TV:Kid Nation...WTF?

[godmode]

Last night I saw something on CBS called Kid Nation. I didnt bother watching all of it, but apparently it's about a bunch of kids aged 8-15 who are supposed to run their own town. All the dialogue sounded completely rehearsed, and too "grown up" to be coming out of these kids mouths. Just reading the premise made me do a facepalm. I hope this crap gets cancelled.
All I could think about was who is going to be "Piggy". ;)

[deegraww]

Last night I saw something on CBS called Kid Nation. I didnt bother watching all of it, but apparently it's about a bunch of kids aged 8-15 who are supposed to run their own town. All the dialogue sounded completely rehearsed, and too "grown up" to be coming out of these kids mouths. Just reading the premise made me do a facepalm. I hope this crap gets cancelled.
All I could think about was who is going to be "Piggy". ;)


Sweet i'll go get my stick sharpend at both ends and oh yeah "Sucks to your asthma"

[xibalba]

I heard something about people complaining about child labor laws or something. Plus the kids aren't alone without adults, there is the host and all the cameramen and crew. It's a dumb show anyway.

[diane]

I also heard that since it was filmed in Mexico, the parents have no legal recourse, including action for apparently having a few children contract STDs during filming.

Frankly the idea scares the poo out of me.

The premise sounds incredible scary. I doubt there are many adults who could actually set up a functioning town.

It makes me wonder what a)type of parents these kids have and b)were they told even a quarter of the information they should have been told.

[phunlee]

Kids crying isn't my favorite thing to watch.

[filch]

I also heard that since it was filmed in Mexico, the parents have no legal recourse, including action for apparently having a few children contract STDs during filming.

Frankly the idea scares the poo out of me.

The premise sounds incredible scary. I doubt there are many adults who could actually set up a functioning town.

It makes me wonder what a)type of parents these kids have and b)were they told even a quarter of the information they should have been told.


Let's be clear here, b/c your initial statement is misleading. No kids contracted any STD's during filming. The contract stipulation stated that the kids will not have sex with the producers, and if they have sex with other participants they will not hold the producers liable for STDs or pregnancy. A couple kids got burned, and a couple inadvertently drank bleach during the shoot, that's it.

Let's be realistic here. The kids are not really unsupervised. Just like on Survivor they aren't really isolated and without help. The kids were literally 30 minutes away from a mall, the scenarios written for and staged by the producers, and no one was in any immediate danger. It wasn't even filmed in the Bonanza ghost town as advertised, they filmed at a nearby movie set.

Personally I wouldn't have signed my kids over for the mere $5000 they received for doing so, especially after reading the contract.

The show got what the studio wanted. A lot of controversy over labor laws and other mishaps. Publicity. Any publicity is good publicity. I didn't watch it nor do I intend to. I'm completely sick of the reality TV steam roller that's taken over television. Thank god I have 150 other channels to roll through.

[dannyt]

I just watched this show and its freakin' fantastic! I also have some friends that worked on it and there is a lot more reality here than filch's post may lead you to believe-- YET, there was more adult supervision than diane's post may suggest...

It's still a reality contest show but I am totally IN. Just like my thoughts about the western as stated about 3:10 to Yuma, you sorta get a better understanding of the choices we make when stripped of our luxury's-- throw kids in the mix and we REALLY get to SEE choices being made...

[r3v]

I believe it was filmed in New Mexico, not Mexico, right?

The concept freaks my girlfriend out, but she's a mom. ;) I think it's an interesting concept, but I have not watched it yet. There's been a lot of controversy, but from what I have read, not only were the kids supervised by the crew, but they had a doctor and child psychologist on hand.

I think it's an interesting social experiment. (I don't mean to imply any scientific merit with the use of the word "experiment", btw.)

[tokenuser]

I believe it was filmed in New Mexico, not Mexico, right?I was going to make the same comment. New Mexico - not Mexico.

Why New Mexico? Because of child labour laws as they pertain to performers and entertainers. Because these kids were filming a TV show they slipped through a nice little loophole in NM labor laws.

[r3v]

I was going to make the same comment. New Mexico - not Mexico.

Why New Mexico? Because of child labour laws as they pertain to performers and entertainers. Because these kids were filming a TV show they slipped through a nice little loophole in NM labor laws.

One of the news stories I heard in the car the other day said that NM was looking at closing those loopholes. So, a Season 2 of this show might just have some issues.

[r3v]

I was going to make the same comment. New Mexico - not Mexico.

Why New Mexico? Because of child labour laws as they pertain to performers and entertainers. Because these kids were filming a TV show they slipped through a nice little loophole in NM labor laws.

One of the news stories I heard in the car the other day, said that NM was looking at closing those loopholes. So, a Season 2 of this show might just have some issues.

[mara11jade]

I had a really big discussion with my mom, and these 2 laywer/parents I was staying with last week about this.

We had a whole huge debate if this would turn into something like Lord of the Flies or would this be the experience of a lifetime for these kids (in a good way)?

I argued, after being both a camp director or kids ages 7-17 and an RA of college freshman 2 years), that more than likely, if these kids were TOTALLY in the wild (ie not on a TV show) it would go probably Lord of the Flies route.


Just look at Day 1 & 2 on the show. The kids were well on there way to chaos and losing food.

Granted this is TV, and having clearly defined roles & rules makes for better TV and gives the show context. The rules they have setup will still prove to be an interesting experience to a point, but I think far from what it would have been like to totally remove these kids from adults and support (okay I know that wasn't going to happen, just sayin')

Anyhow, the show does give a fresh twist on reality and teamwork and brings back an innocence... the kids will stop mugging for the camera come day 5 :D

[tsmith15]

The whole time I watched it (I actually watched the whole thing), i wanted to be there. I live for that kind of stuff.