he Contenders is a kill-or-be-killed television show that has become the highest-rated reality program in the U.S. Five "real" people are chosen at random by lottery to become Contenders and are joined by the reigning champion from the previous tour. The six contestants are each given a gun and a cameraman, and let loose on each other with the mandate that they must fight to the death until there is only one Contender left.
Dawn, a single, eight-months pregnant woman, is the winner of the last two tours, with 10 kills. If she survives this tour, or Series 7, she'll be freed from the show. A bitter and angry survivor, Dawn has done whatever it took to win the game and protect the life of her unborn child.
But now Dawn is up against a whole new bunch of Contenders, each knowing that the only way they will survive is to kill the other players. Her challengers are Tony (Michael Kaycheck), an unemployed asbestos-removal worker with a wife and three children; Connie (Marylouise Burke), a 57-year-old religious emergency room nurse; Lindsay (Merritt Wever), a sweet 18-year-old girl whose parents become her cheerleaders; Franklin (Richard Venture), a cranky 72-year-old with conspiracy theories; and Jeff (Fitzgerald), an artist and pacifist who is dying of cancer.
Dawn realizes she must be proactive in winning the game. However, one of the other Contenders shows a particular affinity for survival, as well. The show's viewers have more than one surprise in store for them, and as her pregnancy advances, Dawn finds herself in the most dangerous game of all.
Unpleasantly thought-provoking
Series 7 is supposed to be a disturbing dark comedy. While it is thought-provoking, and there is a laugh or two, the satire isn't broad enough to be funny, and the violence is too realistic.
Looking a whole lot like a long episode of Survivor, Series 7 has the hand-held camera shots, the tearful testimonials and the manufactured melodrama. There are even spots for commercial breaks, with brief teasers of upcoming action. However, the film's reliance on television
gimmicks keeps it from having any depth. The characters of Dawn (Smith) and Jeff (Fitzgerald) are complex, but they've been given a ridiculous back-story that makes little sense. The other actors are never allowed to scratch the surface of their characters.
The world in which Series 7 takes place also lacks depth and is vague at best. What happens to the Contenders if they refuse to play? Is there a government conspiracy behind the show? Many questions are never answered. Unfortunately, the far bigger problem is that the film is just unpleasant to watch.
However, no matter what else can be said about Series 7, it is timely, and it asks the question, "How far is too far?" Minahan developed Series 7 in 1997 at the Sundance Writers Lab long before Darva got married to a stranger who was supposed to be a multi-millionaire, before four couples decided to tempt their relationships on an island full of singles and before 16 contestants tried to backstab their way to one million dollars on a rat-infested island. Our reality television has gone from following around Cops to watching a Survivor contestant fall into a campfire and suffer severe burns, and to the tune of stunning ratings. If not Series 7, then what will be next in the quest for even bigger ratings?
