Not Quite Lord of the Flies

Though I’m sure that’s what they want it to become. Of course, I’m referring to the desperate brainchild of CBS Kid Nation. The show takes 40 average kids from all walks of life and plops them in the middle of a ghost town aka Bonanza Town. Supposedly there was a group of adults who tried to settle the town but it didn’t work. The kids ranging in age from 8 to 15 are given a guide to settling the town.

You go into this expecting the kids to rip each other apart and there were whispers of things to come. Some of the drama was quelched by producers creating a council. Four children were selected to be the leaders. Interesting, because you wanted to see how they would pick a leader through a vote, hostile takeover or someone who demonstrated that quality. The council is a trip. They consist of a young beauty pageant veteran who doesn’t do dishes, a neurotic stressed out Woody Allen-type, a brainy Indian or Pakistani (don’t really know) who claims only three adults have made contributions to the world and a motherly redhead who lets us know she won’t compromise her values.

There are too may kids to distinguish at this point but the most interesting are a bitchy 14-year-old who danced on the street to raise money for a bike, a tiny 8-year-old who realized home wasn’t so bad, a black Chicago kid who is accident prone, a 14-year-old thuggy skateboarder who has already vandalized the town and picked a fight with the scrawny Woody Allen clone and the people’s leader whose speech led to a standing ovation. Did I mention they dangle a $20,000 prize to the lucky winners of the gold star for best settler of the week and a phone call home? See this isn’t as exploitive as it sounds (note the sarcasm).

I can safely say I won’t watch this show again. From a marketing stand point, this first night was a success and is no doubt water cooler chatter for the day. I found it slightly abusive to put the younger kids (8-11) on their own. There were way too many tears and sniffles for my comfort. The children were forced to confront fears for the sake of television. Not cool. It was encouraging to see them root for each other and question things but I don’t know that that makes riveting television unless one of the kids is yours. It was scary to see the characteristics of their parents in their actions and words. These children had a lot of anxiety, neurosis and stress. I also have a sneaking suspicion that half of the cast is kid actors waiting for their big Disney break. They were a bit too camera ready.

What did you think of Kid Nation?