Terra Nova

Ever since hearing the first tidbits about this show, I was very looking forward to it, albeit warily.  Why was I wary you ask?  Because sci-fi shows are either fantastic (like the Battlestar Galactica reboot) or cheese and lousy (like the many run-of-the-mill shows on Syfy).

The show was going to be set on prehistoric Earth (85 million years in the past), where a group of humans from the future (2149, when the planet is dying from global warming and who knows what else) are sent back for a second chance at creating a human civilization.

The plot sounds intriguing and the backing of Steven Spielberg as executive producer promised to give the series luster, a big budget, and great visual effects.

Unfortunately, there’s always that pesky business of having to create three dimensional characters and coming up with interesting scripts for each episode of a television series, which can be challenging, as it turned out to be the case here.

The cast wasn’t bad, although the younger actors were a little weak, but mostly it’s what they were given to work with that was way too thin.  The major hook, that there is a powerful faction from 2149 trying to take over the colony with the help of the Sixers, would be very interesting, if it weren’t fed to the audience in such small morsels all the way to the end that one stops caring.

The biggest problem though was that the main storyline, solidly connected to the Shannon family, just wasn’t interesting enough.  So here we are with a cool backstory we all want to know more about (political intrigue, military alliances, weapons and money, blackmail and family history) often sidelined by the boring daily lives of these 5 people.

The writers and producers probably thought we’d all be curious to see how life would have been 85 million years ago when aided by highly sophisticated future technology, and we do, but not if it becomes the main focus of the show.  At that point, the suspense and intrigue end up on the back burner, together with our enthusiasm and interest.

The visual effects were good, but given their price tag, seemed to be kept to a minimum too.

The Bottom Line: Terra Nova is the typical high-concept show that falls victim of its own hype (Steven Spielberg!! Dinosaurs!! Time travel!!) and ultimately disappoints.  At the time of this writing it looks like it might get renewed for a second season, but whether I’ll be back for more remains to be seen.

Grade – Season 1: 5