Kid Nation (big brother, drama series, shows, actors)

[GEORGIAINMT]

Some talk about this new show has started on the Big Brother 8 thread....take a look at it and post your thoughts here!

[brokencrayola]

Well I watched Kid Nation tonight and enjoyed it. I like it that at the town meeting every 3 days the kids have a choice to leave if they want to. It is a great incentive to have the gold star given weekly as well as the stores which encourage the kids to work and get paid so they can have some of the things in life they miss. It actually is run better than I expected.

[MSJones]

I totally forgot this was coming on last night, wasn't home, and forgot to set the DVR. Dang! I really want to see this. Looks like something my daughter and I can watch together. I guess I'll just wait and catch the second episode next week.

[Mayor_McCheese]

Mildly entertaining, however I find most kids very annoying

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by MSJones

I totally forgot this was coming on last night, wasn't home, and forgot to set the DVR. Dang! I really want to see this. Looks like something my daughter and I can watch together. I guess I'll just wait and catch the second episode next week.

encore showing on saturday

[gentlearts]

I kind of liked it. All in all, I think that we don't give children enough credit for what they are capable of, and I'm hoping this show will show that. Kids today are praised for doing nothing and we rob them of the pride of real accomplishment.
It will remain to be seen if the show manipulates the kids and the outcome too much. For example, why wasn't the girl who won the star chosen to be in the council except to be "cast" as the thorn in the council's side?

[Tarastomsgirl]

I like the show but my little man New Hampshire (Jermey I think his name was) went home!! Who's gonna represent me now!!!

[brokencrayola]

That little snotty beauty queen needs a serious time out. What a little brat. She's too above doing dishes in the first show and too above it all to cook this week. She is one of the leaders and sure isn't setting a good example.

[movingtohouston]

Interesting show. We watched it last night with our kids ages 10 and 11. I don't think my kids would have lasted the night with no heat. Brrr. We will watch it again next week to see how it goes.

[sponger42]

It was on while I was doing some work. Meh. I've half-watched two episodes and they both seemed pretty staged and contrived. I have a list of complaints, or maybe just things to keep in mind while you watch the show:

1. The kids don't actually have to produce anything, they just have to manage the goods and currency that Deus Ex Machina bestows upon them. Besides service jobs like cooking, cleaning, and tending the store, no real work goes on that would make Bonanza a functional town. There are no exports, only imports. Heh, kind of like America, today, I guess.

2. The kids are all child-actors. Rather than coming from a cross-section of the real US population, apparently they came from a hollywood casting call for a "reality" kids show. Note their hammy on-camera over-reactions to "shocking" news.

3. The show is obviously highly scripted and staged. I would guess that about 95% of the dialogue is scripted in some way. This is especially evident during the "calls home" from the "council selected" gold star winners. Keep that in mind when you are judging the character of some of the kids. They are under instruction to act like brats/goody-goodies and the footage is edited to manipulate your impression of them.

I'm not saying that the premise of the show isn't entertaining, I just have a general problem with dishonest "reality" shows like this one; that don't even make a significant effort to hide the fact that they do not represent reality, but--indeed--are as carefully scripted as any other TV drama series. Anyway, if it becomes more annoying than entertaining, I can always turn the tube off.