Tonight FOX unveils its highly anticipated science fiction drama, TERRA NOVA. Terra Nova brings us the world in the year 2149, a world much different than ours today. The Earth has been almost destroyed, there is no clean air, families are limited in number, and everyone looks pretty damn miserable. Luckily, through some scientific fluke, a rip in the fabric of time has been discovered and certain inhabitants are being transported back 85 million years to an Earth that is much “fresher” than the current one. It is their chance to start over and make it right. If they can survive the dinosaurs that is. Yes, there are dinosaurs.
Terra Nova starts off tense with the discovery of the Shannons’ illegal third child, an imprisonment and a plan. The writers do an excellent job of setting up the beginning scenes to invest the viewers before transporting them, along with the Shannons, to the new world. It has the effect of allowing the viewers to bond with the family in order to care about what happens to them next. I found it very effective. Once on Terra Nova, the intensity and pace does not slow down. In fact, I was surprised that the show clocked in at an hour and thirty minutes (no commercials for me) as it felt like it was only an hour. When I am unaware of the run time of a show, I know it is good.
The cast of the show includes Jason O’Mara as Jim Shannon and Christine Adams as Mira, the leader of the Sixers (watch the show for an explanation as to this group as I do not want to include any spoilers). The other actors, although not as known to myself, rounded out the cast quite well. I cannot think of one character in whom I was disappointed. In fact, the only thing I found rather off putting was the impromptu glee and speech of Jim Shannon’s daughter that clearly only served to give the audience the background on how it was scientifically possible for them to be in this new world.
Terra Nova has a great premises. It has the science fiction factor with the time travel, the out of world aspect with the dinosaurs and prehistoric world and it has the survival apsect with starting a new world. The only concern I have right now is that it will ultimately go down the road of Lost (which I also loved) in that it will try to bring in too many things, too many stories, and too many science fiction aspects that will never get explained. Hopefully that is not the case.
I strongly encourage you to tune into Terra Nova tonight at 8 pm ET on FOX. Then come back here and tell me what you thought of this series premiere and the series itself. Are you as excited about it as I am now having seen it? Let me know!
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