Date of first airing: October 10, 2011 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.00 million viewers, 4.2/6 in Households, 2.5/6 with Adults 18-49
I tried my best to like this show at some point during my first watch of it back in 2011. But as long as the stories remained generic and predictable, and seemed to have been taken out of a script for the original STAR TREK series, in addition to delivering one genre trope after another, I was unable to do so because I could not get over the fact that TERRA NOVA was anything but a unique science-fiction drama with complex and challenging storytelling. I just can’t care about the characters and the (for 2011) pretty visuals when I can’t connect to the same-old stories. It was evident from the beginning of the hour that the pathogen, which was talked about to become a major threat to the Terra Nova population if released amongst them, will be bested by the end of the hour, will never be mentioned again, and will make this episode of TERRA NOVA just like another STAR TREK hour. The writers managed to make this a forgettable hour of television by failing to make me care, because the threatening pathogen – a thrilling plot element in its own right when used properly – was not a problem for a common cold, let alone our main hero who could be confused for TV’s version of Action Jackson, but in white and military clothing.
The story with the pathogen that came from a disease that came from DNA manipulation... I’m not a scientist, but even I groaned at the audacity of the plot and how convenient it was written to just have another “The Naked Time,” the only difference being that fearlessness was replaced by severe memory loss (that STAR TREK episode was its fourth aired, and this episode of TERRA NOVA is the fourth hour – this is not a coincidence). TERRA NOVA, a sci-fi time travel show with dinosaurs, decided to be a syndicated 1990s show for some reason, and I have no idea whether the writers realized that while conceiving the premise or if that may have been the series in a nutshell from the very beginning. Three episodes into the show, and they haven’t gotten into the smallest of possibilities that the premise could bring. At the end of the day, it looked like the producers just wanted to have a nice little family TV drama with some science-fiction for the STAR TREK nerds, some dinosaurs for the kids, and some easy-to-follow storylines for the grown-ups. It’s what you have to do when the production eats more of the budget than any other production before, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
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| The boy cheats on the girl who is still in the future. |
Anyway, the pathogen story was not to my liking. Predictable as heck, and missing all kinds of suspense. The outpost was eventually invaded by dinosaurs on a catnip trip, but not even that brought action into the story, as the characters continued to just stand there and talk their way through exposition dumps and explanations. But at least it brought some backstory for the characters. I liked that Taylor had a bit of a dark past with the loss of his family and his involvement in certain wars (something that could be elaborated on in upcoming episodes), and I liked that Elisabeth “went back” to her time at university, recreating the story of how she and Jim met, because hey, even TERRA NOVA needs a love story at some point (and I’m not that interested in the teens’ romance plots after three episodes). In a way, this episode could have served as a flashback episode, only without flashback scenes, but then I remembered the “show, don’t tell” initiative, and this episode definitely did not show any of the stuff it talked about. Not enough budget, I assume.
Meanwhile, let’s nitpick the series to death, as we witness Terra Nova being broken into by Commander Taylor, who should have remembered not a single thing about the compound, but still showcased how easy it could be for any Sixer to break into the colony. Taylor’s break-in had me question why none of the Sixers ever tried to invade Terra Nova that way, since they probably had all the things they needed to take over the compound (maybe no guns, since they are very low on ammunition). In addition, when Taylor was having Washington in front of his knife, I could not take his threats seriously. Not only was he a dangerous and deadly soldier not making good on his many threats, but he was using Washington’s name in front of her when he shouldn’t even know her name. Except of course he remembered Jim talking about “Wash” and, who knows, maybe they introduced each other before Taylor started threatening her with his knife. But hey, as long as it gives Washington some screentime, I guess I will take that story. Yes, it’s laughable how Taylor was able to do all of this without anyone noticing, showcasing the many security flaws of Terra Nova that will never get mentioned again. It sort of reminds me how NeverNeverLand in the UPN series SEVEN DAYS was constantly proving that it wasn’t secured, even though one of the show’s main characters was the security chief of the base.
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| Do you remember how you married the guy? |
Finally, it’s not hard to say that Josh’s story was dense once again. I am just waiting for him to become part of a story arc that makes me care about his character, but so far, the show is running on empty in that regard. Plus, it seems awfully weird that Josh would constantly talk about his girlfriend still in 2149, all while Skye continues to flirt with him, knowing that he is unavailable. That makes her a crappy character. But I do recognize that Josh is being moved around the chessboard of possibilities, with him becoming indirectly involved in some Sixers stuff, maybe even a full-blown conspiracy. I still don’t like the character, but there is at least an option to turn him into a more intriguing part of the show.
