The wife's out, the kid is in bed, there's left over dinner in the fridge and wine in the rack.

Perfect.

Looking forward to it, I rate a few of the actors in the show including Jason O'Mara so hope this fares better than some others of late.

Enjoy!

I look forward to reading your review.

I did not like it, seemed to canned and some of the acting was ,w ell over the top.




Bullet

I think it started out ok then felt kinda forced at the end. I wanted to see more of the future world then the dino's really. And whats with the guns not working at all on any dinosaur.

Pretty much crap. Started out with an interesting idea, and slid down the slope of implausibility and super predictability. Won't be watching it anymore.

And yeah, apparently Dinosaurs are impervious to 22nd century weapons. But thank god we have angsty rebellious teenagers with daddy issues! Oh joy! Just what I wanted, more teenage love stories! Bleeegggh!

I don't know whether current day Hollywood writers don't get teens anymore, or if my own perspective on them has changed, but over the past decade or so I've noticed I hate most teens in TV and film the way they're portrayed. The only one worse than this guy was Cruise's son in War of the Worlds. That kid needed to get killed by the aliens because he was too stupid to be allowed to live.

I agree the weapons seemed underpowered against the dinos, perhaps they've yet to finish the playbalancing.

I'll keep watching for now, but I'm glad they're done with the future Earth stuff because it was just getting way too preachy about how "Man ruined his environment" and blah blah blah. We get it, Hollywood, you're liberals, no one gives points anymore for that stuff except what you give yourselves.


The Jedi Master

Looks like I made the right decision in not watching the pilot. Thanks for the reviews.

Hated every second...oh wait that was "Pan Am".

This show I could get into if they could loose a few more of those brats to the Slashers. I was wrong about Outcasts, it got going as a story just as it was cancelled. I'm not going to just to any conclusions about a show with guest writers on the basis of a two part pilot.

Do they all get wiped out by a giant meteor at some point you think?

Bring it on.

Seems like Terra Nova got "ok" ratings.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09...ay-high/104964/

Considering that Terra Nova will no doubt suffer a drop in viewership next week I'd say it's a goner,

"On to those dinosaurs on Fox. In case you missed all that talk about this fall’s most expensive show, Terra Nova debuted on Monday, averaging a so-so 3.0/7 and 8.9 million viewers. Fox says the drama improved upon its Monday average versus last season by 25% in the demo but dang, Executive Producer Steven Spielberg had to have wanted something higher for the time-traveling extravaganza. Given the huge investment, Terra Nova is definitely one of those shows that needs time to find an audience."




http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/27/two-and-a-half-men-week-two-ratings/

Essentially this was Outcasts with US network sensibilities. i.e. bigger budget, more attractive cast, better SFX, more simplistic moralizing.

Did we need yet another Avatar-esque humans are brutes and wreck sweet mother nature sermon? Probably not. May well end up going the same way as Outcasts, but I'll probably stick around and watch it because, let's face it, our options are limited.

Just started watching it after recording it last night. I will see what its like but I am only about 20 minutes into it and I can't stand the humanity wrecked the planet theme already.

Spielberg is one of the executive producers so it wouldn't surprise me if that slant came mostly from him.

Yeah these rich Hollywood people go and preach crap at us then run to there 10,000 square foot home.

Yeah there is not much on at that time is there.

I fell asleep. Woke up and some hopelessly flimsy vehicle was getting attacked by dinos.
Did they ever explain how they got this going if it's a one way trip? Did they devise a message system that would survive to their present? I saw mention of a probe or something.
For some reason it reminded me of Falling Skies, but might have just been the family component.

I think the inclusion of all the emo teenagers in these network sci-fi shows is an attempt to get women to watch the show. I mean really, what guy would want emo teens in a science fiction show?

I liked it, although I didn't care for the father and son stuff. Also the aforementioned weapons issue bugged me somewhat.

I'll be watching next week. See how it develops.



They did mention communication with the future, but didn't explain how.

Jaz

Communication with the future:

I liked it, did anyone notice the daughter of the Doctor Lady from the orignal V is playing on of the teens.

Pretty mediocre all around. Sure would be nice if some very good/excellent TV scifi would show up sometime soon.

Terra Nova was a really good PC game...

Got to agree, looks and smells like outcasts.

too bad it doesn't work at all on modern systems. it sure was great though.. wish the could have followed through with the multiplay or the sequel
RIP looking glass studios

SyFy used to have some of that until they cancelled them.

I'll keep watching for at least a few weeks. It had its weak spots, but if you went solely based on the pilot, I would've missed out on The X Files and Babylon 5, neither of whose pilots really grabbed me. Ditto Firefly's "The Train Job."
Most shows need some time to get going. In the case of all too many, it's after the viewers have left and the show gets cancelled just as it gets good...


The Jedi Master



















































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Well, seeing as that's the way we are heading it would be a big possibility that the Earth will be that way when the series takes place. I'm watching it at the moment and am 30 mins in and currently like it, certainly better than that series where the aliens have invaded Earth (can't remember the name it was that bad).

You mean "V" the remake of the 80's show by the same title?

No, the one that as out a few months ago. Had the man from ER in.

Ah yes, you mean "Falling Skies" which is currently being run on TNT in the US.

That's the one, didn't realise it was still running.

The first season of eps is over. The next season will air next summer.



The Jedi Master

By "still running" I meant the show is still active and not cancelled.

Sure it works on modern systems. I've played it quite a bit in Dosbox. It isn't hard to setup and get running.

Though, if you want to enjoy the pure experience you play it on a Dos only machine with a wavetable soundcard. Admittedly though, Dosbox does a really good job with it. Don't wait, hop all over it and get to fragging now.

I actually enjoyed it more than i thought I would. But then, I thought I'd hate it and turn it off in 20 minutes!

The special effects and environment is well done. The ideas are decent, but really feel "recycled" (same reaction I had to "Falling Skies" which I downright hated...I really felt like that show was actually trying to insult the audience...). It started off dark and foreboding. By the end the little girl has a new puppy to play with...albeit standing 100feet tall and weighing 60 tons! I mean c'mon, domesticated Brontosaurs?!? WTF??

Then there is the weapons...oddly enough the weapons used by the teenagers seemed like 5.56mm levels of damage...which would obviously be utterly useless on animals like mid-size Dino's. So why did they bring those with the crew, when they knew they'd need much bigger power from each shot? Their jeeps and trucks are...laughable for Dino-world...did he think this was an amusement park with electrified fences between them and the T-Rex? I'll bet some of the largest predators would open the armored car like a Prawn opens a can of cat food... Anyway, back to the New World, suddenly the rescue squad comes along with some sort of green distraction/irritation device, and some handheld weapons that are effective on the Dinos, begging the question: why didnt the teens find such gear in the vehicles, but still found lethal but useless on Dinos guns?! Eh, whatevers dude!

Their habitat at first looked ok, uninspired perhaps, but ok. But then, the fences looked recycled from the Jurassic Park sets, I'm guessing they might have even actually reused them, maybe filming this on the same Hawaiian island? Anyway, this is a camp only (6??) years old, and while the fences are up, food supply working, super advanced hospital...they have no agricultural automation, no tractors seen...but somehow they are just "issued" a house, with a really nice interior, and the local tells them "sorry its not painted yet"?!? Uh...really? New camp, with dinos, and somehow painting houses for aesthetic reasons is still important? Seems weird priorities.

I get the idea of starting over. I think its cool to try Dino era. And yet I can't help but think they are undefended from much of the Dinos: the flying dinos, the little guys that slip between the fences, and the big mean bastages like T-Rex or Utah Raptor...

Read somewhere that it was filmed in Australia precisely because Spielberg didn't want it to look like Hawaii's Jurassic Park.

Mind you, seen one patch of tall green trees and primeval vines with the odd dinosaur in them, seen 'em all.

Well I was let down acting felt very forced and kinda campy

We're so hard to please these days. There's nothing else on TV atm and my wife who normally hates TV sat and watched it, which is a rare thing. Although she has as many 'ologies' as the lady in the show, she thought it was all quite funny. Especially pulling the giant leech of the patients back and giving that patronising "there, better now" comment that they do.

Watch "Planet of Dinosaurs", Terra Nova is fantastic in comparison

Here's a a song about the forementioned 1977 movie



There, better now

Well, I didnt watch TN but from the discussion and preview blurbs Ive seen, I have one statement:

They sent them back 85mil years. The last BIG extinction event was 65 mil years ago. I realize that mankind living and flourishing for 20 mil years is a longshot but wtf. 'Hey we did it! It only took us 20mil years to rebuild society but here we are! Ooh, look how bright that comet is getting!'

Hehe, I understand perfectly what you're saying but regardless, 20 million years of existence would be considered a GREAT run for mankind.

Actually, I wish they would have adapted Julian May's Pliocene exile saga for tv. Good book trilogy. They sterilize criminals and send them back in time 4mil years or so with no modern technology.

Watched it for 10 minutes and turned it off. Visuals are pretty good, but some of the teens need to get eaten sooner than later.

I think there's four*. I was reminded of that also; The Golden Torc. Will have to re-read - wonderfully descriptive.


* actually, according to Wikipedia there's nine set in that universe.

4 yup. forgot about the Adversary. Ive read 3 of the ones set in the future. need to track down the two I missed.

Finally saw the pilot, it was "OK", I might watch a few more times. My 10 year old liked it (no surprise).

Obviously going for "Pitch Black-lite" this episode.

I'll keep watching for now. It's still 10x better than 90% of what's on TV right now, despite its shortcomings.

Some of us don't choose "nothing at all" over shows that have some problems but are good in other areas.




The Jedi Master

Understandable. However, some of us just do other activities instead of watching tv if that's the case.

I thought the 2nd ep was OK also, it's watchable.

I don't consider watching one hour of TV to every 10 hrs spent gaming to be "other activities" compared to watching an hour for every 1-2 hrs spent gaming. I'm perfectly happy with only gaming 2-3 hrs max per day with an hour of TV some days and watching 2-3 hrs max of TV with an hour to game on others. I think at 4-5 hrs per week on average I'm well below the average TV watcher, and I find spending over 4 hrs a day gaming with nothing to watch on TV just as hollow as spending 4 hrs watching TV and not gaming.



The Jedi Master

That's fine. My point was just that for me personally, I never bothered sticking with a tv show that I felt was "meh" and because it wasn't as bad as most other shows out there.

Im really enjoying it, looking forward to more

I was hoping for something darker, more about the dino's and the environment than the family drama. But, I will give it a chance hoping the writers are hearing the complaints and wish to improve on it.

I *wish* they would call the dino's by their real names. The 'slashers' was annoying.

1) second ep had more dino problems thsn personal drama

2) I got the impression that the timeline they are in is not the same as our distant past...and the implication is that dinos in TerraNova may be different evoluionary than those we learn from our past. Meaning the names our scientists have for fossil dinos would not apply.

In the first ep they indicated it was a different timeline, the act of going back started another branch. They had that time-capsule thing that was meant to be discovered in the future, and since no one in their 2159 had found it, means it is in another.

Yes, but the leader of the 6ers(?) says "whoever controls the past controls the future", or some such thing, how can they control the future if it is a different time line?

Yes, hence "indicated" being the operative word.

Plus that's assuming the beacon doesn't simply get destroyed. A lot could happen to it in 80 million years.

I think it's also interesting that the leader's name is Taylor, a nod to "Planet of the Apes" maybe? And we know what Taylor discovers in the end, he is on his own Earth.

$50 its 80 million years into the Future..

Had to play catchup over the weekend and watch the first 2 episodes via Fox Ondemand,

Watched Ep. 3 last night...

So Far its pretty good for what it is, this show will fill my SciFi-gap left by no Stargate.

How did they Get Halo Warthogs? lmao......

Oooh! I never considered that! Three episodes in an I'm beginning to enjoy it. It's a big, silly sci-fi show with almost every big, silly sci-fi tv show check-box ticked - and it's got dinosaurs!

My one hope is that ALL the kids get eaten in episode 4. Seriously. All of them. Bones and everything. Munched right down. Nothing left. Not a crumb.

They have vehicles, why don't they have microlite aircraft?

They've already disproved that idea when they showed the Moon being larger. The Moon is getting farther away from Earth each year. There's no way it will come back.

However, they could find copies of themselves all wearing goatees, in a mirror universe!



The Jedi Master

How about wearing sashes and edged weapons?

oops yeah, forgot about that...


they never find the probe in the future because it gets destroyed in the forthcoming assault by the bad guys (who have communications w/ the future).

Except we will no doubt discover eventually that the bad guys are the good and vice-versa.

and the aliens attack and we all unite under the mysteriously large pyramid.

Ok, you guys have lost me. What are you making a reference to?

Pyramid is Stargate movie. Goatees is Southpark about "evil twins" from alt universe, which is from TS OS with Spock having goatee I think.

Yes I got the "Mirror Mirror" ST: TOS reference. I've seen the Stargate movie several times but the pyramid quote from Skatezilla just threw me off!

They could unite under a mysteriously tiny pyramid, but that might be a little odd.



The Jedi Master

And the tiny pyramid could be disguised with a beard and goatee. And the pyramid speaks in a mysterious voice that "pauses" before finishing sentences.

LOL!

And the pyramid would talk backwards...

And it would wear a funny hat and cute little sunglasses...



The Jedi Master

To hide the Goatee of course.

What is scary is that these last set of comments could generate a more intelligent tv show than some of the existing shows.

Which is why it would never air because it would make most of the viewing public feel too dumb!
Or that's what the TV execs believe anyway.


The Jedi Master

Tell you one thing, Lucas turned out to be a real punk in the 2 hour season finale.

really like the finale

It was pretty good. I don't know where they're going with this badlands idea, but that will only matter if the show comes back of course.



The Jedi Master

badlands = forbidden zone from planet of the Apes.

yeah, no word on the ratings until next wednesday (live+xDay then the Holiday break).

Cool, have it all DVR'd and ready to watch. Not the greatest show but one me and the kid can watch together.

As long as your kid likes watching dinos eat people, sure!



The Jedi Master

Latest official word is that Fox will make a final decision over the holiday break on whether or not the show will return.

It started here last weekend, ok-ish so far but would rather have Outcasts back.

Some possible good news for fans,

http://airlockalpha.com/node/8844/terra-nova-renewal-could-be-imminent.html

Watched the first couple of shows, wasn't that interested but had the rest on dvr. Glad I went back to watch, it really got better. It's no Earth 2 or Land of the Lost. Aside from the cheesy bar owner guy, I like the characters. I like that very little is about dinosaurs, they're just in the mix to deal with sometimes. The season ending show was really good and looks like they'll add an interesting new storyline. Hope it gets renewed.
I like Stephen Lang in it, nicely flawed character. Makes up for seeing him in that horrible Conan movie the other night. What a waste.

That Conan film completely tanked at the box office.

I have been seeing Stephen Lang in a few WW2 military documentarys he is quite knowledgeable

Stephen Lang is an amazing talent.


NO ONE else will ever come close to his portrayal of Stonewall Jackson in "Gods & Generals".

How about Stonewall Jackson?



The Jedi Master

He's dead.

That doesn't mean he wasn't better.



The Jedi Master