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shadowkatI watched the last six episodes of The 100 this week and damn, that was good. So good, that I had to hunt down spoilers for next season, because it ends on a weird cliff-hanger that simultaneously reboots the series, and appears to kill off four main characters. Although three appear to be in limbo.
It also redeemed two characters - that were complete assholes in the front half of the series - or the first five episodes. What I love about this series is the characters evolve and change, and it, surprisingly enough, does not devolve into tween soap. The focus remained on survival and working together to survive. There really isn't much of a love triangle. Or the focus is short-lived. And the series did not go in the direction that I expected it to go in.
Definitely improved as it progressed, both writing and acting wise. And the tight 13 episode format worked quite well. Wish all television series would do a 13 episode format. 22 episodes is too many, in my opinion. The story gets stretched too thin.
Granted, it helps if one of your story kinks is survival or struggling to survive against impossible odds, and in the wilderness. Also if you like pseudo-science fiction and aren't too picky over the details. The world-building worked for me, although it did reference a hodge-podge of other sci-fi series that I've seen - everything from Firefly to Lost. But hey, most tv shows borrow and reference each other now, so I hand-wave that. And next season - they are supposed to explore the world even more.
The premise is - 100 years or so in the future, the descendants of the astronauts and scientists, who were operating various space stations during a cataclysmic nuclear holocaust on the ground, decide its time to see if Earth is habitable again. They connected their various stations ages ago, pooling all their resources, in order to survive. The connected hybrid of space stations is called "The ARC". And each year celebrate their unification as "unity day". To their knowledge no one survived the holocaust below. To see if the Earth is habitable, they send 100 juvenile delinquents. Everyone from murders to political dissenters. If the kids survive and report back as okay, then the rest of the inhabitants can travel to the ground. Only one problem - there aren't enough life rafts to carry everyone. And they are running short of air and resources.
The story during S1 is basically a two-pronged survival tale, which flips between the adult society struggling to survive in space and the 20-something/teen society struggling for survival on the ground. Both have problems, some similar, some different.
The story on the ground is at times reminiscent of Lord of the Flies and LOST, while the one in the air is reminiscent of Battle Star Galatica and various space based sci-fi tales. But quite different as well. I didn't find it all that predictable and it surprised me at times.
If you get the chance to check this out, and share some of my story kinks, I highly recommend it. It's a lot of fun.
Oh and if you are curious about next season - Huffington Post has an interview with the show-runner, here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/11/the-100-finale_n_5485338.html
ETA: It has more female characters than most of these types of series do - which causes it to stand out a bit. And the female characters are in many ways central to the story, and we are in their point of view through most of it. Usually, we see things from the male point of view in these types of series. To get a heroine's perspective and have the male characters supporting the heroine's perspective is an odd thing in the sci-fi genre.
Here's a list of the female points of view or main female characters:
Dichen Latchman (who played Sierra on Dollhouse) portrays the leader of the Grounders, Anya.
There's Clark - the leader of the 100.
Raven - a mechanic and engineer.
Octavia - who falls in love with a grounder
Abby - a surgeon and doctor, also Clark's mother
Definitely worth checking out. Again, only if you like these sort of things. (ie. The Hunger Games, Lost, BSG, etc.)
It also redeemed two characters - that were complete assholes in the front half of the series - or the first five episodes. What I love about this series is the characters evolve and change, and it, surprisingly enough, does not devolve into tween soap. The focus remained on survival and working together to survive. There really isn't much of a love triangle. Or the focus is short-lived. And the series did not go in the direction that I expected it to go in.
Definitely improved as it progressed, both writing and acting wise. And the tight 13 episode format worked quite well. Wish all television series would do a 13 episode format. 22 episodes is too many, in my opinion. The story gets stretched too thin.
Granted, it helps if one of your story kinks is survival or struggling to survive against impossible odds, and in the wilderness. Also if you like pseudo-science fiction and aren't too picky over the details. The world-building worked for me, although it did reference a hodge-podge of other sci-fi series that I've seen - everything from Firefly to Lost. But hey, most tv shows borrow and reference each other now, so I hand-wave that. And next season - they are supposed to explore the world even more.
The premise is - 100 years or so in the future, the descendants of the astronauts and scientists, who were operating various space stations during a cataclysmic nuclear holocaust on the ground, decide its time to see if Earth is habitable again. They connected their various stations ages ago, pooling all their resources, in order to survive. The connected hybrid of space stations is called "The ARC". And each year celebrate their unification as "unity day". To their knowledge no one survived the holocaust below. To see if the Earth is habitable, they send 100 juvenile delinquents. Everyone from murders to political dissenters. If the kids survive and report back as okay, then the rest of the inhabitants can travel to the ground. Only one problem - there aren't enough life rafts to carry everyone. And they are running short of air and resources.
The story during S1 is basically a two-pronged survival tale, which flips between the adult society struggling to survive in space and the 20-something/teen society struggling for survival on the ground. Both have problems, some similar, some different.
The story on the ground is at times reminiscent of Lord of the Flies and LOST, while the one in the air is reminiscent of Battle Star Galatica and various space based sci-fi tales. But quite different as well. I didn't find it all that predictable and it surprised me at times.
If you get the chance to check this out, and share some of my story kinks, I highly recommend it. It's a lot of fun.
Oh and if you are curious about next season - Huffington Post has an interview with the show-runner, here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/11/the-100-finale_n_5485338.html
ETA: It has more female characters than most of these types of series do - which causes it to stand out a bit. And the female characters are in many ways central to the story, and we are in their point of view through most of it. Usually, we see things from the male point of view in these types of series. To get a heroine's perspective and have the male characters supporting the heroine's perspective is an odd thing in the sci-fi genre.
Here's a list of the female points of view or main female characters:
Dichen Latchman (who played Sierra on Dollhouse) portrays the leader of the Grounders, Anya.
There's Clark - the leader of the 100.
Raven - a mechanic and engineer.
Octavia - who falls in love with a grounder
Abby - a surgeon and doctor, also Clark's mother
Definitely worth checking out. Again, only if you like these sort of things. (ie. The Hunger Games, Lost, BSG, etc.)
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no subject
Date: 2014-06-29 03:36 am (UTC)re: the 100 - the three main female characters on the ground are clearly the most useful and sensible ones there, and are also flawed and rounded...
no subject
Date: 2014-06-29 12:14 pm (UTC)The Good Wife had 2 or 3, but being procedurally based and not pure serial, it didn't fall into the trap of redundancy quite as easily. Although even procedurals do have that problem - "oh, we're doing THAT case again? And gee, who is the murderer? Let me think." (Noticed it happening quite a bit with Bones, Castle, and Elementary.)
The Good Wife is also amongst the few smartly written. So is an exception.
Vampire Diaries would be better off if it had a shorter season, it's numerous episodes have resulted in a looser plot, and more daytime soap hijinks. Way too much focus on the somewhat repetitive love triangle between Elena/Stefan and Damon. Also, everyone is sleeping with everyone else - which happens when you have that much filler in a serial. It doesn't have to, but it is a trap.
I think what would work best is a happy medium. Broadchurch for example gave us an excellent amount of character development and had a tight plot, yet not that many episodes. And Fargo, similarly did the same. As did Sleepy Hollow.
I can only think of a handful of 22 episode series that do that. A lot sort of lose both plot and characters in the middle or the rush to the end. Even the writers, such as the showrunner of the 100, that the shorter episode format is actually easier for them. It's hard to shoot out 22 episodes in a short period of time. That's one of the reasons for all the breaks in the season. Also, with 22 - filming is more rushed, there's less time for fine-tuning or editing. So the final product often isn't as polished. (Or so it seems).
no subject
Date: 2014-06-29 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-29 05:36 am (UTC)Also, I think it's filmed here in BC..and I see a number of local actors I've seen in other shows.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-29 12:17 pm (UTC)A lot of series also film in NYC - because we are giving them huge tax breaks.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-29 12:22 pm (UTC)Spoilers
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I'm trying to figure out if the two male leads on the ground survived. It seems bizarre they'd kill either off this early in the series. This is a series that has been surprising regarding who they killed off and when. And the deaths due change the direction it goes, so they matter. In a lot of shows, deaths never matter.
For example: I was shocked that they killed off Kate Vernon (the head of the opposition party on the arc) and her group in the manner they had. I was expecting a completely different outcome.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-30 06:04 pm (UTC)(And Re: Your other post: Yes! "MASH" is most def. one of the well done portraits!)