Did anyone watch Terra Nova

I figured I'd give the pilot a chance. I guess after Lost, every show like this will pale in comparison. But, it wasn't half bad. Obviously lots of questions to be answered because it's hard to get a grip on what is going on and the back story leading up to it.

Anyone else give it a whirl? What did you think?

I gave the pilot a chance too and didn't like it at all. It failed on quite a few levels for me, but I'm one of those tough-to-please nerds when it comes to sci-fi so take all this with a grain of salt, and since i'm in a ranty mood, i'll just let it fly.

1. Time travelling - So the whole time-space continuum thingy is just glossed over. Sure, they don't have to explain how they did it, but what they show doesn't make any sense.
First, why are they all walking in to the "Stargate-esque-if-not-exactly-like-Stargate" gate? They have cars and other vehicles that made it through. It seems incredibly innefficient and more like bad storytelling. They needed to have that dramatic scene at the gate on foot, so had it on foot, logic be damned.
Second, they are back in the Jurassic (i think?) period and say it's an alternate time stream, so the whole butterfly effect won't happen. They can kill something and it won't effect their future (present). Ok. But... what about the whole dinosaur extinction effect? Is that also not supposed to happen? Because it seems pretty damn stupid to set up a civilization BEFORE the cataclysmic event occurs that wipes out the dinosaurs. And if that is the case, shouldn't the first order of business be building shelters to be able to withstand this cataclysmic event that we have a rough idea when it is coming. THAT would have been an interesting story. Go back in the past to save civilization, but have to withstand the cataclysm that wiped out the dinosaurs first.

2. Characters/plot - Although with these characters, I'm hoping the dinosaurs kill them off before the cataclysm does. Ok, so I get they set up a law/world that the viewer should sympathize with the main characters for breaking, i.e. this Only 2-Children law. But it's the law, and by the looks of the world and the state it's in, doesn't seem to be a bad law. Now they break the law and are rightfully processed. And then they break the law by bringing their overpopulated children back in to the past, thus creating the exact same problem they left the "Old World" to fix. So our "hero" family is actually the problem. THEY are the badguys as set up by the plot of the story, and yet we are to think of them as the heroes. So... i'm back to rooting for the dinosaurs to kill them off.
And then comes in the 6-ers who've broken off and are rebelling against the main compound for whatever daddy issues Stephen Lang's son has against him (probably for being kept out of Avatar). And their faux-leader chick is just not sympathetic. You can send in a badguy (ala Ben from Lost) that the viewer can still love to hate, versus just not like. I just didn't like their faux-leader-chick. And then the only thing that was interesting was those strange diagrams on the rocks that could have led in to some interesting mysteries ala maybe this alternate-time-line thingy really is only an alternate-time-line to THEIR timeline, but it's not an alternate to someone else's timeline. But that's getting deep into sci-fi territory that maybe a mainstream audience wouldn't want to get in to. Then again, Lost had one of the great runs in TV history, so Fox can put that in their pipe and shove it. Don't dumb down a show!! Lift it up, the audience will watch.

so with that, terra nova is deleted off my season pass.
:D

Kam,

Good analysis of just about every point. Not sure if you caught it or not, but the pictures on the rocks were drawn by Lang's son.

I watched last night's episode and may give it a couple weeks before dropping off. At this point, it looks like each week will deliver a new challenge and they will solve it, all while still adding to the stack of unanswered questions.

I think maybe the only reason I am watching it is for Allison Miller who is a cute double for Ellen Page.

This show was on our TV very briefly and just as I was thinking that it might be worth watching, Hubby switched the channel. I was supposed to be doing homework so I didn't bother asking him to change it back.

Given Kam's assessment, it's probably just as well that I missed it. I need to watch fewer shows, not more. If it turns out to be good, let me know and I can catch up. :)

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Originally Posted by Hyfi

Kam,

Good analysis of just about every point. Not sure if you caught it or not, but the pictures on the rocks were drawn by Lang's son.

I watched last night's episode and may give it a couple weeks before dropping off. At this point, it looks like each week will deliver a new challenge and they will solve it, all while still adding to the stack of unanswered questions.

I think maybe the only reason I am watching it is for Allison Miller who is a cute double for Ellen Page.

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Actually that was the part that made me delete it off my season pass. The one mystery that I thought had some cool sci-fi potential they explained away with a brat-who-wants-to-upstage-his-dad story. Really? Really??
It's no wonder Firefly was doomed on Fox when something like this gets the royal treatment by the network.

I'm still waiting on my Safety brief from the Colonel (leader is same as in Avatar) lol

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Originally Posted by recoveryone

I'm still waiting on my Safety brief from the Colonel (leader is same as in Avatar) lol

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They are not in Kansas any more. Although... they actually might be in Kansas about 100 millions years before Toto and Dorothy.

Watched it
IMO no somthing special, spielberg can do better

I recorded last night's and last week's episodes. Its probably more difficult to produce a weekly series to the same level as a theatrical movie. The jury's out until after I see the two epis.

It's not the greatest show on TV, but what is these days? It's been a while sinse any show got me very excited. I find it mildly enjoyable, and as such, one of the better shows available laely.