The 100 (TV series)

Plot

The series is set 97 years after a devastating nuclear apocalypse wiped out almost all life on Earth. The only known survivors lived on twelve space stations in Earth's orbit prior to the apocalyptic event. The space stations banded together to form a single massive station called "The Ark", where about 2,400 people live under the leadership of Chancellor Jaha. Resources are scarce, so all crimes – regardless of their nature or severity – are punishable by ejection into space ("floating") unless the perpetrator is under 18 years of age.

After the Ark's life-support systems are found to be critically failing, 100 juvenile prisoners are declared "expendable" and sent to the surface – near former Washington, D.C. – in a last ditch attempt to determine whether Earth is habitable again, in a program called "The 100". The teens arrive in a drop ship on a seemingly pristine planet they have only seen from space. They attempt to find refuge and supplies at an old military installation, Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, they land some distance from the intended target and soon face other problems. Confronting both the wonders and the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community.

The teens soon discover that not all humanity was wiped out. Some survived the nuclear apocalypse: the Grounders who live in clans locked in a permanent power struggle; another group of Grounders who have become cannibals, known as Reapers; and Mountain Men, who live in Mount Weather, who locked themselves away before the apocalypse and are killed by the residual radiation if they go outside.

In the second season, the remaining 48 of the 100 are captured and taken to Mount Weather by the Mountain Men. It is eventually revealed that the Mountain Men are transfusing blood from imprisoned Grounders as an anti-radiation treatment. Medical tests of the 100 show an even more potent anti-radiation efficacy; their bone marrow will allow the mountain men to survive outside containment. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the Ark have successfully crash-landed various stations on Earth and begun an alliance with the Grounders to save groups of people, naming the main settlement at Alpha Station "Camp Jaha".

In the third season, Camp Jaha, now renamed "Arkadia", comes under new management when Pike, a former teacher and mentor, is elected over Kane as chancellor and begins a war with the Grounders. An artificial intelligence, named A.L.I.E., was revealed to be responsible for the nuclear apocalypse that devastated Earth 97 years before the series begins, and she takes over the minds of nearly everyone in Arkadia and Polis – the capital city of the Grounders. In the third season's finale, Clarke manages to destroy A.L.I.E. even though A.L.I.E. claims she is humanity's only hope. Clarke is shown a view of Earth from orbit depicting another nuclear disaster caused by hundreds of nuclear reactors around the world melting down due to decades of neglect, again making Earth uninhabitable.

Cast and characters

Production

Post production, including ADR recording for the series, was done at the recording studio Cherry Beach Sound.

Broadcast

In Canada, Season 1 of The 100 was licensed exclusively to Netflix. The series premiered on March 20, 2014, the day after the mid-season premiere of Season 1 on the CW.

In New Zealand, the series premiered on TVNZ's on-demand video streaming service on March 21, 2014.

In the UK and Ireland, The 100 premiered on E4 on July 7, 2014. The first episode was viewed by an average audience of 1.39 million, making it the channel's biggest ever program launch. Season 2 premiered on January 6, 2015 and averaged 1,118,000 viewers. Season 3 premiered on February 17, 2016.

In Australia, The 100 was originally scheduled to premiere on Go! but instead premiered on Fox8 on September 4, 2014. Season 2 premiered on January 8, 2015.

Reception

An estimated 2.7 million American viewers watched the series premiere, which received an 18–49 rating of 0.9. It is considered the most-watched show in its time slot on The CW since 2010, with the series Life Unexpected. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show's first season was certified "fresh", with 72% of professional reviewers reviewing it positively and the consensus: "Although flooded with stereotypes, the suspenseful atmosphere helps make The 100 a rare high-concept guilty pleasure." On Metacritic, the first season scores 63 out of 100 points, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

The second season was met with more favorable reviews, holding a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. In a review of the season 2 finale, Kyle Fowle of The A.V. Club said, "Very few shows manage to really push the boundaries of moral compromise in a way that feels legitimately difficult. Breaking Bad did it. The Sopranos did it. Game of Thrones has done it. Those shows never back down from the philosophical murkiness of their worlds, refusing to provide a tidy, happy ending if it doesn't feel right. With 'Blood Must Have Blood, Part Two,' The 100 has done the same, presenting a finale that doesn't shy away from the morally complex stakes it's spent a whole season building up". Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post, in another positive review, wrote: "I can say with some assurance that I've rarely seen a program demonstrate the kind of consistency and thematic dedication that The 100 has shown in its first two seasons. This is a show about moral choices and the consequences of those choices, and it's been laudably committed to those ideas from Day 1."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season received an overall rating of 100%. Maureen Ryan of Variety wrote in an early review of the third season: "When looking at the epic feel and varied array of stories on display in season three, which overtly and covertly recalls "The Lord of the Rings" saga in a number of ways, it's almost hard to recall how limited the scope and the ambitions of "The 100" were two years ago, when a rag-tag band of survivors first crash-landed on Earth. In season three (which the cast and showrunner previewed here), the show is more politically complicated than ever, and the world-building that accompanies the depiction of various factions, alliances and conflicts is generally admirable." In a review of the season 3 finale "Perverse Instantiation: Part Two", Mariya Karimjee of Vulture.com wrote: "Every moment of this finale is pitch-perfect: the choreography of the fight scenes, the plotting and pacing, and the stunning way in which the episode finally reaches it apex. "Perverse Instantiation: Part Two" elevates the season's themes and pulls together its disparate story lines, setting us up nicely for season four." In another review of the season 3 finale and the season overall, Kyle Fowle of The A.V. Club wrote: "Before we even get to tonight's Action-packed finale of The 100, it needs to be said that this has been a rocky season. The first half of it was defined by shoddy character motivations and oversized villains. The second half of this season has done some work to bring the show back from the brink, focusing on the City Of Light and issues of freewill and difficult moral choices, bringing some much needed depth to the third season. That work pays off with "Perverse Instantiation: Part Two," a thrilling, forward-thinking finale that provides some necessary closure to this season." He gave the finale itself an "A-" rating.

Brian Lowry of The Boston Globe said: "Our attraction to Apocalypse TV runs deep, as our culture plays out different futuristic possibilities. That's still no reason to clone material, nor is it a reason to deliver characters who are little more than stereotypes." Allison Keene of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a negative review, stating: "The sci-fi drama presents The CW's ultimate vision for humanity: an Earth populated only by attractive teenagers, whose parents are left out in space." Kelly West of Cinema Blend gave it a more positive review while noting: "CW's Thrilling New Sci-fi Drama Is A Keeper. CW's The 100 seeks to explore that concept and more with a series that's about equal parts young adult drama, sci-fi adventure and thriller. It takes a little while for the series to warm up, but when The 100 begins to hit its stride, a unique and compelling drama begins to emerge." IGN's editor Eric Goldman also gave the show a more positive review, writing: "Overcoming most of its early growing pains pretty quickly, The 100 was a very strong show by the end of its first season. But Season 2 elevated the series into the upper echelon, as the show become one of the coolest and most daring series on TV these days." Maureen Ryan of Variety named the show one of the best of 2015.

In 2016, the year Rolling Stone ranked the show #36 on its list of the "40 Best Science fiction TV Shows of All Time", the episode "Thirteen" attracted criticism when Lexa, one of the series' LGBT characters, was killed off. Critics and fans considered the death a continuation of a persistent trope in television in which LGBT characters are killed off far more often than others – implicitly portraying them as disposable, as existing only to serve the stories of straight characters, or to attract viewers. A widespread debate among writers and fans about the trope ensued, with Lexa's death cited as a prime example of the trope, and why it should end. Showrunner Jason Rothenberg eventually wrote in response that "I (...) write and produce television for the real world where negative and hurtful tropes exist. And I am very sorry for not recognizing this as fully as I should have".