ben12

And how convenient that one of the kids is an experienced butcher! Lame. They didn't even make the kids confront what they were actually doing. Instead they had someone kill the chicken cleanly (and not in the way the chickens they usually eat are killed) without any messiness beyond the actual death itself.

wewantflair

I thought it was an excellent way of showcasing true American diversity (not the watered-down PC kind) to the masses. There are real kids out there who lay pipe, butcher livestock, tend animals, cook, and do hard labor.

I'm also amused by their choices in management: kids who have strong personalities but few real-world skills, who hold petty grudges and make self-serving decisions, pretty much like any manager in the "real world."

Giving Michael the star was a catastrophic move. No matter what they did, they weren't going to lose his support. He is the one person who can actually unite the kids in their favor. Instead, they chose to alienate the one kid who has the potential to become their Jack Merridew.

Ep. 2 was a distinct improvement over Ep. 1.

jeffkjoe

I seriously doubt that most 8-10 year old kids realize that beans and eggs are the source of protein. You gotta cut these kids more slack.

CPA-ESQ.

I think I am out - I was watching this last night and thought to myself "I could care less about the problems of 8yr olds"

The show seems very "directionally scripted" - each week the producers will force the group to make one major choice (kill for food, elections, leaders, social structure, etc)

If I had kids - I think it would be a good show to watch as a family. For the record I loved the show last week - but these kids should be starving and 2 chickens don't feed all those people - I eat a full roasted chicken for dinner.

mrpayroll

Now why would kids this age know that there is actually protein in those items, especially when it looks like the cans are only labelled with the names of the food it contains. I didn't see any nutrition labels on the cans!

Chris

Jim

It really is. Our kids are in the younger half of the age range on the show and they love the show. It's quickly become their favorite. They've been Survivor fans for several years, but Kid Nation is now their favorite because they can relate to kids their own age so much more.

Michael was a very deserving winner of the gold star. I agree with not giving it to Greg (is that the right name, the older guy?). He needs to prove he has a good attitude for more than just a couple of days.

mrpayroll

Actually, it was the 15 year old and he was perfectly comfortable doing the deed as he had done it many times before.

And we only need to go back about a 100 years or so and this was common place for kids these ages. But I must admit, I was a little squeemish watching this segment, but it was educational!

Chris

Jim

Kids are learning about the food pyramid and nutrition in school very early on, like 1st or 2nd grade. I bet some of them have also watched Survivor where people are always saying they need to get protein. While it's possible a producer may have whispered in someone's ear about needing protein, it's also conceivable that they knew about that based on the aforementioned reasons.

mrpayroll

Which should make the next couple of weeks very interesting. There will be conflicts and maybe a change at the top because of this. The young girl Taylor (?) on the council is a little spoiled and lazy and will probably be booted off the council in the next couple of weeks.

She's got a big mouth, but no skills to back it up.

Chris

Jim

That guy hasn't always been very likeable on the show so far, but he was very respectful when they killed the chicken. One of the council leaders was cracking jokes about it that were kind of uncomfortable, but the older kid respectfully showed the other kids what was going to be done in a very matter-of-fact manner with no joking. I was very impressed with that.

mrpayroll

Well, I was just trying to hide the fact that I didn't even know that beans and eggs were high in protein. I knew that chicken and fish were, but not the others. I haven't bought a can of bean in years and I usually don't eat eggs!

Chris

ben12

Because they teach you the "four food groups" in first grade, and beans and eggs are always included in the meat/protein group.

ben12

How do you think the protein gets into the muscles of the chicken and fish you eat? You think they just make it themselves? No, they get it from the food (plants) they eat. The chicks are getting their protein from the fucking CORN they're feeding them.

The kids are even stupider for thinking that they'd even get much protein from 1/20th of a scrawny chicken. Should I not expect 8-10 year olds to be able to do division either?

ben12

And now they're all going to go home thinking the chickens they normally eat die an equally quick and calm death when that's not the case at all.

mrpayroll

Wow, thank you for the lesson!

If these kids are getting on your nerves so much, as your doctor, I recommend that you refrain from watching this show!

Chris

mrpayroll

Please teach me the truth on all of this. Why wouldn't beheading the chicken be the way that chickens are killed these days?

Chris

ben12

Uh... because it's not? And they suffer a lot more before they're killed.

http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens_flesh.asp

ben12

I probably will stop watching the show. Most of my frustration comes from seeing a good idea wasted, so they can make another Survivor-style game show.

mrpayroll

In this I agree with you. I was disappointed when the show took a 'Survivor' like direction last week. But I guess the producers wanted to play it safe and keep the format the same as people are used to.

Chris

C-Mart

Personally I thought it was very good. I am glad that they gave the star to Michael.

I am kind of surprised by the antics of some of the kids, especially Taylor, who is a council member and should be setting a better example.

I thought the little girl that was going to leave because of the chicken thing had an interesting quote: "When my mom told me to come here, she told me to be a real cowgirl, and that's what I am going to be."... It sounds like she didn't want to do it, but her parents forced her to... ahh, mommy's little paycheck goes to camp!

Question... did they know who was getting the gold star and get a camera over to their house before the call was made? Or did they re-film the parent's end of the conversation after the fact? Last nights mom seemed to be not very excited or emotional about the call, like if she had to re-enact it.

mrpayroll

Unfortunately in a world where there are billions of people to be fed and where money is the bottom line, suffering like this will continue to happen to chickens, cows, pigs, etc.

The days of small farms feeding the people are long gone.

Over the years I have started to eat more chicken than meat, because it's healthier for me, plus I like the taste better.

I'm sorry for the suffering that these animals have to go thru, but God put these animals on the earth for one reason only, to feed humans. And sometimes for companionship.

Chris

mrpayroll

I was wondering that too.

I believe that him getting the key and him making the call are probably hours apart. It then gives time for a camera crew to make it over to the parents house. They probably only tell the parents to expect a call from their child, not what it is about. Just speculation.

Chris

mrpayroll

So, Kid Nations viewers are down about 1 1/2M from last weeks premiere:

3. “Kid Nation” (CBS) 7.61m

But last week it didn't go up against Dancing with the Stars result show, which was # 1 for the night.

Next week it goes up against Pushing Daisies, so it will be a better indication as to whether this show will make it thru the whole season.

Chris

C-Mart

I could understand that if everyone was pretty local... but I can't imagine private jets standing by for the film crew every 3 days to travel across the country.

mrpayroll

Well, the producers probably know before the actual vote is read and the conversing between the council members is just for tv. But these families are spread across the country and I'm sure CBS has camera crews in every major city on call.

Chris