Terra Nova

[Daryn]

I just downloaded the Premiere of Terra Nova on iTunes last night. I'm going to watch it tonight. From what I've seen of this show thus far though, it looks like it could be quite interesting. If you've got an iTunes account, go ahead and check it out, it's free.

[Slate]

Wait, it premiered? And I missed it!? Dang it, I was really looking forward to the pilot D:

Oh wait, free on iTunes? Well I best go and download it pronto!

[Daryn]

So I've just finished watching the first episode. I was a bit skeptical about the whole family drama meets time travel story, but somehow it manages to work. I have to say I really look forward to spending time with the Shannons every monday. I think this show is going to be a real winner here. There's a lot of stuff that we don't yet know, but there's a solid foundation here to build on. The dinosaurs were also really well done, so that was nice to see.

Anyone else watch it yet?

[Slate]

Actually, I gotta agree word for word with you Daryn. I felt as though it had good pacing, and a good mix of action and drama. I also thought the set the 'mysteries' up well.

[Daryn]

Yeah, it really didn't feel like an hour and a half went by. In that short time we meet Taylor, the 6'ers, and discover some interesting writings... The best part for me was that I believed it. The on location shooting was a really good idea. You can tell that a lot of effort went into making it look like a new colony. Can't wait for next week to see how it continues.

[Rick Canaan]

At least the price was right.

I could barely sit through Terra Nova. It was a bunch of melodramatic drivel acted out by a troop of untalented Hollywood pretty boys and girls. And hell, even Stephen Lang's acting was bollocks. He was the bearded guy who played Taylor. XD

Maybe it was just me, too. I'm not much of a "Family Drama" kind of guy. The reason being, is they tend to dial back the intelligence so kids can understand what's going on. For adults without kids to watch it with (adults like me), it came across as little more than poor eye candy, with barely a followable plot, and everything laid out in front of you so blatantly, that it left me just waiting for the next scene - which I could predict perfectly, and then go "ho-hum" when it got there.

And it was poor - the eye candy part, I mean. The dinos weren't very bad, but they fell back too much on flashing light shows and teeth and puppets during the action sequences, making it look more like a Frank Oz cameo than a serious effort towards convincing the audience. I mean, let's face it. When I was five, I knew when a dino on TV wasn't animated very well! Are kids today any less savvy? I thought it was only the kids from the far future in this film, who were supposed to need re-breathers to keep their minds clear! I can almost hear it all across America. "Aww, dad! Those dinos were fake in those scenes!!"

So yeah yeah, the Rick Canaan Critic strikes again. But in all honesty, I have got to say, that Terra Nova is destined for the tinned-movies tomb. And if it does turn out to be successful, my only thought is what kind of people make up today's television audiences?

A 3 out of a possible 10 for Terra Nova.

It made too many un-connected leaps, it has WAY poor actors, and - like so many other fledgling Hollywood productions - it fell back too much on pretty faces, instead of recruiting real actors.

Any wonder why I don't watch TV? Package it up with a cool title and one recognizable face (Stephen Lang), but when you open it up and look inside to see what you've gotten, it is nothing more than wet porridge with a few chunks of honey on the top, bobbing and floating.

Ugh. Terra Nova. See it if you're curious. But you'll do better wasting an hour and a half watching moths buzz the corner street lamp.

[Daryn]

Well it's nice to hear a different opinion. I personally did enjoy it, I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to get into it. You wouldn't be the only one to not like it though. There's quite a few folks on the net who really didn't dig it either. It seems to be a rather polarizing show. I know I'll continue to follow it, just as Tom Merritt is, even though he didn't like it any either.

Either way, thanks for posting on this Rick, you make some rather good points.

[Tha_Pig]

I watched today's episode and I liked it. But I keep wondering... how is it possible that CGI technology has advanced more than a decade since Jurassic Park, but dinosaurs never got any more realistic?

[Daryn]

I think this second episode cooled me off to it a bit. It was pretty light on the scifi and focused more on the family drama. I'm starting to wonder if this was such a good idea after all, it's starting to feel like a show that doesn't quite know what it is.

[Rieza]

this looks like a show i should be watching but there are so many things coming out that it gets hard for me to keep up

[Daryn]

They are accumulating on my computer right now here too. I think I will just wait for the season to be finished and then watch them all. The same goes for Falling Skies now thatit's done.

[Rieza]

i haven't even seen an episode of falling skies either....one of the pitfalls of being the only sci fi fan in the house completely out voted when it comes to whats on tv

[Daryn]

This is why TV shows on the internet are a good thing.

[Rieza]

very true i just gotta find the time to look for them and watch them