TERRA NOGO

The year is 2149 and the Earth is on the verge of destruction due to the greed, hatred, and war that humans have inflicted upon it. A grey Gotham-like city, reminiscent of the dreary megalopolis in Blade Runner, is home to the surprisingly cheerful and functional Shannon family. Dad Is a cop, mom is a doc, there are two teens, and a toddler [lots of hugging goes on, a bit like Falling Skies].


The family is celebrating dad’s procurement of a real orange when the population police arrive - no more than two children are allowed. But toddler Zoe cries for mommy after being secreted in an air vent and dad Jim has to punch out the policeman who finds her. That means two years of prison for Jim.

Fast forward and doctor mom has been offered a work assignment in Terra Nova, a prehistoric world that waves of pilgrims have time-traveled to in a bid to start over. Jim breaks out of prison and now the entire family is in a green, tropical setting (actually Australia) where dinosaurs roam.

For the settlers who’ve journeyed back through the space-time portal, Terra Nova is a chance to get it right. “We’re fighting for a new beginning,” states Commander Taylor. And fight they will - against huge, vicious dinosaurs and a renegade group of pilgrims called Sixers. It doesn’t help that the new world’s teen inhabitants invite even more danger by sneaking outside the perimeter to leap into beautiful waterfalls and make moonshine from fruts [neither fruits nor nuts].

OH GOD ! ..... WHO CARES ? .... THERE ARE SO MANY PLOT HOLES AND MISTAKES THAT IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER ...... THIS IS A CLICHE RIDDEN HUGGINGFEST LIKE ANY NUMBER OF AMERICAN SHOWS OF THE LAST DECADE.

THE SHANNON FAMILY WILL SURVIVE EVERY WEEK WHILE NONENTITIES WE DON'T KNOW WILL DIE WITH GRIM REGULARITY. THERE WILL BE NO SURPRISES FROM THIS SHOW ..... UNLESS THE ACTING OR PLOTLINE IMPROVES.

THE NONSENSE STARTS EARLY [2 minutes in]

Dad : ' How was your day ? '
Mom : ' Not great, three more patients with Pulmonary aplasia '

WHO TALKS LIKE THIS ? ..... IN THE REAL WORLD WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS, THERE IS A KIND OF SHORTHAND, A COMMON NICKNAME THAT WOULD BE USED ..... NO DOCTOR COMES HOME AND TELLS THEIR SPOUSE THAT THERE WERE NEW CASES OF 'ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME' TODAY ....... THEY SAYS 'AIDS' ....... THAT'S HOW REAL PEOPLE BEHAVE.

WE SEEM TO HAVE BULLETPROOF DINOSAURS ALSO ..... OR PERHAPS OUR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY HAS GONE BACKWARDS SOMEHOW IN THE 22nd CENTURY.

THERE SEEM TO BE DINOSAURS ON THIS SHOW ...... PERHAPS ONE OR TWO SPECIES PER EPISODE, BUT HONESTLY ..... ONE 'BUG' IN AN ENTIRE 1HR 30MIN EPISODE IS POOR ... SEEING AS A LARGE PART OF THE PILOT IS SPENT IN A FOREST ........ YES, WE SEE SOME BRACHIOSAURUS THAT PREFER TO BE HAND-FED RATHER THAN EAT FROM AN ENTIRE FOREST CLOSE BY ...... AND A FEW CARNOTAURUS  [THE BULLETPROOF KIND] ...... BUT THIS WORLD NEVER REALLY FEELS LIKE IT IS FILLED WITH DINOSAURS.

THEN THERE'S THE HUGGING ......... ALWAYS WITH THE HUGGING !!

I just know I'll be rooting for the Dinosaurs by episode 3 the way I was rooting for the Aliens in Falling Skies.