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‘Kid Nation’ — child abuse as entertainment?
It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but “Kid Nation,” the new CBS reality series that placed 40 children in the New Mexico desert to build a society without contact with their parents for 40 days, is boiling into a nasty controversy.
Charges of child abuse and violation of child labor laws have been surfacing for months, but with the Sept. 19 premiere of the series approaching, the controversy is heating to the point where some people wonder if the show will actually get on the fall schedule.
Filmed in a deserted town near Santa Fe, the series has been criticized from the get-go by state officials there, who claim the production violated child labor and welfare laws because the kids were filmed 24/7 under harsh conditions.
Not surprisingly, there were physical and emotional injuries along the way. A 12-year-old girl from Georgia suffered facial burns while cooking, and several scrapes and even a broken bone were reported. A few kids, who ranged in age from 8 to 14, took advantage of the option to leave because they were so upset by conditions in the camp.
CBS issued a statement to the New York Times on Tuesday:
“These kids were in good hands and under good care with procedures and safety structures that arguably rival or surpass any school or camp in the country.”
The kids and their parents signed contracts stating they would not discuss the filming for three years after the show airs (a $5 million penalty is in place), and the children signed away “rights to their life stories in perpetuity.”
A stipend of $5,000 for those who stuck it out seems paltry compared with the unhappy circumstances that unfolded. Since all participants were minors, the question that should be raised here, besides where is CBS’s sense of shame, is WHAT THE HECK WERE THE PARENTS THINKING?
‘High School Musical 2’ — once more with feeling
An encore presentation of the record-setting movie musical “High School Musical 2” will air tonight at 7 on the Disney Channel.
The movie debuted last Friday after months of breathless anticipation and became the most-watched basic cable telecast of all time in total viewers (17.2 million) and kids 6-11 (6.1 million) and the most-watched entertainment program ever among tweens 9-14 (5.9 million).
Over the weekend, “High School Musical 2” delivered 33.1 million total viewers for the three telecasts that aired Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Oh, and one more thing: the soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
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