Kid Nation: Begin the Splendor

As a rule, I really don't have much use for the reality show genre, with the exceptions of "On the Lot" of the audition round of "American Idol".  But tonight's debut of "Kid Nation" can only be descibed as the most anticipated television event since last Thursday.

First impressions, 10 minutes in:

• I really dislike that they've pre-ordained an incumbent "town council" of learned kids (especially given that one of them thinks the Mahatma was one of only three adults in history to do "a good job").  I'd've rather seen them just let the chips fall where they may, in true Lord of the Flies fashion - inviting the power vacuum to fill itself.  That being said, they did hint at the possibility of overthrow, so that's something to look forward to.
• My early favorite is the town youngster Jimmy, age 8.  Notwisthstanding his prediction that "I think I'm gonna die out here" on the bus en route to the drop-off point, I sense greatness in this one.

Previously:  Lord Of the Flies: The Reality Show!

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Update:  Councilwoman Taylor, age 10, is already threatening to quit, on account of homesickness.  If Jimmy doesn't overthrow her by episode 3, I'll be disappointed.

Councilman, Mike, age 11, appears to have a bit more of an instinctive leadership drive, but his tearful breakdown seems to have squandered his opportunity to take hold of the day-2 pancacke shortage crisis.  (Jimmy has also declared his disdain for Mike, which all but writes him off in my book.)  Councilman and Ghandi fan Anjay, age 12, has quickly cemented his identity as the guy who yells and is soundly ignored.

Out of nowhere, town elder Michael, age 14, won himself a mess hall ovation and a vital vote of collective confidence after taking control of the pancake crisis.

Aw, Jimmy.  We've just witnessed the golden boy suffering a tearful breakdown.  Well, he is 8, after all.  At least he had the good sense to sequester himself to a secluded area before letting go.  Councilwoman Laurel, age 12, was the only one to see Jimmy in his moment of weakness.  She's offered to take him under her wing, which is sweet (and perhaps indicative of a strong eye for talent), but if I were Jimmy, I'd hold off on hitching my wagon to that star.  She seems genuine enough in her overture though.

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Redemption:  During the first pow-wow with the producers, the only-mildly-creepy chaperone asked Jimmy how he was getting on.  Town elder Greg, age 15, then publicly asked Jimmy how he'd "like to be [his] new wingman."  Standing toward the front of the crowd, Jimmy turned and asked, "Who is it?"  Greg: "Gregory."  Jimmy:  "No."  Crowd: [raucous laughter].

Jimmy's judgment is spot on.  Get a load of Greg in his indoor winter hat and his ratty hairdo and his awkward-years faux-confident smirk.  Would you be this kid's "wingman"?

Neither would Jimmy.

Hey, Greg, Jimbo Jones called.  He wants the whole package back.

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The Gold Star:  The weekly prize (worth $20,000 in Bonanza fun bucks) is a gold star, to be bestowed at the discretion of the fledgling puppet regime that is the town council.  Heading into the last commercial break, they appear to be deliberating between Sophia, age 14, for her culinary exploits, and Michael, for his early displays of leadership in the face of culinary catastrophe.

Who will it be?

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Here we go - the weekly town meeting.  The parliamentary procedures by which the inevitable council overthrow will ensue are thus laid out:  the townsfolk get to raise hands and objections in response to the failings of their unelected leaders.

Michael had another strong showing with a speech that wasn't entirely cogent, but for a 14-year-old was nonetheless poignant and won him another ovation.

And the chaperone (hereafter Uncle Ted) asks who might like to go home.  Ah, Jimmy, no.  The Chosen One's hand shot up before Uncle Ted's question was even out of his mouth.  The townspeople protest, noting correctly that Jimmy's maturity exceeds that of most of his elders.  To no avail.  Jimmy is out.

The council now briefly convenes... Laurel steps forward to bestow the Gold Star unto... Sophia!

And now the twist.  The $20,000 aren't fun bucks.  They're for-real bucks.  Sophia just won her parents 20 large.  Wowsers.  The town flapjack jock is now the highest paid resident of Bonanza City.

I'm a little ambivalent about the prize.  Yes, $20,000 in legal tender is better than Bonanza scrip, but there ought to be some kind of material game-space reward for winning the periodic prize, beyond whatever cachet the winner might glean for helping to pay the bills back home.  I'm not sure that's enough of a feedback mechanism to influence gameplay toward winning the weekly prize over various game-space goals, like a cot further away from the outhouses, a cushier job, an upper hand in looming power struggles, or the "protection" peddled by Greg's eventual petty crime syndicate.

A fungible game currency could grease any of those wheels.  And watching the gears of capitalism grind to life among minimally supervised minors would be about as compelling as TV gets.

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All in all, a pretty satisfying premiere.  I'm inconsolable about Jimmy's departure, though.  Maybe they'll find a loophole to bring him back - perhaps as an outlaw who rides into town to rustle up the cattle and hold up the root beer saloon.

Meanwhile, the preview for next week indicates Sophia is waging a "campaign against the town council."

I can't wait.

Can someone remind me which level of the inferno is reserved for those who spend an hour each week critiquing frightened children?