Terra Nova

Channel: Ten
Day & time: Sunday, 8.30 p.m. (as at October 2011)

Watch full episodes HERE

Channel Ten has high hopes for this sci-fi series that reads a bit like Avatar mixed with Jurassic Park. The Aussie-shot show certainly has had a mountain of promotion to sell it to audiences, but whether that can overcome some fundamental problems remains to be seen.

The premise is relatively straightforward - a group of people living on a polluted and doomed Earth in 2149 are sent back millions of years into the past for a “second chance” at civilization. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, yes and no. In the pilot episode, this concept is shrouded in a lot of confused action and mumbo-jumbo.

See, the government of the future is pretty heavy-handed, so when they discover that the Shannon family have breached its two-children-only rule, the father Jim (Jason O’Mara) reacts and manhandles some of the cops. Being a former cop himself, he causes quite a ruckus, which sees him land in jail. Meanwhile, his wife Elizabeth (Shelley Conn) has been tapped to join the time-travellers in the Terra Nova colony because of her special skills (regular punters have to go into a lottery to get to Terra Nova). But that would mean ripping the family apart. So with considerable subterfuge, the pair - with kids Josh (Landon Liboiron), Maddy (Naomi Scott) and Zoe (Alana Mansour) in tow - jump down the time portal.

I won’t even bother trying to explain how the whole travelling back in time thing is supposed to work, mostly because it’s silly beyond words. Suffice to say anyone with a basic understanding of science should be able to spot major problems with the concept.

Anyhow, the Shannons arrive in the Terra Nova colony 35 million years in the past, to find it overseen by the rugged Commander Nathaniel Taylor (Stephen Lang). He’s a no-nonsense type who rabbits on about building a new world free from the mistakes of the past; all while toting a large gun and riding around in an armoured. Thankfully the inhabitants have mastered solar power, so things like computers still work in Terra Nova; though just what the armoured SUV runs on is still a mystery to me.

Despite the high ideals of a “second chance” civilization, things aren’t exactly running smoothly for Taylor, with a breakaway colony, populated by rebels known as the “sixers” has set up in apparent competition with Terra Nova - and it seems the “sixers” aren’t all that friendly towards the Terra-Novians.

Since we’re millions of years in the past, there are dinosaurs are happily grazing around the colony walls and providing opportunities for wonderment on the part of the colony’s kids.

Oddly, although they’ve lived in an apocalyptic hell and then being transported millions of years into the past, the teenagers in the colony still apparently act like spoilt 21st century teenagers. Some things never change, I guess.

So what does all this add up to? Well, pretty much window-dressing. All of these (at least based on the early episodes) is largely just a setting for standard prime-time drama fare, verging on soap. The dad is assigned to horticulture duty early on; but we all know it’s only a matter of time before he’s back as a colony cop solving all those nasty colony crimes. The wife encounters an old flame. The kids do all the rebellious teen things and get hot-and-bothered when the opportunity presents. It’s all pretty standard stuff, and the addition of CGI dinosaurs into the mix doesn’t really alter that.

Terra Nova is at its best when it slips into action mode. The colonists’ battles with the local wildlife and with the breakaway rebels provide most of the excitement. The only trouble is the large doses of other stuff that punctuate the action.

Although mostly shot in Queensland, there’s no much indication of Australian involvement except the presence of names like Damian Walshe-Howling and ex-Aussie Idol contestant Dean Geyer.

Terra Nova is an experiment of sorts in creating a true “family show”. There are dinosaurs for the young kids, puppy love for the teenagers, soap for the mums and action for the dads. Can it all gel into something that actually satisfies all of them? Well, to an extent - because no matter what your interest, you’re going to have to put up with a lot of “filler” in this show before you get to the good stuff.

David Edwards