What do you get when you mix Mark Burnett, a dose of Sylvester Stallone, and a hint of Sugar Ray Leonard? You get a new reality show that are equal parts “Survivor” “The Apprentice” and “Last Comic Standing.” They call it “The Contender.”
It premiered on March 7, and got mopped up by the competition like blood and spit on a mat. But I decided to dial it up on my Tivo anyway and see what everyone was staying away from. I went in with pretty low expectations, in fact I always kind of figured this show would flop like a boxer throwing a match, but I actually found it to be a pretty solid show.
The sixteen boxers are split into two teams, but all live in the same house ala “The Apprentice,” then the two teams compete in physical challenges ala “Survivor” and the winning team gets to pick who goes to the head-to-head bout, ala “Last Comic Standing.”
So the formula is über-familiar, but in “The Contender” we get to know these fighters a little better than contestants in other similar reality shows because we’re introduced to some of their families and get a little glimpse at their home lives. “The Next Great Human Drama?” I don’t know about that, but since TV needs another reality show about as much as George Foreman needs another hamburger, this slightly more personal spin is a welcome change of pace.
But that’s not to say the show is flawless. “The Contender” is filled with product placements that drove me crazy – Sierra Mist! NBC! Gatorade! Not to mention it seems Mark Burnett must be best friends with the sound mixer on “The Apprentice” because he clearly gave him a job on this show, too. There were horribly obvious voice-over dubs that made me want to start shadow boxing. And that doesn’t even make any sense! Also, I thought the “press conference” was a bit hokey.
Finally, I should mention that I’m not particularly a boxing fan, so I was afraid I really wouldn’t care about who gets in the ring in the head to head match. And I was right. I really didn’t care. I mean, unless I have money on the event, I have no particular affection for either of the fighters. I guess I just default to the underdog. Anyway, the final act of the show is the boxing match itself, and I thought it was really well done. But if I had to listen to boxer Peter’s wife yell from the crowd, “Come on Peter, let’s go!!” one more time, I was going to start shadow boxing. And as we all know, that doesn’t even make any sense.
I’ll give “The Contender” a few more rounds.
