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Brainerd Dispatch • August 9 - 15, 2020 •20 By Kyla Brewer TV Media I n the sci-fi genre, the possibili- ties are seemingly endless. Even so, some sci-fi series push the boundaries of the human imagina- tion further than others. One such series is back with a new episode this week as it continues its bitter- sweet final season. Eliza Taylor ("Neighbours") stars as Clarke Griffin, a young woman struggling to ensure the survival of the human race after a nuclear apocalypse, in a new epi- sode of "The 100," airing Wednesday, Aug. 12, on CW. For the past seven seasons, she's ral- lied her people against ruthless humans, powerful AI, nuclear threats and more in the science- fiction drama geared towards young adults. Based on the book series of the same name by Kass Morgan, "The 100" premiered midseason in March 2014 on CW. In the begin- ning, the post-apocalyptic drama told the story of the last remaining humans who had fled Earth fol- lowing a massive planet-wide nu- clear disaster. After being exiled on an orbiting space habitat called the Ark for 97 years, leaders real- ized that life support was failing and they needed to act quickly or everyone would die. Desperate, they sent 100 juvenile delinquents to the planet's surface to deter- mine whether it could support life. Clarke was one of those delin- quents. Unfortunately, not all of the 100 would-be colonizers saw eye to eye, and they quickly divid- ed into factions. While Clarke and her friend Wells (Eli Goree, "River- dale") were determined to find a way to survive and save the others still in space, a group led by rebel Bellamy (Bob Morley, "Home and Away") conspired to make the Ark residents think they were dead. His allies included his sister, Octa- via (Marie Avgeropoulos, "Hunt to Kill," 2010), and other radicals. However, the threat of Grounders — survivors of the nuclear apoca- lypse who had been living on Earth all along — soon forced the warring delinquents together against common enemies while the other humans in space made the difficult decision to return to the habitat on the Ark. To say that the plotlines have changed over the years would be an understatement. Clarke, Bella- my and the others have since faced imprisonment by people who experimented on them, an uprising within their ranks, power- ful artificial intelligence bent on "solving" the problem of human overpopulation, a new nuclear apocalypse, a 125-year space jour- ney in cryosleep, life on another planet and mysterious new cult- like groups. As for what's next, only time will tell. Luckily for fans, at least they'll have a full final season to enjoy. While in March 2020, War- ner Bros. shut down production due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast and crew had managed to finish filming Season 7, according to writer Kim Shumway ("Wisdom of the Crowd"), who tweeted about the show's wrap in March. News of the show's final scenes is surely disappointing for fans, but the saga may live on in a pre- quel series. In October 2019, it was announced that "The 100" showrunner Jason Rothenberg was developing a prequel, which would be introduced in a so-called "backdoor pilot," an episode of a current series that introduces the premise and characters of a new series. The episode, entitled "Ana- conda," aired on CW on Wednes- day, July 8, and attracted plenty of buzz from loyal fans for its flash- back to how everything began. Set 97 years before the events of the first season of "The 100," "Ana- conda" picked up hours before the disaster that decimated Earth. Iola Evans ("Carnival Row") stars as Callie Cadogan, the estranged daughter of "The 100" villain Bill Cadogan (John Pyper-Ferguson, "The Last Ship"). Erica Cerra ("Eu- reka") reprised her role as Becca, the scientist who created the AI known as A.L.I.E. Becca had previ- ously appeared in Seasons 3 - 5 of "The 100." The backdoor pilot also featured Adain Bradley ("The Bold and the Beautiful") as Cal- lie's brother, Reese, and Leo How- ard ("Kickin' It") as rebel activist August. As of press time, the pre- quel series had not been ordered, despite a positive fan and critical reaction. So much has changed through- out the past seven seasons of "The 100," but some fan support for the series persists. Much like the number of the original 100 de- linquents has dwindled over the years, so have the ratings. Viewer- ship has been on a steady decline for the past six seasons. However, the show still draws positive re- views from critics and fans. As a whole, it has earned a 93% ap- proval rating on the popular re- view aggregator site rottentoma- toes.com. The show landed at No. 36 on Rolling Stone's list of 40 Best Science Fiction TV Shows of All Time in 2016. Over the years, "The 100" has earned its fair share of attention from the awards circuit as well. In 2014, it was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Spe- cial Visual Effects. The show has been nominated for multiple Teen Choice Awards and Saturn Awards, snagging the Saturn stat- uette for Best Youth-Oriented Se- ries in 2015. More recently, "The 100" was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Television Series in 2019. Such accolades are likely bitter- sweet for the show's cast and crew, who have poured their hearts into the series for years. With only episodes left before the end of the series, catch up with Clarke, Octavia and the others and watch the saga unfold in a new episode of "The 100," airing Wednesday, Aug. 12, on CW. War of the worlds Clarke faces final battle in seventh season of 'The 100' Feature Story this week Marie Avgeropoulos stars in "The 100"

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