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Series 7: The Contenders

Starring: Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald
Director: Daniel Minahan
Genre: Thriller
Year: 2001
Rating: 2 / 5

At a time when television networks are inundating the public with more and more “reality” programs, it only seems fair that we explore the logical extension of this trend. Director Daniel Minahan does just that with Series 7: The Contenders, a film with a gripping premise that does not exactly translate well on the big screen. Today’s reality shows feature contestants that must jump out of airplanes and eat insects, but what if the tension was ratcheted up a notch? What if the contestants were asked to inflict bodily harm against one another or – dare we say it? – kill one another? Series 7 explores this very possibility, offering us a chilling glimpse of a future that we dare not imagine. If only the quality of the film were as powerful as the rather intriguing premise…

Dawn Lagarto (Brooke Smith) is the reigning champion on The Contenders, a weekly series that takes reality television to frightening levels. During each series, six “contenders” are pitted against each other, armed with a pistol and whatever else they can get their hands on, and told that the sole survivor will live to fight another day. One does not sign up for the program, and, to some extent, one cannot escape it. The show’s producers simply show up at the door of their would-be contestants, offer a handgun, and tell their “victims” that the games have begun. Security teams are in place to ensure that the contestants do not flee, forcing the players to either kill or be killed.

Watching Series 7, I could not help but think of The Running Man, a more entertaining twist on extremist television. In that film, criminals are pitted against pro athletes in competitions reminiscent of American Gladiators, fighting for a chance to win their freedom. The mood is – surprisingly – lighter, the tone less grim. While it speaks of corruption and corporate greed, of corporations looking for the almighty dollar, Series 7 offers a more somber take. The program plays like a cross between Cops, with occasional grainy footage and uneven angles, and Survivors, where contestants enter into their “confessionals” before removing a competitor.

Series 7 is not a large studio production, but the nature of the reality genre allows this to slip by unnoticed. Unfortunately, the characters are not overly compelling. Lindsay, the teenager with the rah-rah parents, seems a little too comfortable with the fact that she’s been tossed onto a life-or-death game show. Her parents, meanwhile, spend no time lamenting their daughter’s misfortune and come across as little league parents gone mad. Even Dawn, eight months pregnant at the film’s onset, proves barely interesting at all. The film’s foreboding message, about the proliferation of reality television in our society and its likely conclusion, is ultimately undone by a production that cannot match that same standard.

Cast:

Certification: Rated R for violence and language.
Running Time: 86 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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