06/04/2021

Okay, it’s not yet September 26^th, but 10 years ago, in 2011, the first episode of Terra Nova aired on the FOX network. However, originally the planning was that the pilot would air in May of that same year. To give the audience a taste of what was to come. Because I just have ended another rewatch of this TV show I thought, why not combine the rewatch and the 10^th Anniversary of Terra Nova of which none other than Steven Spielberg, who was the executive producer on the show.

Terra Nova was cancelled of course after only one season, so an anniversary celebration is perhaps a bit wry but still it was a show with a lot of promise, it had a great set-up for many more seasons. Like Alcatraz, Terra Nova was one of eight honorees in the Most Exciting New Series category at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, voted by journalists who had seen the pilots. After the pilot however, there are some very ordinary episodes. I don’t want to use the word “mediocre” because that sounds even more negative but on the other hand, the episodes did not excite viewers to say the least. Mostly they were Shannon family stories which were mostly only mildly entertaining. Under that same link above you can also read that midseason reviews were highly critical which was understandable because for a show with that kind of a budget, the stories were unremarkable. But you can also read there that the critics were very enthusiastic about the season finale, which of course became the series finale also.

For me, especially episodes 2 through 6 are the weaker ones, where the ongoing story about Taylor’s son Lucas is merely been touched upon. For me Terra Nova becomes a bit more interesting from episode 7 when there is a meteor which causes an electrical shutdown and the Sixers take advantage of that situation. We are beginning to see a bit more of the larger story. Of course on the one hand you can’t blame the creators entirely. To start up a TV show, especially the first 5 or 6 episodes are important for viewers to decide if they want to keep watching. But at the same time, the characters also need to be introduced, so there need to be a few episodes where you meet the characters you are going to follow in the coming seasons. So perhaps this could be a bit of a problem to introduce the characters and also make exciting SCI-FI stories.

For some reason this is more problematic with SCI-FI TV shows than with any other kind of genre. Especially with for instance with Star Trek! Look at the first 2 seasons of TNG, first two seasons of Voyager and the first season of DS9. These shows got one or more seasons to become something more interesting but a new show like Terra Nova only got a handful of episodes to prove itself with its audience. Imagine that these Star Trek incarnations aired today for the first time, I doubt that they would run 7 seasons. By the way, two producers on Terra Nova, Brannon Braga and René Echevarria also were heavily involved in the Star Trek shows I just mentioned. Viewers nowadays aren’t as forgiving and perhaps this also has to do with the fact that there are so many shows out there, so much choice. In this case usually only the SCI-FI fans remain watching because they are more loyal and they know that at some point the episodes will become better if you give it a chance. 

That is also something you have to remember, I believe that SCI-FI fans are more loyal, in part because they already know that this happens more often with SCI-FI and there just isn’t that much real SCI-FI out there in comparison to comedies, drama and crime shows. But when only SCI-FI fans are left to tune in each week, this is not enough for a show like Terra Nova to survive. Beside the fact that Terra Nova also was a very expensive show, so it needs more than only the loyal SCI-FI fans.

Midseason, episode 7, Terra Nova became more interesting, but at that time it was too late. From episode 7 on Terra Nova was more exciting, more entertaining, and more good drama. For me episodes 11, 12 & 13 was one big episode, it had set-up a very interesting conclusion and even more interesting possibilities for a second season! Although it was cancelled after only one season, Terra Nova’s 1^st season ends on a fairly satisfying note. Of course in the last few minutes of the series finale story lines have been set-up for a second season and as you are watching this you are bumped out that you will never see it being follow-up, still, the finale gives some form of closure.

The Characters:

I do not have a particular favorite character, Jason O’Mara as Jim Shannon is okay but sometimes a bit wooden, don’t know else how to explain it. Stephan Lang as Commander Taylor, a bit over the top but just still within the limits of overacting! 😊 He is fun to watch. I particular like Shelley Conn as Dr. Elizabeth Shannon, I thought she was convincing as a Doctor and a mother and she’s of course also very beautiful. Maddy, played by Naomi Scott also was a pleasant surprise. If I have to choose my favorite characters I think that would be Skye, played by Allison Miller and Mira, played by Christine Adams. They both have interesting back stories and were very believable on screen. I also need to mention Taylor’s son Lucas, played by Ashley Zuckerman, he was so obnoxious, really annoying to watch him, in almost every scene he is in. You might say, okay than he did his job well and this is probably true but on the other hand, the creators could have made him more sympathetic, because than it would be harder to not like the character Lucas, which would be much more interesting for actor to play and for the audience to watch.

Final word:

If you've never seen Terra Nova before, I can tell you at least that there is some closure at the end of its 1^st  and last season. As I said after its pilot it takes a while before it gets interesting and even then, only the last 4-5 episodes really get exciting and as a SCI-FI fan you can live with that, knowing that the show saves the best for last. It really had promise, especially the satisfying final episodes and the set-up for a second season which ultimately did not materialize. I would very much have loved a second season, really curious about what they would made up next. Not sure if I would recommend a rewatch though, perhaps because this year is its 10^th anniversary, I might, but for me it will take more than a few years before I will take this out of my DVD/Blu-Ray closet again.

Ps. A petition has been created for a season 2:

https://www.change.org/p/disney-bring-back-terra-nova-for-a-second-season