Terra Nova: season 1 thread (1 Viewer)

http://www.thewrap.com/television/article/script-rewrites-producer-shuffles-cost-overruns-terra-nova-runaway-production-215?page=0,0


With a budget skyrocketing, more then $10M spent before a single frame has been shot, and big named writers, directors and others on board, Terra Nova is set to break all records for expense for a first season.

Being a Fox show, I'm sure it will be an incredible, a smash hit among the geek set, and canceled six episodes in. Can't wait

Just a heads-up, Terra Nova's 2-hour premiere airs tonight (9/26/2011) on Fox at 8 p.m EDT.

I'll check this out on demand. One question... Why would you send people back millions of years to give the human race a second chance knowing that there is going to be a cataclysmic event that will wipe out virtually every living thing on the planet?

Dennis Castro said:

I'll check this out on demand. One question... Why would you send people back millions of years to give the human race a second chance knowing that there is going to be a cataclysmic event that will wipe out virtually every living thing on the planet?

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The Dino's where living on earth way way longer than humans have, so going back to the beginning of the dinosaur age gives them millions and millions of years before the killer asteroid arrives. Plus with a dying earth and this being the only portal in time, they did not have much of a choice.

I noticed a little homage to a couple of movies here, namely Jurassic Park and the dinosaur chasing the Jeep, the other was to James Cameron's Aliens with the line "They mostly come out at night, mostly".

Someone please explain how the father escaped from prison.

The concept was strong, the casting was strong. And those are the only two places where you can't come back from deficiencies. Hopefully the writing will improve in time. In the mean time, I'm definitely in.

Steve Tannehill said:

Someone please explain how the father escaped from prison.

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He used the lazer beam his wife smuggled into his rebreather mask.

I was expecting much worse from this. I enjoyed it enough to give it a while and see if it develops. I wasn't paying too much attention at the beginning, but was there actually any mention of it having been years that the dad was in jail until after the son mentioned it when they got to their new house? I had assumed it was only a night or something until he threw his fit.

Yes, they said he was in for 2 years in Prison before he broke out..


I thought it was far better then I expected. I expected total crap. The casting is quite good; the effects are pretty good; the cast is better then expected. All in all, there is a lot of room to grow the series. We'll have to see how it pains out.

I think the cast is pretty good also, but the writing needs a bit of improvement, it 's looking a bit predictable. The stone writings by the waterfall is from Nathaniel Taylor's character trying to send a message into the future. It's probably going to be figured out by the older daughter that seems to have the gift of math. Overall I will keep watching it to see if it keeps my attention, however if they can't improve on the writing and lower the cost of making this series I think it will go by the way that Firefly did... One Season.

OzzieP said:

The stone writings by the waterfall is from Nathaniel Taylor's character trying to send a message into the future. It's probably going to be figured out by the older daughter that seems to have the gift of math.

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Your theory definitely makes the most sense, but a slight correction: the cave drawings on the stones are from Taylor's missing son, left to torment him. They're how Taylor knows his son is still alive, and very much hint that Terra Nova is a large scale experiment for the benefit of old earth 2149, not the start of a new future for mankind.

Overall I will keep watching it to see if it keeps my attention, however if they can't improve on the writing and lower the cost of making this series I think it will go by the way that Firefly did... One Season.

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That's the thing. This show can get ratings that would be a clear reason for renewal on any other show and still result in cancellation if they don't justify the budget. At the same time, it's exciting to watch a show that feels like a blockbuster.

The impression I got is that the drawings / calculations are to figure out how to open a portal to go in the other direction, but that's just a guess.

Did they ever explain how they knew where the portal went? The beacon only showed that it was a parallel timeline. So how do they know? Also, it seems Taylor is able to contact the future? So how?

todd s said:

Did they ever explain how they knew where the portal went? The beacon only showed that it was a parallel timeline. So how do they know? Also, it seems Taylor is able to contact the future? So how?

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They never did explain, but it's my understanding that data can be passed back and forth; the probe they sent through had to transmit back, for instance. It seems to only be physical objects that go one way.

todd s said:

Did they ever explain how they knew where the portal went? The beacon only showed that it was a parallel timeline. So how do they know? Also, it seems Taylor is able to contact the future? So how?

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I assumed that they didn't know where the portal went until Taylor went in first. As for the latter part... this is just a guess on my part, but I'm thinking that he can't actually contact the future, and is pretending that he can in order to keep people calm. I mean, really the only mention of potentially contacting the future was to give a flimsy excuse for not contacting the future about the Sixers.

Terrific pilot, really.


I especially appreciated a few things:


1) How quickly the show moved from the "future" to the past. It was actually *very* light on exposition, which was welcome. Many other shows would have belaboured the point of showing that Jim is a cop, and that Elisabeth is doctor, indeed other shows would have had entire scenes of Jim at work with people reminding us he is a cop (example: Fallen Skies). The show quickly established who everyone was, and did it in an efficient and effective manner.


2) Similarly, there was very little exposition. No boring scenes explaining the tech, or how exactly (and I mean specifically) the Earth got how it was. Again, other shows would have wasted twenty minutes on this.


3) The willingness to quickly move past the stereotypical tropes seen in other family-centric/action shows (Earth 2, Swiss Family Robinson, Jurassic Park, et cetera). Yes, there were stereotypes, such as the teenager mad at his dad, the brainy girl awkward around boys, the rough-and-tumble military leader, the outcasts, the tom-boy rebel, the young daughter being standoffish with the fatherand so on. However, most of these were either dealt with almost immediately (Jim and Zoe) or had subtle twists. I fully expected Taylor to be an exact clone of Col. Quaritch from Avatar, and was pleasantly suprised he was not (at least not so far).


All-in-all, it was a tight, effective plot, that clearly benefited from some cutting here-and-there. I think there's a lot of room to grow, and the over-arching plot regarding the secrets of Terra Nova are compelling enough without feeling forced (though you just *knew* there was going to be a LOST-esque mystery going on). I except the writing to be crisped up as the writers develop the characters; likewise, I expect the acting to tighten up, too. Echoing the above comments, I expected much worse, but I was pleasantly suprised by what I found.


I also found the score to be quite effective, so kudos to the music department.


If the show only gets better, it could be a legitimate hit.

I enjoyed it (well, the 2/3rds of it that I've seen so far). It's my favorite new show of the season so far. Lots of cliched characters and tropes, but hopefully that will be improved on.

The stone writings by the waterfall is from Nathaniel Taylor's character trying to send a message into the future. It's probably going to be figured out by the older daughter that seems to have the gift of math.

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The markings were older than Terra Nova, didn't look like they'd survive 85 million years, and they've established that it's a different timeline anyway. So I don't think so. I think there's another portal from somewhere (or somewhen) else. I do agree that the daughter will probably decipher them, 'cause you know she's into science and math and stuff.

I think we're going to learn something like: another future earth has also found this place in the past; and they were the ones who created the rift.. how do we transfer tech from A to B

OR hopes of transmitting more then data back from terra to the future to bring back plant and animal life to the future that has polution issues


Or..


You know what's great is that there are a lot of potentially very cool possibilities. While the opening sequence was brief, there was real suspense; I kept wondering where Ender was, and low and behold, in a backpack we come to find out after they pass through the gate.


Good build up and quick resolution there; the effects were pretty stunning.

If anyone missed it, iTunes is offering the first ep in HD FOR FREE this week!