TVSquad

(S01E10) What does Mary expect? I mean, really, what does she expect! Okay, before we get to the gory details, let's talk about the case of the week.

Remember the Russian girl from the pilot? Natasha with the new boobs -- thanks to the U.S. government, our tax dollars -- has gotten a job at Headlights (nee Hooters) and has hooked up with a new guy.

Turns out he's Marshall's charge, another program member, Serge. The problem is not just the huge coincidence that they've hooked up, it's that she's a witness and he's a felon, they cannot stay together.

(S01E09) If you've invested in this show from the start -- as I have -- here was a really welcome episode to fill in the blanks. Finally, we were given a little back story about Mary, the place she's living, her obnoxious family, her frustrations with her life and even Marshall's unrequited (or so he thinks) leering for his partner. There was even some good character stuff for Bobby D -- whom Mary colorfully calls a "little prick" -- which was really nice.

I liked the case of a Chicago cop doing a "Serpico" -- going undercover to rat out police corruption -- and winding up killing a fellow officer in self-defense and being forced into Witness Protection was on target. And unlike the ridiculous Russian girl in the pilot who was asking WITSEC for new breasts, this was a realistic relocation. He resented being stuck in Albuquerque, and proving that he wasn't a stone, he was attracted to Mary. Of course, Mary did cross a line by sleeping with the guy, but that was all right, too, because it proved that she wasn't a stone, too. And since it was back story, it was pre-Raphael.

(S01E05) It was the best of In Plain Sight, it was the less than best of In Plain Sight. For starters, the only carry-over from the previous episode was Marshall's arm in a sling. Hey, what about his nearly dying and Mary's emotional breakdown in the waiting room? The lack of follow-through was stunning.

Granted, this show isn't a serial, but I did expect at least a moment between Mary and Marshall that would connect back beyond her quip in the art gallery. It was too glib. Would it have killed them to have a moment? I can imagine a fight in the writer's room over this point and keeping it light and unemotional won.

(S01E02) Overall, a very good episode from Mary and Marshall as In Plain Sight settles into the kind of show it's going to be. Far less frantic than the pilot -- which in retrospect looks like a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth -- this show dealt with one main issue and it was a touching one at that. The story starts 18 months earlier when Mary's assigned to place an 8-year-old boy who's seen drug dealers kill his mother in Witness Protection, which is virtually impossible unless she can find a family in the system who are willing to take on that responsibility.

I was stunned that she pulled it off, and when we were back in the present and we see little Lonny -- now Leo -- enjoying a perfect life with the Billups, I was skeptical. The adoption seemed too good to be true. Leo fit right in, taking care of the baby. Were the Billups for real? I thought there had to be something wrong, but it wasn't. I was just suspicious. It turns out there was a reason to show Lonny/Leo in such a happy family.

(S01E13) It's been noted in press reports that the alleged charges brought against Kid Nation have been dropped and the state of New Mexico won't be pursuing them. After watching the entire season, I can see why. For whatever flaws the show might have had (and it had several), it didn't seem to measure up to any sort of child abuse or violation of child labor laws.

The pre-season brouhaha cited the lack of adult supervision as a big problem. Alas, for me, it was all of the adult intervention which became the biggest issue I had with the show. It wasn't the kids -- they were overall a fantastic bunch!

(S01E11) I feel manipulated. I feel used. I feel a pawn to a lesson session. I feel all I learned in childhood about doing the right thing is so much better than doing the fun thing was snatched from behind my wall of memories and plopped down in tonight's episode of Kid Nation.

Why must fun always have consequences? Or, at least choosing fun over a more serious option? It doesn't always play that way in adulthood. Sometimes you can have fun without regret. Yeah, seriously.

But I'll never be a Dance Master, no matter how much fun it might be. There is something called reality which comes to mind.

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

(S01E01) After all of the controversy, CBS aired its premiere episode of Kid Nation tonight. Much ado about nothing, I say! Not that the show is nothing. I found it interesting and refreshing from so many of the other shows on the air these days. Well, at least the shows in the reality genre.

After all the brouhahas about child labor, child abuse, crying children ... well, to me, this didn't quite live up to all the controversy surrounding it. Instead I found it to be the kind of show both children and adults can watch together. Although it's touted as "40 children, 40 days, no adults" -- the kids themselves say there were more adults than children on site. Perhaps that doesn't speak much for the "reality" aspect, but the safety issues seem well-covered.

As if allegations of abuse and breaking child labor laws wasn't enough, now producers of CBS's new reality show Kid Nation are facing another charge: faking some of the show.

Parents of some of the kids involved with the show have secretly told the BizParentz Foundation and A Minor Consideration (the organization run by former Donna Reed Show star Paul Petersen) that their kids were not only asked to repeat and re-film some scenes of the show, they were actually fed dialogue to say during certain scenes. The parents say that crew members have confirmed the coaching.

Of course, this isn't a new charge. TV shows like Survivor and some of the dating shows have been accused of this in the past as well. I think this will only be surprising to people who actually think that reality TV is actually "real."

[via TV Tattle]

The other day we told you about one of the parents of a Kid Nation kid filing a complaint with New Mexico officials, alleging child abuse and unsafe conditions during filming. But just what kind of contract did these parents sign to get their kids on the show? The Smoking Gun has the answer.

As TSG summarizes: "parents of minors in Kid Nation, the controversial new CBS reality show, signed away their rights to sue the network and the show's producers if their child died, was severely injured, or contracted a sexually transmitted disease."

(Sexually transmitted disease?! I guess they were covering every possibility, eh?)

The show hasn't even debuted yet, but there's already controversy (though we thought one might be coming).

A parent of one of the kids on the new CBS Survivor/Lord of the Flies reality show Kid Nation has filed a complaint with New Mexico officials saying that the kids on the show were neglected. She says that one girl had her face burned by hot grease (she was cooking) and that other kids needed medical help after accidentally drinking bleach.

"Furious George": George Bush and deadlines are not very good friends. Resident Expert John Hodgman stopped by to talk about "executive privilege". I felt like I haven't seen Mr. Hodgman in forever. The void in my life has finally been filled, if only for the moment. I really liked the Garfield joke and "What? Too soon?"... The secretly recorded audio was wonderfully done, as well.