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Kid Nation: Where's Bonanza, Dude?
by Jackie Schnoop, posted Dec 5th 2007 11:02PM
(S01E12) Oh, my. The time is really getting down there for the kiddie pioneers of Kid Nation. Next week is the season finale. So many deserving kids, so many kids who are mere faces in the crowd. Who will get the last few gold stars? Brains? Brawn? Need? Greed? What will be the criteria?Well, they're kids, so it's hard to say. But one thing is for sure, they'll be steered by the invisible adults in the background all the way to the decision. For me, that's been the nagging flaw of the show -- the amount of adult intervention. But the most enjoyable aspect of the show is getting to know the children themselves.
The little kids are the ones I enjoy the most. Jared, with his crooked glasses and often odd headgear, spouting Shakespeare and quantum theories. Alex with his snaggly tooth and more knowledge of science than I had as a college senior. Even Zach, only ten years old, yet compassionate and wise beyond his years. Heck, even tonight Taylor showed a bit of maturity. Maybe there's hope after all, eh?
Last week the district leaders asked (or told) Sophia that they'd like her to be in charge of the free arcade. Since the arcade was drawing all the kids away from their jobs, something had to be done and she's just the woman for the job.With this week's journal entry, the district leaders had to leave town, thus leaving Sophia totally in charge of the entire town. How convenient was that appointment last week, I ask? I know I've harped on it in the past and I know I'll probably mention it again in next week's finale review, but darn it. A little less obvious adult manipulation of these kids is in order here.
As the district leaders went off to what turned out to be a meeting with some Pueblos, we saw Sophia truly get a chance to shine. No, she wasn't the dictator everyone thought she would become. Yeah, she did make a patch of land "hers" in some sort of bizarre test of the other kids. And, yes ... the kids all of a sudden had to be on that patch. But she went right in being fair, respectful of the others as she got them to do their work, and by setting a good example.
Oh. That's exactly the same thing the Pueblos were teaching Michael, Greg, DK, and Blaine, wasn't it?
Despite the worries of the other kids, the work got completed without issues and the arcade opened for all to enjoy.The kids actually seem to think a lot more of Sophia's leadership than they do of the boys on the town council. One kid mentioned how noisy the boys are and how much they curse. Taylor worked well for Sophia and told her that she hoped Greg got lost and eaten by coyotes.
Now, this was the Greg who carried Taylor over the arcade threshold last week and who feels he's the guiding older brother to all. But the kids can see Greg's mood swings. I think Sophia's consistency and respect for the others was her ace in the hole.
I got a kick out of Jared and Alex with the bones of the dead cow. When I was young, my brother and I used to visit some cattle bones up in the woods by my grandparents' house. I was about the same age as Alex and Jared. But beside the skull, ribs, and spine .... I couldn't tell a femur from a mandible at that age. I never could have come up with Jared's classic Jared line of the night. "Pelvis has left the building," Jared said as they hauled some of the bones away.
When showdown time came, the four district leaders -- the brawn of the town -- were still away. So, it just had to be a physical challenge. Of course, make those little guys grunt and sweat.
I wasn't too surprised that Jared rattled the basics of the Homestead Act on which the showdown was loosely based. Or was it Alex? Both of those kids are quirky cutie geniuses.Each district had to dismantle a "house." Then they carried the pieces across a field to rebuild it. Next they had to retrieve their animals -- chickens and an alpaca for each district.
The yellow district is all smaller kids without Blaine, so they had a really rough go of it. But all of the kids gave it their all as if to prove they don't need the bigger kids to do the job well.
Green won upper class (good, they deserve it after so many times as laborers). Red will be the merchants, blue the cooks, and yellow laborers. Oh, gee. Let's see if Taylor will work for her last days in Bonanza City!
What surprised me was that Sophia went for the fun reward rather than the more meaningful one. Hmm. Well, since the monument has already been made, it surely will exist somewhere. I didn't see them bring in a wrecking ball and kill it, did you?
When the district leaders came back to the hot air balloons, I think they had to be surprised at Sophia's choice, too. It's too bad the show didn't give them a chance to take a ride in them even though they didn't partake in the showdown.
From the editing of the show tonight, it was pretty evident that either Alex or Jared would win this week's gold star. But I had forgotten that Zach, a hard worker and outright good kid, hasn't received one yet. I was happy that he went back to confront Greg about laughing at him, and just as pleased that DK spoke up against Greg. Now, Greg has his tender moments, but he should have listened more to the Pueblos. Or, he could just watch Sophia in action when she has power.
I hope there is more than one gold star left in the show. But if there's just one more, I think Zach is probably the most deserving to win it. This week, it wasn't in the cards. It was an Alex win.Jared had put his own name in for it, but seemed happy for his friend. "Maybe I'll win a Nobel Prize. That's gotta be worth five gold stars." Even Zach seemed to support the Alex win.
But who wouldn't be happy for the kid?
The town council decided to shut down the arcade and just spend some time with each other as they get down to the last few days. I was touched when Anjay said the town was the only place he ever seemed to fit in. Aww.
Despite the adult intervention, this is a special lot of kids. I think, for most of them, they have made lifelong friends and will treasure their memories. Me? I'd like to see Jared go for that Nobel Prize!
| Jared | |
|---|---|
| Zach | |
| Migle | |
| Cody | |
| Other -- tell us in comments! |
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