"Kid Nation" Is No MoreRemember "Kid Nation?"
It was only the cause celebre of the '07-'08 season, with endless stories written about, and over which countless calls were made by reporters to child welfare services in New Mexico, state investigation panels convened, and critics so exercised by the possible legal and moral ramifications of it all that they lost sleep AND weight (often at the same time.)
It was quite a show.
Anyway, it's dead.
Or almost certainly dead - or like that soap that's 99.999 percent pure - it's 99.999 percent dead.
CBS announced its '08-09 returning shows last night, and "Kid" was not amongst the living. Here's the complete list, and no major surprises: "Cold Case," "Criminal Minds," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY," "Ghost Whisperer," "NCIS," "Numb3rs," "Two and a Half Men," "Without a Trace," "The Big Bang Theory." Of the reality crew, CBS had already announced that '"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" were back.
I emailed CBS's laudatory primetime press man, Phil Gonzales, about the unfortunate state of affairs with regards "Kid Nation." He wrote back: "Other than the shows that we just announced as renewed, no final decisions have been made on any shows for next year. We just ordered 4 more post-strike originals for 'Moonlight' and 'Jericho' is in 'Cane’s' time period for now."
Phil is just too polite to say it, so I'll say it for him:
"Kid Nation" is dead.
Without "Kid Nation" to kick around, what will give critics exercise this fall? (They'll have to go out and run around the block, I guess.) At least they'll get some sleep.
And - I'm glad you asked - what about "Cane." Again, I think this announcement pretty much says it all. It too is gone. That's a bummer - especially for Jimmy Smits fans. But here's the silver lining: This means that the splendid Nestor Carbonell - who just happens to be one of my favorite actors in the solar system - will get to return to "Lost" where he can complete his great and never-aging portrayal of Richard.
Yes, "Others" dude Richard Alpert with 99.999 percent certainty WILL be back and that's the best news today.
http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/2008/02/kid_nation_is_no_more.html
