Here’s the synopsis for those of you
who didn't watch the pilot -
97 years ago, nuclear war destroyed
Earth. Survivors fled to the space stations orbiting Earth. Now, only one
overcrowded space station, the Ark, remains and even that is dying. So, the desperate
adults in charge (including their own parents in many cases), send 100 young
criminals (I use that word loosely as everything from murder to mild
disobedience is labeled as criminal onboard the Ark) back to Earth for a dual
purpose - one, to save precious resources, and second, to use these young
adults as a test case to see if radiation levels on Earth will allow for their
return. Once down in what looks like an idyllic and lush green forest, the
young men and women break off into various groups in a Lord of the Flies kind of situation. Leading the good guys is Clarke, the
bright teenage daughter of the Ark's chief medical officer; Wells, son of the
Ark’s Chancellor and the daredevil Finn. Leading the bad guys/rebels is the
brother/sister duo of Bellamy and Octavia, who have every reason to hate the
adults who condemned them and want nothing more than to be left alone, even
it's on an irradiated planet.
From here, the story goes in two directions.
Clarke's sensible advice to go and find supplies falls on deaf years as Bellamy
gets busy encouraging the formerly incarcerated teens to take off their medical
wrist cuffs (which is the only thing that lets the adults on the spaceship know
if they're alive and how their bodies are reacting to the atmosphere on Earth),
and do their own thing with his mantra of "whatever the hell we
want", which naturally proves more popular. Clarke and 4 others leave to
get supplies and on their way encounter - a mutated deer, then a gigantic
fish/snake like thing that almost kills Octavia when she provocatively strips
and jumps into a lake that’s not on any map, glow-in-the-dark vegetation and
finally (and this is the most interesting part), after swinging across on a
vine Tarzan-style, Jasper gets a spear hurled through his chest. Apparently,
they’re not alone on Earth.
What worked for me – this Lord of the Flies kind of situation set in a
futuristic, yet back-to-the-basics kind of way is very intriguing. The problems
facing the kids on Earth and those of the adults onboard the space station are
very different, yet eerily similar. Lots of good looking people provide plenty
of eye candy, both young and mature. Oh, and the most interesting part of the
story came towards the end, when it became clear that Clarke and the others are
not the only humans on Earth.
What I didn’t like - To watch this series, one thing to keep foremost in mind
is – don’t think about the science. Because if you do, you’ll realize how
ridiculous the entire thing is. Like adults in space stations who are willing
to send 100 kids down to a radiation-contaminated planet in a spaceship and yet
haven’t ever in 97 years sent a machine down to check on the radiation levels -
? Nothing is explained about the past. No reason is given why they expect these kids
to survive without any training or guidance whatsoever. I do hope they can fill in the
potholes in the plot, otherwise the series will just fall into one and remain
there forever.
Overall – The possibilities are endless and I hope the show can walk
the tightrope between fluff and science, and actually come up with something
that will sustain the audience’s interest.
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