No surprises here! From www.zap2it.com: “The follow-up to the phenomenon that was ‘High School Musical’ drew an estimated 17.2 million viewers on Friday night, a figure Disney Channel boasts makes it the most-watched basic cable telecast ever. That’s an eight percent bump from the Sept. 23, 2006 ‘Monday Night Football’ telecast, which gave ESPN the previous record. . . . Airing from 8 p.m. to 10:05 p.m., ‘HSM2′ then expanded its halo to a special preview of the original series ‘Phineas & Ferb,’ which drew 10.8 million, Disney Channel’s second largest audience ever. Disney Channel’s third largest audience, a flock of 10.7 million, then stuck around at 10:20 for an episode of ‘Hannah Montana,’ which can now stake its claim to having basic cable’s most watched series telecast ever.”

Snarly critics did little to dilute HSM’s euphoria. Virginia Heffernan’s review in the New York Times wrote: “’High School Musical 2′ has, heaven help us, haphazard charm. Yes, it’s badly lip-synched, badly danced and doused in self-tanner, but the kids seem so earnest and good-natured (Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans comes into his own in this one) that you root for them like real high school amateurs.”

Meanwhile …

Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun Times found plenty to cheer: “And yet, ‘High School Musical 2′ is very good. It’s more than listenable. The music is surprisingly catchy, smartly penned and not annoying. Maybe Disney finally built a better mousetrap.”

Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times echoed similar sentiments: “To answer your question, it’s even better than the first one. What this will mean for the Disney Channel, the history of musical theater, the state of cable television or the future of the world as we know it remains to be seen. But “High School Musical 2″ is zippier, bouncier, prettier, more soulful and even more musical than its predecessor, and that’s saying something.”

It may be just the thing to rejuvenate the classic tradition of high school musicals.