OMFG there were friggin' dinosaurs on my TV screen last night! And one annoying teenage boy. That pretty much sums up Terra Nova, Fox's gigantic-budget sci-fi series about a dismal future, promising prehistoric times, and teenagers doing stupid things. Last night's two-hour premiere suffered from a near-fatal case of pilotitis—the sci-fi exposition regurgitated by the smarty-pants bookworm daughter had me scrambling for the MUTE button—yet delivered enough excitement that I'll still make an appointment with my television next Monday night.
Let's start with what didn't work. Fox is investing a ton of money in this series (the pilot reportedly cost $20 million to make), which means the returns on the show have to be huge. That means getting everybody—you, your little sister, your dad, your grandmother, a salty sea captain, a sexy cat burglar—to watch. Terra Nova is "family entertainment" in that it's trying to provide a different type of entertainment for each member of the family; this puts the show in danger of losing its identity while trying to please everyone. So far we've got sci-fi epicness, a mom-and-pop-repairing-their-love story, dinosaur action, a rebel-teen love story, and then another teen love story in-the-making. It's family entertainment, I get it, but does it have to be so family entertainment-y?
The Shannons have spent their entire lives on a dusty rock that hasn't seen blue skies or lush foliage in decades, yet when they're zapped 85 million years into the past to help give mankind a second chance, all Josh (the son) can do is throw hissy fits about his dad punching a cop in a forced plot to create family tension. I feel sorry for young actor Landon Liboiron (who plays Josh), because he's being asked to shoulder the weight of conflict in the most annoying way possible. I can believe that science has found a way to teleport people back in time; what I can't believe is that a kid would be such a dick to his dad after having mind blown because he just TRAVELED BACK IN TIME TO A LAND FILLED WITH DINOSAURS. The Daddy-doesn't-love-me plot should have slowly bubbled to the surface, but instead it exploded in our faces. The same can be said for much of the family drama we've seen so far: Jim Shannon's family went to extreme measures to get him out of jail and into Terra Nova, and once he was there, they kind of pooped all over him.
But come on, what did you expect? This is a Steven Spielberg project, and this is what Steven Spielberg does. Of course Josh is going to meet the hottest his-age girl within ten minutes of arriving. Of course Maddy is going to trade batted eyelashes with a handsome Taylor Lautner lookalike. Of course Commander Taylor's son went missing a long time ago and Taylor thinks he's still alive but probably part of the Sixers. It's cliché, passé, and blasé, but it's the formula the network-television production machine sticks to because execs (and advertisers) would rather have 10 million kind-of interested people than 3 million very interested people.
I'll blame most of the above complaints on Monday's two-hour episode being a pilot, because once you get past them, there's a series here with true potential. I like the idea that the Others Sixers really extend the universe and could lead to the old "actually, they're the good guys!" storyline. Wacky hieroglyphs or something-glyphs painted on rocks always thicken mystery. There are a lot of opportunities for characters to butt heads with Taylor, who is more of an all-powerful despot than an ambassador of the Paleozoic. And of course there are dinosaurs and guns. These are the ideas I hope the show focuses on moving forward, rather than trying to make us care about whether or not little Joshy gets laid.
As for the effects, I had originally screened the first hour of the premiere in a 600x450 standard-definition browser window on my computer, so I had hoped the final HD version would look great. It had its moments, but always remained in "television special effects" territory. The first hour tried too hard to wow the audience with grandiose shots of the world and the giant dinosaurs within in, and anyone who's played a video game in the last five years was probably unimpressed. The second hour did a much better job with effects by using them less and using the cover of darkness to their advantage. For example, the velociraptors slashers looked a lot better than the sunlit dinos of the first hour. Still, the setting itself managed to convey the idea that we were in a far away land, and for two hours last night, I felt as though I'd escaped my living room (at least, as much any TV show ever could). Major points for the audio as well; both myself and my cats were delightfully freaked out by some of the atmospheric surround sounds, courtesy of whatever prehistoric monsters were lurking in the shadows.
Though I had problems with both the dialogue and the hackneyed characters and their actions, Terra Nova gets a recommendation from me based on pure potential. The premiere delivered on its promise to be a television event. Now it just needs to deliver on our hopes that it will turn out be quality television.
Notes:
– I thought the second hour was a lot stronger than the first, once all the awkward set-up was out of the way. Hopefully that's indicative of where the series is headed.
– Stephen Lang may be playing the same guy he played in Avatar, but it's still a perfect role for him. I've talked to him in person, and I can attest that the guns stretching his T-shirt sleeves are legit.
– The premiere's spotty editing and uneven pacing lead me to believe that the show has undergone a major overhaul, and that studio notes took a lot of bite out of the original.
– I will defend the idea of Josh meeting hottie Skye early on by comparing Terra Nova to a college campus. Whenever new freshman arrive, the seniors line up to check out the fresh meat. We all did that, right?
– The story would have been better served if one of those kids had died. How are we supposed to fear the slashers if they can't even kill a 16-year-old girl?
– Troublesome dad, family-centered mom, rebellious older son, bookworm daughter, cute toddler... remind you of any other Fox family? Maybe one that's yellow and has four fingers?
Lots and lots of questions:
As Lost taught us for a while, unanswered questions can be a good thing. But sometimes we find ourselves asking questions that don't relate to island mysteries—they're just questions that should have been answered. Terra Nova's pilot gave us plenty of those:
– Why did Jim and Elisabeth sleep in separate beds? It's okay, Terra Nova, you can tell us.
– Why did the Shannons have a third kid when they knew it was against the law? If you're going to make a big deal of it, you need to give us a clue.
– Why did Skye strip down to her bikini when they were waterfall diving, but Josh didn't even take off his button-down? How did Skye get her clothes back?
– How did Jim escape prison with just that one laser-cutter? And who left all those supplies around for him to make his escape?
– What happened to Zoe after Jim was imprisoned? "It seemed like a good idea at the time" is not an acceptable answer. And why did Jim really punch the cop? Surely he knew that was a no-no.
Let's hear your best answers in the comments!
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
And yes, I have to agree that the second hour was much stronger than the first.
Stephen Lang is awesome here, just as he was in Avatar. Although... he is a bit easier to like here because his character in Avatar was well... an asshole.
I was about to stop watching but the pilot was alright. I'll give it a month which is more than I gave Spielberg's other project Falling Skies.
It was ok. I probably won't keep watching though. I also wondered where Zoey had been during those years.
Thank you, reviewer, for mentioning the lack of awe and wonder the characters failed to display when crossing the time portal. From my understanding everyone had pretty much lived in a highly urbanized environment with no trees, no nature or anything-- just concrete. Yet when they enter the brave new world of nature with trees and dirt and grass it all barely registers a blip. This is when I knew that the series was in trouble. If the writers weren't sensitive enough to the reality of what it would be like for people like the Shannons to enter nature for the first time in their entire lives, there's no chance of Terra Nova being the sophisticated sci fi that we had all hoped it would be.
Incidentally, what's the deal with the "bulletproof dinosaurs", anyway? What is this, Prince of Space? ("Phantom of Krankor, it's no use! Your weapons have no effect on me!") People can shoot and shoot and shoot and none of the dinos register even so much as a flesh wound. Or how about this inanity-- after a kid gets his foot CHOMPED ON by a bloodthirsty slasher for a good 10 seconds, he emerges from the attack with his foot and leg completely intact. I mean, gimme a break already!moreless
Watched about 30-45 minutes then deleted it from DVR and took it off the recording schedule.
Hated the lead male characters.
And can we say stupid plot.
Come on, daddy is a COP, Future is horrific and families can only have 2 children so lets have a third child anyway.
Now lets smuggle in a laser to break daddy out of a maximum security prison.
And once it started with the teenagers
DELETE DELETE DELETE
Watched the pilot Monday evening in HD with a Surround receiver and was not bad. With no Stargate or Star Trek on any longer...it was a welcome addition to anything which pretty much BS for almost anything being shown on SyFy.
On the other hand...with Fox's track record of being able to kill any decent show...while running worse BS than on SyFy...was wondering how soon they will pull a Fox and kill what could have been a decent show?
I agree there was too much crammed into a single episode without making a very good main plot. Hopefully it will ease out in the coming episodes.
i agree the josh character is kinda annoying, but as soon as i saw him i fangirl squealed "ohmygod! it;s declan from degrassi!!!!!"
I wish the dinosaurs would go into the future and create a sort of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles scenario.
Yeah, I pretty much echo what this article and most of the commenters are saying. I kinda wished the dinosaurs would just wipe out all the teenagers in one swift swoop. That's fun to say.....swift swoop. Anyway, might check out the second episode but like Tim said it is a bit too much 'family entertainment-y'. Pretty much what put me off of Falling Skies too, all the teen angst and cliched dialogue made me uncomfortable in my seat. Also there isn't really one character I like after an hour and twenty minutes pilot. Seriously, wouldn't bat an eye if anyone on there bites it.
I agree with everything you're saying, but the show left me not wanting to come back for a second go around. I really disliked the father and son. And I was amazed that there was no appreciation for their new situation. It's like Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and saying, "Whatever?". I think the entire 2 hours should've been about dealing with this new world instead of spending the 2nd hour as a "Jurassic Park" rip-off! Of course, I don't know if there's anything they could've done to get me to like this family! :(
This show has potential and hopefully we will see that in the coming episodes. I really, really hate the whole "family" angle of the show, which was the very reason why I stopped watching Falling Skies after the first episode. $20 million pilot and the daylight dino CGI looked like? Where did all that money go? Game Of Thrones had waaaaaay better CGI for the ending episode. I think if the story was told more through the military eyes rather then the Shannon family that this show would be quite good.
Filming outside is much more expensive that in a studio. Mostly in a place like that jungle. Building the set, the vehicles, etc. probably also took a good chunk of the budget.
Why did Skye strip down to her bikini when they were waterfall diving
simple TV math - VERY attractive actress + bikini = big ratings
I was more interested in the futures story and scenes than Terra Novas...
Where did they spend that money? Not on writing, CGI, or decent actors... because those were all terrible. Disappointing show IMO and not sure if I'll bother watching again.
The show did well in the ratings but not great. Considering the cost involved it might not make it past Christmas, or at least no more than 13 episodes. Although the $20 million for the pilot is misleading because much of that cost is development for the show itself such as sets and costumes which can be reused throughout the series.
The separate beds was explained because Zoe was sharing Elizabeth's bed, and it's likely it wasn't more than a single bed anyways. The house had been built for only three people, hence three beds.
That was probably more of a detention center than a proper prison. And it was shown that the guards could be bribed.
There's a lot of the beginning story that seems rushed. It's possible that it will be explained better in later episodes.
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Don't necessarily agree with all your comments but raise some interesting questions, especially the one about what happened to Zoe when Jim was in prison? Did the government take her? Did they allow her to stay with Elizabeth? I DO agree that I'm just not that interested in Josh and his sex life or lack thereof yet. They should have let us get to know him first. And I'm still not sure what purpose the older daughter has in the whole scheme of things. Hope they can fill us in on that too.
One of the many, many plot failures.
Typical CGI will overcome very poor writing.
Well it didn't with me. No plot == No watch.
A great review and sooooooooo right!
WOW great review, I thought exactly the same
GREAT review!! voiced my thoughts exactly!!! :))
i really enjoyed the epic like look of the show even it didn't quite translate in the script. the whole father over reacting to the cop finding their hidden third child, it may have just been an anxious rather or it maybe a future hint that he was obviously a bit of a hothead, didn't the cop say he was not a cop any longer. guess they'll get around to giving us the back story there. Josh definitely the annoying teenager but any parent who has a teenager will tell you thats pretty typical behaviour, they are irrational and bat-shite insane they react immediately to nothing and just as quickly in the opposite direction. Will keep watching, intrigued.
loved it as did my granddaughters and daughter. I like unique shows and not boring comedy shows like Mad Men and such, those are just plain boring and tedious
Mad men isnt a comedy show, its pure drama set in the 1960s advertising industry
i Just can't understand why their guns that they used in the outsides are still regular GUNS.. those guns doesn't even hurts the dinosaurs.. we need better guns come on.. and why 85 M years? why that far ago? 5 million years were not enough?
i've hope that this show will improve if they dont make it like LOST
Why is Taylor's son leaving such odd writings on the rocks? Why not just say what you mean right off the bat?
How is Terra Nova settlement supposedly communicating with the year 2149? They established it's ONE way. They didn't find a tiny metal ball sent back in time so they assume it's a different timeline? Not that it was destroyed or -hello- MOVED??!!
This is how they will communicate: There is a special place deep in the earth that they dug in Terra Nova. They put a message in a special box or something. Then in 2149 they dig to same exact spot, find the special box and read the message. Oh yeah they are on different "Time Streams," never mind, its impossible to communicate with the future then.
LOL! That would have been a clever twist!
"How is Terra Nova settlement supposedly communicating with the year 2149? "
Tree Mail!!
If I got that right, they used kind of a radioactive material for the ball which they could track 85M years later, no matter where the ball is and probably even if the ball was destroyed.
However, I guess we will learn more about the ball and that they indeed are in the same timeline, if the show keeps on air long enough.
If I understood correctly, the scientists of 2149 have no balls and the people who are in Terra Nova are having a ball!
omgee
haha that's what i was thinking.i just assumed they did some other experiments too after that..
I LIKE THE SHOW.WITH MY LUCK IT WILL BE DROP
I pretty much agree with everything this person said (and thought he was pretty humorous). I just wanted to share my impression on a couple of his questions...
1) " who left all those supplies around for him to make his escape?"
Answer: I assumed it was his wife and family
2) " What happened to Zoe after Jim was imprisoned?"
Answer: I had the impression that she stayed with the Mom and other kids. They said something about just getting a slap on the wrist. She just wasn't able to take the 3rd kid because they would be advertising letting someone break the cardinal rule.
I do agree with the writer, "It seemed like a good idea at the time" is not an excuse for breaking the rule and bringing any child, yet a third, into a dying world.
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Let me just say this now: If you watched Outcasts on BBC America, Terra Nova felt like an EXACT copy 'cept with Dinosaurs instead of Aliens... The 3 things that bothered me the most you covered: the son, the jailbreak, and the having third child... I hope they'll go more original with the next couple of epsodes but..it's TV in 2011. I expect more mind numbing idiotic behavior....
Outcasts was actually good though.
100% loved it. I want more pls
That kid has all the potential to be the new Tyler from the V remake. Annoying!
he's HOT though..
LOL! That's so true!
It was OK, not what I thought it would be. I get the feeling from this point on each episode will be a bit on the slow side. I give it one season or less and out. I still think this series will be one of the ones to be canceled before its time.
What I find amazing is that the American viewing public would rather watch a bunch of clumsy semi-famous people dancing around with "average" folks, or big fat people who just won't stop their gluttony whining and crying about their struggles(their ALL losers!), or a very poor imitation of The Price Is Right. Talk about boring and stupid crap!! At least Terra Nova took some imagination, character development and actual writing. Those of you who are so highly critical of Terra Nova, try writing a script for a 2 hr. special, complete with special effects. Seems like only those who can't do and never have done criticize those who are doing!! I thought the acting was excellent, and the scenery was great! So go back to watching the fatties waddle, the the morons try to dance and the jerks try to guess the value of silly items! Who needs ya?????moreless
I think the people that are criticising Terra Nova, myself included, also hate reality tv. It's not like those are our only two choices. We all can appreciate the hard work that goes into making a scripted tv show instead of cheap reality garbage. I think a lot of faith is lost in network tv when we've been so spoiled by great shows on cable like 'Sons of Anarchy', 'Breaking Bad', 'Dexter' etc. etc. I know people use these shows as examples all the time but it's only because those shows have set the bar for quality television ridiculously high.
So you are taking two shows that the US produces and then generalizing your distaste for them to the reflect the entire population of the America? Considering the US invented television and television entertainment, the current golden-age of television which started right here in the US, and the plethora of top-notch drama and comedy shows produced in the US for the last 10 years, I have to conclude, sir, that you are full of shit.
Here is a bit of television history: The beginnings of mechanical television can be traced back to 1873 in Germany and Paul Gottlieb Nipkow. Philo Farnsworth, who you probably are reffering to, is an american who is best known for inventing the first fully functional all-electronic image pickup device. However, if television is defined as the live transmission of moving images with continuous tonal variation, the Scottish John Logie Baird first achieved this privately with his Electromechanical television on October 2, 1925, and he gave what is widely recognised as being the world's first demonstration of a working television system to members of the Royal Institution and a newspaper reporter on January 26th, 1926 at his laboratory in London. This is 2 years before Farnsworths official demonstration on September 3, 1928. Furthermore there also were some patent disputes beetween the russion Zworykin and Farnsworth. The point being that the credit might not fall entirely on one person. The development of television was the result of work by many inventors, but Baird was a prominent pioneer and made major advances in the field. He also transmitted the world's first long-distance television pictures in 1927 between London and Glasgow. :-) Other than that I agree that america produces some of the best tv-shows out there, as well as the worst. Not sure where Terra Nova will end up, so far it looks a bit bleak.moreless
Ah that famous quote from Farnsworth when he had that invention, he came into the room and said 'Good news everyone!'
Quite a frustrated childish comment that is... Try "Breaking Bad" "Sons of Anarchy" "NCIS" to name a few... We're surely going to build a great humanity with people like you. Have a nice Life.
I honestly don't see how you reply was any better... Le sigh...
Well, for one, I didn't insult a Nation because some people have a different opinion than me about a TV show.