Jon & Kate's kids miss the camera crew (a.k.a. the only stable adults around them)

Well, we knew when Barbara Walters got ahold of Kate Gosselin for the annual roundup of the "10 Most Fascinating People," it wasn't going to be a rah-rah, kissy-kissy celebration. 2009 has been particularly rough on the mother of twins and sextuplets, who has been blamed for everything from the dissolution of her marriage (she was "too hard" on Jon), to the exploitation of her own kids. Still, it was depressing to watch the mother of eight recount the toll the year has taken.

Describing Kate as "a woman who...is just like any other wife and mother, except she's done it all on camera," Barbara went on to ask if Kate if the children knew they were famous.

According to Kate, 'famous' was not a word the family used at home. And while a good portion of America might watch watch DVDs of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" to see the televised demise of a family, the kids themselves "watch DVDs of our show and it's memories for them," Kate said.

And how are the kids doing now that their father has shut down the production of the show?

"They cried in the van on the way home from school the other day," Kate said. "I finally admitted to them, they kept asking, 'Where's the camera crew? Where's the camera crew? We miss them.' And I said, 'Our show is over.' Eight sobbing kids driving home from school."

No one wants to think about eight sobbing kids, let alone ones who are crying for a missing reality television crew. And yet, with a dad moving out and moving on (with the daughter of his wife's plastic surgeon), and a mom who seems increasingly confused about priorities (one gets the feeling that the biggest loss for her was not Jon himself, but the cameras that watched him go), is it any wonder that the kids are in mourning? As Jon and Kate continue to share custody, moving in and out of the house to avoid relocating the kids, the camera crew were the only consistent adults in the kids lives.

A sad state of reality? Absolutely. Fascinating? Not in a way that makes us want to keep watching.