''Kid Nation'': Down for the Council

The Campaign — Electorate Edition:

In which we finally met Markelle only to discover that he's Karl Rove, minus the subtlety. Ripping posters down? Pogo-sticking them into pulpy submission? That's illegal anywhere outside the city limits of Bonanza, hon — not to mention dirty pool. And for the love of God and electoral reform, did it not occur to you that picking on little girls might result in at least one backlash vote for Taylor? Think, son! [And sorry for mistaking your gender in my first draft.]

The Campaign — Candidate Edition:

Laurel: Nice, putting together a party machine that Tammany Hall would envy, then managing to come out looking squeaky-clean, to boot. Didn't think she had it in her. Liked it better that way.

Anjay: How, how, how did he keep his seat? Up until now he's seemed a benign, if ineffective, leader. But for the first time this kid had me hoping there was a nice, kindly therapist skulking off camera somewhere. He went all extra Charlie Brown to Olivia's Lucy, as she baited and manipulated him into one tizzy after another. His explosion of ''Shut up!'' was about the most literal translation of ''Good grief!'' ever uttered by a non-cartoon.

Mike, duuuuuuuude. Losing in a landslide to someone the producers didn't even think was all that important to edit into the show before? Harsh! If you wanna cry, baby, then you cry. We understand.

All in all though, what needed to happen happened, and Bonanza City looks like it might finally be in good hands. Which makes what I have to say now marginally less sucky: This is the last official TV Watch on Kid Nation. I know! I'm sorry! It's not you, it's me. And by ''me,'' I mean the ratings. We have to face the facts that there just aren't that many people tuning in to this show besides us. I'll keep watching, though, and if anything major happens, I'll jump on it in PopWatch. Promise.

So, for the last time, thanks for hanging with me, TV Watchers. What's on your minds?