The 100 Cast on What to Expect
With resources pushed to their limit, this is a harsh society, where any crime, regardless of severity, is punishable by death for those 18 and over, while juvenile delinquents are all locked up, no matter what minor (or major) infraction they committed. When it’s decided to test out whether the Earth could be livable again, the 100 locked up kids the title refers to are sent down to a planet they’ve never seen. “Frankly we’re sending you because your crimes have made you expendable,” the 100 are told in a video from Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington), but there is the hope that not only will they find a planet that can sustain human life, but that they’ll be pardoned if they do.Suffice to say, the Earth is livable (at least enough that they don’t all drop dead instantly), or there’d be no show. But The 100 quickly establishes its Lord of the Flies-like scenario, as these young men and woman, some of whom may be far more dangerous than others, are on their own for the first time, with no adult supervision or restraint.While The 100’s basic setup indicates a focus on these kids on the planet, the adults back on the Ark are not forgotten. Indeed, there is a parallel storyline, as we meet Abby (Paige Turco), the doctor whose own daughter, Clarke (Eliza Taylor) is among the 100. And then there’s Councilman Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), second-in-command to the Chancellor, who has a coldly focused outlook on the future and ensuring humanity will survive, no matter the cost. (Kelly Hu is also in the pilot as a friend of Abby’s, but not in subsequent episodes)
The 100 suffers early on from being overly expository. A scene where the Chancellor’s son, Wells (Eli Goree) and Clarke yell back and forth to each other about their dramatic backstory, while in a the middle of a dangerous situation, stands out, in an unfortunate way, for its silliness. If any pilot could have served from an extended length, it’s this one, which thrusts Clark out of her cell and onto a ship and to the surface in the first three minutes, seconds after she’s explained (in voice over) the basic scenario to the audience.
However, a suitably dramatic and involving tone is established in the pilot, written by Jason Rothenberg and directed by Bharat Nalluri, as we see just how dire the stakes are. More than one character, both up on the Ark and down on the Earth, has a secret and it turns out things are even worse than they first appeared. Washington is not in a lot of the pilot, but Turco and Cusick are both good as two people with very different ideas of doing the right thing, who have a nice verbal showdown at one point.
Among the 100, besides Clark and Wells, we quickly meet Bellamy (Bobby Morley) and Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos), the only sister and brother among the kids - having more than one child is a crime and their mother has been executed for doing so, having initially kept Octavia’s existence a secret. There’s also the requisite bad boy who’s not really so bad, Finn (Thomas McDonell) and the jokey duo of Jasper (Devon Bostick) and Monty (Chris Larkin). Much of the brunt of the pilot follows most of these characters on a trek for supplies, sealed away long ago, while potential leaders Bellamy and Wells battle over the right approach back at camp, where Bellamy is pushing the others on his “We do whatever the hell we want, whenever we want!”/there are no rules plan of action, which Wells warns could put them all in harm’s way.
So it’s all suitably intense, to be sure. It just needs stronger characters, as right now, the kids especially are a pretty bland bunch. The cast are all fine (this is the CW, so they’re also really good looking), but no one really pops out in this first hour as a particularly engaging persona.
Besides the model-ready young people, other CW tropes at work include contemporary pop music playing in key moments and a quick establishment of at least the potential for romance, which yes, makes for some eye-rolling moments. On the other hand though, The 100 treats its sci-fi scenario with respect and everything is played commendably straight. Things have changed on Earth in the past 97 years, to say the least, and from mutated animals to other intriguing (and menacing) elements, there’s a lot of groundwork laid. The visuals are also strong, with solid special FX for the many outer space scenes, which help convey this as a real world. The grimy and grey portrayal of the Ark has some Battlestar Galactica influences, to be sure, and not just because Alessandro Juliani (BSG’s Gaeta) plays a crew member on both.
