Kid Nation

Just when I thought that reality television had finally scraped the bottom with Age of Love(NBC), CBS reveals that there might be something even lower then the bottom with the new series Kid Nation. The premise is to take 40 children (ages from 8 to 15) put them in a deserted town out west and see how well they can govern and take care of themselves. Now while I'll admit this sounds like an interesting show if it were drama (ie, Lord of the Flies) I am appalled at the idea as a reality show. First off, what self-respecting parent would send their children off to do this show? Oh, I'm sure there are lots of waivers of liability signed. And we must not forget all the crew (producers, cameraman, etc) that will be hidden from the television viewers. Second, the reward for the children who prove themselves? $20,000. What? Why not the million promised to the first Survivor contestants or even $100,000? I can see a parent in a desperate situation pimping (and lets not lose sight of the truth here) their children out for larger sums but $20,000 will not even pay for a college education much less the therapy the children might require following the show. Am I being a bit to dramatic? Perhaps. We do not know what goes on when the cameras are not showing us and I'm sure the children are all safe. But the desperateness of television sinking to this level is disgusting to me.

And no, I've never been a big fan of reality television. I did watch RealWorld in the early years (before it became so much staged drama) and I do enjoy the Apprentice. But I never understood how you could create an artificial reality such as Survivor with all the people that would be required to produce such a show just on the other side of the island (taking baths and eating real food.) I understand the attraction of these early reality shows to the viewer and the contestants but I think they have finally gone too far. This is from a network that cancelled Jericho after all, though, so I really shouldn't be all that surprised.

For another blogger's thoughts on this show see Gray Matter Matters.