Jon and Kate (of Jon and Kate plus 8)

If the parents can find a way to handle this civilly and correctly, and in the best interests of their kids (as both say they want to do), then the kids will be better off than they've ever been once the show ends and this firestorm blows over.

They -- especially the sextuplets -- are still young enough to be resilient in the situation. They also will have none of the economical struggles, nor any of the stress that is usually exacerbated by them. Their lives, and dealing with any forthcoming parental separation or split, will be eased exponentially just because of that.

Most likely this separation/divorce case has actually already been settled at this point in real time. But I'd like to think -- and I do think -- that there might still even be (or would have been) hope for this couple if they had ended the show after Season 4, as Jon wanted, since that is/was probably a really big, non-negotiable issue for him.

If left to themselves, they might eventually have been able to work through everything else, because I do believe that there was love there.

The article above talked about how normal the kids seem, and that has always been my impression of this entire family, parents included. No marriage or family life is perfect, or paradise, and, quite often, there is one partner who is more extroverted/loud/outspoken (or whatever you want to call it), while the other is more reserved/quiet/laid back/hen-pecked (or whatever you want to call it).

Heck, that was the definition of my parents, and they were married, happily most of the time, for 55 years. Relationships are fluid, and they aren't always totally balanced. But each partner plays a role, and usually, it is an important one.

From what I could see from having watched this show a lot, Jon, despite his being hen-pecked at times, definitely had his place in this family.

Perhaps he, and Kate, just need to remember and reiterate that again, especially with each other.

This family's biggest problem is that everything is being watched, and magnified, by being filmed, and now, that is even more true because there has been controversy and problems, and the non-filming camera people are hiding out in their yard to catch even more of everything, turning their lives and their home into "prison" as Jon called it.

Let's be honest, they may have signed up for film crews, people they invited into their home, and who, probably, have come care about the family.

All those people hiding in the bushes? That's another story, and, let's be honest. Would any of us like that, or be able to deal with it very well?

Even if we could, it certainly wouldn't help the situation. These cameramen are exactly what the kids called them -- paparazzi -- not film-makers, journalists or true, valuable media in any real sense.

And there is a difference, as Jon and Kate and their kids are finding out.

 

I wonder if the Gosselin's ever saw Albert Brooks' "Real Life."

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE3D81139E732A25751C0A9659C946890D6CF

 

But you didn't answer the most important question.....Kate or Melissa Joan Hart?

 

Not Harvey.

 

APNewsBreak: Pa. probing 'Jon & Kate' complaint

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM – 1 hour ago

WERNERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Jon, Kate and their eight children have attracted a huge TV audience, screaming tabloid headlines and, now, a state labor investigation.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor says it's looking into whether the hit reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" is complying with child labor laws.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h-Ttgh3cRm4ORGPnrcpZm4AFZJBQD98G1M0O0

 

Charlie Sheen tried to use that very logic against Denise Richards and lost. The resulting show, from most accounts, is pretty terrible. Unfortunately, craptastic "quality" and low ratings have yet to purge it from the airwaves.

 

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I love the NY Post.

"Jon & Kate Plus Hate."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05302009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/john__kate_plus_hate_171707.htm

 

The column, alas, is pretty ordinary.

 

I liked this graf:

 

That's a fantastic paragraph - and right on the money.

And yet, moron that I am, I'd love to get married again someday. :-\

 

What could it be?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/18/jon.kate.announcement/

 

Maybe the kids are filing for emancipation!