SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS
Released: March 2, 2001
Reality TV shows like "Survivor" and "Tempation Island" are the basis for this exteme parody/satire of the genre. Instead of living in the Australian outback and voting people out each week, "Series 7" takes the premise to the most sickening (yet entirely plausable) extreme. Each "series" there is a group of "contenders" and the "prize" isn't a million dollars but rather life itself. That's right, players become legally able to chase each other down with firearms and any other weapons with the goal being that the last one left alive is the winner. Apparently "contenders" are drafted in and literally sign their lives away to the TV show. It's horribly violent - witness a nurse inject poison into her rival and a senior citizen clubs a teenage girl to death - all in the name of the TV show. Not entirely successful at pardodying reality TV shows, "Series 7" is successful at demonstrating how easy it is for our society to sacrifice goodness for limited potential fame or wealth as we see regularly on shows like "Survivor". Directed by Daniel Minahan who is best known for writing "I Shot Andy Warhol" (1996), "Series 7" is not for everyone and definitely not for children.
86 Minutes
Sensational Productions/USA Films