The early 2010s seemed to have a dinosaur revival happening and Terra Nova was one of those shows that seemed to be making this a thing. A scifi Dinosaur TV series produced by Steven Spielberg? It seemed too good to be true. And it looked like it was since it got cancelled after one season and not much fanfare. I got to watch it when it aired and again just recently and it’s not only a neat dinosaur show but a great science fiction show that deserved so much more. It is a show worth watching.
It’s not often that you get sci-fi dinosaur media that makes sense but here they were able to craft a convoluted b-movie sounding plot that was done with care and therefore something that actually worked. It deals with the enviromental collapse of the world but they found a time crack that allows them to go back in time, to the time of dinosaurs. 85 million years in the past from the en of the century. The current present world set in the future deals with population control due to lack of resources so they’re sending pilgrimages to the past with the people that have the skills to repopulate and rebuild the world with the knowledge that is needed.
Can’t believe people slept on this show. THe 2 part pilot is genuinelly interesting as it explains everything and sets up the status quo. The family we follow make it through the colony after they escape the modern era to get a resh start in Terra Nova. The show has a great theme that really sets you in the mood in this community behind Jurassic Park looking gates. THe plot is very interesting with a hidden agenda of a pilgrimage gone wrong where they wanted to take control of Terra Nova or some reason so they have human enemies with ties to the present and that’s how the season long arc starts to unravel. The mystery of the sixers is captivating as is the family drama as well and all the ways they get in trouble in this new place. The setting
The plot by itself works but let’s not forget the important detail here…there’s dinosaurs! And for the most part they’re pretty cool for early 2010 tv budget standards. It might be weak for today but it worked and it helps that the plot is engaging. You don’t see the dinosaurs too often but when they are shown they are used effectively, which is more than you can ask for. The scifi efects in general are good as well an the plot could’ve evolved into something far more complex and interesting had the show continued, there were more than enough mysteries in this world of 2149.
I mean you have a war between the past and the future. The characters are for the most part all interesting. I do have to mention the final explosion on the transporter tube has a carnotaur run like an aciton hero and I loved it. The finale shows an 18th century ship that somehow passed through another portal, so in a way they were setting up a Turok like universe in their world building.
Even with one season it is a solid watch that for the most part resolved the main plot points. As far as the others, they could’ve been expanded in other seasons but at the very least they threw fans a bone. The website featured a “make a motion comic” feature. That allowed you to create your own finale fromt he remaining unresolved plot points. Even though you could make whatever you wanted the panels and characters they gave you to play with pretty much gave an “accurate” way of the way you could tell the ending, there weren’t too many ways to diverge too much so in a way you can get an ending through it, you can find a few on youtube. Spoilers for the actual ending of Terranova: The sixxers die from a dinosaur attack and the new time fracture is explained being in the badlands but it’s less stable so they follow Lucas to die there. I mean it works and resolves all the cliffhangers left.