#10. Kid Nation
CBS
It was buried in controversy before it ever aired
and received indifferent ratings once it finally did. But after all the
posturing, this reality show about 40 kids repopulating a ghost town in
New Mexico turns out simply to be an intriguing, even earnest little
show about group dynamics and ethics (free of the usual "voting off the
island" competition). And it is a rare chance, in the age of
overscheduling and helicopter parents, to see kids thriving and risking
without the constant involvement of adults. Except for the ones holding
the cameras.