Kid Nation: I Just Like The Recess Part
What an amusing Kid Nation this week! Taylor was back to her old self again, the town found out that studying pays off, and a deserving kid finally gets a gold star.
Taylor really got the ball rolling in this latest episode which began on day 31. Her and Kelsey were playing with their favorite chickens, the brown ones, and making fun of the ugly chickens. Taylor says that all ugly animals should die and that ugly people can put on makeup and look pretty but chickens can't do that. She said she even did that to her dog before. So is she meaning her dog is ugly? Well Sophia approached Greg about killing 10 chickens for eating and when Greg when to the coop to get the chickens, he started taking the brown ones. Emilie (our little PETA activist in training) ran to get Taylor and when Taylor saw the chickens that Greg had gathered, she exploded.
Luckily, Sophia stepped in and mediated the whole matter. It was decided that Taylor and her friends could pick the 10 chickens going to slaughter. She chose to sacrifice the ugly chickens. After the killings, Taylor told her precious brown chicken that she wouldn't be eating him but would be eating his brothers and sisters. Then she yelled out in the middle of town that ugly chickens deserve to die! That girl is a mess I tell you.
Day 32 began with Alex, Jared, and Anjay discussing pi and extraterrestrial life on Mars. I'm sure they're a hoot at parties. That set up the "town council reads the journal" segment. Of course, it told them that the town should study up on the history of Bonanza City and there was even a history book for every single district! How did they know back then that they would need to leave four books for future residents? I know, I know, but it's still funny. When the council told the town that they would be having to study, it was met with quite a lack of enthusiasm. Taylor, of course, was one of the more outspoken kids yelling out that she hates school and reading. It was funny though when you heard other kids respond back to her with, "Deal with it!" Jared received another little sound bite highlight with, "Education is the root of civilization." He cracks me up.
While each of the districts were studying in their bunkhouses, Taylor and Leila decided they weren't going to study and went to be with their little brown friends in the chicken coop. The district leaders went to go and get them and told them they wouldn't get to take part in the reward if they won it. That was all Leila needed to hear before she changed her mind about studying. Taylor wasn't as receptive. She said she was going to do what she wants to do and they told her that she's out of the reward then.
At the showdown, the grownup was told that Taylor didn't study and wouldn't get any of the reward after he asked how their studying went. Poor little Taylor. The showdown is a pop quiz. He will ask them questions about things that were in their history books, they'll be presented a choice of three answers that are on balloons, the teams have to use a slingshot to pop the wrong answers, and the first team for each question to answer correctly will receive one point. The first team to three points will win upper class. To win reward, there must be enough ammo leftover from using their slingshots to fill a glass jar.
It was a pretty cool challenge and the teams seemed to have a good time with it. Migle and Hunter did really well and showed off their slingshot skills for their teams. The green team was the first team to reach three points and won upper class. Blue became the merchant class, yellow are the cooks, and the red team are the town's laborers. Time to see if they get the reward aaaannndd they got it! When presented with their choices, it was a no-brainer considering they only had eight days left. The town council had to choose between a town library or a video game arcade. They chose the arcade of course! Taylor kept hoping they would choose the library since she wouldn't be able to partake in the reward so she was upset when they picked the arcade.
On day 33, the town council told the kids that before they could go into the arcade the dishes needed to be done. Taylor was specifically told that if she started working hard then maybe she would get to play some games. The green team took off to the arcade (upper class remember?) and what a setup they were presented with. Air hockey, a pool table, tons of video games, and even cards. Sophia, ever the snob, decided to buy the remaining books in the town store and made a library in a teepee. Hmmm. The red team went to take care of the water supply but it wasn't too long before Jared and Mike left them hanging to go play in the arcade. I don't know about you, but I was kinda taken aback by that. Taylor had a change of heart and decided to conquer the mountain of dishes that needed to be washed. She seemed to have spent most of the day on them. Hunter decided not to spend his entire day in the arcade and chose to help Taylor out since he thought she was working hard. When Greg noticed the dishes that were completed, he told her she could go play and carried her into the arcade. Everybody's happy now.
When Sophia woke up on day 34, she found the town deserted. Everybody was still playing in the arcade and nobody had begun cooking breakfast. She went to go get Blaine (leader of the cooks) to tell him she needed his help cooking for 37 kids but he was busy. He had money on an important pool game that needed to be finished. Even DK began doubting their decision to choose the arcade. He said the town was abusing their privileges and he was frustrated.
At the town hall meeting, the grownup asked if everybody loved the arcade. Sophia, DK, and some other kid were the only ones that didn't like it and the town council came to the decision that they would padlock the arcade. When everybody's work was done, then it would be unlocked. Sophia was picked as the sheriff and would oversee everybody's chores. Mike wasn't very happy with that. This week, the town council decided to give the gold star to a really hard worker. Guess who. It's Hunter! He said he'd give most of the money to his dad who had lost his job a year ago and went to call his family. Of course, they were happy to hear from him and very proud of him for winning the money.
To close out the show, Jared snuck into the arcade to play one final game before it was locked up and then snuck back out. He acted like a little junkie or something. It was quite cute actually. Also cute was the clip of Taylor and Leila sitting with their chickens. Leila told Taylor that either her breath or her chicken smelled. Next week, Sophia stakes out a claim of land and the town council leaves and puts her in charge. That should be interesting.
What did you think about this week's episode? Would you be embarrassed or proud to have Taylor act the way she does? Would you have chosen the arcade over the library?
Categories
Kid Nation11 Comments
Leave a comment
Official Sites
About HamsterDame
During the Big Brother season you can also find me blogging over at Silly Hamsters.
BEWARE: I post spoilers!
Best part of the episode..
Leila: That chicken stinks.
Taylor: No it doesn't.
Leila: Well, it's either your breath or that chicken.
I just wanted to point out that one of the games they got in the archade appeared to be the original 'Gauntlet' a game I spent about thirty bucks on this one time... at band camp. (I swear to God, yes I played that game at band camp... 21 years ago)
Anyhow, Jared continues to crack me up. Sneaking in to play Dance Revolution and babling about fossilized bacteria from Mars. Jared, you're my main man, but they proved that theory to be false.
The arcade was the logical choice considering there were 8 days left. Killing ten chickens was logical considering there were 8 days left.
Do we think the cleaning of the dishes was a maturation point for Taylor?
Here's the thing I would like to say to Taylor about her attitude towards school: Um... hello it's called the Miss America Scholarship Program. Don't most of the finalists for Miss America these days graduate students? I seem to recall a few years ago that one of the finalists, Miss Wisconsin, was 22 years old and already finished with Medical School.
A also wanted to add that I don't understand why Sofia was so concerned about cooking breakfast for the whole town while they played in the arcade. If I were her, I would have cooked for myself and said to hell with everyone else.
I'm looking forward to Sofia being the town Sheriff. They've needed one since the begining.
I'm a huge fan of books, but I thought they made the right choice in choosing the arcade. It was the easy decision considering they might as well have some fun in their last few days!
I hope that Jared gets punished for sneaking a game in when he shouldn't, but I doubt he got caught. I didn't appreciate when he used his time to make money before when he was a laborer. I was also disappointed that Mike joined in on that one too.
Blaine really made me made. No wonder the yellow district is so lazy, they've had 3 leaders that join in on the laziness.
It'll be fun watching Sophia in charge next week. She's just funny.
Ok, first off, the obvious. Taylor is a spoiled little brat. She is clearly used to getting her own way ALL the time (how many times did she tell someone "you can't tell me what to do"?). Yes, she spent a few hours doing dishes. Do we think she's changed? Um, no. She wanted to play in the arcade.
Secondly, it will be interesting to see what Sofia ("I'm a 30-year-old trapped in a 14-year-old's body") does with this new responsibility. Yes, she does a lot of work around town, and yes, she can sometimes be diplomatic. However, she is ALWAYS the first one to complain about what someone else is doing - whether it's complaining about what the council is/isn't doing, or complaining to the council about what other people are/aren't doing. Notice, she never once stepped up to run for council and help guide the town; she just wants to tell everyone else when they're not doing it right.
And Jared rocks :) He's completely nuts, of course, but in an adorable, entertaining way. And HD, you're right - at the end, he did seem like a junkie needing his DDR fix!!! Heeeeeeee.
Anyone who watches even a little bit of "reality" tv quickly comes to understand that all of the shows are cast with certain "characters" in mind. Editing usually takes care of seeing that the person who was cast as a villian, or a hard worker, or a spoiled brat etc. lives up to their reputation. I've come to believe that often, the participants are also "coached" how to act and what to say. Well, why wouldn't they be? The networks objective is to get people to watch--would they really leave it up to chance that something good would occur naturally?
So as I have watched all the Taylor drama unfold over the weeks, I also began to wonder just how much was really "her" and how much was the producer's hand in it. It might seem farfetched to suggest, but she could have been told to act like the biggest brat possible, in keeping with the whole "beauty queen goes berserk" segments. Her behavior just seems too over the top for me to believe that any child is this spoiled and rude. I also read on another site, where a friend of the family said how sweet and nice she really was, which seems to support my theory. Haha. Who knows--on "reality" TV anything goes, right? What do you think HD?
This show can be so fun, although it is tough to watch Taylor. She is such a spoiled brat. Her parents should be ashamed of themselves. Obviously, she is their "little darling" who is being brought up to feel entitled -- she shouldn't have to work for anything, she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to, she, she, she. Yuck, what a pukey kid.
Jared is a stitch. Just a fun quirky kid, who really doesn't seem to do harm to anyone.
I think the challenge this week was a good one, but there sure was enough Ammo to make sure they won the prize this week. And yup, I agree, good prize choice, and a good lesson that came of it also. They learned that they need to manage their time better and set priorities.
I suspect that Sophia is going to have a tough week next week being in charge. She will probably find out it is a lot harder to lead, than to point out "failings" from behind the scenes. Should be interesting.
I agree with you Julia. The producers definitely make sure that the editing suits the needs of the show. Sometimes though, no matter how you edit things it seems the real person comes through and there's nothing they can do about it except to take advantage of it. Look at Dick on Big Brother this last season. They tried to make him out to be a softy at the beginning of the season but they had to abandon that and show him for the ass he was behaving like.
I think the same thing's going on with Taylor. I believe she probably is a spoiled little brat and is used to getting her way. In real life, I'm sure she's nice when she needs to be because she knows (and has been taught) that's how she can manipulate others -- it's not because she's a genuinely nice little kid.
She knows exactly what she's doing. LOL
You could be right HD. But more and more, I'm inclined to believe she is just a "plant," i.e., she was planted on the show for the drama, and perhaps even offered money to do outrageous things. (conspiracy theory, LOL). I'm thinking of when she purposely dumped out the buckets of water and then said something like, "oops, my bad." I don't know any kids in real life who would be so bratty, so it's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that she just might be this way in real life. In any case, the producers and editors are certainly milking the "princess" angle.
I think Taylor is 90% real, 10% acting.
This kind of kid is all too common these days. Like the five-year-old the in the restuarant last night screaming "I want Apple Juice" while his mother was telling him they didn't have it and he could have anything else. Why was she even discussing it with him? Why wasn't he i the parking lot getting spanked?
I bet Taylor has never even had her hands slapped.
To EricC regarding Jared and Mars: You realize he's a kid, correct? I think we can give him a bit of slack on not being updated about a bacteria theory. :)
I watch this show with my kid and he can't stand Taylor. He's convinced that when she gets home she's going to be in big trouble for acting like such a diva. My opinion is that her parents have contributed to that little attitude, and that she won't.
Hunter: What an awesome little dude, but I feel like he's growing up too fast. Wants to be an adult. Needs to enjoy life a little bit more. Very serious kid.
Sofia cracks me up. I've a feeling we're going to see a dark side of her next week. Drunk with power and whatnot.
There were 40 kids on the show. It's too bad we don't get to see more about all of them.
I believe Taylor is acting the way she is b/c she knows how the industry works. Like GB said there are 40 kids Taylor is making sure she gets air time.