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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Dinosaurs / TV / Science Bonus Dinosaur News: On the Terra Nova Disappointment

Posted by Mary Traverse on Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 4:11 PM

mpt
"I'm in ur tv, makin' it suck!"

There's been a few articles critical of Terra Nova, but I think Brian Switek's on SmithsonianMag.com's Dinosaur Tracking is my favorite so far. It pretty much sums up what I've been feeling:

I think the Atlantic Wire’s Richard Lawson hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head when he wrote that Terra Nova is the weirdest show on television right now. Take all the cringeworthy gooshiness of a 1990s family drama; borrow some plot points from LOST; apply liberal spoonfuls of science fiction tidbits from Avatar, ALIENS and Star Trek; then hit “liquefy” and pour out a show that is so overly sweet that you think your teeth are going to fall out of your head...

My advice to the show’s creators? Ditch the Shannon family—a pack of Slashers or even a pair of Carnotaurus would do nicely—and make it the Commander Taylor show. Terra Nova’s leader, portrayed by Stephen Lang, is just about the only interesting character in the whole thing. Then you’d get to keep the action and intrigue with an ensemble cast while deep-sixing the gooey family subplots. (Wishful thinking, I know.)

Here's two more critical posts: Jason Perlow on zdnet.com prefers "dinosaur poop to Terra Nova" and Mark Sumner on Daily Kos says "Terra Nova is the worst thing to happen to Sci Fi in 20 years".

Please discuss your disenchantment with the show or with the negative reviews in comments.

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Each episode has its own plot hole. One episode has a EMP hit the camp, destroyed all electronics, including the back up chip making machine, which was in no way protected. But their video archive thingy that contains everything and nothing from the old world, while it didnt work (no power), it had proper shielding to protect all the data.

So why the hell didnt they have the back up chip maker in the same champer the video archive had?

Posted by Kinison

on November 29, 2011 at 4:20 PM

Don't worry, things will pick up when the Third Tribe shows up.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on November 29, 2011 at 4:36 PM

I only watched the first 15 minutes of the first episode. But I thought it sucked.

Posted by Chester Copperpot on November 29, 2011 at 5:02 PM

It caught me drunk last time it was on so I gave it another chance. I agree with the quote, only he forgets the heaping spoonful of Disney. (Momma dino reunites with baby dino after the kid releases it back into the wild while an orchestra strums sentimental? Fuck me. If that baby dino grows up and saves one of those children in a later episode, so help me God.)

It's biggest problem is that it's written for stupid people.

Posted by Dougsf on November 29, 2011 at 5:14 PM

What a waste of poor Stephen Lang.

Posted by WFM on November 29, 2011 at 5:49 PM

"Terra Nova is the worst thing to happen to Sci Fi in 20 years".

Mark Sumner is a buffoon. I don't care if Terra Nova is at best 'average' or whatever. You know why? If it draws ratings and makes money, next season we'll get two or more sci-fi TV shows. If the 2012-2013 season sees more profits, we get three or more shows in 2013-2014. Four or more the year after.

If we get four shows, you know what? One will be shit, two will be "OK", and one could be the next Firefly. If we get enough, thanks to the magic of bell curves, one will be the next franchise monster of Star Trek, Stargate, or Battlestar scale.

Fuck yeah, Shannons. May you get 15 million viewers a week and a bitching share of 18-34 year olds.

Posted by Joe Szilagyi

on November 29, 2011 at 6:18 PM

If we get more sci-fi shows due to the ratings success of Terra Nova, please let one feature Supermarionation, e.g, Thunderbirds, Team America: World Police--it is so trippy and funny.

Posted by neo-realist on November 29, 2011 at 7:08 PM

Doesn't Spielberg produce this show???

Posted by Keekee on November 29, 2011 at 9:29 PM

It's just boring. Stopped watching after the first two shows.

Lost may have ended badly, but at least for a long time it was very entertaining.

Posted by Patricia Kayden on November 30, 2011 at 4:34 AM

The show has grown on me. I liked the Episode directed by Bryan Singer way more. Also, could we stop pretending that Darren Geyer aka Reynolds, is a Southern Gentlemen, and maybe have the character be more than eye-candy.

Posted by bgk on November 30, 2011 at 7:42 AM

So your article points to an article that points to a article that comments on a dinosaur version of Space1999 on Fox. OK, with you now...

Posted by LiberatusQuirkus on November 30, 2011 at 9:58 AM