Do Your Kids Need "Brat Camp"?

Do Your Kids Need Brat Camp?
by Matt Webb Mitovich


Two weeks ago, amid cries of racism and prejudice, ABC abruptly pulled
the welcome mat out from under Welcome to the Neighborhood, a
controversial and as yet unaired reality show in which several, um,
"diverse" clans vied for a house in a coveted community. The
cancelation, while commendable, left ABC with a bit of a
public-relations black eye, and one could understand if the execs
behind the net's next daring unscripted series were given a bit of a
scare by Neighborhood's fate.

Enter Brat Camp, a show which sends nine problem children — and by
"problem children," we mean teens prone to sexual promiscuity, drug
and alcohol addiction, verbal and physical abuse etc. — to SageWalk, a
wilderness camp in Oregon, for possible rehabilitation. Potentially
dicey fare, indeed.

"I never felt any sense that our show was in trouble," Brat Camp
executive producer Allison Grodner tells TV Guide.com. "I happen to
know the people who [produced Welcome to the Neighborhood], so I'm
very sorry that that happened. In the end, maybe somebody will see it.
It's worth seeing; I'll just say that. But Brat Camp is very
different.

"Certainly our show is real — as was the other one — and we deal with
real issues, with heavy issues. But hot-button issues? No," reiterates
Grodner, whose reality résumé includes Big Brother. "The race and
prejudice issues that [Neighborhood] was delving into were hot-button
issues. That's not our show."

Which is not to say that Brat Camp, with its nine hard-to-handle
hellions, won't deliver more than its fair share of eye-openers and
jaw-droppers. (It should be noted that the series carries a TV-14, L —
for language — rating.) "These kids wouldn't be in a camp like this if
they were just being 'brats.' There's a lot more to it," says Grodner.
"Their parents are at their wits' end, and this is the last option for
these families who have tried a lot of things."

There is no cash prize at the end of Brat Camp. No torches to be
snuffed or roses to be handed out. No recording contracts. The only
winners are the kids who elect to choose the right path. "This is not
a game. There are light moments, as there are heavy moments, but these
are serious issues. This show is truthful and honest and raw. People
will be shocked."

Nine kids, with nine sets of inner demons to overcome. Can viewers
expect nine happy endings? "This is a real show, so there are
absolutely no guarantees," insists Grodner. "These are [problems] that
sometimes take a lot more time than 60-plus days in the wilderness [to
resolve]. I will tell you that there are some incredibly dramatic
turnarounds — but maybe not for everyone."

But if all goes as wished, Brat Camp will help many more families than
the nine featured on the program. "What we always hope with a show
like this is that it makes an impression on the audience and helps
people find help and learn from it," says Grodner. "If we can touch
other lives, that's amazing."

Brat Camp's two-hour premiere airs tomorrow night at 8 pm/ET on ABC.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/insider/050712b.asp


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"I don't feel the need to be famous. It's all bull**** anyway....Having people around me just because I'm famous makes me feel really bad about myself. So I give 10% to my agent to do the fame thing, and I go focus on whatever I love."
-- Jessica Alba

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