ChildLabor-related stories
Posted Nov 22nd 2007 12:23AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S01E10) The days in Bonanza City are dwindling down for the 37 children still working out their 40 days on
Kid Nation. By the time tonight's episode ended, the kids have about ten days left. That, to us, will translate to at least three weeks, I believe.
Ah, but did it stay at 37 children this week? Or did we lose another due to homesickness? Was there a brouhaha? More killed chickens? Hmmm ... now that I mentioned the killed chickens, I wonder why it was so important to kill the two and then none since. Maybe because of the power of suggestion in the journal, eh? Uh-oh. I should have put the spoiler after the jump. Too late -- no chickens died tonight. Oops.
Continue reading Kid Nation: Let Me Talk!
Posted Nov 14th 2007 10:58PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S01E09) Have children grown more apologetic since my days as a child? The kids of
Kid Nation are often as cruel to each other as I recall but then they go and apologize. What's up with that?
Well, they don't always apologize. Feelings get hurt; tears get shed. Maybe it's cruel, but the kids will eventually find out being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be at all times, either. I think I've seen adults apologize a lot less often than the kids on the show. Perhaps they have some sort of super-strain of kids there -- intelligent and mature beyond their years.
Some of them, anyway. And some of the solid ones are starting to crack a bit.
Continue reading Kid Nation: Not Even Close to Fair
Posted Nov 7th 2007 11:32PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S01E08) The kids on
Kid Nation are starved for entertainment as we might all be soon. I'm already starved for it during the late night hours.
But tonight was a fun night for the most part on the show. My main little man Jared was featured fairly prominently throughout the episode, the kids had some fun, and I even had a few snickers as I watched.
I'd still like to have been a fly on the wall and witnessed how they get the kids on the topic of the journal entry each week separate from the town council leaders visiting the Shack of the Journal. I guess we might never know.
Continue reading Kid Nation: Starved for Entertainment
Posted Oct 31st 2007 10:45PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S01E07) I'm starting to wonder if we're going to see each and every kid on
Kid Nation before the end of the season. Every week, it seems the focus is on the core group we've seen all along -- the council leaders, Greg, Jared, Sophia, and some others. But then a new kid or two is thrown into the spotlight.
Whenever that spotlight shines on a new face in the crowd, it's been obvious that the new face will either be in the midst of controversy or will win the gold star. Predictable? Sure is, but with the size of the cast, I don't see any better way to do it, either. I enjoy "meeting" the kids as the season goes on.
Continue reading Kid Nation: The Root of All Evil
Posted Oct 25th 2007 12:20AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S01E06) No, no, no ... not Bonanza with the Ponderosa! Hop Sing could always cook up a fine feast and the Cartwrights never fussed about hard labor. The episode title refers to Bonanza City, New Mexico. You know -- 40 days, 40 kids (well, 38 kids now and almost three weeks less), and no adults. Well, they say no adults, but believe me, it's the adults putting everything in motion.
But it is indeed the kids of
Kid Nation who make this show worth watching. It's the kids who, by being themselves, bring me entertainment each week.
Oh, but Bonanza City is indeed disgusting. Or, it was before the adult push of the week.
Continue reading Kid Nation: Bonanza is Disgusting
Posted Oct 17th 2007 11:42PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Episode Reviews
(S01E05) Is it me or was there really not much to get up in arms about this week on
Kid Nation? No killed animals, no steer taunting, no religious rivalry, no bullying. What's this show coming to, eh?
Well, there was a smattering of bad behavior, but we're talking kids here. Some of these kids could be teensy adults, y'know. A lot of them certainly are more worldly than I was at their ages. And, the show reminded me that I should really study up on the chronological order of US Presidents. I definitely know the ones in my own lifetime, but I surely would put Taft in the wrong place.
Continue reading Kid Nation: Viva la Revolucion!
Posted Oct 10th 2007 11:28PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Episode Reviews
(S01E04) Following the recipe for controversy which has been a mainstay for this show since its inception, tonight's episode of
Kid Nation threw religion into the fray. So, let's take a moment to count the controversies and brouhahas thus far -- we have the child labor issue, the scripted/acting kids issue, the contract issue in which the parents promised not to sue if their kid died, the kill two chickens on television issue, and so many more.
Adults created this world created by the children, so let's get them going on religion next! Will there be fisticuffs? Love-ins? Heathens run amok? Thankfully, in this case, the kids were smarter than the adults.
Continue reading Kid Nation: Bless Us and Keep Us Safe
Posted Oct 3rd 2007 10:45PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Episode Reviews
(S01E03) Let's see ... no animals were killed in the filming of tonight's episode of
Kid Nation. A few outhouses might have received considerable damage, a lot of pizzas were wasted, and they made ten-year-old Taylor cry. Oh, I think she deserved some sort of comeuppance, but I still felt sorry for her when it came. I suppose she's going to have to deal with it, eh?
Continue reading Kid Nation: Deal With It
Posted Oct 3rd 2007 10:00AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, OpEd
There's nothing like a good brouhaha, is there?
Kid Nation was controversial before it even hit the air and the controversy continues. TMZ
is reporting that the show is seeking a new location for next season outside of the United States due to the child labor issue. The show's official website has had an application link up since the site itself was launched, but it appears the deadline for second season applications has passed.
Then there's a new controversy -- the slaughtering of two chickens shown during last week's episode. According to
our friends at Buddy TV, the animal rights group Last Chance for Animals criticized the show for killing the chickens, then airing the slaughter. LCA also condemned YouTube for not removing clips of the show which were posted by several people.
Continue reading Controversy continues for Kid Nation
Posted Sep 27th 2007 12:19AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Episode Reviews
(S01E02) It's a bit of an odd twist to the Shakespeare quote, but certainly fitting for this episode of
Kid Nation, don't you think? For some reason, I'm not too surprised that 11-year-old Jared has a slight familiarity with the classics. In the first episode, Jared was the king of the one-liners.
It's a shame he didn't continue ...
To kill or not to kill, that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler to slaughter chickens
Or cover thine eyes whilst Greg does it
To die, to sleep, perchance to dream
As the chickens shuffled off this mortal coil
For the sake of reality television
Continue reading Kid Nation: To Kill or Not to Kill?
Posted Sep 16th 2007 11:22AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, OpEd
Yes, it's almost here -- the premiere of the highly controversial reality television show
Kid Nation. 40 children, 40 days, no adults. Despite the controversy about this show, discussed in
this article and in
this article too, I am psyched for it!
It all starts on Wednesday evening at 8 PM ET/PT on CBS. Not that I pooh-pooh child labor laws, but in my opinion the whole thing doesn't look any more dangerous or child labor filled than summer camp or living with my family when I was a kid myself. Heck, I managed to sprain my neck at summer camp one year. Any of these kids do that on the show?
Continue reading Kid Nation bursts onto reality television this week
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