolutely satisfied, and I hope that it opens some minds. My father, who is technology-challenged, called me from vacation in Florida to tell me about the show and how much he was enjoying it. Now, there's one... imagine how many other people enjoyed seeing it?