290 replies to this topic

[Eegah]

The subject of the villain edit, though I'm sure most of us were like that or worse at 15.

[puckish]

What I found... unlikeable... about him wasn't that he was a typical surly know-it-all fifteen year-old, but that he actually pushed an eleven year-old. I know Mike was being spazzy and bossy, but the kid's four years younger than Greg. And Greg, wretched teenager that he is, is old enough to know better than to put his hands on a kid that much younger than him.

I did think he got some redeeming edits there at the end, and I was happy to hear him encouraging Jimmy. So I'm thinking that maybe he isn't normally a thug who bullies kids much younger than him, but that he got carried away in the moment as Mike clearly did. I'm tentatively reserving judgment on Greg.

(I find it a lot easier to be harsher, in my mind, on the older kids, even though they're still kids. They're closer to being adults than the wee ones, and even though I was a total bitch when I was fifteen, I was actually old enough to know better, even if I didn't always listen to the voice of good sense. I'm willing to cut the little kids a lot more slack than I am the older few.)

[Miss Alli]

Joe R and I were shaking our fists, all, "Damn you, Greg 15!" (We call them by name and age, it seems.) I'm sure he's not a bad kid, but he certainly was getting on my nerves more than anyone else.

[Koomaster]

Eh, I don't think Greg is so bad. I think ALL of us at his age would object to being bossed around by someone 4 years younger. Him and Mike busted heads to begin with, but by the time this is over they will have probably bonded.

I wouldn't put too much stock on him ending up the bully he was portrayed as the first episode.

[Sibella]

Wasn't he also the one who roped the goat?

(And if he's reading this, I bet he's snickering over what I just said. I meant literally, Roping the goat.)

[Red Snapper]

He's sweet on Sophie, I tell you what.

[Joe R]

Wasn't he also the one who roped the goat?

There was a very suspicious edit between the throwing of the rope and the roping of the goat (the latter a tight shot of the goat without seeing who was holding the rope). I'm not saying he didn't actually rope it, but the rules of reality TV tell me to be very suspicious of such a cut. I'm probably just hating on Greg 15. Damn you, Greg 15!

[ProfCrash]

I see Greg as the kid who wants to be known as the rebel but really isn't. The wannabe troublemaker. His pushing Mike and then putting his finger on Mike's chin and pushing Mike's head back pissed me off. Other then that, he isn't doing anything that is all that obnoxious. He is clearly enjoying being bigger and older then the others. Outside of that, he is the kid likely to get in line so he can win the money and end up trying to please everyone.

[Twigs]

I see him as the one who will deliver the inevitable "I'm not here to make friends." line that EVERY reality show has.

[MaggieCat]

Aww, I was sort of hoping this might be the one reality show in history to avoid the "I'm not here to make friends" line, since that's pretty much the driving ambition of at least 90% of the world's under-14 year olds.

So of course that means it'll be the 15 year old who dashes my hopes. I'm suddenly remembering why I've always hated kids this age.

Edited by MaggieCat, Sep 20, 2007 @ 3:47 AM.

[shashae]

I can buy "we were all like that at 15" for the hijinks (the blue chalking stuff) and the know-it-all attitude. But treating another kid like that isn't cause he's 15, it's cause he's a bully who wants his own way.

I don't have kids but I've lived with my sister's family for four years and her kids are 16 (boy) and 14 (girl) now.

My nephew never would have treated a younger kid that way. My brother has two boys, 12 and 5, and they idolize the 16 year old, follow him around, want to play Hero Clicks and do everything he does. He's patient and funny with them and often babysits the little one by himself.

I think Greg thought he was oldest and biggest and if he yelled and shoved the 11 year old on the town council he could take over and be leader. He didn't count on the fact that since everyone else there is smaller and younger than he is they'd back the other kid. Had Vincent Donato been there I'm sure he'd have had Greg's back.

[Miss Alli]

I'm just going to say it: it reminds me of two different Little House On The Prairie episodes in which the younger and smaller kids teamed up to stop bullies from terrorizing the school and getting the teacher in trouble. It happened once when Miss Beadle was the teacher and once when Eliza Jane was the teacher. A whole gang of kids surrounding one guy who gets a little too full of himself and kicking and/or threatening him. It was almost exactly the same story both times.

I refuse to be ashamed that I know this.

[Anakerie]

I can't look at this kid without seeing Jimbo Jones here. I am looking forward to his efforts to get a gold star. At least Gregbo is going to keep it entertaining.

[stuck in cincy]

Perhaps I grew up in a rough neighborhood, but any boy that would get caught crying would immediately get beat up for being a sissy. My elementary school was next to a housing project and sometimes we couldn't go out to play because there was "shooting" going on. When I was 13, I saw a kid two places ahead of me in line in the cafeteria get jumped by another kid. The aggressor kid rammed the guys head through a plate glass window, then stabbed him with a shard of glass. After that, all the glass windows were replaced with plexiglass.

[Crown Juls]

I'm going to give Greg the benefit of the doubt on this one. He was great when DK got the leg cramp pulling the wagons, and, frankly, Council Mike would totally drive me bazoo, too. All the other kids are exerting themselves on wagons and Mike is...telling them which way to go? So Greg tells him to change places. And when Mike can't move the wagon, Greg's actually kind of nice about taking his place back, and not forcing Mike to struggle through it, like most REAL bullies would be. And while he didn't acquit himself in the best possible manner at the town meeting, with the pushing, I interpreted that as him trying to get control of the meeting so that the council could talk, Mike flipping out because he's threatened by bigger-kid Greg, and Greg losing his temper. I mean, when Mike first started getting cranky, before the pushing, I actually said, "Aw, sweetie, he's trying to help you, not take your place!"

That being said, he is never, never getting a gold star, unless someone, like, breaks their leg, and he carries them around on his back for the rest of the show. Not that he won't necessarily deserve it, just that Mike hates his guts, and many of the other little kids are siding with Mike over this.

[ColeenR]

I'm thinking this could go one of two ways with Greg. Either, as Ms. Alli has astutely pointed out, we're going with "the bully is going to get his comeuppance" story arc ala Little House ... or there's going to be some kind of "bully-Greg is redeemed" edit, with all the tears and hoo-hah that usually accompanies that kind of thing. Maybe that concept of him carrying some injured kid on his back isn't too far off.

Personally, I'm conflicted.

I spend a lot of time around kids this age (I have three girls, 13, 13, and 14) and frankly, I think all of 'em, all types and groups ... a bunch of knuckleheads in one way or another. Teenagers. Bah!

And yep, I agree Greg stepped over a line with the shoving and the finger-to-chin thing and I can't excuse him. But then like someone said upthread, I agree Mike overreacted to Greg trying to help control the meeting. Mike got all threatened and bossy. Greg got all hostile and lashed back inappropriately. Ah, I dunno. I just wanted to "knock their heads together" as my grandfather used to say.

But I have to confess I laughed at the chalking up of the signs with "Blue." And I'll admit that if I were in a situation like this, even as an adult, I would probably be running into the Red Bunkhouse yelling "Blue! Blue! Blue!" Eh, but we're competitive sports folks 'round here, so there you go.

I'm going to reserve judgment on our bully/villian for now.

[Pseudowolf]

He was great when DK got the leg cramp pulling the wagons,

Was that Greg? I thought it was Micheal?

[lurcher]

I also thought that Mike handled what happened with Greg in the first town council meeting ineptly (although, he is only 11..., and was really frustrated by then). I think Greg was trying to help, in a way. I think Mike could have enlisted him as an ally instead of screaming in his face.

[ProfCrash]

Greg had tried to upstage Mike when walking to the town. He was the one who suggested that he and Mike switch jobs and then took his job back when Mike couldn't pull the wagon. So when Greg tried to help at the meeting, Mike saw it as Greg trying to upstage him, again. I understand what Greg was trying to do and how Mike responded to it.

Greg is harmless. He is the wannabe trouble maker who is probably a good student and plays on a sports team. He is trying to make himself look like a rebel and impres all the other kids. Now the money has entered into the picture, Greg will become a good citizen. At least until he gets $20,000 or decides that they will never give him the $20,000.

[Crown Juls]

He was great when DK got the leg cramp pulling the wagons,

Was that Greg? I thought it was Micheal?

I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that it was Greg who lifted DK into the wagon - Michael is awesome, but I don't know if he's physically big enough to hoist another 14 year old up. Also, I seem to remember the lifter wearing Greg's hat.

[appledown]

I was trying to figure out why it was ok that Michael (I think?) could make the rallying speech and be claimed a "hero" of sorts by the council but when Greg tried to do it, Mike was all "Get out of my face, punk!" and acting all bullied.

But the age difference thing makes sense and if that was him in the beginning with the wagon, makes even more sense why Mike spazzed. Of course the pushing and such was out of line even for a kid that age. However, I also think he's harmless. I'd have reacted the same if some 11 year old was acting that way to me when I was simply trying to help. Probably wouldn't have pushed him but I'd have been coming back with quite the attitude.

[jersey guy 87]

Greg had tried to upstage Mike when walking to the town. He was the one who suggested that he and Mike switch jobs and then took his job back when Mike couldn't pull the wagon. So when Greg tried to help at the meeting, Mike saw it as Greg trying to upstage him, again. I understand what Greg was trying to do and how Mike responded to it.

I don't think Greg was trying to upstage Mike when he switched places. I thought he was trying to show Mike that his "leadership" wasn't really doing anything and he didn't understand what was really involved in pulling the wagons. But I can see Mike viewing it as being upstaged and that contributing to their confrontation at the meeting.

[LemurCat]

Greg's getting a bum rap here. Dude was just trying to help out and Mike lost his shit all over him. I would have called bullshit on Mike too when they were pulling the wagons, especially when he's cheerleading and makes some BS comment about being thirsty from working so hard to two kids pulling a wagon. And I think Greg handled it like a typical kid. I don't know why people aren't expecting these kids to get into confrontations both verbal and physical. It's what kids do.

There was little tension with them when Mike checked to make sure they were still cool, so I doubt either is holding a grudge, but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets played out as such. You know, manufactured drama and all that.

[BK1978]

I am not sure how many of you are fans of A Christmas Story, if you are then you will hopefully understand what I am about to say. Greg reminds me a lot of Scut Farkus from said movie. I mean he has the braces, he is a bully (at least in the first episode), and hell he even has a goffy hat. So for me Greg will forever be Scut Farkus.

[LemurCat]

Scott Farkus?

He doesn't look like him at all. Farkus has braces, but he had red hair that was cut close and parted in the middle.

And I disagree with the bully comment. If he was bully, he would have shaken down all the younger kids for their money. He had a dust up with Douchebag Mike.

[kuromaku]

If he was bully, he would have shaken down all the younger kids for their money.

Heh - Now I want him to start a little protection racket - 'cause, y'know, bad things can happen to youse guys.

[Bookhouse Boy]

I thought Greg and his friend were hilarious, with the "Go Blue !" grafitti being completely harmless in a pep rally sort of way.

Yes, he pushed that little twerp Mike, but that holier-than-thou boy scout *really* got in his face with yelling, and when you're 14, I think it's still okay to get a little physical. Yes, we don't do that as adults, but kids... that's just what kids do. Maybe it's not "right" to push someone, but it's also not right to yell in someone's face. Mike made the first move, IMO.

I certainly don't think Greg is an actual "bully"... he could have done a LOT worse things to all those kids if he really was... tripping, arm punching, stealing stuff, locking kids in the outhouse (or tipping it over, heh), etc. He just comes across as a free spirit kinda guy who is having fun standing apart from the crowd (and yes, probably playing to the cameras a bit, but, duh... it's a reality show). I hope he makes it to the council... that could be hilarious (though admittedly unlikely).

[furrylump]

I don't think he is a bully. But I do think he is very obnoxious and up himself. I'm not cutting him any slack for his age either, because I'm only a year older and the only boys at school who act the way he does are the ones who are obnoxious and up themselves.

[casey22]

I think he is going to be the one mostly likely to end up in kiddie jail. I get a very Lord of the Flies vibe from him. The only reason he isn't bullying the other smaller kids is because they will not let him get away with that shit. Stick him on an island and give him some power he would shove a rock on Mike in heartbeat. The council needs to watch him very carefully.