Many of us who follow the television industry closely probably first heard of Terra Nova quite a while ago. This was a long production process. The series was originally supposed to begin at midseason last year, then on two days in May for a Glee-like “series preview,” and then finally, FOX ended up airing the two hour series premiere, “Genesis,” tonight.
…It would be rather unfortunate if, after all that wait, it sucked, right?
Thankfully, it doesn’t. While it might not yet have the deep mystery of, say, LOST, it’s a fun ride for the entire 2 hours, and every dollar that was spent on that pilot seems to be visible on screen.
Terra Nova begins in the future, in sequences that look like they’re out of a dystopian video game. I can only hope that we’ll be seeing the future again at some point, because it seems like a lot of effort spent on building a city of the future if we’re only going to see it once. The Shannon family is caught breaking one of future society’s rules of living, and as a consequence – although Jim’s temper doesn’t help – Jim ends up being put in jail.
Meanwhile, his wife, Elisabeth, is recruited with the family to be a surgeon the 10th Pilgrimage to Terra Nova – a prehistoric civilization where they live in what – at first glance – appears to be a relatively peaceful colony, under the watch of Avatar’s Stephen Lang, who is as great as ever. Most of the first half hour, at least, is about the journey of the Shannons to Terra Nova, and there is some serious eye candy for those with interests in science fiction.
Once the family gets settled in Terra Nova, there’s a feeling of peace; the audience starts to get comfortable, and I should know better than to think that one could get comfortable. It was here that I started to have my first concern with the story – “Where is the challenge?” After all, it can’t be humans vs. dinos for the entire run – otherwise, it wouldn’t be a very long-lasting or exciting show. Thankfully, that question is soon answered. I’m not going to spoil the answer here, though, because I’d recommend that you watch the show and I don’t want to ruin the experience.
Another concern I had with the pilot upon watching was wondering “if they’re back in time, couldn’t they change the future?” Thankfully, there’s some exposition explaining exactly why that won’t happen. Again, it’s the little things… I give props to a show that can take my complaints and address them while I’m watching. A lot of people worked on the Terra Nova pilot, so I don’t know who to credit that to, but it was appreciated.
The cast of Terra Nova is very likeable. I really enjoyed Jason O’Mara on Life On Mars and I like him just as much if not more now that he’s playing a character who’s even further into the past. Shelley Conn as his wife – I wasn’t that familiar with her work before, but she brings the brains and warmth to Elisabeth to the forefront. Alana Mansour as the youngest daughter, Zoe, is adorable, and O’Mara has pointed out in several interviews what a talented child she is. It’s not surprising, really – Steven Spielberg, who executive produced, has always seemed to have the best luck with child actors. The older daughter, Maddy, is played by Naomi Scott and she is so brainy and adorkable, for lack of a better word. She’s like a mini-version of the mom, and gives so much exposition and trivia that you almost wonder “how does she know that much?” I’m assuming that in the future, people are so bored that there’s nothing to do but study.
And then there’s Declan – err, Josh Shannon, the son. I first knew of Landon Liboiron as the rich kid “Declan,” brother to Fiona, on Degrassi, and I’m so glad to see another Degrassi vet on something good. There’s kind of an Everwood vibe between Josh and his father Jim – a bit of resentment created by the fact that they’re both more alike than either would want to admit. Josh has an eye for Skye (Allison Miller), a girl he meets at the civilization, which of course will add to more drama.
Stephen Lang — again, what more can I say? This is the guy who should have played Deathstroke on Smallville; the one who’d be a great Cable for an X-Men movie should they ever use that character. He gives everything an air of authority as Nathaniel Taylor. In some ways, he’s similar to Will Patton’s Weaver from Falling Skies, but even more awesome.
There are other characters we’ll meet throughout the pilot but I’d rather not mention them just yet.
Watching Terra Nova is liking seeing a movie, and I mean that in the nicest way. The show looks really good, and I know I haven’t really mentioned the dinosaurs yet, but yes, there are dinos (mostly in the second hour) and yes, they do look slick. I’m really looking forward to seeing more and I’m intrigued to see what will happen next. And even more, I’m hoping the ratings are good enough to justify the series cost, because I’d really like a Season 2… and a Season 3… and a Season 4… you get the picture.
Terra Nova premieres tonight at 8PM on FOX. Come talk about the show on our Terra Nova forum!
Here are some more extras associated with the show you may enjoy:
Pilot Episode Images – Cast Image Gallery – Preview Trailers & Videos – Terra Nova Forum – Countdown/LIVE Discussion Forum Thread – Jason O’Mara Interview – Terra Nova at KSiteTV
