December 12
I Would Watch 'Kid Nation 2: Total Anarchy Edition'
Tonight you can catch the final episode of CBS's controversial clunker "Kid Nation." After the initial "Omigod are they overworking these kids and breaking the law?" buzz died down, the show's ratings plummeted. A second season isn't looking too likely. Where did "Kid Nation" go wrong? I don't know if you'll like my answer.
I watched almost every episode of the show, and I basically liked it. Who wouldn't fall in love with Taylor, the bratty pageant queen, or Shakespeare-loving, pimp coat wearing Jared, or Greg the Narc, or jarringly self-possessed Sophia? The kids are pretty great, it's the mechanics of the show that left me cold. The show made all the rules, and the grown-ups were always, always pulling the strings.
The very day after arriving in Bonanza City the kids were divided into four teams by the pre-appointed town council and given specific, adult-mandated jobs to do. Every week there was a "Survivor"-meets-"Double Dare" team challenge and the kids had a chance to win "a huge reward." Watching kids run around with pigs in a giant pen full of baked beans...I don't know, I guess it's not my thing. I don't see why we had to have boring "democratic" stuff like the town council and elections and a ready made caste system for Bonanza.
Seriously, though, why weren't these kids allowed to govern themselves? They never went more than a couple days without the town council consulting the fake old "diary" that told them what to do next - clean up the garbage in Bonanza, eh? That might teach kids about civic responsibility, but it's not very interesting to watch.
Zach's seizure of power from Taylor, on the other hand, was pretty compelling to watch. It was only the bizarre readymade government the adults set up that gave Taylor any power in the first place. As the show wraps up, the inherited notions of government are falling apart and "Sheriff Sophia" looks ready to declare martial law. Do you think I'm kidding? I'm not. The finale airs tonight at 8:00 on CBS.
- Posted by Kate
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