Kids Nation, or Lord of the Flies Gone Horribly Wrong

Our good friends at Slate have taken a long, hard look at Kids Nation.

It seems to me that this show could benefit from more William Golding and fewer gold stars; while the concept of a bunch of kids running wild for 40 days is entertaining, watching 40 would-be starlets competing for the praise and adulation of their parents and a few TV execs sounds awful. As Slate points out, however, the kids that were chosen for this show fit squarely in the second category. There's not a Nelson Muntz in sight, which is a shame. A few young ruffians would add a great dynamic to the show, and provide a little chaos; these young parent-pleasers would have to learn how to deal with these bullies; maybe even recruit one or two to keep the others off. Or maybe the young toughs would take over and force all the little goodie-two shoes to do their bidding. The possibilities are truly limitless.

My fear is that without a few elementary school bullies present, this show will never reach what I like to call the "Stop Hitting Yourself Horizon", that magical point where senseless, childlike violence and sub-standard living conditions blossom into something much more.