4 of 5 viewers "Liked" "Series 7: The Contenders" (2001, USA)
Here's what the citizens of the Overlook Theatre had to say:
Huntress - "An uncanny parody that does reality tv better than it does itself." - 5 Stars
Lord Battle - "An awesome example of how much "Hollywood" is in Reality Television." - 4 Stars
The Great Hornito - "Felt like a real TV show. Paved the way for Tru TV." - 4 Stars
Ice Giant - "Series 7 tries to make it kinda lighthearted but its basically a movie about anyone's number being up saying you can go at anytime anyway and you wont see it coming... Made me think about my own mortality and depressed the fuck out of me, had some entertainment value but overall was just sad to me." - 2 1/2 Stars
The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*
Back in the year 2001, "Survivor Season 2: The Australian Outback" aired and 45 million viewers tuned in to watch it. This was the highest rated episode of Survivor to date and also one of the first examples of the power of Reality TV, and despite the numbers Survivor drew TV stations were still not convinced Reality TV was here to stay.
I find it pretty amazing that a film like "Series 7: The Contenders" isn't more celebrated, it really has a lot to offer. What I wrote about in my quote was the fact that Series 7 showed the Hollywood aspect of Reality TV, I'm referring to the last act where the production company sends in Will Arnett to spin an ending which is more viewer friendly (this does not count as a spoiler so you better still watch this film!). Series 7 is Will Arnett's first real film and at the time he fit the role of narrator/host perfectly but now looking back on the film he is perfect. Will Arnett has become known for his roles playing pretty faced, lacking in morals corporate characters (Gob, Bret Wilts, John Solomon), so when he shows up at the end of Series 7 he is practically dripping evil.
Q: Is truTV a reality network?
A: No. Our focus is on series that feature real-life situations. That is why we're using the theme "Not Reality. Actuality." for the network. The goal is to let people know that truTV programming is different from typical reality shows, which often involve contests or other highly staged events.
(The above was taken from truTV's faq on their website)
I could talk about Reality TV all day but this film has a lot more to offer. Ice Giant brought up another interesting theme the film had to offer, why it made him dislike the movie I don't understand. The fact is this is an important film and everyone that reads this blog should see it at least once.
I find it pretty amazing that a film like "Series 7: The Contenders" isn't more celebrated, it really has a lot to offer. What I wrote about in my quote was the fact that Series 7 showed the Hollywood aspect of Reality TV, I'm referring to the last act where the production company sends in Will Arnett to spin an ending which is more viewer friendly (this does not count as a spoiler so you better still watch this film!). Series 7 is Will Arnett's first real film and at the time he fit the role of narrator/host perfectly but now looking back on the film he is perfect. Will Arnett has become known for his roles playing pretty faced, lacking in morals corporate characters (Gob, Bret Wilts, John Solomon), so when he shows up at the end of Series 7 he is practically dripping evil.
Q: Is truTV a reality network?
A: No. Our focus is on series that feature real-life situations. That is why we're using the theme "Not Reality. Actuality." for the network. The goal is to let people know that truTV programming is different from typical reality shows, which often involve contests or other highly staged events.
(The above was taken from truTV's faq on their website)
I could talk about Reality TV all day but this film has a lot more to offer. Ice Giant brought up another interesting theme the film had to offer, why it made him dislike the movie I don't understand. The fact is this is an important film and everyone that reads this blog should see it at least once.
*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not effect the rating.
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