A is for ADORable
A is for ADORable by Roxanne McDonald
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The previews didn’t do justice to the exceptional “Kid Nation” kids. |
All I could think watching the previews for “Kid Nation” was how this was one reality show primed for a litany of
lawsuits at worst and a prime time bust at best. And I hadn’t even bothered to read up on the controversy (over the child labor laws, the opinions that CBS was using 40 kids for entertainment fodder, etc., etc.)—so sure was I that I wouldn’t have “Kid Nation” on my must-see line-up.
But oh how I must retract.
First, I, uh, don’t care for kids so much. As long as they aren’t mine, though, I can try and muster up some appreciation for them being an inevitably to keep the human race going, for how precious a gift they are, how remarkable they can be, etc., etc.—just keep them away from me.
Next, what with the careful foreshadowing of the host saying how “Kid Nation” started/starts as a kind of Lord of the Flies, I was less than eager to occupy a whole Wednesday night hour on spoiled, precocious little savages with bottom line kid-cruel motivations.
But oh, oh, oh, how extraordinary are these little imps, pointing to the likelihood of somewhere out there are just that many times two extraordinary parents.
Mike, 11, is sensitive, kind, thoughtful, and sharp—a geek in progress who has spunk and sparkle that challenges the geek definition, really. He is, to keep to the cliché, older than his age, genuine about being a good and true leader, and even shows some intestinal fortitude when it comes to being challenged to a stare-down contest with one of the oldest and cockiest of kids in the group.
Precious Jimmy is the youngest [eight] and so homesick he lets the sobs rip as he tells the cams he is way too young for such a challenge. But two other kids—Cody and Campbell–engage him in rabbit-chasing and then encourage him that if here he is rabbit-hunting with ten-year-olds, he should be proud as heck.
Even more endearing is when he is outed at a group meeting, asked by one of the more bullish and oldest of
the boys if he wants to be his new wingman, and without turning around asks who is speaking: when the big brat says, “Greg,” Jimmy just snaps, “No.”
Equally endearing is when Sophia [fifteen] walks alongside Jimmy and acknowledges the homesickness is due to his having no one to tuck him in at night and all, and tells him to please allow her to be his surrogate parents for awhile…, just until he feels better.
Taylor is absolutely, stunningly adorable. She, too, is homesick, but improves with her involvement with challenges and with chores, explaining in an articulate and intelligent way how pleased she is she is in a clan that is made up of the youngest kids yet made third place in the town status-ranking challenge.
While surprised that all the kids are amazing, and while feeling I couldn’t get enough of the impressive dynamics of “Kid Nation”, I was most blown away by the most likeable, huggable, okay-I-would-adopt-you delightful town narrator, editorializing comic, and in-front-of-camera career personality in the making Jared.
This is the little genius who would happily preoccupy himself with the dynamics of the leaves floating on the water’s surface in the rain barrel if there was nothing better to do or if all the others were embroiled in conflict. This is the kid who will give you the candid goods, the backstory, the front story, and the rationale for all of the above…, all the while making light of his utterly innocent, visceral appreciation of everything from the addition of outhouses to the ability to purchase a half-pound hunk of chocolate or Shakespeare for a dime. He opts for the chocolate, which is about as big as his head, and looks at us and says, “Mmm. Yum, yum, yum,” a few moments after proselytizing on the interpersonal politics of the townthe kids are re-building.
What a character. My hands-down fav. And, again, I, er, don’t even like kids.
And besides the general likeability of the adult host and the freshness of the premise of the show as a reality one with the reality format, the sets, especially for the candy store, the kid saloon, and the dry goods store [part of candy/grocery store], are so fantastic that even a non-Western motif-loving viewer can appreciate the magic.
If the number of times this particular viewer, this reality TV fanatic, gushed, giggled, guffawed and awwwed is any indication of the response to the premiere episode in general, “Kid Nation” is going to hit the top of the charts for best, must-see, award-winning television.
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