The reception by TV critics has not been great, I think after the August controversy they expected it to be edgier. And in responding to the controversy (charges of child endangerment) CBS was forced to make it clear that the kids weren't really alone. In this context the altruistic ideas some kids have that they are showing the world that they are capable of building and running a society by themselves ring false. But that won't matter, anyway: instead of being voted off, everyone stays (except those who leave due to homesickness) and compete for gold stars worth $20,000 awarded by the "town council". So I expect that the kids' focus will shift and become less altruistic and even more Survivor-like.
I burned out on Survivor after about the third series, but after one episode I find Kid Nation has enough potential to keep me watching. Plus, of course, the kids. I do wish the producers had either filmed later in the year (they started in April) or put the kids on a tropical island, at times they are all bundled up against the cold. I am also a little put off by how brazenly the kids have been manipulated by being divided into a pseudo class-based society in the first episode. But seeing how that turns out is something that will keep me watching.
Official site: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/kid_nation/ (with pics, previews, etc.)
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There are a number of captures out there of episode 1, this is the best I've found. Others have poor video quality and/or cut off the end (it ran 6 minutes past the hour) or don't have the commercials properly cut. It was posted to Usenet a.b.mm and a.b.tv on 23-Sept if you want to get it that way. I intend to add episodes to this post as they become available.
Like this post to see ed2k links [524.99 Mb]Episode 2:
Like this post to see ed2k links [350.13 Mb]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039921/