Aired: 2014 – still running
Network: CW Network [United States]
Production: Warner Bros. Television
Seasons: 3
Episodes: 50
Duration: 43 minutes
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
IMDb rating: 7,8/10
My rating: 
(4,5 / 5)
Storyline
“The series is set 97 years after a devastating nuclear war wiped out almost all life on Earth. The only known survivors are the residents of twelve space stations in Earth’s orbit prior to the war. The space stations banded together to form a single massive station named “The Ark”, where about 2,400 people live. Resources are scarce and all crimes no matter their nature or severity are punishable by death (“floating”) unless the perpetrator is under 18 years of age. After the Ark’s life support systems are found to be critically failing, one hundred juvenile prisoners are declared “expendable” and sent to the surface in a last ditch attempt to determine if Earth is habitable again. The teens arrive on a beautiful planet they’ve only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. However they discover that not all humanity was wiped out. There are people on Earth who survived the war, called “grounders”. The Ark consists of the space stations previously representing the nations of the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, India, Russia, Venezuela, France, Brazil, and Uganda.” [IMDB]
My opinion
I was so excited for this show to come out. In the summer of 2013 I heard this was one of the new series that was about to air somewhere in 2013-2014 and while the wait was torture (it aired in 2014, such a long time to keep someone waiting?), it was so, so worth it. The 100 is a post apocalyptic tv show that focuses mostly on Clarke Griffins (Eliza Taylor) journey to (and on) earth. She tries to keep the 100 juvenile prisoners in check, which is quite a hard thing to do when you have to deal with people that are finally free of captivity. Bellamy Blake (Bob Morley) doesn’t make it easier for her, since he’s the one that keeps on shouting that there are no rules on earth and they can do ‘Whatever the hell they want!’. They listen to him, look up to him, but Clarke and Finn (Thomas McDonell) try to look at the bigger picture: surviving.
Their approach of the situation seems to be the better one when all of the sudden they are attacked. When they’re on a hunt for food and supplies, one of them gets hit with a spear and that’s the point when they realize that the earth has no rules indeed, not for them, and not for its original inhabitants. The 100 is the story of them surviving on earth with this new threat and the remaining people on the Ark trying to survive with the remaining threat: they’re still running out of oxygen.
When I hear The 100, one phrase comes to mind: character development. The story of this tv show is very complex, but gets you hooked in no time. You get to know a lot of backstory (which helps you understand and feel the story better) and the characters aren’t just shallow figures, but they actually change (permanently) because of the things they experience. Being in such a dangerous environment isn’t something that leaves you untouched and I love this show for doing it in the perfect way they do. Slowly changing, yet very present and not that easy to ‘get over’. I feel like some shows are trying to get their characters to fit inside one small box. They can go out it it from time to time, but in the end, they put them right back in it. The 100 isn’t like that and while it might ‘hurt’ as watcher to see your favorite character take a different approach on things, it’s for the best, cause that’s how it’s supposed to be. While the story is purely fictional, this little aspect of the show makes it ‘real’. Sure, there are a lot of other post apocalyptic tv shows at the moment, but The 100 simply has this unique to the way they tell their story. They switch between scenes on the Ark and the growing panic up there, and scenes down on earth, where they’re trying to find a way to deal with the violent attacks, since they’re, due to a malfunction, not able to contact the Ark for help.
You’ll morn, you’ll laugh, you’ll love, and you’ll hate, but in the end, this is a show I would recommend to everyone, cause not many of the series on tv right now have this kind of quality content. If you have the time, then go ahead and binge the three seasons that are out already and get ready for season 4, cause I’m sure it’s going to be as epic as the previous seasons.
