Series 7 Review

The Contenders is a show in which six people are chosen randomly by a government lottery. They`re handed a gun and assigned a television crew and the last person left alive is the winner. You have to survive three tours of duty to be an ultimate winner, the prize is freedom from the game. Eight months` pregnant Dawn Brooke Smith - has survived two. Now she`s returning to her home town for the final battle. It`s rather confronting for her coming up against a former boyfriend Jeff - Glenn Fitzgerald - who has a terminal disease and thinks he`s only too happy to die. Other opponents include ruthless nurse, Connie Marylouise Burke, a dysfunctional family man Tony - Michael Kaycheck - and a young woman Lindsay - Merrit Wever - whose parents are the sort to scream at her from the sidelines......... Cleverly devised, really well performed and convincingly directed using television technology, Series 7 walks a fine line between satire and succumbing to the temptation of reality entertainment. But Daniel Minahan, who comes from the world of television, goes beyond the surface to comment on aspects of American society without a shred of sentimentality.