From the desk of Alynda Wheat:
Oh, PopWatchers, we learn so much every week from KidNation! Like how easy it is to kill chickens, and how sometimes youshould pick a barbecue over a Bible. Last night was all about unity.Why did DK (pictured) get the $20K gold star/consolation prize for being stuckwith one too many brats? Because he can bring those brats together!He’s a preacherman, delivering love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin sermonsthat make Bonanza Citizens adore and respect him. Better yet, he’s liketheir dad. And when Daddy said he was thinking about leaving becausethe kids were so bad, the tears were contagious, jumping from person toperson like scabies in a Harvard dorm. Let’s just hope he doesn’t have cult-leader ambitions.
The irony is that Pageant Princess Taylor isbasically serving the same function. In fomenting so much righteousindignation she manages to bring the town together in hate ascompletely as DK does with love. No, f’real she’s a uniter, not adivider — and it ain’t easy, people. Sitting idle, standing firm in theface of near-total dissension, extolling your innate superiority to alland sundry with lines like, "Beauty queens don’t do [insert undesirabletask here]." You have no idea how difficult a hat trick that is to pulloff. We have to accept it: When Taylor refuses to haul trash or water,or do her assigned job, she’s fostering team spirit, even if it isagainst her.
What’s sad, though, is how much Kid Nation is stillonly about the few. We’re six weeks in, CBS! When do we get to know therest of the kids? Because inasmuch as we’ve grown to care about thecouncil members (past and present), Zach, Jared, Sophia, Greg, and afew others, there’s only so much we can say — at least not until we getthat oh so crucial parent/audience conference with Taylor’s folks.
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this girl (Taylor)’s parents should be completely ashamed of her. I’m so glad she got kicked off the council, she is not mature enough to hold that position. What a little whiner… What makes her better than anyone else? I was hoping she would leave last night… Laurel on the other hand, WOW. I cannot believe this girl is only 14 years old. She is amazingly strong and her parents have obviously helped to provide her with moral values and ideals. She has a great head on her shoulders and will go very far in life, unlike her very spoiled compatriot.
Didn’t watch much of the show, I’ve had it up to my eyebrows with Taylor and her petulance. 10 year or no 10 year old, she’s nothing but a little snot. I really want to see what her parents look like, no doubt they’re “High Society” Socialite snobs as well, Mom probably has some alcohol issues and Dad is a philanderer. It would seem the best remedy to get Taylor to pull her weight would be to not cook for her, clean for her or do anything for her. If she wants to eat, she can cook for herself, if anyone wants to feed her, they can cook for themselves as well. I agree with the recap, how about getitng to know some of these other kids?
So glad you returned as promised with a mini tv watch. PPT is truly a poor role model for children and a sad testimony to enabling parents (remember honey, YOU are the victim if they want you to do anything you don’t want to do. Mommy loves you)
Laurel, Zach, DK, Sophia and many others are truly inspiring and have had solid values instilled in them.
I hope Taylor’s parents are watching this and being told how horrible their parenting skills have been by family and friends. That girl deserves a kick in the pants.
To Taylor is a little brat – Laurel is surprisingly only 12. But she still commands and receives respect. Great kid. As are DK, Michael, Sophia & Zach. Greg has come into his own too. But Alynda is right – I adore little Alex, would love to see more of him and hear is take on things. And same for the other kids who seem to constantly be in the background.
I wanted to smack the snot out of little Taylor when she knocked over those buckets. as much as i’d love to see her sent packing, the show is so watchable with her there. i see a VH1 reality show in her future…
Chris G: maybe you’re right, and this is one verrrry long audtion for PPT Taylor to get her own reality show. Spare me! Betcha her mom is her agent.
Tooth (Alex) for President!!
I love DK though and felt sad that he wanted to leave, though even a cynic like my couldn’t help but smile after all the kids would feel lost without his presence. What a truly touching moment from a show many people originally panned as exploitation at its worst.
Speaking of which, I don’t even want to think about Taylor having her own show. Good god…we already have Paris Hilton and New York making the rest of this generation look like idiots. We don’t need one for the under 10 crowd.
Alynda’s right on one thing though: only a fraction of the forty kids had a good amount of screen time. Where did the rest of them lurk off to? They deserve a little attention as much as the head honchos we see every week.
DK is the man – glad he stayed – hopefully his threat to leave will keep everyone in line. Why wasn’t he elected to the council?
I was thinking as I watched last night that leadership skills show up much earlier than I ever thought. Think about it, if you had a kid nation with Hillary, John Edwards, Karl Rove, Mitt Romney, Bill C., Barak O, and any number of ne’er do wells from Hollywood of that age in a Kid Nation for 8 weeks and I bet it would be the same. The leaders rise, the Taylors sink to the bottom. Good sense shows itself early – just as the Taylors of this world are pretty well formed by the age of 8. ‘Tis a pity about that girl….her and her parent’s life will be hell unless she has a brain/personality transplant in the next two weeks…but it will be fun to watch!
DanOregon- DK didn’t want to run for the council. Smart move, actually- he can still lead but doesn’t have to deal with everyone’s crap.
If anyone gets a spin-off, I want it to be Sophia and Laurel. They were so cute last night; my favorite part was when Sophia told Laurel she’d never speak to her again if they didn’t get the veggies, and then their hug afterwards. Can’t CBS send these girls around the country doing volunteer work? Kinda a “see what kids can do” series. Michael can tag along too.
I keep TRYING to tell myself that Taylor is acting and isn’t this obnoxious! I know deep down I’m wrong. The sad thing is that her parents probably do not see anything wrong with the behaviour. All I can say is I pity the poor male in her future…talk about a handful and high maintenance!
Taylor is probably one of the most entertaining new characters on TV this season. I think Kid Nation would be so much more boring if every kid got along and they all did their work. Not that I would want to hang out with her but it is fun to watch others who are forced to interact with her (similar to George Costanza.
Plus Taylor is obviously not the only one slacking off on her job, if she was the water tank would not have run dry last night.
The best thing that could happen to this wannabe Paris Hilton is to get kicked out of Bonanza City, tired of this society glorifying “non conformists” who do so at the expense of others. Go your own way if you like, but stop enjoying the rewards of group efforts. If this was a real town and survival was at stake Taylor would have been sent to sleep in the outhouse and not fed a scrap until she changed. Stop enabling her CBS!
What a terrific show! Thoroughly enjoyable!
I absolutely love DK and his outstanding leadership skills as highlighted on last night’s episode, but did anyone else laugh out loud at the fact that he was dressed like Tyrone Biggum from “Chappelle’s Show” in a couple of his scenes? lol
I like Taylor. She adorable, even when she’s kicking little Indian boys in the knee. (Or wherever he’s from) I fantasize that Emma Watson used to behave that way behind the scenes of the first Harry Potter movie!
They could still have given DK the gold star even if he wanted to leave. He made a mistake staying. He’ll be back in the same boat by this time next week! But I’ll admit to being surprisingly moved by the town’s affection towards him. He’d been a background player for the first few episodes, and here we were, not a dry eye in the house.
Which brings me to an odd realization: The show is not unlike Lost. A rag-tag group of 40 or so, struggling to survive in an unfamiliar environment. (Though i can hardly call all this struggling) Some people are emerging as leaders, while others have specialty skills essential to survival. The rest dissapear into the background almost as “extras” with a brief moment in the sun here and there. (School teacher Arnst) Reaching, I know, but still..
Sophia would def be Kate. Maybe I’ve got Lost withdrawals. Sorry. Anyway, Mike is still my favorite kid. So I sort of resent Guylan for the take over. Change just for the sake of change doesnt make sense. He hasn’t shown that he’s a better leader than Mike as far as I’m concerned. But maybe now that Mike’s not on council he can get a gold star. I wanted Zach to get a gold star too before leading. That’s better than the “honor” of reading in some town journal! Speaking of, I wasn’t excited about the agenda for this week. Cleanup trash…yay…The Showdown was equally ho-hum. So bland in fact, that it took Greg nose-diving into the pig slop to spice things up a bit. And as for Taylor, cute and entertaining, though she is, they need to build like a baby jail or something to throw her in! More Lord of the Tykes and less Extreme Makover: Ghost Town Edition would be good for ratings. Ultimately that’s what it boils down to right? Otherwise these kids would be on the news and not on the tube.
I’d love to have a chat with Taylor’s parents. That princess mentality has got to go.
Other than that girl’s major attitude problem I like this show. It’s strange but I can see a bit of myself in Sophia.
DK is the Al Gore of not want power…seem he can change the world with the use of a certain postion..just like the green district…which I could see them in the future headline for all the right reasons.
I try to watch this show but I am just so blinded by Taylor’s huge white teeth….
I hate to say this in fear the mini TV Watch will be abandoned but this particular episode was not very exciting. Maybe better next week.
Did anyone else have a problem with Taylor making fun of Zach’s uni-brown?? Figures. Just like any other bully that age who tries to break YOU down to make THEMSELVES feel better. Ugh that girl.
I agree, during the show several of the kids was on screen and I had no clue who they were!
i am surprised more people are not watchingthis show, my freind with kids says it is one of the only things he lets his 9 year old watch during prime time.
The bruhaha before the show was unwarranted…it is good family fun, and reminds us all how mush smarter kids are then we give them credit for.
I love how they wouldn’t give Taylor her money. Stop giving her food, and make it so you have to check out toilet paper and don’t give her that either. She’d probably shape up in about 30 seconds. The other thing they could do is completely ignore her. Don’t ask her or tell her to do tasks, if she’s in the way of something they’re doing, politely ask her to move and if she won’t, move on to something else. The worse thing you can do to an attention hound is to ignore her.
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