Even before it hit the air, Kid Nation gained the title of most controversial new show.
For those who’ve missed the promo stuff for this new reality show, they’ve taken 40 kids from all different age and social groups and sent them to a pioneer-era ghost town. They have supplies, an appointed council and a lot of leeway in the direction things take over the course of 40 days. The pre-broadcast controversy came up when word got out that, at one point during the filming, a couple of the kids accidentally drank some (very diluted) bleach. That, of course, is really a non-issue as the kids are surrounded by camera people and the medical staff is instantly on call for anything.
Watching the first episode, I was worried for a little bit that things would be Survivor-flavored: where teams compete against one another and then decide who gets sent home. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Kid Nation. Yes, there is a team-based competition, but (at least so far) no one is sent home. They are, however, given the option to go home once a week.
What the show is about is team work, leadership and plain old hard work. Three things that so many kids these days seem to know even less about than I did when I was their age. Their ages run from 8 to 14 years old. Because of that span, there are some very deep challenges to overcome in the division of labor and social skills.
In charge of the group are four appointed town council members, themselves kids. Why they were appointed isn’t mentioned in the episode. I’m betting that somewhere around week three or four there’s going to be an election. They are, after all, setting up a town and politics most certainly is part of that.
Law enforcement is also a part of learning about civic government. There’s already been a spurt of graffiti, perpetrated by two of the older boys in the group. Nothing was done about that, but it does seem that a number of the kids aren’t too happy about it.
An all out crime wave, though, will probably not happen any time soon because of another great thing the producers have seen fit to do. Every week the town council will choose one kid who has worked hardest or best and award them a gold star. That would be a real gold star–worth $20,000. Plus a phone call home.
Having seen just one episode, I’m pretty impressed. While I’d be more likely to produce a show that did the same thing with just teenagers, I fully admire the chutzpa of the producers of filling the ranks with the mix of age groups that they did. That mix may end up making the show even more impressive, heart warming and valid in the long run.
Along with Beauty and the Geek and 2005’s Brat Camp, I think we have another very worthwhile reality show on our hands. This is a show families should watch together. There’s a lot to be learned.
Leave a Reply