CBS-TV tonight premieres the much-ballyhooed and controversial “Kid Nation” – ostensibly a “reality” show about 40 kids, ages 8 to 15, spending 40 days in a New Mexico ghost town, without adult supervision, to build a new society. A modern-day “Lord of the Flies,” if you will.

But the “reality” is this: When criticized for allowing unattended children to work long hours in dangerous conditions, CBS shot back that the kids were closely supervised by adults at all times, according to The Associated Press. Oh, well. So much for the show’s premise. And so much for finding any truth in the promotional line “40 kids for 40 days with no grown-ups.”

I mean, didn’t it occur to any of the suckers who plan to watch this show that all the camera people and countless other unseen crew members were adults? Alas, viewers are so easily duped.

All I know is that “Kid Nation” stands as yet more proof that there’s very little reality in reality television. It’s all carefully choreographed to draw in the maximum number of gullible viewers who don’t know any better – or who just don’t care that they’re being had.