Whether deliberately, coincidentally, or inevitably, television programming reflects moviegoers' current tastes.
That's as true on the CW as anywhere. The teen-oriented network introduced "The Vampire Diaries" a year after Twilight was released. Now, here is "The 100", a post-apocalyptic sci-fi series cut from a similar cloth as The Hunger Games and Divergent.
Like those popular film franchises, "The 100" has its origins in young adult fiction, though the eponymous novel by Kass Morgan wasn't even completed before the show was conceived. Reaching bookstores only a few months before this midseason replacement premiered, Morgan's book did not really build a huge following. If it had, the adaptation rights would have been costlier and we'd be talking about a possible movie series, not just a television show.
"The 100" is set in a near-future, 97 years after a nuclear holocaust wiped everyone off the face of the Earth. Humanity survived in the space stations of twelve nations, which were merged to form The Ark, one giant autonomous station. Because of radiation, Earth is thought to still be uninhabitable for another few generations. Nonetheless, with life support running out, the administration decides to drop 100 underage prisoners from "The Skybox" back onto the planet's surface to see what there is.
The young delinquents are considered expendable, lab rats designed to get a feel for mankind's bleak future. Our protagonist is Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor), a girl just shy of her 18th birthday.
Her widowed mother, Abby (Paige Turco), the Ark's conscientious chief medical officer, arranges for Clarke to be among the first group of people to step foot on Earth in nearly a century.
Releasing a hundred teenagers with criminal records into the wild on their own doesn't sound like a plan for stability and we soon see that to be the case. Those dropped immediately begin butting heads and forming factions. It's like an untelevised Hunger Games, or for those who have been reading something older, Lord of the Flies.
Besides the infighting and different cliques, the young ex-cons find Earth a different planet from the one their ancestors knew. The pilot alone features a two-headed deer and a giant man-eating snake. There are also flowers and butterflies that assume a phosphorus glow in the dark. Then there are the Grounders, a mysterious, fearsome tribe of humans who have somehow survived the apocalypse but at first glance neither speak nor understand English.
Our time is divided between "The Ground" and The Ark (establishing shots look like outtakes from Gravity), where the 100's vital signs, gathered by wristbands, are being monitored until they rip them off. There, holier-than-thou second-in-command Councillor Marcus Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) seems pretty determined to usurp the position of the divisive Chancellor Thelonious Jaha (Isaiah Washington), who narrowly survives an assassination attempt.
"The 100" is perfectly happy to meet one's expectations for a CW drama with its tangled, forbidden romances and diverse, attractive cast seeming of greater concern than the survival of humanity. The show doesn't shy from killing off characters you wouldn't expect to die so soon. Episodes end with twists designed to keep you coming back. This is watchable and intermittently fun without demanding much thought or reflection.
Consisting of just thirteen episodes that aired from March to June, The Complete First Season hit stores this week on DVD and the Blu-ray + Digital HD UltraViolet set reviewed here. Each edition contains three discs and a number of bonus features.
Disc 1
1. Pilot (41:15) (Originally aired March 19, 2014)
2. Earth Skills (42:19) (Originally aired March 26, 2014)
3. Earth Skills (aka Earth Kills) (42:18) (Originally aired April 2, 2014)
4. Murphy's Law (40:55) (Originally aired April 9, 2014)
5. Twilight's Last Gleaming (41:01) (Originally aired April 16, 2014)
Disc 2
6. His Sister's Keeper (42:22) (Originally aired April 23, 2014)
7. Contents Under Pressure (42:01) (Originally aired April 30, 2014)
8. Day Trip (42:16) (Originally aired May 7, 2014)
9. Unity Day (41:21) (Originally aired May 14, 2014)
Disc 3
10. I Am Become Death (42:26) (Originally aired May 21, 2014)
11. The Calm (41:55) (Originally aired May 28, 2014)
12. We Are Grounders - Part 1 (42:21) (Originally aired June 4, 2014)
13. We Are Grounders - Part 2 (42:20) (Originally aired June 11, 2014)
VIDEO and AUDIO
Blu-ray treats "The 100" to perfect 1.78:1 picture. The vibrant, sharp video is more or less expected of a new show on the high-end format, but it's easy to appreciate nonetheless. Even easier to appreciate is the dynamite 5.1 DTS-HD master audio. The engaging mix compares to a big-budget feature film's soundtrack. It regularly enhances the drama with tasteful atmosphere and potent directional effects. Two dubs and numerous subtitles are kindly supplied.
BONUS FEATURES, MENUS, PACKAGING and DESIGN
The Blu-ray's all HD bonus features begin on Disc One, with footage of the show's "Comic-Con 2013 Panel" (14:03). Five cast members and two producers discuss the show, its source, and its characters with Eric Goldman,
before the floor is opened to the public, whose questions are printed. Audience excitement is much less audible here than it is on other Comic-Con panels that have made it to disc.
The remaining extras adorn Disc 3.
Strangely, there are only deleted scenes for the season finale. There are only two of them, at that: a Bellamy motivational speech and a throwaway moment. They run 2 minutes and 11 seconds together.
That season finale also supplies the set's only audio commentary. It is by creator/executive producer/writer Jason Rothenberg and supervising producer/frequent director Dean White. Though they only have 42 minutes of air to fill, there are lots of gaps between proud observations, acknowledgements, and technical talk. Without much excitement, they cite Platoon as an influence and confirm an Aliens homage. Fans wouldn't miss much skipping this.
Creating the World of The 100 houses four featurettes, which offer the usual mix of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews (which allow foreign cast members to share their natural accents).
"In The Beginning" (7:13) focuses on the show's premise,
commenting on the diverse cast and the seemingly contradictory exclusivity of American English.
"The Ark" (6:37) turns our attention to the space set's design and visual effects.
"A New Earth" (6:46) addresses the show's other setting (post-apocalyptic Earth) and what goes into it.
Finally, "Grounders, Reapers and Mountain Men" (7:52) considers the different classes of characters and the aged clothes, make-up, and prosthetics they wear.
The menu plays end credits' score over a static shot of the not particularly accurate bodies being dropped to the ground. The Blu-rays kindly allow you to resume playback (to some degree), making it easy to watch the season with your progress intact. For some reason, the discs repeatedly gave my player fits loading them, but exhibited no issues once they were able to play.
In a side-slipcovered standard Blu-ray case, the three discs are accompanied by a booklet of episode synopses and writing/directing credits. A second insert supplies your code and directions for redeeming the Digital HD UltraViolet included with your purchase, in addition to referring fans to take an apparently dysfunctional survey about the show.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
"The 100" is kind of like a much less expensive, less exciting, and longer version of The Hunger Games. This post-apocalyptic sci-fi series has some creative ideas but its very CW presentation won't hold too much appeal for anyone past their teenage years.
Warner has put together a nice Blu-ray + Digital HD set for this short season and while I'm not sure there's an abundance of replay value to the show, this release makes an ideal way to see it a first time, if you weren't watching it on the air.
Buy The Originals: Season One from Amazon.com:
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD UltraViolet / DVD / Instant Video