Kid Nation - 11/21/07

[Maui]

Wow! What an episode. It was as much of a train wreck as many thought it would be with Greg on the council.

We really saw DK's bad side this time also. Did the Green team even say anything about DK or did Greg and Blaine just pull him into it so he would be on their side. I don't think the council was improved by this election at all. They only made three good decisions that I can remember.

1. Picking the letters
2. Allowing Taylor to have hers
3. Giving the Gold Star to Laurel

Giving the Gold Star to Laurel shocked me. I did not expect it would have any support except for Michael. I hope they don't decide that Green team has had too many because Hunter probably still deserves one.

There was a lot to take in on this episode. It was definitely the best episode yet.

[atrac]

Train wreck indeed. I was kind of hoping they would prove everyone wrong, but with Greg at the helm, it went pretty much as expected.

It's so odd how a lot of the boys have 70's style long hair. Is that style coming back in? I don't see it here in SoCal.

I think a good immature insult to Greg would be, "I'm so sorry you don't have a jaw line." ;)

I hope Hunter gets the gold star next week.

[newsposter]

i surf the web while watching this show so dont know everyone's name etc. But when i found out that shaggy hair person was a guy i was surprised. Dont guys care that they cant be distinguished as a guy anymore?

i wish they would have kept that whiny pageant girl's letter from her just a bit longer. :)

kids really seem mean on this show..are they scripted to do/say all they do?

[MitchO]

There was no way four 14/15 year old boys would pick ponies.~

Is it me, or did they show no buildup/explanation as to why Laurel got the star? It just seemed like they randomly went for "some good kid". Her mother's accent is even worse than hers, heh.

[Maui]

There was no way four 14/15 year old boys would pick ponies.~

Is it me, or did they show no buildup/explanation as to why Laurel got the star? It just seemed like they randomly went for "some good kid". Her mother's accent is even worse than hers, heh.

There was so much going on last night that other than saying that they would not give out the star at all there was no discussion on who should get the star. My guess is that Laurel won it based on her work she was doing when she was a council member.

The parts that made me chuckle last night were Guylan giving up without a fight and emily (I think her name was) eating the pies as she put them on the sticks

[stellie93]

Is Guylan a guy? I've been watching all this time, and thought it was a girl. :confused:

[Neenahboy]

He's just not a strong and assertive leader against the likes of Greg, who I think will greatly improve once he's placed in a concrete leadership role.

I'd like to say right now that I was horribly, HORRIBLY wrong here. I honestly expected many of the kids to raise their hand when Greg asked if anyone wanted him gone.

It's amazing that a position of power can make DK such a ridiculous tool. You can probably blame some of that on Greg and Blaine influencing him, but that just proves that DK is, at his core, a follower and not a leader.

Did the Green team even say anything about DK or did Greg and Blaine just pull him into it so he would be on their side?

Their comment in the Green cabin was directed solely at Greg, IIRC. At least the "It would be better if Greg just stopped doing any work and focused on being nice" comment was. He totally manipulated that situation, and, I must say, he did it extremely well.

[TiVoter123]

I think that Greg was secretly homesick when he said that if 1/2 the people wanted him gone he would leave... and was just looking for an out.

I really hate how he is always like "ohhhhhhhh I'm an ass... blah blah blah ass ass ass..." and then 5 minutes later is always like "I now see the errors of my ways, and I'm sorry... I'll be different..." <VOMIT>

[pdhenry]

Way too much contrition from 14 and 15 year olds on this show. That is to say it's very much out of character for them. I wonder if the producers are putting them up to it.

[Amnesia]

This was the first time that I felt the "theme" didn't seem contrived. (Did they even read from the journal this time?) Normally we see random scenes of kids complaining about this or that and volia! The journal happens to mention that very thing...

[BLeonard]

First time I've ever seen the show - I just wandered across it and had to keep watching. Nothing seemed very "real" about it to me but that's reality TV.

[mattack]

They didn't read from the journal.. They probably should have made this one supersized since the rest of the night was probably reruns..

[TAsunder]

I missed last week's, but for the past three episodes that I've seen now, it is plainly obvious that this show is far too contrived. Between the editing and the obvious acting by some of the kids, I'm having a hard time staying interested. I am becoming quite suspicious that DK, Taylor, and Greg are being told how to behave each episode.

[pdhenry]

I am becoming quite suspicious that DK, Taylor, and Greg are being told how to behave each episode.They certainly will be when they start reading the journal.

[marksman]

There was no way four 14/15 year old boys would pick ponies.~

Is it me, or did they show no buildup/explanation as to why Laurel got the star? It just seemed like they randomly went for "some good kid". Her mother's accent is even worse than hers, heh.

I think it was pretty clear that Laurel was the most deserving person there of a star for the first 30 days, so it was pretty much a no-brainer they would give her one.

Not to mention I believe ALL 4 council members have gold stars, and Laurel was involved in the process for all of them.

I guess they could have shown them meeting and saying, yeah well of course it is Laurel. Even Michael did not really want to kick Laurel off the council, he just wanted the opportunity to be on the council himself.

I too was a bit surprised by DK's flip flop in Greg's shadow. I would have expected him to stand up more on his own. But since the council is all 14 year old boys, and Greg is the Alpha Male, it is not really much of a surprise. It took until council for Blaine to get back out from under Greg's shadow again too.

As for the editing, I am curious how much this stuff is all set up. Even without the journal, this became the communication episode. So without the feeding of the journal for the theme of the current show, how did they manage to tie into the competition to random happenings by the new council.

And the respect game was a very dumb idea. I understood their point, but the execution was horrible, and the ones who pinned the hypocrite label on Greg were right.

[Lopey]

Does anyone else think that Greg is possibly Bipolar?? one minute he's yelling at someone the next he's apologyzing...

[Amnesia]

one minute he's yelling at someone the next he's apologyzing...You mean in one edit he's yelling and in the next edit he's apologizing?

[jtlytle]

Does anyone else think that Greg is possibly Bipolar?? one minute he's yelling at someone the next he's apologyzing...

He's still teenager...

[DevdogAZ]

Does anyone else think that Greg is possibly Bipolar?? one minute he's yelling at someone the next he's apologyzing...

That's the magic of stopping the camera, having him pulled aside by a producer and told that he's being an idiot and he needs to pull a 180. Then they stick him back up there, start the camera running again, and it looks like he suddenly became humble all by himself.

[atrac]

I agree 100% with the editing comments. The show definitely has a feel that producers are getting involved between edits. And yes, sometimes the kids do appear to be acting or having been fed "ideas" on what they should say next.

I think it really destroys the realism of the show.

[JLucPicard]

I think it really destroys the realism of the show.
And it may also be keeping it from being massively boring or looking like they just threw a whole bunch of spoiled brats together and put it on TV. Can you imagine the cluster-mess this would be if they really just threw 40 kids together and said, "Have at it, kids. You've got 40 days without any supervision. Entertain us."

Heck, this show isn't going to change the world - it's just meant to be entertainment. I think it's pulling that off just fine.

I don't have kids of my own, but I've seen what can happen when my sister leaves her kids alone for a couple of hours, let alone days. THAT wouldn't make for good TV.

[newsposter]

i wonder if all the kids have earpieces so they are fed lines :)

[mmilton80]

]

Heck, this show isn't going to change the world - it's just meant to be entertainment. I think it's pulling that off just fine.




The whole "changing the world" angle is very obnoxious. Anjay kept going back to it and it irked me more and more.


On another note: I am doubting the validity of the journal. I don't think that it is real.

[JLucPicard]

On another note: I am doubting the validity of the journal. I don't think that it is real.
LOL - Man, I'm glad I didn't have a mouthful of soda!!! :D

The journal is a prop for the show just like the bell in the square, the one phone, and the green, red, blue and yellow painted Town Council chairs! The guy (or gal) who wrote that is on strike right now with all the others - not long since dead.

[Amnesia]

On another note: I am doubting the validity of the journal. I don't think that it is real.Are you serious?

Of course it's not real!!!

[mmilton80]

Are you serious?

Of course it's not real!!!

I was wondering how it always seemed relevant to what was going on in the kdi-run Bonanza City.

[Jeeters]

Are you serious?

Of course it's not real!!!And in case you're wondering if Bonanza City is a real ghost town, it's not.

http://www.bonanzacreekranch.com/

[Langree]

FYI: Greg could be 100% real, I've worked with kids like him, from being a soft caring person with the younger kids one minute to feeling he needs to defend himself the next.

If he feels he's been wronged in some way he lashes out.

He just wears his emotions on his sleeve and let's you know it. Once you realize that he'd be pretty easy to deal with.

[jtlytle]

And in case you're wondering if Bonanza City is a real ghost town, it's not.

http://www.bonanzacreekranch.com/

Hey, that's cool.. I noticed there's big building behind The Bonanza City and I knew it's a private place for all camera crews.

[EVizzle]

Anyone have any insight into why this show wasn't shot in HD? 4:3 digital is the worst thing ever.

[Fleegle]

From what I understand, most reality shows are still shot in SD because the HD camera are still fairly large and cumbersome.