You ever have a season box set that you’d like to let your friends borrow so they catch up with a show you’ve been talking about? That’s exactly how I feel about the Complete First Season set of The 100, which hit stores recently. With less than three weeks to go before the October 22 premiere of Season 2, that’s more than enough time to marathon through the 13 episodes of Season 1.
The Season 1 box set is available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats; we’ll be reviewing the Blu-ray version here.
The Episodes: One might go into The 100 thinking it’s weird amalgamation of Battlestar Galactica and The Hunger Games, but there’s actually a whole lot of recent genre hit The Maze Runner within as well. Basically, what happens is that there’s an Ark space station, made up of the survivors of Earth, and the space station is dying. The only thing to do is to see if the Earth – which was rendered uninhabitable after nuclear devastation nearly 100 years prior – could be survivable again. Who to send to see if things are okay? Why, the really pretty young criminals, of course! “Criminal” is a loose term since some of them didn’t do anything all that bad – but it’s a sign of the rigid rules of the Ark.
The cast of The 100 is interestingly made up, as well. Most of the younger actors are new to American audiences; the “grown ups” are all industry veterans, including Paige Turco, Henry Ian Cusick, and Isaiah Washington. All three of those veteran actors offer a gravitas to the series and raise the bar, and it’s nice to see that the three of them are not forgotten or ignored throughout the season; they are a vital and important part of the series.
Season 1 starts with the discovery of a new place for these young people. What dangers lurk? Can they get along? A lot of those questions come up early on, and then we start to see what’s out there. Every episode is a roller coaster, and The 100 is really a series that I think is even better when watched more than one episode at a time.
The Extras: Special features include the 2013 Comic-Con panel, behind-the-scenes featurettes on creating the world of The 100 complete with interviews of the cast and creative team, deleted scenes, and commentary on “We Are Grounders, Part 2,” the show’s second season finale, featuring show developer/creator Jason Rothenberg and the director of the episode, Dean White.
Graphics & Sound: The 100, even in regular definition, is one of the most colorful and nice looking series on television. On Blu-ray, that picture is even sharper, though I noticed some grain that I assume was just my own Blu-ray player or TV. It’s interesting to me which series end up getting the Blu-ray treatment and which don’t…. I’m assuming that The 100 looks so good, they wanted us to be able to have that option.
The Packaging: Nice looking cover artwork which of course Photoshops the heck out of everybody, but, whatever, right? It’s still a great looking set.
Is It Worth It? Yes, yes, yes. A million times, yes. The 100 is like that old commercial about Pringles – you can’t have just one. But more than that, the more you watch, the more you’ll like. At least, that’s how it worked for me. The world of The 100 gets better and more intense as it goes on, and I can’t wait to see more.
Order The 100: The Complete First Season from Amazon.com and support this site! Blu-ray – DVD
