The DVR is set. “Record All Showings.” First Runs Only? I don’t care, just record as much of “Kid Nation” as you can, I’m going to be watching them all.
Just one episode into its existence, “Kid Nation” has already achieved the prestigious distinction of the Hopper Season Pass, a feat which took even the mighty “Flight of the Conchords” one and a half episodes to do. But as my initial ironic excitement gave way to literal enjoyment, I just kept yelling one thought to myself the entire time: What was all this gosh darned kiddie controversy about??
Is this what people call exploiting kids?? Does ‘exploit’ mean ‘make awesome?’ Which one of us wouldn’t have wanted to live in Bonanza Creek when we were little??= You get to play around with a bunch of other kids in a fake ranch with general stores and color wars, plus you get to be on national tv and be envied by your classmates for the rest of your educational life. Even spastic Jared, who looked like the kind of kid myself and my Magic-playing middle school friends would have picked on, has an automatic getting-laid story tucked away for college. This isn’t just win-win, it’s win-win plus a whole bunch of dramatic reality-show cutaways to eight year old kids. On to the PROS and CONS:
The only drawback to last night’s premeiere, I felt, was how scripted it seemed when the kids were broken into four seperate colored teams. They each had their own quarter of the town, they all had color bandanas — it was a little disheartening, cause part of the major selling point of the show was the kids being on their own with the potential for complete, uber-watchable anarchy. The idea of challenges, also, was a little too “same ol’ reality show” for my tastes, but whatever, neither of these aspects could damper by childish (ha!) excitement.
The three BEST moments from Wednesday’s premiere after the jump:
1 – Lovably awkward Jared (the show’s clear breakout character) whining about being really hungry, and adding, “As Dr. Martin Luther King said, I HAVE A DREAM!!!” It was a perfectly nonsensical thought that only a child could have come up with (or possibly Meatwad) but which could never have been actually written into a show without reeking of self-awareness and intentional wackiness. I expect no shortage of such quotes over the course of this show’s 15-season lifetime. Jared also purchased a copt
2 – Sophia dancing in the street to raise enough money to buy a bike, followed by like three seconds of her riding the bike like 10 feet and going “woo!” and never mentioning it again. Who could have ever conceived of someone doing this? It was like the scene in “Hitch” when Will Smith teaches Kevin James to dance, only a lot more innocent and lovable.
3 – The single best camera shot of the premiere episode, if you missed it, was this subtle clip of two kids giving a literal “round of applause.” If this doesn’t give you nostalgiac, summer camp chills, then feel free to continue watching “Cold Case,” or whatever the f*ck:
