Thursday, September 20, 2007

Sucked In

Did anyone else watch Kid Nation last night? My intention was to watch one episode to see what it was all about. It sounded like a cool concept, and maybe a little more interesting than watching a bunch of so-called adults fight it out on an island somewhere. Of course, I would NEVER let any kid of mine participate (I heard parents had to sign 24 pages of disclaimers), but I have no qualms about watching other people's kids on TV.

It was awesome! I'm only a little embarrassed to say that. And I'm hooked after ONE episode!

These kids are awesome, and WAY more mature than 95% of the Survivor contestants. The kids were dropped off in the middle of nowhere, told to haul a bunch of wagons to a deserted town, and set up shop. They did it! They cooked for themselves and split themselves into teams and bunks, and the tears they shed b/c they are so homesick were just adorable.

These aren't your every-day ordinary kids. One of the girls walked into her bunk and said, "Wow, this room is in such disarray!" And the little 8-year old boy who chose to go home after 3 days was so cute. He sat in a corner crying about how much he missed home and how hard it was and how young he was to be there, and the big older 11 year old came over to comfort him and volunteer to be his stand-in mom until he felt better...that worked for a day or so, but he still decided to go home.

Of course, it wouldn't be a "reality" show if the producers didn't plant some drama in there -- like the two 15-year old boys who already spread graffiti around town and who are hitting on the self-proclaimed 10 year old beauty queen.

But, I'm hooked...and my DVR is set. B kept walking through the room making fun of me, but I don't care. I think it will be a refreshing show to watch. And I think these kids can do it -- they'll make it through the 40 days with flying colors! Hey, they already chose 7 outhouses over a TV as a reward...not sure what those Survivor guys would do.

And those producers need to re-evaluate their commercials during this supposed family-friendly show...I don't think we need to see any more ads for Vaginal Screening Kits during KID NATION!

C'mon, join in the fun...check out the show if you didn't last night...that way we can gush over it together.

3 comments:

Jenni said...

I watched it. And I'd send my kids--if they wanted to go. I wasn't planning to watch, but there was a bunch of hoopla over it on my homeschooling board. A lot of people seemed to think it was just awful before they even watched it. I thought it might be kind of neat. Danny and I both thought it looked like something we would have *loved* doing when we were kids. What a great opportunity for growth for those kids.

Chelf said...

They were dropped into an old ghost town in New Mexico. And they had medical help when they really needed it. Ambulances and all.

I have heard a lot of uprising over it, but most of the crying came from liberal crazies who hadn't even seen it to judge it.

I would have done that, and been great at it, as a kid. Dad taught me how to hunt and fish, and dig and build. I think it could be a very valuable experience.

However, have the producers ever read Lord of the Flies?

Sally said...

You guys are right -- I'm sure the kids will learn tons while they're out there, and there have to be adults behind the scenes looking out for them. But, these "reality" shows scare me, because a lot of times they let things go too far "for the sake of the show".

If I had a kid who really wanted to do it, I would definitely do more research before making my decision...but 24 pages of disclaimers still scare me!