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In the flurry of season finales in the last couple of weeks, one that was virtually overlooked was that of The Contender, the boxing competition produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Even over the course of the season, The Contender was easy to overlook. While it carried Mark Burnett's name, that's no longer viewed as the gold standard it once was. And, more importantly, Fox had already tried broadcasting a boxing Reality TV show, The Next Great Champ. The ratings were so abysmal that Fox pulled it from its standard broadcast without even finishing the run. Surely Burnett was asking for misery with his show. Add in a contestant who committed suicide between the filming and the airing of the series, and The Contender seemed a disaster waiting to happen.

And, in fact, The Contender did not do well in the ratings. But, like the classic boxing story Rocky, the underdog might have lost out on the title but still achieved a personal triumph. For those who watched, The Contender was an emotional and moving journey.

What made The Contender a success where The Next Great Champ failed?

• First and foremost, a great cast. While the stereotype for boxers might be that they're brutish and dumb, The Contender's 16 competitors from all over the country were an exceptionally decent, hard-working, thoughtful group of men. And in a way that makes sense. Being a boxer is not an easy way to get rich. It takes intense training and hard work. Most of them worked so hard on behalf of their families -- their children, their wives, the parents -- and we were treated to see them also delighting in their families. These guys were not self-centered, but had a perspective on life.

• Second, Burnett did a good job with the structure. Less attention was paid to scheming (a downfall of The Next Great Champ), and more was devoted to the fights. It's always a trial fitting in storylines for multiple people, and Burnett wisely focused most of his time in each episode on the two guys who would be fighting. The editing of the fights themselves was structured in such a way as to highlight important aspects of the fight, without interfering with the flow. As someone who never watched boxing before, I found myself getting caught up in the brutal beauty of two men putting their heart and soul into a gladiatorial ring. (In fact, it was in viewing the live finale that I realized how much the editing had aided my enjoyment during the rest of the season!)

• One of my favorite parts of the show was at the very end, when hosts Sylvester Stallone, Sugar Ray Leonard, and one or two of the managers would review the day's fight. Again, as someone unfamiliar with boxing, it was an education to me to hear their impressions and compare them with my own. I felt it showed respect to me as a viewer.

• Burnett also showed respect to the boxers. This was most remarkable with the contestant who committed suicide, Najai Turpin, not because of anything Burnett did, but because of what he didn't do. Burnett didn't sensationalize Turpin's story, but showed it as he showed the others -- a man with talent, who worked hard, who loved his daughter, who was sad to lose his match but determined to continue and still managed to find joy after the fight by chasing his daughter around the room. Aside from a brief announcement at the end of the episode from Sugar Ray about a trust fund being established for Najai's daughter, Najai was remembered as the others were, for his accomplishments and his heart.

• While it's a minor point in the grand scheme of things, it made a big difference -- The Contender had great theme music. Powerful, stirring, triumphant. My heart leapt when I heard it, and I never fast forwarded through the opening, with the wonderful music showcasing the smiling and serious faces of the contestants.

• And the final point is the first point again -- the cast. While Burnett shaped the show well, he couldn't have done it without such good material. In the very first episode, half of the contestants, grouped together as the "West Coast" team, had to determine which of their fighters would fight which of the "East Coast" team. They tentatively had reached a decision when Alfonso Gomez Jr., the smallest competitor, volunteered to take on Peter Manfredo Jr., a powerful fighter. While his teammates were doubtful, Alfonso insisted that he could do it. In a tremendous show of heart (and an exciting fight), Alfonso prevailed, and in the process set a high standard of honor in the group. With very few exceptions, matches were set up to maximize honor.

As it happened, both Alfonso Gomez Jr. and Peter Manfredo Jr. were in the final four. (Peter re-entered the competition when another contestant had to drop out due to chicken pox.) In a rematch of the initial fight, Peter triumphed and advanced to the finals. The final four was rounded out by Sergio ("The Latin Snake") Mora and Jesse Brinkley, who fought in the penultimate competitive match. This was another titanic battle to determine the second finalist, pitting Sergio's longer reach and quickness against Jesse's powerful punches. Ultimately, the Snake won out, leading to a finale fight between Peter and Sergio, and a "bronze medal" fight between Alfonso and Jesse. Fittingly, to my eyes, while the Snake scored a well-deserved victory over Peter in the finale, Alfonso was the star again of the night, beating Jesse despite being at a size disadvantage.

In the first half of the May 22 episode, Peter, Jesse and Sergio took Burnett's traditional review of fallen comrades. It was clear that they truly respected and cared for the contenders who had left, and I found myself getting wistful at seeing the flashbacks. Peter remarked that the others all would be back -- this was not the end, but the beginning for them, because they were champions. The Contender has not been renewed, but I still hope that it, too, will be given a second chance, in DVD format.

Official site: NBC.com - The Contender | For more: SirLinksaLot.net