Terra Nova 1x01&02 - Genesis Parts 1&2 (Grade/Discuss) SPOILERS

[McDuff]

I'm fukking tired of all the serialized soap opera crap served as Sci-fi lately.

Watch Warehouse 13 already!!!

I do watch a lot of Sci-fi but just tired of all the serialized sci-fi bandwagon most series series seems to be going for lately. TV producers probably see it as the "in" thing since the success of Lost. I know I'm not alone. Just do a search with the terms terra nova and soap opera.

I do watch Warehouse 13, which is good. A soft Sci-fi. I also love the new Doctor Who (especially the Davies era). But there's really few of them when you compared to the soap opera crap presented as Sci-fi that we are getting lately. We are not given much choice.

And yes none of them are on broadcast contrary to the serialized soap opera stuff like Terra Nova seems to go for. There's been about 10 of such in just the last 3-4 years. With no true episodic Sci-fi for a long time (like the new Doctor Who, SG1, Star trek TNG, Sliders, etc).

The best Sci-fi series on TV at the moment seems to be Fringe but since season 3 it's more serialized since they introduce the mythalones concept (great season nevertheless). Alphas was pretty strong too in its first season.

I'm ok with having different kind of Sci-fi TV shows, but if all Sci-fi turn into some form of character drama sci-fi then I get tired of it.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'm happy when we get sci fi at all. Supernatural/horror seems to be the in thing nowadays, with a fad towards fairy tales peaking right now.

 

[McDuff]

I'm happy when we get sci fi at all. Supernatural/horror seems to be the in thing nowadays, with a fad towards fairy tales peaking right now.

Sure but it's always the same thing. Walking dead = Falling Skyes = Terra Nova. It's all the same soap opera presented as sci-fi. I know you like those, I don't want their complete elimination, but some variety on Sci-fi TV shows would be more than welcome.

Especially if you consider the popularity of the episodic format by itself (crime drama been getting 10-18 millions people a week). NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law Order SVU (real and gritty), the Mentalist, CSI, etc, etc. There's almost no Sci-fi which are not heavily serialized on TV now. I don't think the highly serialized format fit the viewing habits of the majority of TV viewers anymore (if it ever did beside Lost which the success is not reproducible).

I think if TV producers step off the soap opera and serialized bandwagon, Sci-fi series will have much more success. Possibly comparable to the success of Sci-fi movies at the theater and crime drama series. If you do a search on the web with the words soap opera and Terra Nova you will see.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The Walking Dead, Falling Skies and Terra Nova are very different from one another. You got yer zombies, aliens and dinos, that's the three of the four food groups of sci fi (the fourth is, of course, robots - too bad Caprica had to fall on its face or we could have an, uh, quadfectra?)

The Walking Dead is in the Breaking Bad/Sons of Anarchy tradition of high-quality cable shows that are not for the kiddies.

Falling Skies is practically a broadcast-flavored series, much more conservative and family-oriented with a plot that is easy to follow along.

Terra Nova is the same idea as Falling Skies, but actually on broadcast, which appears to have been an error of judgment. Also, the family stuff is less central to the story and therefore more annoying. It doesn't appear that the experiment to see if glitzy eye candy can attract an audience that will justify the budget is going to succeed. Movie-level FX will have to remain in the movies.

specially if you consider the popularity of the episodic format by itself (crime drama been getting 10-18 millions people a week). NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law Order SVU (real and gritty), the Mentalist, CSI, etc, etc.

If you don't mind delving into the fantasy side of sf/f, you should check out Grimm, which is a cop show with fantastical elements. It's debuting in October and I'm sure there will be plenty of chatter and a thread for it.

And it has a reasonable chance of surviving even on broadcast since it's airing in the Friday night death slot (which can be a good thing; expectations are lower) and it's on NBC, which is having a lousy season once again and will not be able to afford to be picky in the shows it renews.

I keep running across development stories about shows that are cop-shows-plus-sf/f. Only a few make it to series (Ron Moore had one along the lines of Grimm that didn't make it this year) but they're a perennial sub-genre and I'd expect more to show up. With the caveat that they're more likely to survive on cable, which is going to demand some serialization.

I think if TV producers step off the soap opera and serialized bandwagon, Sci-fi series will have much more success.

Cop-shows-plus-fantasy is a durable formula, along the lines of The Ghost Whisperer. But making that format work with science rather than magic would be tricky. Having a "cop" solve problems through magical means such as talking to ghosts is easy and nobody can carp about the logic. But start using advanced forensics technology, and first off, that's hard for a writer to devise, unless it's just technobabble, which would come off as a cheat and alienate the audience.

 

[McDuff]

The Walking Dead, Falling Skies and Terra Nova are very different from one another. You got yer zombies, aliens and dinos, that's the three of the four food groups of sci fi (the fourth is, of course, robots - too bad Caprica had to fall on its face or we could have an, uh, quadfectra?)

Caprica was some horrible serialized Sci-fi. What a pretentious snoozefest mess that was. I only watched one episode. Even BSG fans shitted on that one. TV producers failed to understand that people watching BSG liked the adventure, actions most in BSG not the now tired character drama part. Caprica is perfect proof of that. As Moore said Caprica is BSG without what he called the "Sci-fi trappings" and was some form of "primetime soap opera". We want Sci-fi not soap opera!!

 

[Elwin Ransom]

Are Braga and Echevarria running the show together? From the discussion, I gather that. But every article I've read refers to one or the other as the show runner.

 

[propita]

Pilots episodes usually lack something because there's just so much info to be delivered: past, setting up for the future, some characterization. That's a lot. "Lost" did a great job of it.

 

[Hyperspace05]

The Walking Dead, Falling Skies and Terra Nova are very different from one another. You got yer zombies, aliens and dinos, that's the three of the four food groups of sci fi (the fourth is, of course, robots - too bad Caprica had to fall on its face or we could have an, uh, quadfectra?)

Caprica was some horrible serialized Sci-fi. What a pretentious snoozefest mess that was. I only watched one episode. Even BSG fans shitted on that one. TV producers failed to understand that people watching BSG liked the adventure, actions most in BSG not the now tired character drama part. Caprica is perfect proof of that. As Moore said Caprica is BSG without what he called the "Sci-fi trappings" and was some form of "primetime soap opera". We want Sci-fi not soap opera!!

McDuff - I've said this before and I will say it again. Stop pulling threads off topic.

Start your own threads were you can discuss this to your hearts content.

 

[Kytee]

Overall I enjoyed the premiere. I like the conflict with the Sixer's , the fact that they are not full on at war was nice, we can learn about them much quicker if both groups are willing enough to allow some degree of trading. The markings on the rocks were a good hook, so many possible ways to go with that, we'll have to see how it goes. I will be tuning for at least the next few episodes for sure,

A few things that I didn't like all that much,

- The doctor just yanking of the leach without having any idea of
A ) Why it's attached in the first place ( I know she guessed, but I have trouble believing a real doctor would just guess about treatment they have never seen, rather then take the time to learn from someone who knows what they are doing
B) The proper procedure for removing it. if the thing was leach as it was implied, then there was a real chance the guy would be bleeding when that thing came off, why not ask one of the on site doctors to show you how its done, I mean, the leech itself might be hard to come by and you might kill it taking it off wrong.

- Stupid teens.
A)I think someone mentioned this already, but if they have their own house, and obviously no one is keeping a close eye on them, why the hell was the still in the jungle, not in the closet. ?
B) Why show us the kid saying bye to his girlfriend if he just going to be chasing tail a few minutes later? I was thinking this scene was totally superfluous, unless...... that girlfriend ends up coming through on a future pilgrimage. More teen drama!
C) I really hope there is some consequences for the kids actions. It appears this is the first time they got busted sneaking out into the jungle, at a minimum , they need to have their house taken away. At least one of the kids has parents, and possibly three of them ( I know the one girl was identified as an orphan ) those kids parents need to take them back in as they have proven they are not responsible enough to act like adults. IMO they need to treat all of them like 8 year olds , constant supervision at home and at work until they can be trusted. Sadly, I expect the kids living on their own to contribute plenty teen angst stories , so they probably won't face any true consequences for their actions.

- The Probe,
Lets consider what this probe had to be capable of in order to last and be detectable for 85 million years. It's remarkable how certain they seem to be that they are in a separate time stream, just because they did not detect the probe in the future. The probe would have to be able to remain powered and broadcasting for 85m years, whether this is a power supply that lasts 85m years, or one capable of recharging itself for that long. The probe would need to be able to handle the heat of a super volcano and the pressures of the bottom of the ocean. The probe would need to BE ABLE TO RETURN TO EARTH in the event an asteroid impact sent it in to orbit. This seems crazy to me, if earth of 2149 is anywhere close to the technological ability to make a probe that can do all those things, how can pollution possibly be an issue?

I wish I had a transcript because I interpreted the 'Whoever controls the past, controls the future' line a bit differently. It would be nice to see the context again. I thought she was pretty much saying ' whoever wins between the Sixer's and the Terra Novan's will determine how humanity develops in the future of that new timeline. I didn't think she meant the 2149 future. I know there was another line about the son carving the symbols to prove the father wrong, but again I didn't take that to mean, wrong about the alternate time line. ( actually, I don't see how that could be 'proving his father wrong' we have no reason to think Taylor has anything to do with the team of scientists who determined this was a new time stream, he can't even be bothered to pronounce the list of specialties that doctor mom had, not really a scientific background )

Wow, didn't plan on writing so much , I guess its a good sign that the show has me thinking about it so much, hehe. Really looking forward to seeing more, I just hope the teen angst takes a back seat and the mysteries continue to grow.

Cheers,
Kytee

 

[McDuff]

The Walking Dead, Falling Skies and Terra Nova are very different from one another. You got yer zombies, aliens and dinos, that's the three of the four food groups of sci fi (the fourth is, of course, robots - too bad Caprica had to fall on its face or we could have an, uh, quadfectra?)

Caprica was some horrible serialized Sci-fi. What a pretentious snoozefest mess that was. I only watched one episode. Even BSG fans shitted on that one. TV producers failed to understand that people watching BSG liked the adventure, actions most in BSG not the now tired character drama part. Caprica is perfect proof of that. As Moore said Caprica is BSG without what he called the "Sci-fi trappings" and was some form of "primetime soap opera". We want Sci-fi not soap opera!!

McDuff - I've said this before and I will say it again. Stop pulling threads off topic.

Start your own threads were you can discuss this to your hearts content.

I think I made it clear, if you just try to follow the discussion here, that it's the same spirit TV producers have in approving shows like Caprica than in approving shows like Terra Nova. They all think that's the type of shows that is "in" (ie character drama disguised as Sci-fi). That it is what people want to see. It is about the only thing we are getting lately as Sci-fi. Caprica is just another example. People want Sci-fi not soap opera and Terra Nova seems to be going into that direction too. Making the same error the producers of BSG did with Caprica. Turning it into "primetime soap" without much of the "Sci-fi trappings". I hope that I'm wrong about Terra Nova.

 

[Lindley]

The idea of people settling the past isn't something I've seen before.

It has been used, though. For one, in Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships (sequel to HG Wells' The Time Machine).

 

[Tom]

I wonder what the overall plan is 'in universe' for Terra Nova. they are sending groups at a time to build and setup houses and such for the next group and so on, and so on. i wonder if they have a limit of how many humans overall will go to Terra Nova? I Also wonder if the time rift will stop working at some point the humans will have no more future resources to depend on.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Does anyone know how far they are into filming the series?

I heard they are already done with filming the first season.

They have filmed 13 episodes. They have a 13 episode commitment from FOX, ie, they have to air all 13 or Spielberg wouldn't do the show. That's what Brannon Braga said at a WGA event about a month ago.

 

[Trekker4747]

Filming 13 episodes is a pretty common commitment for a new TV series. Hopefully those episodes will be something of a "contained arc" incase the show doesn't get the "Back 9" purchased and/or picked up for a second season.

 

[Goji]

I read (though I forget where) that due to the production schedule, there is no "back nine" option for this season, there is only the possibility for a second season renewal. How likely that is, I don't know. Here's hoping, though. I'll always be happy to see more CGI dinos.

 

[Hyperspace05]

^ It makes sense - especially with the long production schedule for the pilot and the other episodes.

It is also more and more a trend that shows get shorter seasons.

 

[McDuff]

Hopefully those episodes will be something of a "contained arc" incase the show doesn't get the "Back 9" purchased and/or picked up for a second season.

If that's the case they should tell it to the viewers because I'm sure many people don't feel like watching such shows, or at least are really apprehensive about it, knowing that there's a great possibility that it will end with everything unresolved. Like watching a movie but missing the end. Like so many highly serialized Sci-fi shows before who were cancelled. Anyway a lot of such series should be made into mini-series instead. That's the type of thing that would also probably improved the pacing of such series.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Filming 13 episodes is a pretty common commitment for a new TV series. Hopefully those episodes will be something of a "contained arc" incase the show doesn't get the "Back 9" purchased and/or picked up for a second season.

It is a pretty common commitment, but, it's not that common to have them all, or mostly all in the can before you start airing. Nor a guarantee that you will air all 13. That is what is in place.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I think the only reason they mentioned the alternate timeline was so that nobody will say that the venture is useless, since there is no trace of them in history (or prehistory).

I'm fukking tired of all the serialized soap opera crap served as Sci-fi lately.

Watch Warehouse 13 already!!!

Warehouse 13 is actually serialized. In fact, all of the Sciffy shows I watch-- Warehouse 13, Eureka, Sanctuary and Being Human-- are serialized.

But start using advanced forensics technology, and first off, that's hard for a writer to devise, unless it's just technobabble, which would come off as a cheat and alienate the audience.

Actually, Bones is a show that does that quite well; their technology and techniques are a little beyond what is actually possible right now. There's a lot of technical jargon used-- most of the characters are nerdy intellectuals-- and it's surviving pretty well in the ratings (amazingly).

 

[lennier1]

Bones could pull a lot of crap (and has done so in the past), but the great chemistry among the characters and writers who know how to use that to the show's advantage allow for a lot of leeway.