There’s only so many premises science fiction shows can do. A favorite featuring young adults tends to be putting them in a location where all adults (or people with knowledge and power) are removed and watching the chaos ensue.

I watched the 100 when it was on TV, and I really enjoyed it (though the last season was a miss for me). When I saw the trailer for the Ark, I thought it looked interesting, but also familiar. After binge watching the Ark, I can say there are a lot of similar things between the two shows. I thought I’d go through them. Now, this isn’t me saying I didn’t like the Ark. I really enjoyed the first season (why else would I binge it?) and can’t wait for the second season.

• The premise

The 100: the survivors of a post-apocalyptic event on Earth are on a space station, named …. the Ark. A group of juvenile delinquents are sent to Earth to determine if it’s survivable, and once there, they create their own leadership group and struggle to survive.

The Ark: a group of people are sent on a spaceship (named Ark 1) to a new planet to try and build a new civilization there. An attack on the ship results in the higherups of the crew all being killed, resulting in the young adults and lower rankings in their military are forced into leadership.

• The characters

The 100’s main character: Clarke Griffin. Clark assumes leadership due to her mother being on the council and having some medical training. She faces opposition from all directions and struggles with making decisions to protect the group. She had a few other characters who end up helping her. Her, basically second in command, is Bellamy Blake. He starts off stubborn, obnoxious, and rather critical of Clarke’s decisions. However, he eventually comes to understand her and work with her to govern the group. He becomes protective of her, and their other friends in the process.

The Ark’s main character: Sharon Garnet. Sharon is a lieutenant who joins the crew rather last minute before they launch. This put her in a situation where the other crewmates were wary of her presence. She assumes command after the incident since she has the most knowledge of the ship itself. Two other lieutenants butt heads with her, one more than the other. Spencer Lane and James Brice. Spencer was the one with the most trouble accepting Sharon, while James had his own illness to deal with.

Sharon vs Clarke: Both are young women who assume leadership, while dealing with some hotheaded men trying to at first take over, and then assisting them. Sharon is a clone who had tardigrade DNA inserted into her, which resulted in her enhanced ability to withstand solar radiation. Clarke, in a later season, has nightblood inserted which leads to her being able to withstand intense solar radiation as well.

Spencer vs Bellamy: Spencer and Bellamy are the characters who often push against Sharon and Clarke’s decisions, at least early on in the series. They both have trouble with keeping their emotions in check. They both also get swept up with a rebellious group that tried to take over. While Spencer changed his mind and returned to helping Sharon, Bellamy did not and was killed by Clarke. There’s also a hint that some feelings are developing between both pairs. This never comes to fruition for Clarke and Bellamy (the actors are married in real life though), but there’s a chance something could happen between Sharon and Spencer.

Raven vs Eva: There’s also an extremely talented engineer in both groups whose love interest dies. Both are badass women who struggle with the loss of their significant other. Raven loses her boyfriend, Finn, first to jail, then Earth, then to Clarke, and then he gets killed. Eva loses Harris during a lockdown on the ship where the oxygen gets sucked out of the room he was in. Raven and Eva often come up with ideas or help engineer ideas that others have to help them survive.

• Plot lines

Other similar plot lines also occur between both shows such as an episode about hallucinations. On the 100, a type of nut that causes hallucinations is added to the food supply to allow for a prisoner to escape. Due to an unknown chemical in the water supply, the Ark crew experiences hallucinations as well.

The use of cryopods to fly to a new planet is also employed in both shows. A war between two groups of people who both groups didn’t know existed also occurs in the shows.

These are just a few examples of how the shows are similar. Science fiction shows like this tend to have similar plots and plot devices, so this is to be expected. I just found it funny how one season of the Ark managed to have so many similarities to the 100’s seven seasons. Again, I enjoy both shows. I can’t wait to see what the Ark does with its characters and plots in future seasons.