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Blu-ray Review The 100: The Complete 1st Season Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

Brendan Surpless

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The 100: The Complete 1st Season Blu-ray Review

Similar to the concept of the Will Smith film, After Earth, WB's The 100 takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which the Earth has been abandoned following a war that left the planet soaking in radiation. The Ark is now Humankind's home, having been cobbled together from many different nationalities' space stations.

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Studio: Warner Brothers

Distributed By: N/A

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Rating: Not Rated

Run Time: 9 Hr. 32 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray

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Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 09/23/2014

MSRP: $49.99




The Production Rating: 3/5

It is now 97 years since life began on the Ark, with several generations of people having never touched solid ground, from which we enter Clarke Griffin, the daughter of prominent scientists onboard the Ark. Having been imprisoned for an unknown infraction, she and several others are quickly forced into escape pods and sent down to the planet, alarming many due to the dangers on land. But is Earth in fact still uninhabitable? Clarke, her friends, and other juveniles like her are about to find out.The look of the show is familiar to many sci fi shows with woods signifying an easy way to depict a changed world yet alien enough to have surprises in its flora and fauna. This is what kept me watching with interesting reveals from the very first episode on. The acting is above average and the characters somewhat multifaceted but still suffer from the stamp of the CW network's young adult demographic. Perfect hair and character tropes abound, with Clarke trying her best not to be cut quite from the same cloth as the characters Octavia and Bellamy Blake are, pandering dialogue especially. She is hardly the most compelling reason to watch the show, but she does a serviceable job.The 100: The Complete First Season contains 13 episodes spread across 3 Discs:1. Pilot2. Earth Skills3. Earth Skills (aka Earth Kills)4. Murphy’s Law5. Twilight’s Last Gleaming6. His Sister’s Keeper7. Contents Under Pressue8. Day Trip9. Unity Day10. I Am Become Death11. The Calm12. We Are Grounders - Part 113. We Are Grounders - Part 2


Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA

This First Season arrives on Blu-ray with a rather proficient 1080p, AVC MPEG-4 encoded, 1:78 framed presentation. Colors, while somewhat bleak at times (assumably meant to capture the series’ themes,) are solid. Blacks showcase fine detail when needed, while the brighter colors like those of the lush greens of the forest and the peaches of the characters skin tones, impress as well. Image detail is fine too, with no instance of blurring nor any notice of black crush, source noise or any damage.



Audio Rating: 4.5/5

Audio-wise, the series arrives with an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, with optional English or Spanish subtitles. Dialogue is fine throughout, with no instance of drop out or muddle dialogue. Atmosphere is the single best aspect of this mix, with numerous instances where the sound field wraps the viewer with an aural experience. All in all, this mix was far better than one might expect from a TV series.


Special Features Rating: 2/5

In The Beginning (7:13) - This details the show’s premise, with interviews with the cast and crew.The Ark (6:37) - The series set design, as well as a majority of the visual effects, are detailed.A New Earth (6:46) - Here we discover how the post-apocalyptic Earth was brought to life.Grounders, Reapers and Mountain Men (7:52) - The varying groups of characters, as well as their clothing, speech and overall look, are detailed.2013 Comic-Con Panel (14:21) - This feature shows the cast and crew at Comic-ConDeleted Scenes (2:04) - A few deleted scenes, nearly all forgettable, are shown.


Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Overall, the show's premise is enough to keep me interesting, and its science fiction ethos is a good counter to the occasional melodrama that the CW can be guilty of. I look forward to the future of this show and what new surprises the Earth of the future and its creatures reveal. Luckily for fans of the series, they'll be pleased to know that Warner has put together a solid package for this First Season with a few decent features, but quite the impressive V/A presentation. Recommended for a purchase only to the biggest fans, as the rest will want to give this one a rent if the subject matter interests you.)


Reviewed By: Brendan Surpless


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Adam Lenhardt

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Thanks for the review, Brendan.I'm always grateful that Warner Bros. puts out the vast majority of its shows on Blu-Ray, even shows most of the other studios would not, but I'm usually disappointed by the paltry special features. The selection here still isn't great, but better than most releases. One special feature you didn't mention in your review is the audio commentary on "We Are Grounders, Part 2" with showrunner Jason Rothenberg and producing director Dean White.

I agree with you about the a/v quality on this release. I'm only a few episodes in, but I've been very impressed with how well the CG renderings hold up with the crystal clarity of 1080p Blu-Ray. There have been several establishing shots of the space station that took my breath away; really feature quality work.
 

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