Ugh, they're going to cast the boring guy from Life on Mars in the lead role! 
This is just the sort of thing they shouldn't do - drag in someone from a failed series who already showed he couldn't put butts in seats.
Why does Hollywood continually drag in actors from failed series, just so the series can fail all over again!! If people wanted to watch the guy as the lead of a series, they had their chance. Sure, Speilberg and dinosaurs will grab attention, but they need a prominent actor with a current fan following, so that people will see the ads and think, "oh yeah, that guy, I gotta watch." The series will be expensive and they've gotta take advantage of every possibility to get those ratings into survival range.
They can repair the damage, however, by casting someone more eye-catching in what is probably the "other" male lead, the guy who is the leader of the expedition, the Major West rather than the Dr. Robinson role.
Josh Holloway is the right man for the job. I'd also love to see Ben Browder in that role, though his recognizability was never as strong, being the lead in a cable series rather than a prominent character on a network show, and that was some time ago. Holloway is the guy who can get the butts in seats.
After that, all they need is Michael Emerson for the Zachary Smith role. If there isn't a Zachary Smith role, they need to make one, right now!
I agree, it does seem like something that should sell well, but is an expensive show, so it really could not hurt to have some of that money up front.
But then Fox would have to share the profits. I can't see them lining up Speilberg to do what they no doubt hope will be a kick-ass series, and then share the profits with anyone. I think they're banking on
Terra Nova to be a big hit, and that means they'll want to own it 100%.
