LAST EDITED ON 12-13-07 AT 02:17 PM (EST)I started watching KN with some of the same trepidation expressed by many others, but for some reason, the show kind of grew on me. (Sophia, Zach, Jared, Alex, Migle, et al were just marvelous!)
However, I still have some things rattleing around my brainpan...
The idea of the Town Council awarding the Gold Stars with the full knowledge that they're worth $20K. Way too much pressure to put on these kids. They could still have made the choices, but don't reveal the money factor until the finale.
Way too much stuff was obviously staged by the producers. Some conflicts were inevitiable, to be sure, but setting up confrontations just to have confrontations is just wrong. I was also very concerned with the way the 'saloon' was set up, mimiking an adult establishment (complete with 'doing shots' and 'swilling rootbeer') only serves to teach that substance abuse solves problems or is acceptible behavior.
Come on now, "let's bring the chickens in to sleep with us!"?
Howcome so much was made over the rewards -- but then we never saw anything of them the following weeks? (with the singular exception of the port-a-potties... we saw them get blown over) Did the kids use the religous library? What about the laundry?
Most distrubing from the finale was the post-fire riot/looting. Really -- from what we saw throughout the show's run, these kids all had common sense and a genuine ethic that wouldn't have them set off on instant mayhem. Stuffing their faces to the bursting point, needlessly dumping candy on the floor, grabbing the buffalo nickles from the register... not my idea of entertainment.
My last point -- as others have said -- those final Mega Stars should have been voted on by the whole town -- with the reveal of the $50K value after the election.
Sharnina’s Gift