TV Barn and TeeVee.net nutshell guide to the Fall 2007 premieres

Kid Nation

Official "Kid Nation" web site

40 kids are left on their own for 40 days in a New Mexico ghost town to form their own society and live by their own rules. Nobody is voted off, and the kids are free to leave when they want to. But they also have the ability to award one of their members a gold star (with about $20K) every few days, so there's some financial incentive to be a part of the tribe. It's the most controversial show of the fall, but based on the amazing five-minute preview CBS showed this spring, it's also potentially the breakout reality hit of the year.

Aaron's take:	The fall's most controversial show could also be the most sensational reality show since "Joe Millionaire." The five-minute preview has left people both excited about what looks like a surprisingly gripping show -- and uneasy about what looks like an exploitation-fest. (The news reports about possible child labor violations and the kids treated for bleach poisoning didn't help.) But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't planning to watch this one live.
When It’s On	Wednesdays at 8/7 Central, CBS
When It Starts	Wednesday, September 19
What It’s Up Against	Pushing Daisies (ABC), Deal or No Deal (NBC), Back to You/Til Death (Fox), Top Model (CW)
Cliche-o-Meter	Fish out of Water
Fandom Factor	Hot

Full Review

Easily the most controversial new show of the fall, "Kid Nation," a 13-week reality show about 40 kids left more or less on their own for 40 days and nights to form their own society, is also the fall's most intriguing network offering. Like Olive, the chubby preteen who performs a striptease to Rick James' "Superfreak" in "Little Miss Sunshine," some will find "Kid Nation" appalling, but most will understand that it's just entertainment. CBS sets the bar high for its reality fare, and we'll have to see more than the five-minute cutdown that's been showing all summer at CBS.com to know if this show can aspire to the heights of "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." But it sure looks a lot classier than, say, "Big Brother," and has the potential to be one of the most DVR-worthy shows of the fall. That's because the producers, which include Tom Forman of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" renown, seem to have done a terrific job conceptualizing and casting their televised social experiment. The kids, ages eight to 15, really get into it. They elect a town council, debate hot-topic issues of the day, and award a gold star (worth $20,000) every few days to the town's citizen-of-the-week. And the host, Jonathan Karsh, insisted to me this summer that adults rarely intevened, once when a kid burned herself with grease (the subject of a subsequent lawsuit), and that while any contestant could leave at anytime, the overall mood in Bonanza City -- the former ghost town turned movie ranch where "Kid Nation" was shot -- is that the kids wanted their nation to never end.--A.B.