Michelle Obama to appear on 'iCarly': Will she get to eat spaghetti tacos?
First lady Michelle Obama is going to appear in an episode of 鈥�iCarly,鈥� Nickelodeon鈥檚 popular tween comedy, network president Cyma Zarghami announced Wednesday.
The point of Mrs. Obama鈥檚 guest spot is to promote Joining Forces, an organization aimed at supporting members of the military and their families. The first lady鈥檚 a big booster of this group.
Why did the White House choose a show about a webcast produced by a teen named Carly and her best friends Sam (a girl, wacky) and Freddie (a boy, techie) as a forum here? Because in 鈥渋Carly,鈥� Carly鈥檚 dad is a military officer who is always off somewhere else doing something important and never appears. Carly lives with her older brother Spencer in a great loft that is supposedly in Seattle, with no parents. No, we don鈥檛 know anything about the mother 鈥� they never talk about it.
Obama will turn up in an episode in which Sam and Freddie break rules and set up a webchat between Carly and her dad on his birthday. (Having seen this show before, we bet the 鈥渞ule breaking鈥� involves something like hacking into the US nuclear control network during study hall.) The first lady discovers this. Hilarity ensues, followed by learning and a hug.
That sounds great. But what we really want to know is this: will Michelle Obama get to eat spaghetti tacos?
That鈥檚 iCarly鈥檚 signature dish. Spencer made them one night for dinner and the gang had to eat them. They loved them 鈥� now Carly (the character, played by actress Miranda Cosgrove) insists they are one of her favorite dishes.
The scary thing is that the show鈥檚 spaghetti tacos sparked a real spaghetti tacos trend 鈥� just Google the phrase and stand back. Dozens of real-life recipes will appear on your screen. Apparently they are a popular item at kid birthday parties, and on the dinner table of adults who are too self-consciously hip for their own good.
The official recipe can be found . Trust us, it鈥檚 not very involved.
It鈥檚 true that spaghetti tacos are messy. Obama does not look like a messy person, so perhaps she鈥檒l politely decline, if they鈥檙e offered.
Anyway, the episode in question will appear in January. It was written especially for the first lady and her Joining Forces initiative, after she asked about appearing on the show, according to Nickelodeon鈥檚 chief.
Does the network worry that perhaps they鈥檒l be giving the Obama administration some free advertising right when the 2012 campaign starts to heat up?
鈥淚t鈥檚 a feel-good initiative,鈥� said Ms. Zarghami, 鈥渁nd regardless of your political affinity, everybody cares about these families, so it just feels right.鈥�
