Kid Nation... (1 Viewer)

[Brian^K]

The problem is that your arguments are about a bad summer camp, not violation of child labor laws. The proper response to a bad summer camp is for local officials to apply their oversight and close it down before anyone gets hurt, not complaining about it after-the-fact, because there is some media attention being applied to them.

 

[Chris]

The arguments are about a bad summer camp because CBS made certain to have this legally classified as a summer camp within the state of New Mexico. That's how the producing companies filed the corporation, and that's the way it was listed with the state and listed in the contract.

So, I'm not saying anything about child labor law. As a summer camp, those rules don't apply. But if they want to be legally a summer camp, they have to be held to the laws governing child care as associated with camps.

In most cases, bad summer camps are shut down after the fact, after reports come in, which prevents them from re-opening. Sometimes penalties and fines are assessed. (I could site cases where that's exactly what has happened). That's what the state is looking at.

I agree with your base point that this is not a child labor argument. I may dislike that, but as a registered summer camp in the state of New Mexico, those laws do not apply to this program. But that doesn't mean that they can disregard the regulations that are placed on summer camps, the entity they chose to represent themselves as.

 

[ChristopherG]

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/08/w...overworked.php

The plot stinkens, but I'm sure it's just some more of the "vast media circus" casting "reckless aspersions" and CBS is being unfairly portrayed as a villain.

Or not....this is the WGA and the SAG who seem to also perceive a problem with this "show"...

 

[Chris]

Just a few updates.

Today the Hollywood Reporter called for the cancellation of the program.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08292007...ion_cancel.htm

However, CBS has fired back, saying that the children WERE fully supervised in compliance with New Mexico child care law, and the incident involving bleach, etc. has been "over hyped" and was an aberration. If CBS can make that case reasonably, whether people dislike the show or not, if they can show they followed the guidelines, they are probably (legally) in the clear.

Original Hollywood Reporter text:

http://www.reuters.com/article/enter...20812820070828

CBS will now be set upon to prove their case in the court of public opinion. If it can mount a convincing argument that all guidelines were followed - something it has started to address today, then they may get themselves in the clear. The question Hollywood Reporter and unions are raising is whether or not the fight is worth having for the company.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Not to mention the moral, rather than legal ramifications. Just because something is legal doesn't make it acceptable. CBS fired Don Imus for comments that were wholly within the law and encouraged by the terms of his contract because an unacceptably large segment of people from inside and outside the company found it morally objectionable.
I don't know about you, but I find exploitation of children — whether legal or not — far more morally reprehensible than the crass ignorance that brought down Imus.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Okay I have a question, is this a genuine abandoned town with an actual history or was it built for the show? Might be a dumb question but i'm confused lol.

After all the controversy about the show I have to say that I liked it, it was, well, cute I guess is a good word. One thing, though, is it such a good idea to have them wandering around in the desert? Aren't there snakes and scorpions in the desert lol?

It was silly but the kids seemed to be fairly mature and worked well together for the most part, I can see this being a positive excercise for them. I'll stick with it for awhile.

 

[Chris_Morris]

I'm with you John. The controversy seems to have been way overhyped.

As for the town, AFAIK it was a real ghost town.

 

[Chris]

It was a former TV set, not an actual town.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Ahh, I thought so, as far as ghost towns go it just looked too perfect. So what show(s) was it used for?

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I thought it was pretty good. In a way it is like the ultimate version of playing 'fort' in your backyard. What's really funny is hearing the kids talking about age and how they relate to each other based on it. A 9 year old will act all grown up and talk about the 'kids' who are 8. But I guess if you do think about how you were back then, a single year did seem like a huge difference.

So what exactly is the end game for this show? Do they just see how many kids make it through the 40 days or what?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I think so since no one is voted off, the only one's who go home volunteer to go home if they feel they can't hack it. The object is to get the town running and how ever many kids are left at the end get a prize I suppose.

That one girl, Sofia(?), won that 20 grand awefully easy IMO, it was like "you were the best leader so here ya go, here's $20,000."

 

[Chris_Morris]

Zap2it has an interview up with EP Tom Forman. Here are some of the quotes I found interesting (full interview at http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-st...tory?track=rss ) :

 

[streeter]

I really enjoyed the first episode but was a bit disappointed that there was a host and that the group was split into teams and that there were reward challenges/competitions. The promos that CBS aired for this program made it seem more like a documentary series about a social experiment rather than a game show.

 

[Marty M]

I have never watched any of these so-called "reality" shows, and won't start with this one. I just don't understand the fascination with these shows.

 

[Dave Hahn]

Does anyone read previous posts or linked articles anymore? Bonanza City, NM was a real town, became deserted (a ghost town), and was later added to by various production crews for movies. Kid Nation built a couple new buildings for the show.

I have never watched a "reality show" before, except for a few short clips. Didn't care for Survivor, The Amazing Race, etc, yet I find this show extremely interesting. When I first heard about the show I found it alarming, but knowing that there were some 250 adults present, including pediatricians, animal handlers, and a child psychologist, set to rest the idea that the children were at risk of harm.

The interaction between the children is fascinating. The show offers a unique look at the personal and group dynamics of children in the absence of adults. According to the producer, they were surprised at how little they had to help or interfere with the kids.

I admit that I was surprised and delighted with the town council's choice for the first gold star. After Sophia stood up and challenged the council, they became defensive and I was sure they would act like children, become petty, and award the star to someone else, even though they had previously discussed giving it to Sophia. The kids on the council surprised me and acted nobly. I guess I'm getting jaded in my old age.

I'll watch this again.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

The Hype maybe was to generate a buzz for another Lame "Reality" show. These shows appeal to the lowest common denominator of television viewership, and while Jericho had it's problems I'd rather see that than this dribble. It's show's like this that lead me to watch 50-60% of Shows from the pre 1980's

 

[Chris]

In regards to the above: there was originally a town here, that town doesn't really exist and it was rebuilt as a set, and more buildings were added for this show. Saying it's the original town is kind of like me saying that New York City is a Native American Village.. I mean, it was at a point, but it's not at all now.. it's been rebuilt.

I have spoken negatively about this, but I felt as though I'd at least check this out online. Yeah, it's a reality show. And it's not even a very good one. I think despite my (reasonable) concerns about how I feel about the program.. which were made prominent with the frequent references to kids crying because they were afraid/scared and missed home... the show on it's own merit is just not very good. I agree with the above, this was something I thought would be a 'social experiment' how do they form the laws of a town, etc.. instead, it's mini-competitions and challenges. Lame. Really lame.

Forgetting the controversy, it's just not that interesting.. it's still controversial, but it manages to piss away any interest controversy would make by making the whole thing so contrived and organized that there isn't any real "kids try to make it on their own" It's more "watch kids go from test to test for entertainment"

 

[MatthewA]

So not only is it not a very good show, CBS distorted its content in the promos.

For shame, for shame.

 

[Brian^K]

I feel that way about sports broadcasts. To each his/her own. And that's really the point. One of the things I really didn't like about the reactions to this program is how incredibly intolerant many of the comments have been in light of the fact that there are viewers who do like this kind of programming.

 

[todd stone]

very lame