Kid Nation: Toilets Beat TV!
SPOILER ALERT: This post reveals the winners of the bleach-drinking contest and barefoot broken-glass race on last night's Kid Nation, as well as which child was exiled to Starving Coyote Mountain.
MONTY BRINTON/CBS
As you may have guessed, there were no bleach-drinking or broken-glass competitions on last night's Kid Nation premiere, although who knows what ended up on the cutting room floor? Seriously, though, we can't determined from an edited, packaged reality TV show whether or not the production was sufficiently safe, was well-supervised or violated child-labor laws. What we can do is assess it as an edited, packaged reality show, and thus assess one of the main charges against it: that the kids would be made to look bad in the editing and packaging of a reality show.
On that point, anyway, I didn't see the damage. To the contrary--whether it was editing, reality, or the usual magic TV mix of the two--the kids of Bonanza City came off remarkably mature, level-headed and far more considerate of one another than 99% of adult reality-show participants.
Take the storyline with Jimmy, the homesick 8-year-old who ended up volunteering to go home. Not only did he show impressive self-awareness and reasoning for a kid his age ("I think I'm too young to be doing this"), but he brought out the parental side in the older kids around him, who took him out to chase jackrabbits and told him he should be proud of himself. (One thing the show captures are the age distinctions that kids observe: you had 10 year olds commenting that the experience "is really hard on young kids," i.e., kids a year and a half younger than themselves.) Call me a sucker, but I got a little verklempt when his 12-year-old district leader volunteered to be his mom figure: "Just give me a chance." Most important, how impressive was it that, despite all the older kids' coaxing, he stuck to his guns and asked to go home? I'm not sure how many adults I know who have the self-assurance not to be peer-pressured in a situation like that.
Again, yes, I know: we have no idea how much of this is coaching or editing--but we're talking perceptions, since so much of the criticism of the show was about how the kids would be perceived after it aired. And I know there are people who will believe the show was cruel because it made an 8-year-old cry. As a parent, my personal responses are: (1) kids cry in a lot of stressful environments, like school, and (2) while putting your kid in that situation in front of a camera may be different, it's also more complicated and child-specific than people make it out.
The other kids came off almost uniformly well. (Or at least those we noticed: with 40 kids on the show, it's going to be awfully hard to remember many of them.) The exception may have been teenager Greg, although 15 years old is probably old enough to realize that if you push an 11-year-old, it will not reflect well on you. A kid pulled a muscle and another--Greg, by the way--helped him onto a wagon to rest. The producers had the good idea to include a group prize in the reward competition, so that the losing players actually have a chance to become town heroes. Speaking of which--the kids actually chose toilets over a TV set? What's wrong with kids these days?
If anything, the show may be too feel-good for its own good in the long-term ratings. Reality TV generally rewards entertainment of the laughing-at rather than the laughing-with variety. That may be why the show was too sappy even for the eighth-graders of Denver, if not for a sentimental parent like me. I'll definitely watch another Kid Nation. But will the kids?
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1
James said, "the kids actually chose toilets over a TV set."
It appears that you TV critic types need to do a surge and whip these kids back into line!
OK NYC City Slicker, I thought the show was coming on at 9:00 PM Eastern and 8:00 PM Central based on yesterday's post. Imagine my surprise when I flipped over to CBS at 8:00 and Criminal Minds was on. I'll have to wait until next week to respond. I know, I know, you pulled one over on the bumpkin.
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Oh, I just reread my post. "Stay up 'til 9" meant that that was when the show ended, except that it actually ended at 9:07 ET. Sorry.
Anyway, at 7 p.m. CT, weren't you still threshing wheat or putting up pickled turnips in the root cellar or something?
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No, Ma does that. I beat the kids at 7 whether they need it or not.
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James,
I just came across a story from the New York Times that fits in with your question a week or so ago about TV or Internet.
The first line reads, "NBC Universal, acknowledging that viewers are increasingly moving away from traditional television viewing, announced plans today for a service that will make popular NBC programs available to download free to personal computers and other devices."
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I was watching and wondering if I would have been up to the challenge that those kids are in when I was their age. Probably not. Still, it didn't stop me from ad-libbing during the show and making fun of them. For instance, how great would it have been if Sophia (the star winner) had called her mom and said, "Mom, guess what? I'm pregnant." Good times.
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Yeah, Greg probably came off the worst, but his "juvenile" (as judged by a 9-year-old, which I loved) behavior was offset by those times he did help the others.
I don't mind the sap because I'm a total sucker for things like Laurel comforting Jimmy and everyone saying he can be proud for what he did accomplish.
I liked it and I'm going to stick with it throughout the season.
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I found it more sappy than "full house" which says quite a lot.
It would be better with college kids and a real saloon.
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Keith/James
Is that true that NBC is gonna have their shows downloadable for free? If so, what the heck was their problem with 2 bucks per episode on iTunes? I thought they were being all greedy. . .
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@Jen - good question. James, any news on what's going on between iTunes and NBC in this dispute that evidently is taking NBC shows off of iTunes (much to the despair of the show runners of Heroes, The Office, and Friday Night Lights, the latter two of whom are worried that without iTunes downloads boosting their profitability/profile might be in more serious danger of cancellation)?
On the other hand, presuming the streaming video quality is top notch, I'm happy to watch online with limited commercial interruption (like ABC's system has) and eliminate the download fee.
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@Jen/chad/keith:
At some point I'll prob gin up a post on the NBC move, which has pros and some sizable cons. Pulling its shows from iTunes seemed to come down to Apple not offering NBC enough $$$ for certain shows: i.e., it wasn't so much how much Apple would charge the consumer as how much NBC's cut would be. I don't see that changing, at least not until NBC has tried its service for a while. If it flops, then who knows.
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btw, I hope this isn't poor blog etiquette, but I wanted to take the liberty of cross-posting these posts from the earlier KN thread:
Posted by Mary
September 20, 2007The kids are right. It's cheesy. I turned it off after 20 minutes and won't be back.
Posted by Phil
September 20, 2007Mary, what were you expecting? Kids figthing and yelling? What is wrong with the show, not enough violence for you? Why tag it as cheesy? The show, if you look at it the right way, is an interesting experiment in human interaction, without most of the preconceptions that we develop as we grow up and interact with our societies and the input obtained from outside media. There was reasonable exchange of thoughts, without violence. Not only that, but even after one girl criticized the council, they still rewarded her with the star for the person that did the most work. That should teach a lot of grown ups a lesson. I actually find it sad that there is too much adult interaction and guidance, it would really be interesting to see kids be kids and build their own structures of governance. You also have to take the show for what it's worth and realize that because of so much pressure from the bubble rap society that we live in these kids were probably coached and tendered to so as not to offend anyone.
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Forgive the double post, but I will post my reply here as well:
Phil, I am at a bit of a disadvantage that I didn't watch the rest. And after James' review maybe I should give it a shot. But no, I definitely did not want violence or yelling! In fact the small bit of shoving I saw disturbed me enough. The kids were fine, it was the falseness of the setup that bothered me. The "real" 1885 town, the book written by pioneers, the host dazzling the kids with a gold star, it just turned me off. That's what I found cheesy, not the kids who I immediately found the best part of the silly show.
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I am a mother of 4 (ages 13, 11, 9 and 2.5). I would love for my 3 oldest to be on the show. See them do without the bubble rap. My kids are grounded so they were not able to watch the show last night but we Tivoed it. I will be sure to watch how they react to it to see if they feel it is cheesy.....
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Child abuse for our entertainment. Appalling.
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Dennis,
What brand of sterile bubble do you place your kids in?
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Why?
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I had been waiting with "baited-breath" for this show since I saw the first preview. I couldnt wait for Sept 19th. I must have checked my TiVo 3 times to make sure it was going to get it.
However, I must say I was very disappointed with the first episode. All summer long they touted that this show would be about kids making their own society. The show couldnt be further from the truth. The cheesy Bob Sagget wannabe host was annoying - "Look, its a gold star, woooo" - come on. Who is the target audience for this show? Kids or Adults? Given the time slot, I would say more likely adults.
I also didnt like that the "leaders" were pre-picked by the producers. I thought we were going to see "Leaders Emerge"?
Also, the whole hierarchy of classes? Yet another thing thought up by the producers. That was weak. I think they should have figured that out for themselves.
Lastly, why do parents let their kids (boys) grow their hair out to look like little girls these days? That may be the most annoying thing on the show (and out in public). Im tired of the mop-top-beatnik look and the "uhhh, life is pain.." attitudes of kids these days. My parents would have never let me act and look like kids today. Im only 27, so being a "kid" wasnt all that long ago for me. I have a theory that all kids born after 1980 are like this... Painful.
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Mary ( I guess I'll apologize for the double post as well) in a case like this you probably need to get the kids into the mind set that they are pioneers, that they are there, sort of by themselves (even though they weren't, for those of you who insist on calling this child abuse). It is simply as James stated a summer camp with cameras. Wouldn't you have wanted to have a whole empty town (empty of adults) to play in? This will be a great experience for those kids and it will give them newfound respect for things they take for granted, take the tv/outhouse choice as an example. Also it will create a sense of community in them by letting them know that if all groups finish in the alloted time they all get a reward.
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Does anyone have a problem with the kids doing shots at the end of the show...is there anything wrong with that or is it me.
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I liked it! I did! The kids were amazing and I'd hate to find out that they were coached. The pushing incident, well yes. Bullying is NOT acceptable. As upset as Mike got, he didn't back down. That's strength of character.
Cheesy? Well yes. The atmosphere of the town is set up to appeal to children, after all, so they can find it a little easier to 'own' it.
The pre-picked leaders can be usurped, I'm sure, just like anywhere else. And the "Upper Class" distinction is just wrong! Class lends to discrimination and they could have left that out! I wonder how much the kids are really able to affect the design of their world.
I think the producers could have done ALOT better. I think they went overboard with all the candy in the store. It's Bonanza City, not Dodge City. A gold STAR? What's wrong with a gold NUGGET. I lived in New Mexico for several years and I've seen a few ghost towns. I think the setting is ideal! But the template for the program is right out of the "Survivor" manual with challenges and rewards.
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so nothing on the shots-the level of desensitization is sad--truly sad. drink up America!
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I think the show was great. It teaches the kids how to become resonsible, and become better leaders. Taking these kids out of their comfort zones without any adult supervision is challenging. But lets wait and see as some of these kids would rule this town better than some mayors. I cant wait to see it till the end. I hope that all the buzz about the show were false. I am starting to like it. I hope they succeed at raising the city.
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hi
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The way I see it, the shots were just a simple way of celebrating a job well done. It wasn't alcoholic beverages in the glasses, and these kids are probably all familiar with alcohol anyway, either by way of TV or by way of their own parents. I doubt they were thinking; "Oh great shot of whiskey".
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Richie Cunningham: All we had was beer in teeny-weeny little glasses.
Howard Cunningham: How many teeny-weeny little glasses did you have?
Richie Cunningham: Seventy-two.
Howard Cunningham: I think it's time for some teeny-weeny cups of coffee.
- poniewozik Loved the season. Mrs Tuned In wd have put u on the main list RT @boredtodeath Thank u for incl us in Time's Top 10. We'll take hon mention. - 2 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Virgin is the best, LAX-JFK - 3 hours ago
- poniewozik Did NPR interview abt multiscreen multitasking. After, automatically reached for iPhone in pocket. Like don draper wd have for cigarettes. - 4 hours ago
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