'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
Comedienne's Second TV Show Canceled This Year
Kid Nation: Starved for Entertainment
by Jackie Schnoop, posted Nov 7th 2007 11:32PM
(S01E08) The kids on Kid Nation are starved for entertainment as we might all be soon. I'm already starved for it during the late night hours.But tonight was a fun night for the most part on the show. My main little man Jared was featured fairly prominently throughout the episode, the kids had some fun, and I even had a few snickers as I watched.
I'd still like to have been a fly on the wall and witnessed how they get the kids on the topic of the journal entry each week separate from the town council leaders visiting the Shack of the Journal. I guess we might never know.
This week the kids, bored to death and instigated by Sophia, all decided to just lay themselves down in the middle of town. Heaven knows I've had plenty of days I've felt like doing that myself only I have a fear of being run over by cars. Or, worse yet, tractor trailer trucks. Or fire engines. But they have no motor vehicles in Bonanza City, at least not ones they tell us about. So I guess it was safe enough. They weren't really playing in traffic.
Lo and behold, the kids are bored and the ever-omniscient Journal from the original town settlers dated 1855 suggested a talent show to the town council members. Once again, we marvel at how those journal writers knew what would fit in so well with the kids more than a century and a half before the kids came to town! It's a miracle, I tell you!Yes, the kids loved the idea and it looked like most of the town signed up to do one act or another. Jared decided he would perform a Shakespeare monologue. Now, I've studied the classics with a focus on Shakespeare at one point. But at the age of eleven, I was more interested in sneaking my mother's copy of Valley of the Dolls. What a neat and intelligent little guy Jared is, isn't he? Greg also did a Shakespeare routine, but his wasn't routine at all.
Mallory's sister Olivia decided she'd perform a stand-up comedy act. At first I thought it an odd choice, but then remembered that Olivia actually has a sardonic dry sort of wit about her. Poor Anjay didn't know what a stand-up comedy routine is, but it sounded scary to him.
But before the talent show would happen, the kids had to go through another showdown to decide what district is in what class standing for the next week.Greg had threatened that he and Blaine would throw a showdown just to get the girls in their district working. Although they were upper class this past week, Greg's really gotten his act together and has been helping others out even though he no longer is after a gold star.
However, when it came to the actual showdown, that didn't happen. Greg and Blaine worked as hard to win as they could. The competition itself was nasty and I'd think a bit unhealthy, too. The town council leaders gave their kids quarters which were used to buy bubblegum in primary colors. Those kids then chewed the gum as quickly as they could and handed it off to the town council leaders who in turn stuck the gum on a gum color-by-number "painting."
Ew. I noticed no one wore gloves. Not that I'm a real mother hen or anything, but I feel the show should have issued the kids rubber gloves for this showdown. At least the Green District finally won a showdown -- their first win ever and they'll get to be the upper class. Blue will be merchants, Red will be the cooks, and Yellow is down to laborers (poor Taylor). For the first time, the kids didn't complete the challenge in time to win reward. It also seemed like not the best reward yet, either. They could paint the town (shades of Tom Sawyer, I say) or have a disco party. But they get neither.
Who cares? They have a talent show ahead of them! But before that, we hear another sad story of homesickness and the show's spotlight shines on a few of the kids we've barely noticed before -- Savannah and Kennedy. They're both from Kentucky, and Savannah is trying to decide whether she wants to go home. Alex and Kennedy both try to console her, but will it work?
Kennedy decided to do her talent show routine in an effort to cheer up Savannah. Donning a pink feather boa and a bird mask, she sang a rap song of her own creation, danced, and generally made a fool of herself. But in a good way, of course. The kids loved her act.Olivia's comedy routine was a bit like I predicted -- rather sardonic and poking fun at herself and others. The kids liked her act much better than I did, but maybe you had to be there. Or, maybe you have to be twelve years-old and sucking down root beer shots to appreciate it.
Jared's Shakespeare monologue went off without a hitch despite his pre-show panicking. After he finished, he declared to us "I wasn't the worst." I hope we'll see him get a gold star on the show someday. He's not the hardest worker, he may not be the most popular kid in town although he's certainly well-liked. He should get the star for being MVP for the viewers or something.
One girl, Kelsy I believe was her name, played the piano so well that Guylan thought Chopin came back from the dead. Again ... what exactly is with these kids? When I was eleven, I don't think I knew Chopin had anything to do with the piano. You could have asked me the top forty and I could've rattled right down the list, but classical music? I don't think I had any interest in that until at least my teenage years.
Ah, but Greg and Blaine had their Shakespeare routine down pat. I don't think we could call their Romeo and Juliet act quite true to the classic. After all, I don't remember Romeo dressed in cowboy garb.But, darn it all, Blaine in drag as Juliet was absolutely priceless! He handled his role with such expertise that he could gain employment easily if Pink Flamingos had a tour. Who woulda thunk it coming from the Greg and Blaine camp?
Not me, but they made me laugh.
Once again, the town council asked for input from all of the kids to help them make their decision regarding the recipient of the gold star. Although Divad once again thought she herself deserved it, most of the kids named either Olivia or Kennedy. I automatically assumed that the winner would be Kennedy because she was spotlighted so much in the episode.
So I wasn't surprised when she won it. I like the kid. As a person who has not been one of the cool kids and possessing my own rather weird persona, kudos for her recognizing and accepting herself for who she is at such a young age.
What did surprise me during the town council meeting was Laurel's singing. Wow. She's better than half of the contestants on American Idol. She sang an acapella version of "Amazing Grace" which absolutely floored me.
A few random bits before I go:
- I caught Taylor following the camera at one point tonight as it panned the room.
- I wonder what the time difference is between events on the show and the confessional segments from individuals. On the show for the main episode doings, the kids are wearing jackets and it's obviously cold. In the confessional segments, the kids are dressed for and shown outside in much warmer weather.
- Greg's chin scrape (or whatever) changes size too much. It's an indicator of very choppy and out of sequence editing.
- There was a very young kid with a blue faux-hawk shown several times tonight. Where did he come from? I never noticed him before.
- It looks like Divad wants to pull a Carrie on the town. Uh-oh.
| Jared | |
|---|---|
| Olivia | |
| Laurel | |
| Kelsy | |
| Blaine and Greg | |
| Kennedy | |
| Other - tell us in comments |
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