# Terra Nova S01E01 "Genesis" OAD 9/26/11



## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

"Welcome to paradise"


I liked the first episode, but with it costing 4 million an episode it's not going to last at all.


I did like the point about placing Terra Nova in a different time stream as to introduce dinosaurs that never existed and hopefully other things.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Enrique said:


> I did like the point about placing Terra Nova in a different time stream as to introduce dinosaurs that never existed and hopefully other things.


The first episode (they showed two tonight) seemed to have more science-savvy writers than the second...there were a couple of howlers at the end (the moon would not be noticeably larger then, and the stars would be different because of their rotation in the Milky Way, not the expansion of the universe).


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

I've only seen the commercials for the show. What is the premise? It looks like Jurassic Park to me.

is this travel to another planet? time travel back in time? What's the deal? I didn't set the TiVo to record it.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

I enjoyed it quite a bit, except for the whole teenage angst part.

I like that they have a rival group. They set up a long term arc with the end of teh second episode talking about the son's markings at the falls. 

They got my interest.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

jsmeeker said:


> is this travel to another planet? time travel back in time? What's the deal? I didn't set the TiVo to record it.


Travel back in time (one-way only) from a dystopian future, creating a new time-line.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Hoping it gets better. I hate the family already and see many predictable story lines due to the youngest daughter or just the kids in general getting in trouble which requires the father coming to the rescue. I really hope I am wrong though.


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Travel back in time (one-way only) from a dystopian future, creating a new time-line.


Like jsmeeker I didn't record it either so I'm curious too. I'm really not interested in a Jurassic Park type show. Are there T Rexs around trying to eat the people, etc.? Is that the main focus of the show? I'm wondering if I should bother trying to catch the replay Saturday.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Travel back in time (one-way only) from a dystopian future, creating a new time-line.


Is there a reason they needed to go all the way back to the time of dinosaurs? I mean, other than having a bunch of dinosaurs running around?


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

jsmeeker said:


> Is there a reason they needed to go all the way back to the time of dinosaurs? I mean, other than having a bunch of dinosaurs running around?


I think that there was a fracture in time and this was the only time that it lead to, and it's not even their own timestream (ie, things will not change their own past) or something like that.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

you mean change their future? Or something like that...


Will there be Sleestack?


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## [email protected] (Jan 8, 2008)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> The first episode (they showed two tonight) seemed to have more science-savvy writers than the second...there were a couple of howlers at the end (the moon would not be noticeably larger then, and the stars would be different because of their rotation in the Milky Way, not the expansion of the universe).


The average distance to the moon is increasing by about 3.8cm per year as the result of the radial expansion of its orbit. Assuming this rate has been consistent over the last 100 million years, The moon would have been approx. 1% closer 85 million years ago. This might not make the Moon appear noticeably larger, but to urban people used to pollution blocking the view, it might seem that way.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

And the teenage daughter was the one discussing the stars. She maybe was just wrong 

I was actually pretty impressed with this. The future parts were really well-done I thought. There was a lot of obvious CGI in the past, but they also set up a LOT of interesting plot points to start from. I would have been a little bit more interested if they had not been able to communicate from the past back to the future: they can't send people (or presumably things either) so how are they talking to the future? That would have given it a much rougher feeling: it's not that they don't ask about the Sixers, it's that they _can't_. Oh well.

Still, a good start IMO.

Regarding the questions above: yes, there are dinosaurs and they do eat you if you get careless, but no, it's not the main focus of the show (it appears).


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Another clarification ... the story starts out in 2149 with the Earth choking to death from (supposedly) man-made pollution, so there are portals set up to send people back about 28,000,000 years to the Cretaceous Period where they live in various colonies with the intention of starting fresh without all the mistakes mankind has made to destroy the Earth in 2149. Naturally, people will still be people, so they have brought their "baggage" with them as they must learn to live amongst dinosaurs.

Technically, their numbers don't fit Geologic History: "The *Cretaceous Period* was the final Period of the *Mesozoic Era* and extended from 144 Million to 65 Million Years Ago. Life-forms in the Cretaceous Period were dinosaurs, flying reptiles, marine reptiles, amphibians, lizards, crocodilians, snakes, early birds, and early mammals."

"The *Tertiary Period* (part of the *Cenozoic Era*) extended from 65 Million to 2 Million Years Ago. Modern life-forms continued to diversify and inhabit the land, the sky, and the oceans. Whales, dolphins, and manatees evolved in marine habitats. Amphibians, lizards, crocodilians, snakes, early deer, antelope, pronghorns, and horses also evolved in the Tertiary Period. The first elephant-like mammals appeared, as did dogs cats, pigs, and weasels." (see Geologic Periods)










So they should have established that they went back in time about 68,000,000 years, as that was when the last of the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

I guess in the new timestream they don't worry about extinction-level events like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs?

(caveat: I haven't actually watched this show)


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

[email protected] said:


> The average distance to the moon is increasing by about 3.8cm per year as the result of the radial expansion of its orbit. Assuming this rate has been consistent over the last 100 million years, The moon would have been approx. 1% closer 85 million years ago. This might not make the Moon appear noticeably larger, but to urban people used to pollution blocking the view, it might seem that way.


Except they actually showed the moon, and it was MUCH bigger.

(I did the math last night and came up with the exact same answer you did, which is pretty surprising, since as a mathematician I make a damn fine medieval historian! )


madscientist said:


> And the teenage daughter was the one discussing the stars. She maybe was just wrong


Except she's portrayed as a genius prodigy kid. Unless this is their subtle way of showing that she's actually just an obnoxious know-it-all who actually knows nothing ...a primeval Cliff Rathburn? 


jradosh said:


> I guess in the new timestream they don't worry about extinction-level events like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs?


Except nothing people did on Earth would have altered the path of the Chicxulub asteroid. Not that they'll have to worry about it until about 20 million years from "now"!


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## Gene S (Feb 11, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> The average distance to the moon is increasing by about 3.8cm per year as the result of the radial expansion of its orbit. Assuming this rate has been consistent over the last 100 million years, The moon would have been approx. 1% closer 85 million years ago. This might not make the Moon appear noticeably larger, but to urban people used to pollution blocking the view, it might seem that way.


For those wondering like I was, that means it was 2007 miles closer, 85M years ago.

Don't know why you did the math, but didn't mention the actual distance.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

After reading about the various changes made over time to the story there's one that I wish had made it to this version.



Spoiler



The youngest daughter not being shown until the big reveal after they get to the past as a surprise in the pack.


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

getreal said:


> Another clarification ... the story starts out in 2149 with the Earth choking to death from (supposedly) man-made pollution, so there are portals set up to send people back about *28,000,000 years* to the Cretaceous Period where they live in various colonies with the intention of starting fresh without all the mistakes mankind has made to destroy the Earth in 2149. Naturally, people will still be people, so they have brought their "baggage" with them as they must learn to live amongst dinosaurs.
> ...
> So they should have established that they went back in time about 68,000,000 years, as that was when the last of the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.


The write-up says they go back 85,000,000 years which would fit better.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

getreal said:


> ...there are portals set up to send people back about 28,000,000 years to the Cretaceous Period...
> 
> ...
> 
> So they should have established that they went back in time about 68,000,000 years, as that was when the last of the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.


I thought they said at one point that it was 85 million years.

EDIT: oops. smeek.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I enjoyed the show but it was a bit predictable. That's okay with me, at least for a bit. I am interested to see what they do in the next couple episodes and that will determine if I keep it as an SP or not.

The little kid not quite remembering her dad was interesting and the know it all older daughter reminded me of the younger daughter from Modern Family.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

I'm also not too keen on the whole "family" aspect. Especially didn't care about the son's daddy issues.
But I pretty much expected as much given the 8:00pm "family time" time slot.

Definitely above average, imo, especially when compared to other recent 'sci fi' such as V, or The Event, etc. So I'll definitely keep watching.

So when Taylor and female leader of the "sixes" were having the stand off, she kind of gave him a little smile to him when the others started bickering, then he gave her a subtle nod and raised his hand. She immediately yelled for her side to calm down. I'm wondering if he and her are in on something together and the whole thing with the "sixes" is a plan by Taylor to create discord or something in the colony.

I'm guessing the writing on the rocks, which at the end they suggested was from Taylor's son, are him showing that he's figuring out how to return forward in time again (i.e., go back 'home'), or perhaps even jump around to different time periods. The latter opens up lots of possibilities for future stories.


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## jeepair (Apr 22, 2004)

Seems they have some technical items like that whole body scanner with see-through imaging, metal supports for the fence but they only have wood as the bars? I'd like to know how they received the electronics, cars, wind turbines, etc. Maybe one of the time openings, they just sent equipment? 

I'd send through parts for a small recon helicopter (solar powered.) That would be benficial to scout out farther distances.

They have miniture laser cutters but no laser rifles? I did like the sonic guns on the watch towers. Too bad they didn't work that well. 

I'm hooked for now.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

I liked it. I started watching kinda late and was only going to do the first hour last night, but ended up staying up and watching both. I've only seen one other new show ("Pan Am") and this was definitely the better of the two.


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

I'm generally not one to get into the "reality" or the science of this type of show, but a few things were annoying:

1) If this is a one-way trip, and if the probe was never found because it's a different time stream, how do they even know what the "fracture" even is or that it leads back in time?

2) Along the same lines, how would they know this leads to what they are referring to as Terra Nova - 85 million years in the past (or whenever)? It seems everyone is prepared for the dinosaurs and prehistoric times.

3) Taylor said it took 119 days for the person right behind him to arrive. Why would that have changed now (why does everyone arrive at the same time)?


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Except she's portrayed as a genius prodigy kid


should be interesting when she gets a look at the writings on the rocks

*A Dozen Big 'Terra Nova' Questions (With Some Answers from a Dino Drama Insider)* Maureen Ryan

some spoilers

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/09/26/terra-nova-questions-dinosaurs-sixers-spielberg/


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I going to stick with it but the writing seems cliché to me. And I wish they would have not mentioned anything about the wall just yet. Seemed like to try to pack too much too soon.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

appleye1 said:


> Like jsmeeker I didn't record it either so I'm curious too. I'm really not interested in a Jurassic Park type show. Are there T Rexs around trying to eat the people, etc.? Is that the main focus of the show? I'm wondering if I should bother trying to catch the replay Saturday.


There are definitely predator dinosaurs in hour two and they play a major point in the plot but I think there is much more going on than simply surviving the wilderness.

There is a splinter group of survivors who are in opposition to the main settlers. They all arrived in the same group so I assume there is going to be some plot down the line exploring the whys of that.

There is some writing on some rocks that is apparently from the Terra Nova leader's missing son. What it is we are not sure yet.

So I think they have enough to explore and keep things interesting for awhile. And I am guessing these other plots will a llow them to have epiosde where they don't need to stretch their budget on CGI.


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## sbourgeo (Nov 10, 2000)

ADG said:


> I'm generally not one to get into the "reality" or the science of this type of show, but a few things were annoying:
> 
> 1) If this is a one-way trip, and if the probe was never found because it's a different time stream, how do they even know what the "fracture" even is or that it leads back in time?
> 
> ...


Other than bad writing, my guess would be that a lot of the truth is being withheld from the general populous by the people in the know.


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## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

ADG said:


> I'm generally not one to get into the "reality" or the science of this type of show, but a few things were annoying:
> 
> 1) If this is a one-way trip, and if the probe was never found because it's a different time stream, how do they even know what the "fracture" even is or that it leads back in time?
> 
> ...


#1 and #2 are the two things that bothered me the most, at least in terms of logic. The Hallmark Channel family was too much for me to take. Like almost all of Spielberg's efforts, I'll pass.


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## whitson77 (Nov 10, 2002)

We liked it. But the son needs to tone down the brooding and whiny-ness


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## jgickler (Apr 7, 2000)

I spoiler tagged the information below because it is all a guess of mine on the future plot twists of the show. I have no idea if I am right, but if I am I don't want to be blamed for spoiling the show for anyone.



Spoiler



Am I the only one who suspects some kind of Planet of the Apes like twist down the road. I think that eventually we will find out that they are not in a different time stream and that the reason they couldn't find the probe wasn't that it was a different time stream, but that they went forward in time to a time where humans are extinct and dinosaurs have reemerged. I also would guess that the writings are some sort of message by the last humans who created the crack in time to save the human race.


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

Another technical question: They mentioned not being able to travel back, but Taylor implied being in two way communications with the future. I wonder if that was just an inconsistency, or if that's going to become a plot point in a future episode?

I also wonder what the long term plan here is. Just keep sending people and supplies back, until they're self sufficient? That thing is bound to need a lot of energy. There's no portal end point that the main base controls, so it looks like they may have to send people across every time they send supplies, unless they just want to toss stuff into the middle of the jungle and hope for the best.

That's another reason they must have at least some way to communicate back: Otherwise, it would be an ongoing gamble that anyone was arriving and surviving.

Any bets on how long until the girlfriend that got left behind makes the trip over? That's after he hooks up with Sky of course.


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

ADG said:


> I'm generally not one to get into the "reality" or the science of this type of show, but a few things were annoying:
> 
> 1) If this is a one-way trip, and if the probe was never found because it's a different time stream, how do they even know what the "fracture" even is or that it leads back in time?
> 
> ...


Maybe it's kind of like Stargate, where they can communicate through the fracture with radio etc, but the trip is one way for material objects. But yes, I have the same question s.


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## flyers088 (Apr 19, 2005)

Why does every kid in every show have to have the same teenage problems? Can't a show just have some normal kids without any real problems and a family that can function just fine. I get it you had to leave your girlfriend, you hate your dad for going to jail, ect.. Just tired of shows having to use the same kids story lines over and over again.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Who said Stephen Lang wouldn't be typecast as a hard nosed military colonel?

Who said Jason O'Mara wouldn't be typecast as a cop who time travels to the past?

I also thought that some of the writing was weak, especially concern the characterization.

The main characters seem pretty typical:

Good hearted cop father who plays fast and loose with the rules.
Check.

Healer mother trying to keep her family together.
Check.

Rebellious son lashing out at his father.
Check.

Awkward, geeky daughter that spouts technobabble.
Check.

Hard nosed military commander with family issues.
Check.

That said, I think that there are some interesting plot elements going forward.

The conspiracy in the future and what role Taylor's son plays in it look to be interesting.

I'm ok with the fact that they journeyed to a parallel timeline but if the transport is one way, how do they communicate with the 22nd century?
(Maybe it's like the Stargate where radio signals can travel both directions.)

I think that this show has potential.
We'll see if Braga goes off the reservation or not.


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

cherry ghost said:


> should be interesting when she gets a look at the writings on the rocks
> 
> *A Dozen Big 'Terra Nova' Questions (With Some Answers from a Dino Drama Insider)* Maureen Ryan
> 
> ...


Interesting

ugh, Brannon Braga? I wish I didn't know that

also about the communication with the future



Spoiler



"Echevarria said they can only communicate with the Earth of 2149 when the portal is open and new colonists are coming through. They can order supplies and relay information during those periods, but whatever the colonists ask for, they have to wait eight months to get it -- supplies only arrive with next group of settlers."


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## zyzzx (Jan 22, 2002)

vertigo235 said:


> Maybe it's kind of like Stargate, where they can communicate through the fracture with radio etc, but the trip is one way for material objects. But year, I have the same question s.


Yes, the article above, linked by cherry ghost, indicates that the people in Terra Nova can communicate with the future only when the portal is open to order supplies, etc. So that would answer questions 1 and 2.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

What were the oxygen levels during the period this takes place in? There were times in the earth's history when it was higher than now and the planet was plagued with forest fires etc. It would alter the way people would use technology because fires would be easier to spark.


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## allan (Oct 14, 2002)

Best show so far. Like most (all?) shows, it works better if you don't think too much, but I like it.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

For those who didn't record, it's reairing the premire on Saturday


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Every character seemed like they were straight out of central casting.

Everybody was too clean and well coiffed to be living a zillion years in the past.

And what was with the lie at the end? "No, we didn't go near the falls."

I hoped every one of the idiot kids had gotten eaten. 

I'll practice my guitar chords during this show since it looks like I won't need my brain much.


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## pudding7 (May 13, 2002)

I give it a beg "meh". Was decent, but soooo cliche. 

Dangerous situation + teens who pretend it's not and get into trouble? check.
Angsty teen boy who will inevitably get caught up in the bad crowd? check.
Know it all but charming teenage daughter? check.
Soldier boy making eyes at said teenage daughter? check.
Friendly giant animals who could crush you like a gnat but would rather just eat out of your hand? check.
Hero badass leader guy who's not quite all he's made out to be? check.

Or, I could just call it "Lost 2.0" and be done with it.


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## zyzzx (Jan 22, 2002)

To me, calling Terra Nova "Lost 2.0" is a compliment. 

Preliminary numbers from Fox indicate about 9 million viewers for the pilot last night. I was hoping it would be higher.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

zyzzx said:


> To me, calling Terra Nova "Lost 2.0" is a compliment.
> 
> Preliminary numbers from Fox indicate about 9 million viewers for the pilot last night. I was hoping it would be higher.


and a 3.0 in 18-49. Given the cost to make this show, I don't think that is good enough to keep it around which sucks because, even though I haven't watched yet, this was THE show I was looking forward to.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Seeing how the littlest Shannon kid was unfearful of -- and so natural with -- the herbivore dino, I'm going out on a limb to predict that she will become the Dinosaur-Whisperer.


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## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

I thought it was better than expected for a network tv show of this kind. I did think the first episode was a lot better than the second, though. This show would be really interesting if they split screen time between the dinosaur-era and the future.


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## jeepair (Apr 22, 2004)

jschuur said:


> Another technical question: They mentioned not being able to travel back, but Taylor implied being in two way communications with the future. I wonder if that was just an inconsistency, or if that's going to become a plot point in a future episode?


The commander had a ipad or whatever it was which had the information saying the cop should still be in prison for the next x amount of years. I'm sure it isn't a priority to update Terra Nova with the prison population when they open the time rift. Therefore you might be right that there might be some sort of two way communication. Unless that is just a mess up by the writers.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

jeepair said:


> The commander had a ipad or whatever it was which had the information saying the cop should still be in prison for the next x amount of years. I'm sure it isn't a priority to update Terra Nova with the prison population when they open the time rift. Therefore you might be right that there might be some sort of two way communication. Unless that is just a mess up by the writers.


Although that information might be in his wife's personnel file...


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## zyzzx (Jan 22, 2002)

jeepair said:


> The commander had a ipad or whatever it was which had the information saying the cop should still be in prison for the next x amount of years. I'm sure it isn't a priority to update Terra Nova with the prison population when they open the time rift. Therefore you might be right that there might be some sort of two way communication. Unless that is just a mess up by the writers.


There is two way communication through the portal when it is open.


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## kcarl75 (Oct 23, 2002)

Hated the son. Like the premise, not so much the execution.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

sieglinde said:


> What were the oxygen levels during the period this takes place in? There were times in the earth's history when it was higher than now and the planet was plagued with forest fires etc. It would alter the way people would use technology because fires would be easier to spark.


I am not sure that the oxygen levels were higher back then, but rather than in the future Earth, the air was so full of crap that the oxygen concentration was less.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

I'm watching it now (still in the first hour) and I can't decide if I want to keep going. It moves a tad slower than I'd like so far, and there is some predictability going on.. I'm old so I've seen this type of show before more than once (Time Tunnel comes to mind) so I'm really hoping they will take a fresh new look at this and not just recycle a bunch of tired old plots from other shows. 

On the positive side, I really like the Worlds they have created for this show. Looks really nice in HD and they did address the time space paradox already, so we got THAT out of the way. 

I have hopes, but I just don't know yet... I was kind of hoping for a show I could enjoy with my kids, but unfortunately in their infinite wisdom they went for the PG14 rating and my wife has dropped the hammer on it.


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

bareyb said:


> I'm watching it now (still in the first hour) and I can't decide if I want to keep going. It moves a tad slower than I'd like so far, and there is some predictability going on.. I'm old so I've seen this type of show before (Time Tunnel comes to mind) and I'm hoping they will take a fresh new look at this and not just recycle a bunch of tired old plots from other shows.
> 
> On the positive side, I really like the Worlds they have created for this show. Looks really nice in HD and they did address the time space paradox already, so we got THAT out of the way.
> 
> I have hopes, but I just don't know yet... I was kind of hoping for a show I could enjoy with my kids, but unfortunately in their infinite wisdom they went for the PG14 rating and my wife has dropped the hammer on it.


Wow that sucks about the PG14 thing. How old are your kids?


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

vertigo235 said:


> Wow that sucks about the PG14 thing. How old are your kids?


My oldest is 12 (boy) and he's the one I think would really like this.

I'm just starting the second hour and so far it doesn't look so bad to me... Have you guys seen anything that really rates the PG14 rating? Oddly my wife is okay if he sees (mild video game type) violence, just not sex. Seems kind of backwards to me...


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## Fleegle (Jan 15, 2002)

The girl that played Skye was born in 1985, whew. I don't feel quite so much like a dirty old man.


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## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

Written for 12 year olds. And chicks.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

bareyb said:


> My oldest is 12 (boy) and he's the one I think would really like this.
> 
> I'm just starting the second hour and so far it doesn't look so bad to me... Have you guys seen anything that really rates the PG14 rating? Oddly my wife is okay if he sees (mild video game type) violence, just not sex. Seems kind of backwards to me...


The rating is probably just because of a few brief incidents of violence with dinosaurs. Jurassic Park type violence. There is nothing sexual.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

Jeeters said:


> The rating is probably just because of a few brief incidents of violence with dinosaurs. Jurassic Park type violence. There is nothing sexual.


Yeah. I agree, I just finished it and I think it's okay. He sees worse than that on his Video Games (which have a lower age rating). Not sure how my 9 y/o daughter would feel about it, but I don't think she'd be all that interested in it anyway, iCarly is more her speed.


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## philw1776 (Jan 19, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> The first episode (they showed two tonight) seemed to have more science-savvy writers than the second...there were a couple of howlers at the end (the moon would not be noticeably larger then, and the stars would be different because of their rotation in the Milky Way, not the expansion of the universe).


OK. Disclosure I'm an engineer and an astronomy and science geek, but easily avoidable obvious errors like that really piss me off. Laziness.

And what's with the PG-14 rating? I showed Jurassic Park to my 6 yr old younger but adventurous grand daughter and she liked it. Sure there was coaching like "The meatasaurs don't get to decide of the boy or the girl is tastier because they don't get to eat them" but what aside from homornial brain imbalanced teens is too "saary" in this show?


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

why is the terra nova commander straight out of Avatar?


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

appleye1 said:


> Like jsmeeker I didn't record it either so I'm curious too. I'm really not interested in a Jurassic Park type show. Are there T Rexs around trying to eat the people, etc.? Is that the main focus of the show? I'm wondering if I should bother trying to catch the replay Saturday.


From what I have seen of the pilot, core plotlines will be internal to that colony (family/teen issues and such, maybe colony politics), and dealing with the Sixers. Natural fauna is just a side issue, but an important one.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

dianebrat said:


> After reading about the various changes made over time to the story there's one that I wish had made it to this version.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Her being found very early is a core plot point to why the dad was sent to prison.


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## balboa dave (Jan 19, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Except she's portrayed as a genius prodigy kid. Unless this is their subtle way of showing that she's actually just an obnoxious know-it-all who actually knows nothing ...a primeval Cliff Rathburn?


Reading too many _The Walking Dead_ comics? I think you mean Cliff Claven.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

getreal said:


> Another clarification ... the story starts out in 2149 with the Earth choking to death from (supposedly) man-made pollution, so there are portals set up to send people back about 28,000,000 years to the Cretaceous Period ...<snip>
> So they should have established that they went back in time about 68,000,000 years, as that was when the last of the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.


I stand corrected. As others had pointed out, and upon rewatching the opening scenes, it did in fact say "At the Dawn of the 22nd Century, the World is on the verge of environmental collapse. Mankind's only hope for survival lies 85 million years in the past."

My confusion came about by being distracted with making popcorn during the opening, and then later recalling (mistakenly) that the know-it-all girl mentioned the Cretaceous Period and I thought she mentioned 28 million years.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

philw1776 said:


> "The *meatasaurs* don't get to decide *of* the boy or the girl is tastier because they don't get to eat them" but what aside from *homornial* brain imbalanced teens is too *"saary" *in this show?


I think your Nyquil and Vodka kicked in during that last bit.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

balboa dave said:


> Reading too many _The Walking Dead_ comics? I think you mean Cliff Claven.


Heh, oops.


----------



## omelet1978 (Mar 7, 2006)

So how much is Brannon Braga involved in the show? I was all excited until I saw his name. It kind of reminded me of Enterprise a few years ago. Awesome premise, but it was cheesy and the characters were pretty 2 dimensional...

Also think it was funny that guy was able to escape from a maximum security prison and break into to the time travel vortex thing in like 5 minutes. I'll keep watching it for now, but it's going to need to get better. More like lost in the early years.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

omelet1978 said:


> So how much is Brannon Braga involved in the show? I was all excited until I saw his name. It kind of reminded me of Enterprise a few years ago. Awesome premise, but it was cheesy and the characters were pretty 2 dimensional...
> 
> Also think it was funny that guy was able to escape from a maximum security prison and break into to the time travel vortex thing in like 5 minutes. I'll keep watching it for now, but it's going to need to get better. *More like lost in the early years.*


When I first heard the roaring in the Jungle on LOST I was hoping it was going to be Dinosaurs. I was disappointed when it wasn't. It's one reason this show caught my interest.


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## gastrof (Oct 31, 2003)

The big question is "Will it last?" Maybe, considering INVASION, SURFACE, and THE EVENT, the question should be "Will it last more than one season, and not leave us with an unresolved cliff-hanger?"

I hate that.

I just want to be able to record a show, burn the episodes to DVD to collect them, and NOT end up wanting to throw them away because the show isn't coming back.

*EDIT (in dinosaur green!):

Ummm...

Not only is the pilot repeating this Saturday at 8pm on Fox, it'll have an earlier repeat Thursday night (also at 8)...on the National Geographic Channel?

I kid you not. Someone at zap2it.com might be, but not me.*


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

classicsat said:


> Her being found very early is a core plot point to why the dad was sent to prison.


I think in one of their many rewrites there was a way to make it work, and I think it'd have been a great reveal. Certainly at this point with the revisions made it was different but I can see a few ways to have done it successfully.


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## [email protected] (Jan 8, 2008)

Another objection I have with this show is the incredible ineffectiveness of the weaponry against the dinos. 19th century weapons tech would be more effective than what they are using. A 50-cal machine gun would make short work of the carnosaurs that were attacking the sixer vehicles.

I can see not wanting to kill the big beasts indiscriminately, but the weapons they are using seem to be less effective than bean bags and about as effective a paint balls. They mention trank rounds, so I figure that that is what they are using. But apparently the rounds cannot penetrate anything but the thinnest sections of the skin. And this is for medium sized dinos. Larger dinos would tend to have thinker skin.

I would think that non-lethal measures would have advanced significantly by 2149. Taser, pepper spray, sticky foam, active denial systems, sonic screwdrivers all would be more effective than what these guys use.


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> I can see not wanting to kill the big beasts indiscriminately, but the weapons they are using seem to be less effective than bean bags and about as effective a paint balls. They mention trank rounds, so I figure that that is what they are using. But apparently the rounds cannot penetrate anything but the thinnest sections of the skin. And this is for medium sized dinos. Larger dinos would tend to have thinker skin.


They did mention the fact that the only place the bullets would penetrate the dino's skin was the soft underbelly.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

The policeman also asked the commander (not good with names) why he didn't ask the powers back home about the Sixers. The commander said he can't trust anyone until he finds out who picked them out and sent them. So they clearly established that 2-way communication is normal.

I am worried that the know-it-all girl is this show's version of Wesley Crusher.

I also was annoyed at the teenage angst but they resolved it already, it seems. So I'm ok with it being just a short term thing.

Add me to the list of people who really enjoyed it but was annoyed at a few things. The bullets chief among them!

And the commander said that his son just came with him. It sure seems that the son is some sort of genius but wasn't recruited. Maybe the commander will discover that he came along with his son!


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

To me this is a YA show. (I don't understand why people are more squeamish about sex than violence, but that is just my 60's self asking) This should be on the Family channel as far as I am concerned. I did enjoy it once I realized it was for teenagers.


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## MikeekiM (Jun 25, 2002)

jsmeeker said:


> I didn't set the TiVo to record it.





appleye1 said:


> Like jsmeeker I didn't record it either so I'm curious too.


It's available as a free download on iTunes... Not sure how long that will last, so if you are at all interested, download it and save it for later...


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I'm probably going to watch until the bitter end but I can see kids and family angsty drama killing this show.

I'm guessing there's no repercussions to the kids who went outside the gate and had to be rescued. Looks like hugs and kisses for everybody. Just like the real world. Not!


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> Another objection I have with this show is the incredible ineffectiveness of the weaponry against the dinos. 19th century weapons tech would be more effective than what they are using. A 50-cal machine gun would make short work of the carnosaurs that were attacking the sixer vehicles.
> 
> I can see not wanting to kill the big beasts indiscriminately, but the weapons they are using seem to be less effective than bean bags and about as effective a paint balls. They mention trank rounds, so I figure that that is what they are using. But apparently the rounds cannot penetrate anything but the thinnest sections of the skin. And this is for medium sized dinos. Larger dinos would tend to have thinker skin.
> 
> I would think that non-lethal measures would have advanced significantly by 2149. Taser, pepper spray, sticky foam, active denial systems, sonic screwdrivers all would be more effective than what these guys use.


YES! I didn't even realize that they were using tranqs. And why shoot tranqs with automatic weapons?!! What a waste of ammo/drugs! For PETA's sake, if they didn't want to hurt the dinos then they should shoot Spiderman webbing (or sticky foam) and get them all tangled up while the humans make their getaway.



Anubys said:


> ... I am worried that the know-it-all girl is this show's version of Wesley Crusher.
> 
> I also was annoyed at the teenage angst but they resolved it already, it seems. So I'm ok with it being just a short term thing.


Or the girl could be like the boy in "No Ordinary Family". The family storylines and teen angst killed that show for me. I really hope they don't feel obligated to do that in "Terra Nova". But I understand that their target demographic is closer to 14 - 34 and not 40 and older.



cheesesteak said:


> I'm probably going to watch until the bitter end but I can see kids and family angsty drama killing this show.
> 
> I'm guessing there's no repercussions to the kids who went outside the gate and had to be rescued. Looks like hugs and kisses for everybody. Just like the real world. Not!


Ditto on that. The son never attended orientation. It shouldn't have been so loosely arranged that attendance is on a good faith basis alone. These people just arrived with a lot of personal baggage from having only known the "old world" of the distant future.

But I can happily suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the shows. It's the post-show forum analysis that makes me more critical.

That being said, I am liking this show. :up:


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## Fleegle (Jan 15, 2002)

Anubys said:


> And the commander said that his son just came with him. It sure seems that the son is some sort of genius but wasn't recruited. Maybe the commander will discover that he came along with his son!


The commander said he was the first person to go through teh rift, so I don't think that is the case.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

gastrof said:


> *EDIT (in dinosaur green!)*


*Going by dinosaurs we seen so far, I think you should have used brown...

I thought the show was pretty good. I'll definitely keep watching. I'm curious to learn about the Sixers' purpose as well as the messages from the commander's son.

Oh, and I'm also curious as to what the future world is getting out of the colony if the trip is just one-way...*


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

jgickler said:


> I spoiler tagged the information below because it is all a guess of mine on the future plot twists of the show. I have no idea if I am right, but if I am I don't want to be blamed for spoiling the show for anyone.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


As to your spoiler'ized theory I think I can get on board with that. However at the end of the episode the leader of the six's said something along the lines of (not sure if my quote is correct) "To control the future, you need to control the past". This makes me think that they are indeed in the past.


Spoiler



For all we know someone found the beacon in the future, but hid it for some reason.


Since we got timey wimey stuff going on anything possible or impossible can be the truth, the question is can the show deliver the impossible and make us believe it?


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## robbhimself (Sep 13, 2006)

Amnesia said:


> Oh, and I'm also curious as to what the future world is getting out of the colony if the trip is just one-way...


... and in a different time stream


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

getreal said:


> I think your Nyquil and Vodka kicked in during that last bit.


:up: I actually laughed out loud at that.


----------



## DLiquid (Sep 17, 2001)

Amnesia said:


> Oh, and I'm also curious as to what the future world is getting out of the colony if the trip is just one-way...


Another form of population control?
Long term survival of the human race?


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

robbhimself said:


> ... and in a different time stream


Well, if the trip were 2-way, then they could mine resources or something. As it is, whatever they send is gone and the only thing they can get back is information.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Amnesia said:


> Oh, and I'm also curious as to what the future world is getting out of the colony if the trip is just one-way...


Some future relief to the population problem? Send enough people there and creating a new world and ease the pressure on the original earth.

I wondered if they could do this on different timelines. Send 100,000 to this line and then 200,000 to another timeline a few million years forward and so on.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

betts4 said:


> Some future relief to the population problem? Send enough people there and creating a new world and ease the pressure on the original earth.


I thought about that, but it seems like an awfully expensive way to deal with the population problem (and doesn't begin to address the pollution, which seems to be just as bad).


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

Amnesia said:


> I thought about that, but it seems like an awfully expensive way to deal with the population problem (and doesn't begin to address the pollution, which seems to be just as bad).


But it might help keep the current population happier, since there is some hope to emigrate through the lottery. A population with no hope is an ugly thing.


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## robbhimself (Sep 13, 2006)

betts4 said:


> I wondered if they could do this on different timelines. Send 100,000 to this line and then 200,000 to another timeline a few million years forward and so on.


they said they discovered this one specific fracture in time which they can't control the destination time


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

robbhimself said:


> ... and in a different time stream


That's the weird thing...how do they maintain contact? If the first Time Tunnel created a new time stream, then how does the second Time Tunnel open to the same place? The moment they step out into the Cretaceous, the future they came from is no longer THEIR future.


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## robbhimself (Sep 13, 2006)

they created a paradox by trying to avoid a paradox


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

robbhimself said:


> they created a paradox by trying to avoid a paradox


 ....my head hurts....


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

robbhimself said:


> they created a paradox by trying to avoid a paradox


What are you talking about? They did not create a paradox (because it's a different "timestream") and they weren't trying to avoid a paradox either (because they _expected_ to land in same tiimestream)


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Amnesia said:


> What are you talking about? They did not create a paradox (because it's a different "timestream") and they weren't trying to avoid a paradox either (because they expected to land in same tiimestream)


Well they did test before they went forward by sending that beacon. Who knows that they would have done if they discovered the signal from the beacon.


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

Amnesia said:


> Oh, and I'm also curious as to what the future world is getting out of the colony if the trip is just one-way...


Save the dinosaurs, save the world!


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## Fleegle (Jan 15, 2002)

robbhimself said:


> they created a paradox by trying to avoid a paradox


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

"Blade Runner" (first part in the future) meets "Jurassic Park" meets "Land of the Lost" meets "Lost" meets, er, that old 70's tv series "Family". I wasn't impressed.

And our heroes (Mom and Dad) apparently decided to have a third kid even though overpopulation is a major problemo. Pretty darn selfish.


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

really had a hard time with the weapons doing little to zero damage - not at all "realistic" and makes the dinos too powerful, imo.


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## [email protected] (Jan 8, 2008)

Hcour said:


> And our heroes (Mom and Dad) apparently decided to have a third kid even though overpopulation is a major problemo. Pretty darn selfish.


In the SF novel _Time For The Stars_ there is a family who illegally have third kid -- but the reason was the mom's second pregnancy was a set of twins. I wonder if the writers though of this possibility?


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

This was like a bad SyFy movie. 

- Woeful special effects. Obvious green screen work. Terrible CGI. I know it is not going to be Avatar, but come on. If you are going to use CGI that much at least make an effort.

- Terrible story. First off, why do we care about population control, the dad going to jail, etc., when about five minutes after they arrive, none of that matters, Dad is a police officer again and it has almost no impact on what's going to happen next. Oh, that's right, it set-up the horrible teen angst story.

- Unlikable characters. Hot mom is fine, I guess, but dad has no charisma, older kids are annoying and baby kid is extra annoying. The family has no chemistry together. In fact, the entire cast has no chemistry.

I am desperate to like this show so I will stick with it in the hopes that some of the other story lines (Sixers, Taylor's son) make up for the family junk.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

classicsat said:


> Her being found very early is a core plot point to why the dad was sent to prison.


They could've started with him in prison and alluded to why, but conveniently left out what they actually DO with children who exceed the legal limit. Then we get a big reveal after they've escaped the dystopia that "Ooooh...cute little doe-eyed girl is alive and well and with her family!"

Actually, I'm STILL wondering what their policy is for dealing with families who have more than 2 kids. The son said they would've just been slapped with a fine had the dad not punched a cop. It seems that a fine (even a fairly hefty one) isn't that much of a deterent and CERTAINLY not worth risking a long prison sentence to avoid. From the dad's reaction, I figured they'd at LEAST sweep the kid away into indentured servitude far from her family or something, but really, unless the euthanize her, I don't get his strong and detrimental reaction.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

gastrof said:


> Not only is the pilot repeating this Saturday at 8pm on Fox, it'll have an earlier repeat Thursday night (also at 8)...on the National Geographic Channel?
> 
> I kid you not. Someone at zap2it.com might be, but not me.[/B]


And to think, once upon a time, it actually meant something to be a member of the National Geographic Society.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

Well, I nearly choked to death on all the cliches. Yeah, I'm kinda curious what the equations are, but I'm not sure I'm curious enough to sit through as much family group therapy as the writers seem to be planning.

Re: the beacon and knowing it's another timestream.....why on earth did the people in 2149 think that they were capable of making a COMPLETELY INDESTRUCTABLE beacon that would survive the geological events, asteroid impacts, and ice ages of the 85 million years between when it arrived and when they started looking for it?? It could very easily be around but crushed into a fine, unrecognizable metal/mineral powder. 

(There are other holes, too, but that's the one immediately on my mind.)


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Polcamilla said:


> Actually, I'm STILL wondering what their policy is for dealing with families who have more than 2 kids. The son said they would've just been slapped with a fine had the dad not punched a cop. It seems that a fine (even a fairly hefty one) isn't that much of a deterent and CERTAINLY not worth risking a long prison sentence to avoid. From the dad's reaction, I figured they'd at LEAST sweep the kid away into indentured servitude far from her family or something, but really, unless the euthanize her, I don't get his strong and detrimental reaction.


This gets to why I wanted to punch the son in the face 4 or 5 times. My assumption was that baby Zoe was headed to the ovens and that's why dad acted so violently. They never explained, so I'm assuming Zoe was heading towards a really horible future. Dad was trying to save his daughter's life and a-hole son was like "Let them take her. We'd just pay a fine and I'd be happy."


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## SimonGoodwin (Sep 29, 2011)

I thought it was a great start to the season.
A lot of special FX and good acting.

I did wonder how the small girl could fit into a rucksack, but hey... Suspension of disbelief and all that 

Can't wait for the next episode now!


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## jeepair (Apr 22, 2004)

Wonder what the ORE the sixers gave to Terra Nova does? Whats it that rather small amount needed for? Guess we'll find out eventually.

Heres a weird idea I just thought of.

They should have made another 1/2 hour show following this one as sort of a Terra Novas Dirty Jobs. Have someone cleaning out the outhouses or wherever they go to the bathroom. Take the ___ and put it in the garden. Cleanup the dino poo outside the base and again use it as fertilizer. Show in the background the actual colony in sort of a real time during the previous 1 hour episode. Example of when the sixers rushed the gate in the episode, have the janitor or cleanup guy outside of the gate cleaning up the dino dodo. lol. I don't know, it could be interesting as a different point of view.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

[email protected] said:


> In the SF novel _Time For The Stars_ there is a family who illegally have third kid -- but the reason was the mom's second pregnancy was a set of twins. I wonder if the writers though of this possibility?


I was thinking of that one too, but more of Ender's Game.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Fleegle said:


> The commander said he was the first person to go through teh rift, so I don't think that is the case.


when I said the son "came with" the commander, I did not mean crossing the timestream at the same time. When someone is recruited to go, they are allowed to bring their children. The commander said he got to bring his son when he was chosen to lead expedition. So the son is not supposed to be special, but he seems to be.



eddyj said:


> But it might help keep the current population happier, since there is some hope to emigrate through the lottery. A population with no hope is an ugly thing.


Which makes the whole thing not believable to the masses. How do they know that this "lottery" isn't a form of population control, and that this "timestream" isn't really a way to incinerate people in order to reduce and control the population?

I would have expected a ton of skeptical people!


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

vertigo235 said:


> Well they did test before they went forward by sending that beacon. Who knows that they would have done if they discovered the signal from the beacon.


But once again, how did they know (or why would they even THINK) that they had discovered a time rift? If it's one-way only, people or objects entering the rift would simply disappear, with no hint of where (or when) they went - if anywhere.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

ADG said:


> But once again, how did they know (or why would they even THINK) that they had discovered a time rift? If it's one-way only, people or objects entering the rift would simply disappear, with no hint of where (or when) they went - if anywhere.


They apparently could get a signal back from the beacon when the Time Tunnel is open (which, as I pointed out earlier, doesn't make a lot of sense if it's in another time-line, but that's the way they seem to be going).

Including video, presumably.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> They apparently could get a signal back from the beacon when the Time Tunnel is open (which, as I pointed out earlier, doesn't make a lot of sense if it's in another time-line, but that's the way they seem to be going).
> 
> Including video, presumably.


I didn't get that part. Thanks for explaining. I thought it was weird (as pointed out earlier) that they thought they built something that can last millions of years, then can't find it, and just assume it survived and it's in another timeline.

This makes more sense. Can we just say the rift connects the timelines as well and sleep better?


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## purwater (Aug 25, 2005)

I don't know why, but I got the impression that they aren't really in a separate timeline and the son had figured that out and that's what those equations were on the rocks. I may be the only one that had that thought though. If that's true then it's definitely something they would want to keep quiet as not to let the people from 2149 realize that their whole world could change or cease to exist. Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Anubys said:


> I didn't get that part. Thanks for explaining. I thought it was weird (as pointed out earlier) that they thought they built something that can last millions of years, then can't find it, and just assume it survived and it's in another timeline.
> 
> This makes more sense. Can we just say the rift connects the timelines as well and sleep better?


They can't find it in the present. Which, as you say, is weird...how could they hope, much less expect, that it would survive for 85 frikkin' million years?!? But I guess they built it from Unobtainium or something.

But they've established that they can communicate through the rift. So the first probe they sent back should have had tons of instrumentation with which they could examine, and probably explore remotely, the Other Side...well enough to establish that they are 85 million years in our past, and not in some alternate universe or on the other side of the galaxy. And given how grim the future is, there was probably not problem finding the political will and the volunteers to start sending people through as soon as they discovered the Other Side was habitable...much more so than Our Side!


purwater said:


> I don't know why, but I got the impression that they aren't really in a separate timeline and the son had figured that out and that's what those equations were on the rocks. I may be the only one that had that thought though. If that's true then it's definitely something they would want to keep quiet as not to let the people from 2149 realize that their whole world could change or cease to exist. Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there.


Yeah, none of it really makes sense, which is pretty typical for time travel stories (where's Tim Powers when you need him?) My hope is that they've thought it all through very carefully, and we just don't understand what's going on. My fear is that they haven't, that it's all just set-up that we're supposed to accept, and that it's as much gibberish as it initially seems. Which would work if it's all about them surviving in the past...but they seem to be going for more than that, and to the extent to which they are going for more than that, their success will depend on how well they've thought it all through.


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> They apparently could get a signal back from the beacon when the Time Tunnel is open (which, as I pointed out earlier, doesn't make a lot of sense if it's in another time-line, but that's the way they seem to be going).
> 
> Including video, presumably.


I must have missed that. And no, it certainly doesn't make sense - but then again..........


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Yeah, none of it really makes sense, which is pretty typical for time travel stories (where's Tim Powers when you need him?) My hope is that they've thought it all through very carefully, and we just don't understand what's going on. My fear is that they haven't, that it's all just set-up that we're supposed to accept, and that it's as much gibberish as it initially seems. Which would work if it's all about them surviving in the past...but they seem to be going for more than that, and to the extent to which they are going for more than that, their success will depend on how well they've thought it all through.


To paraphrase what you are saying, the issue now is "what is the plan"? Options include:

1. BSG type of plan
2. LOST type of plan
3. B5 type of plan

I'll hope for 3, be happy with 2, and will be upset with 1. Even if it's 3, I fear we may never see it to the end based on what was posted here about the cost and ratings.


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> My hope is that they've thought it all through very carefully, and we just don't understand what's going on. My fear is that they haven't, that it's all just set-up that we're supposed to accept, and that it's as much gibberish as it initially seems.


Considering the history of shows on Fox, I expect that we've gotten what we're going to get. They rarely target the more intelligent viewer and expect us to simply go with the flow.


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## allan (Oct 14, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> My hope is that they've thought it all through very carefully, and we just don't understand what's going on. My fear is that they haven't, that it's all just set-up that we're supposed to accept, and that it's as much gibberish as it initially seems. Which would work if it's all about them surviving in the past...but they seem to be going for more than that, and to the extent to which they are going for more than that, their success will depend on how well they've thought it all through.


The bad thing is, even if they HAVE thought it through, it will probably get cancelled before they get beyond the gibberish stage.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

purwater said:


> I don't know why, but I got the impression that they aren't really in a separate timeline and the son had figured that out and that's what those equations were on the rocks. I may be the only one that had that thought though. If that's true then it's definitely something they would want to keep quiet as not to let the people from 2149 realize that their whole world could change or cease to exist. Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there.


You weren't the only one. I got that same impression.


----------



## brettatk (Oct 11, 2002)

purwater said:


> I don't know why, but I got the impression that they aren't really in a separate timeline and the son had figured that out and that's what those equations were on the rocks. I may be the only one that had that thought though. If that's true then it's definitely something they would want to keep quiet as not to let the people from 2149 realize that their whole world could change or cease to exist. Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there.





scooterboy said:


> You weren't the only one. I got that same impression.


Yep, I was thinking the same thing last night after watching it. I'll keep watching until it's canceled. Doesn't really matter how good or bad it gets, I just like this genre of tv show.


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## omnibus (Sep 25, 2001)

C'mon guys it's "science fiction", not necessarily science fact.


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## SimonGoodwin (Sep 29, 2011)

ADG said:


> Considering the history of shows on Fox, I expect that we've gotten what we're going to get. They rarely target the more intelligent viewer and expect us to simply go with the flow.


Sad but true.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

omnibus said:


> C'mon guys it's "science fiction", not necessarily science fact.


So since Law & Order is "cop fiction," not necessarily cop fact, that means Stabler can shoot somebody several times through the heart and it won't kill him?

I mean, come, it's FICTION...what do you expect?!?


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## ehusen (Jan 7, 2002)

I enjoyed the show despite the glaring plot holes and cliches. I said out loud at the opening: "Yeah, I think these guys really liked BladeRunner...". And it certainly has a 'Lost' vibe as well. But if you are going to copy/steal/etc. it might as well be from good shows.

I will admit I'm a Sci-Fi whore, so if you give me dinosaurs and time travel I'll probably like it.

Most time travel stories do give my brain a fizzle though. The grandfather paradox always rears its ugly head and most shows just ignore it.

For me, there is only 2 ways to work it. One, you cannot change the timeline at all and going back in time changes nothing. i.e. you try to kill your grandfather and something always prevents you from doing it. The timeline has already been laid out how it is going to go. I leave the philosophical ramblings about "free will" to others. The second is the parallel universe. Every travel back through time creates a branching univers at that moment in time. Do it 10 times and you create 10 different universes. Etc. etc.

Both of those methods seem to work in a rational way and avoid the grandfather paradox.

Either method works for the show but I would prefer that they are still in our timeline. That raises all sorts of good questions. Is it dangerous for the future to have them there? (Assuming you don't buy into the unchanging timeline). And what happened to them since they obviously aren't around in 85 million years when the humans evolve? Did they die out? Did they ascend?

I'll keep watching but I'm betting on cancellation. Too expensive and not enough viewers.


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## allan (Oct 14, 2002)

ehusen said:


> Either method works for the show but I would prefer that they are still in our timeline. That raises all sorts of good questions. Is it dangerous for the future to have them there? (Assuming you don't buy into the unchanging timeline). And what happened to them since they obviously aren't around in 85 million years when the humans evolve? Did they die out? Did they ascend?
> 
> I'll keep watching but I'm betting on cancellation. Too expensive and not enough viewers.


I figured that even if the dinos didn't eat everyone, they'd probably get pulverized when the asteroid hit. Of course, without the alternate timeline, that tiny mammal they have for dinner might be the cop's great-great-great grandfather!


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

betts4 said:


> I was thinking of that one too, but more of Ender's Game.


Stringent population control because of overpopulation is a really tired premise....especially given that for the about the last twenty years we've been consistently headed toward global population stabilization within our lifetimes.


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## Dmtalon (Dec 28, 2003)

Polcamilla said:


> Re: the beacon and knowing it's another timestream.....why on earth did the people in 2149 think that they were capable of making a COMPLETELY INDESTRUCTABLE beacon that would survive the geological events, asteroid impacts, and ice ages of the 85 million years between when it arrived and when they started looking for it?? It could very easily be around but crushed into a fine, unrecognizable metal/mineral powder.


I'm guessing they could have made the beacon out of a material that has a rather long half life (however setting it up in the center of camp kind of rules that out), so that even if its destroyed there would be evidence of its existence? Maybe it being destroyed would release said material leaving a tracer.

They don't give any details on the construction of the thing so who knows what sort of crazy ideas they worked through to ensure the beacon (in some way/shape/form) would survive. Its a scifi show, so I'm using my imagination here.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Polcamilla said:


> Stringent population control because of overpopulation is a really tired premise....especially given that for the about the last twenty years we've been consistently headed toward global population stabilization within our lifetimes.


I'm guessing you have to factor in the environmental damage to the planet that has lowered things like food production, breathable air, etc, and therefore the planet cannot support a large population like it could if it was "whole".


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

Incidentally, a relative spoke to an extremely reliable source this past weekend who noted that the show is selling so incredibly well overseas that they're not too concerned about the costs for now.


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## elmeng (Mar 7, 2009)

My local Fox HD channel comes in as 720p. I download it with Tivo Transfer and import it to Toast Titanium for editing on my iMac as a Blu-ray Video. When toast receives the file is become a larger file and and takes three times or more longer to multiplex as compared to NBC (1080i), CBS (1080i), and ABC (720P) programs. Whats the problem?


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Polcamilla said:


> Stringent population control because of overpopulation is a really tired premise....especially given that for the about the last twenty years we've been consistently headed toward global population stabilization within our lifetimes.


well, but could we sustain the current population if 90% of the possible farmlands are gone?

I'm not saying 90% is a figure they quoted, but you can assume that farmland decreased considerably with access to the sun.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

JYoung said:


> I'm guessing you have to factor in the environmental damage to the planet that has lowered things like food production, breathable air, etc, and therefore the planet cannot support a large population like it could if it was "whole".


...though if that were the case, natural selection would take care of the population problem (and also, civilization would probably collapse).

Also, speaking as someone who loves kids, has three, and got asked repeatedly if the third was a mistake (she wasn't), I wouldn't choose to bring a child into a world where death from starvation is a probable fate.


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

elmeng said:


> My local Fox HD channel comes in as 720p. I download it with Tivo Transfer and import it to Toast Titanium for editing on my iMac as a Blu-ray Video. When toast receives the file is become a larger file and and takes three times or more longer to multiplex as compared to NBC (1080i), CBS (1080i), and ABC (720P) programs. Whats the problem?


This thread is for discussion of the show. You might want to post your question in one of the support forums.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

elmeng said:


> My local Fox HD channel comes in as 720p. I download it with Tivo Transfer and import it to Toast Titanium for editing on my iMac as a Blu-ray Video. When toast receives the file is become a larger file and and takes three times or more longer to multiplex as compared to NBC (1080i), CBS (1080i), and ABC (720P) programs. Whats the problem?


It's the dinosaurs. They're really big, so it takes much longer to toast them.


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## allan (Oct 14, 2002)

Polcamilla said:


> ...though if that were the case, natural selection would take care of the population problem (and also, civilization would probably collapse).
> 
> Also, speaking as someone who loves kids, has three, and got asked repeatedly if the third was a mistake (she wasn't), I wouldn't choose to bring a child into a world where death from starvation is a probable fate.


I'd think twice about bringing children into a world where we needed oxygen to have the strength to generate children! 

I had to wonder, as crappy as their world was, if child #3 wasn't really planned.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

allan said:


> I had to wonder, as crappy as their world was, if child #3 wasn't really planned.


Yeah, that was my suspicion...that it was an unplanned pregnancy (perhaps a botched sterilization?) that they couldn't bring themselves to report/terminate.


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

Polcamilla said:


> There are other holes, too, but that's the one immediately on my mind


There is an offhand line in an X-Files episode where Mulder is invited to a get-together of the Lone Gunmen wherein they will discuss and laugh at all the technical flaws in the latest Earth 2 episode, apparently with great relish. Mulder declines the pleasure.

Actually, this series seems like almost a direct knockoff of Earth 2 to me. New World to save Mankind; hostile forces of nature; suspect motives of the Old World movers and shakers; a lone strange early-arriver wandering in the wilderness; mysterious mythology (here the formulae); opposing camps dividing the immigrants. Several other theme points line up, I think, but it's been a long time.

Once the ratings start really tanking it may even be interesting to see the producers panic and start taking the show off into 27 new directions at the same time, as per pattern.


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## DLiquid (Sep 17, 2001)

purwater said:


> I don't know why, but I got the impression that they aren't really in a separate timeline and the son had figured that out and that's what those equations were on the rocks. I may be the only one that had that thought though. If that's true then it's definitely something they would want to keep quiet as not to let the people from 2149 realize that their whole world could change or cease to exist. Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there.


Add me to the list of people who think this. In fact, it seemed kind of obvious given the Sixer's line about to control the future, you need to control the past.

Maybe Mel Gibson lite will figure this out and join Tina Turner and The Others, I mean the Sixers.


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

allan said:


> I had to wonder, as crappy as their world was, if child #3 wasn't really planned.


Perhaps one of the older kids had some kind of illness that lead them to think it wouldn't survive?


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## jasrub (May 9, 2008)

Anubys said:


> Which makes the whole thing not believable to the masses. How do they know that this "lottery" isn't a form of population control, and that this "timestream" isn't really a way to incinerate people in order to reduce and control the population?
> 
> I would have expected a ton of skeptical people!


"It's people. Soylent Green is made out of people."


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## DLiquid (Sep 17, 2001)

jasrub said:


> "It's people. Soylent Green is made out of people."


Also like


Spoiler



Logan's Run.


I guess the people going through the portal weren't familiar with these works.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

DLiquid said:


> Also like
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I think it would nostalgic to know those films that far in the future. Hell, how many people under 25 would know about those 2 movies today, unless they somehow got remade?


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

DLiquid said:


> In fact, it seemed kind of obvious given the Sixer's line about to control the future, you need to control the past.


Not sure what you could do from 85 million years in the past, though, in order to control the year 2149 in any meaningful way. Try to kill off all the life that existed 85 million years ago? Great, so you end up with a world of hyperintelligent cockroaches 85 million years later. Whoopee.



robojerk said:


> Hell, how many people under 25 would know about those 2 movies today, unless they somehow got remade?


Considering the number of "Soylent Green is people!" references there have been in pop culture, I'd say a lot of people under 25 are at least dimly aware of "Soylent Green." ("Logan's Run" has been referenced a fair amount, too, but those references are more obtuse.)


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

purwater said:


> I don't know why, but I got the impression that they aren't really in a separate timeline and the son had figured that out and that's what those equations were on the rocks. I may be the only one that had that thought though. If that's true then it's definitely something they would want to keep quiet as not to let the people from 2149 realize that their whole world could change or cease to exist. Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there.


Warning, Time Quake Approaching!


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

Temporal storm.


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

Wil said:


> Actually, this series seems like almost a direct knockoff of Earth 2 to me. New World to save Mankind; hostile forces of nature; suspect motives of the Old World movers and shakers; a lone strange early-arriver wandering in the wilderness; mysterious mythology (here the formulae); opposing camps dividing the immigrants. Several other theme points line up, I think, but it's been a long time.


I just re-watched part of Earth 2 on Netflix a few months ago (only lasted 5 episodes before I gave up - boy that show didn't age well!) So Earth 2 easily came to mind for me when this show came around. Especially the part where there are people from the old world manipulating things. And you're right, there feels like a lot of other parallels too.

An interesting piece of trivia is that that both Earth 2 and Terra Nova were/are produced by Amblin Entertainment.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

The more I think about it, the more I find myself wanting to hit the writers of Terra Nova over the head with a copy of Guns, Germs, and Steel. 

They clearly established that they're putting a lot of effort into agriculture. A few things were vague.

1) From the exotic fruits they showed people eating, I'm guessing they're trying to live off the local flora rather than bring seed specimens from the future.

1a) There seemed to be a lot of produce markets (or they kept walking past the same produce market a lot). Are residents free to simply come and take what they need or is there an economic system in place so that people have to buy their food?

2) I saw NO animals, either modern farm animals (chickens, cows, pigs, etc.) or any attempts to domesticate any smaller dinosaurs. Are they planning on building a vegetarian society? The only food we saw people eating were the exotic native fruits and the orientation glop.

3) Basic human needs are food, shelter, clothing and, given the challenges of their environment, I'm going to say that munitions are also a pretty major need for their society. So here's what REALLY bugs me----they're working hard at food production, but I saw nothing indicating that they were working at providing the other four things.

It seems for now that they're mostly reliant on non-food supplies from the future (building materials, clothing, tech, medicine, etc.). In the short term, it's okay as a kick-start, but in the long term, such shifting of resources is going to cause some BIG problems. Either it's a different timestream altogether and the future dystopia (which we've already seen established as resource-poor) is blithely porting precious resources out of its universe with no ability to ever get them back. Over 200-500 years, that would cause a pretty decent diminishment in the sheer mass of the planet which is going to have some unfortunate consequences. The other possibility is that it's secretly really the same timestream and we're sending matter back in time so that it's basically existing twice in our universe in a lovely paradox. This will create a net GAIN in the mass of our universe which, while I suppose is good for resource production, is going to make the planet bigger/heavier. 

So, since either of those is problematic from a physics standpoint, let's assume that it's a short-term thing. In that case, they're going to need to ramp up their industry REALLY quickly. Here are a few problems I see here.

Assuming they're depending on the local resources and not importing plants/animals, then 85 million years in the past there are no mammals....in other words, there are no fiber/feather bearing animals. No wool, no furs, no padding for their mattresses, etc. Also, while I'll admit my Cretaceous geology isn't strong, since the dinosaurs are still walking around, I'm guessing there really isn't much in the way of petroleum reserves. So, we have no wool-type fabrics and no synthetics (nylon, kevlar, etc.). We're stuck with cellulose-based fabrics. If they're planning on living on the local flora, they're gonna need some people out there frantically cataloging the plant life and its properties and they're REALLY going to need to find a cotton/linen/hemp replacement ASAP. This is being generous and assuming that protection from cold isn't a significant concern for some time because the weather is extremely temperate. 

And then there's heavier industry than textiles. The houses seemed to be some kind of prefab constructs that had to have come from the future because there's no manufacturing facility to produce them in the past. There was the mention of the meteoric iron ore and its value, but without smelting facilities and machining equipment, what are they going to do with it precisely?

Finally, they're coming from a future where the environment has been destroyed and they seem to be trying to prevent repeating that. I'm guessing (based on the quality of life in the future) that their green tech is weak. They make references to solar-powered things (like the water heater) but if the air is so polluted in the future that nobody can see the moon, then they're probably going to get really crummy performance from their solar panels so I can't think their solar panel technology has improved significantly from where ours is now. Anyways, I see three possible pathways for them: 

a) They try to live as low-impact as possible and preserve the natural beauty of Terra Nova. Um....wouldn't the lowest-impact be to not be there at all?

b) They try to only use green tech (of which their supply is limited). Again, they haven't developed any industry yet---they're just piggy-backing on the industry of the future. They don't have the resources to build clean, green factories, or ANY factories, and getting the resources is going to involve unpleasant things like being reliant on burning stuff as a power source for some time......at least until they are capable of making the tools to mine for the materials to build the equipment to manufacture the solar panels that seem to be their catch-all power solution. 

c) They just say "Screw it----we're gonna use the tech we've got and the world is so big and empty it won't make a different." Spiffy. They've sped up the destruction of the planet by 85 million years.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Polcamilla said:


> Also, while I'll admit my Cretaceous geology isn't strong, since the dinosaurs are still walking around, I'm guessing there really isn't much in the way of petroleum reserves.


That's an urban legend.

Not that they're going to be in a position any time soon to drill baby drill...


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Polcamilla said:


> 3) Basic human needs are food, shelter, clothing and, given the challenges of their environment, I'm going to say that munitions are also a pretty major need for their society. So here's what REALLY bugs me----they're working hard at food production, but I saw nothing indicating that they were working at providing the other four things.


I think they use meteor ore for ammo.


Polcamilla said:


> We're stuck with cellulose-based fabrics. If they're planning on living on the local flora, they're gonna need some people out there frantically cataloging the plant life and its properties and they're REALLY going to need to find a cotton/linen/hemp replacement ASAP.


So you want them to be smokin' the ganja, mon?

In all honesty, I think you put more thought into this than the producers have.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

JYoung said:


> In all honesty, I think you put more thought into this than the producers have.


Yeah, I know, and it makes me sad. Really, this was just a quick laundry list that I came up with while making a run to TJ's for groceries.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> That's an urban legend.
> 
> Not that they're going to be in a position any time soon to drill baby drill...


You linked to Wikipedia -- where ANYbody can contribute content and call it a "fact". I'm sure most of the content is good knowledge, but it is open to abuse, and has frequently been used to publish misinformation.


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## zyzzx (Jan 22, 2002)

Polcamilla said:


> Yeah, I know, and it makes me sad. Really, this was just a quick laundry list that I came up with while making a run to TJ's for groceries.


It was one episode. Give them some time to explore these problems.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

Enrique said:


> I did like the point about placing Terra Nova in a different time stream as to introduce dinosaurs that never existed and hopefully other things.


I don't think that's what they meant.

Basically, the second someone goes back in time to change things, the current timeline either blinks out of existence (because changes were made and the current timeline would never have existed) or becomes cut off from the altered timeline, thereby creating two different timestreams.

I was talking about this to my sons before we watched it (finally, last night). I was postulating that if man creates a time travel device, then the entire expedition has to go back at once, they can't stagger trips back or send supplies last on for the reasons above.

However, they explained this away quite well. Man didn't create a time travel mechanism. They discovered a wormhole, basically. They know nothing about how it works, so they can create a separate time stream that's connected - permanently - to our current one and send back wave after wave of colonists, supplies, etc.

Well done in that regard.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

jradosh said:


> I guess in the new timestream they don't worry about extinction-level events like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs?
> 
> (caveat: I haven't actually watched this show)


My sons asked me about this (before we knew it was a naturally occuring [or is it?] wormhole). Why go back before the meteor wipes out the dinosaurs? At the time, I said "well, they'll have 20 million years to make an asteroid defense system."


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

a couple of points:

1. I did see huge chunks of meat hanging (like the leg of a small dino) in the market.

2. If they can never see the moon, it stands to reason that their solar panels are extremely effective at turning very little sunlight into energy. right?


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

Two things that jumped out at me - the Death Star Interrogation probe and a crate full of Unobtainium. Anyone else think of these things?


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

IndyJones1023 said:


> Two things that jumped out at me - the Death Star Interrogation probe and a crate full of Unobtainium. Anyone else think of these things?


not for the first time , I have no idea what you are talking about!


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

Anubys said:


> 2. If they can never see the moon, it stands to reason that their solar panels are extremely effective at turning very little sunlight into energy. right?


Exactly! They must have AWESOME panels to get any solar energy from what little comes through the smog!


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

Some comments on Polcamilla's science. I will not go into the time travel scince though.

The bigger picture is that they are modern people that at least know modern technology, or at least they should be educated people with the knowlege to make use of the resources potentially available, to eventually develop their own resources for food, clothing, housing materials, transportation, energy, medicine, and other needs for society.

I will say that the Sixers have the mine, so have the Ore, which I can guess is iron. They just need to develop 19th century refining quick, but I don't think such a small colony can yet.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

Anubys said:


> 2. If they can never see the moon, it stands to reason that their solar panels are extremely effective at turning very little sunlight into energy. right?


Then what caused all the yellow air polution?


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

The rest of the polluting stuff. We can pollute a lot, but also use solar for some stuff.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

or they simply had to develop those super duper solar panels or else not have power. An invention born out of necessity.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

A satellite based solar collection system that beams the power back to Earth also solves the power problem.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

JYoung said:


> A satellite based solar collection system that beams the power back to Earth also solves the power problem.


I was going to post that, but then I wondered about how well you could beam down energy through the pollution.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

eddyj said:


> I was going to post that, but then I wondered about how well you could beam down energy through the pollution.


lots and lots and lots of extension cords, silly!


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

eddyj said:


> I was going to post that, but then I wondered about how well you could beam down energy through the pollution.


In theory, I suppose that it would be a microwave based power transmission setup that would punch through the pollution with negligible cost.

It is 150 years in the future.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

Anubys said:


> lots and lots and lots of extension cords, silly!


As long as they are 22,236 miles long, then it should work! :up:


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

If they're using the Lagrangian L1 point, they're going to need a longer cord.


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## voripteth (Apr 9, 2003)

pjenkins said:


> really had a hard time with the weapons doing little to zero damage - not at all "realistic" and makes the dinos too powerful, imo.


It is the Starship Troopers phenomena. (The movie) Perhaps they just need to train people how to aim or use armor piercing ammo.


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## voripteth (Apr 9, 2003)

I hope they can make the characters more likeable. There must be some plausible reason why they are all acting like selfish d-bags.

Currently the series sure looks and feels like a cheap SyFy production.


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## bkc56 (Apr 29, 2001)

getreal said:


> YES! I didn't even realize that they were using tranqs. And why shoot tranqs with automatic weapons?!! What a waste of ammo/drugs!


I only (finally) watched the first episode last night. Having been clued in by this thread I paid attention when the tranq comment was made.

From what I saw, I think most of the light weapons are traditional full-auto (and highly ineffective) firearms. The tranq gun used in that one scene was clearly a different style of weapon, and when he shot it was single fire (although I had the impression it might be a mag-fed semi-auto rather than a bolt-action single-shot as is typically shown in movies (think Jurassic Park II)).

And I'm wondering if their portrail of weapons may be more accurate than we are giving them credit for. After all, most people can't hit the broad side of a bar..., err, dinosaur with a full-auto firearm. Firing a couple hundreds rounds seems to have no effect because the people are missing with 95% of the rounds.


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

Why does everyone thing they are using solar power collection in 2149 through the polluted air and that this is a prerequisite for knowing how to use solar power in the past? I would think they would know how to build traditional solar power collectors from consulting reference materials in a reference book or library.

Also, I was under the impression from the fact they said they ran out of hot water that they were talking about heating water with solar collectors. This does not exactly require high tech.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

mrdbdigital said:


> Also, I was under the impression from the fact they said they ran out of hot water that they were talking about heating water with solar collectors. This does not exactly require high tech.


I just assumed they have an average sized water heater and the teenager took a long hot shower and used up all the hot water. Something that happens in every household with a teenager all over the world. It has nothing to do with how the water is heated.


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

Anubys said:


> I just assumed they have an average sized water heater and the teenager took a long hot shower and used up all the hot water. Something that happens in every household with a teenager all over the world. It has nothing to do with how the water is heated.


They said something about it taking a while to heat up more water because it was solar powered.


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## Crash_Corrigan (Feb 27, 2004)

jeepair said:


> Wonder what the ORE the sixers gave to Terra Nova does? Whats it that rather small amount needed for? Guess we'll find out eventually.
> 
> Heres a weird idea I just thought of.
> 
> They should have made another 1/2 hour show following this one as sort of a Terra Novas Dirty Jobs. Have someone cleaning out the outhouses or wherever they go to the bathroom. Take the ___ and put it in the garden. Cleanup the dino poo outside the base and again use it as fertilizer. Show in the background the actual colony in sort of a real time during the previous 1 hour episode. Example of when the sixers rushed the gate in the episode, have the janitor or cleanup guy outside of the gate cleaning up the dino dodo. lol. I don't know, it could be interesting as a different point of view.


Your idea reminds me of the Babylon 5 episode that was told from the viewpoint of a maintenance/janitorial team.


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

I think it is going to be Earth 2. They are going to realize it is not a different time stream or even a different time. They are on a parallel earth in the exact same year just in a different universe!


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## Linnemir (Apr 7, 2009)

gastrof said:


> The big question is "Will it last?" Maybe, considering INVASION, SURFACE, and THE EVENT, the question should be "Will it last more than one season, and not leave us with an unresolved cliff-hanger?"
> 
> I hate that.
> 
> ...


This is Fox. I have a one word answer to your question: Firefly


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Since no one has chimed in yet, I offer the pre-emptive

*B-I-H-F!!!*


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## Hunter Green (Feb 22, 2002)

Hcour said:


> "Blade Runner" (first part in the future)


There was one scene where I was really expecting them to say "A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies!" But I don't really see the "Lost" vibe people are seeing.



Hcour said:


> And our heroes (Mom and Dad) apparently decided to have a third kid even though overpopulation is a major problemo. Pretty darn selfish.


Heck yes. I was wondering, are we supposed to be sympathizing with them? I was hoping they'd at least give us a better reason -- like it was an accident, and once it happened they didn't want to terminate the pregnancy. They're being cagey about it so that's still possible, but I think they still want us to be rooting for the extra breeding anyway, in a "rebellion against the repression" sense, and I don't see it. Heck, shouldn't the law say _one_ child anyway? Two isn't going to help ease the population issues.


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

A few people brought up the possibility that Terra Nova is *not* a different timeline. I'm pretty much convinced that is the case -- a show like this *needs* this kind of twist. 

What are the other possibilities?

1. Planet of the Apes: it is the future.
2. Is is a parallel universe (similar to a separate timeline, except that it wasn't created because they went back to their own past).
3. It is just another m-class planet in their universe (not sure if that's likely because they showed us the moon -- anyone have a screen cap to compare it to our moon?)
4. Lost: whatever happens, has always happened. They really are in their own past but cannot change the future because whatever they do they already did. 

I'm teetering between #1 and #4. Are there others?

I'm guessing the season finale will have a "game changer" that will reveal one of the above (or another one, perhaps). For example, they may destroy the probe because they somehow need the future people to *think* they are not in the past. Or the probe gets destroyed by some natural phenomenon -- perhaps something that also cuts off their ability to communicate with the "future".

Speaking of which, if they can communicate, how is that even possible if they are in a different timeline? I know, it's just a TV show. With dinosaurs! That I can watch with the boys without having to explain uncomfortable stuff. I should just enjoy it.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

wprager said:


> (..) if they can communicate, how is that even possible if they are in a different timeline?


What does being in a different timeline matter?

They have some kind of stable, one-way "wormhole". When it's open, they can send EM messages back. (So far, very much like _Stargate_). How would the sending of messages be easier or harder if it were a gateway to this Earth's past instead of being a gateway to a different Earth?


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

Amnesia said:


> What does being in a different timeline matter?
> 
> They have some kind of stable, one-way "wormhole". When it's open, they can send EM messages back. (So far, very much like _Stargate_). How would the sending of messages be easier or harder if it were a gateway to this Earth's past instead of being a gateway to a different Earth?


It matters to me. How can you communicate when there is no shared medium between two universes? Radio waves would require a shared vacuum (which isn't exactly "nothingness" -- by vacuum I mean whatever medium is required for radio transmission -- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070819155948AAKFfKy).

I guess I can wrap my brain around an object crossing from one universe to another -- it's never between the two; it's entirely in one until it is entirely in the other. But something continuous like radio waves -- how does that work? I suppose you can assume that the vacuum/transmission medium can also be carved into discrete chunks that can pass between the two universes, each carrying some tiny, quantum amount of the signal, they've already said that moving through the wormhole is not linear. The chunks of the signal cannot possibly arrive in the same order as they were sent.

Ironically, the entire family arrived together, which was rather convenient. I don't even know why they did that -- poor writing, I guess. They could have said that the wormhole is *sometimes* non-linear, or they could have had the family arrive at different times and have the parents freaking out for a while.


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

wprager said:


> It matters to me. How can you communicate when there is no shared medium between two universes? ... I suppose you can assume that the vacuum/transmission medium can also be carved into discrete chunks that can pass between the two universes, each carrying some tiny, quantum amount of the signal, they've already said that moving through the wormhole is not linear. The chunks of the signal cannot possibly arrive in the same order as they were sent.


Packet indexes. Message pieces put back in proper order at the destination. Your description actually reminded me of the old original AppleTalk network protocol. The pieces of a communication unit simply wandered around the LAN until they eventually all reached their proper destination and then were put back together. Not real efficient but it allows for dealing with a lot of hostile variables in the transmission process.


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## wprager (Feb 19, 2006)

Wil said:


> Packet indexes. Message pieces put back in proper order at the destination. Your description actually reminded me of the old original AppleTalk network protocol. The pieces of a communication unit simply wandered around the LAN until they eventually all reached their proper destination and then were put back together. Not real efficient but it allows for dealing with a lot of hostile variables in the transmission process.


How large would the buffer have to be to account for 118 days of jitter? 

Edit: I'm actually surprised no-one attacked the "science" in my post. It's early yet and I'm sure it will get taken apart eventually. I'd just like to say, in advance, that I will not be defending it.


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## thewebgal (Aug 10, 2007)

Amnesia said:


> What does being in a different timeline matter?


because if its our timeline we would be overrun with millions and millions of generations of their offspring over the 85 million years. Plus their evolution over that time would make them the dominant species - and the earth's resources would be used up that much sooner ... PARADOX!!


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

Hunter Green said:


> Heck, shouldn't the law say _one_ child anyway? Two isn't going to help ease the population issues.


Two would ease the population problem somewhat. The replacement rate is 2.3 children. It's greater than 2 because a certain percentage of people will be unable to have children.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

thewebgal said:


> because if its our timeline we would be overrun with millions and millions of generations of their offspring over the 85 million years. Plus their evolution over that time would make them the dominant species - and the earth's resources would be used up that much sooner ... PARADOX!!


There's another possibility no one has thrown out.

It's our same time line, but Terra Nova never worked out, so all we have in the modern time is a small archaeological site with some 85 million year old human fossils.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

The Sixers caused the extinction of the dinosaurs by shooting them with A.Steroid.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

thewebgal said:


> because if its our timeline we would be overrun with millions and millions of generations of their offspring over the 85 million years. Plus their evolution over that time would make them the dominant species - and the earth's resources would be used up that much sooner ... PARADOX!!


That's assuming the Numans make all the same mistakes we did on the first pass. By sending people back to restart Earth, they already know all the mistakes we made the first time. They won't (shouldn't) rely on petroleum, know to use solar, recycle absolutely everything, not invent religion, etc.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

WOW - am I glad that the target audience isn't the science minded folks in this forum. I'm really bored just reading this thread (though I will defend to the proverbial death your right to discuss such science!), I'd hate to think what the show would be like if they really tried to get the science "right". Plus, I'm sure the thread would be rife with arguments about everybody's views of how "right" they're actually getting it. Oy!


Give me an interesting story, present it in an exciting way, throw in some dinosaurs here and there and I'll enjoy it. I won't strain my brain too much worrying about the science aspect!


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

trainman said:


> Considering the number of "Soylent Green is people!" references there have been in pop culture, I'd say a lot of people under 25 are at least dimly aware of "Soylent Green." ("Logan's Run" has been referenced a fair amount, too, but those references are more obtuse.)


This very episode had a bit of a Soylent Green homage in it -- it began with the family appreciating a rare orange. (Soylent Green begins with an auction over an extremely pricey (because rare) strawberry).

I'm in the camp that believes that they are in the same timestream. In fact, I'd wager that the Season One Finale Cliffhanger Moment is going to be the discovery of the probe in 2149. Whether some faction (i.e. whatever/whomever is behind the Sixers) is already aware of the probe's existence remains to be seen.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

JLucPicard said:


> Give me an interesting story, present it in an exciting way, throw in some dinosaurs here and there and I'll enjoy it. I won't strain my brain too much worrying about the science aspect!


Well, good news, then!


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

I'm so glad that finding this fairly active thread and seeing one of my FB post "terra nova" as his status actually got me interested enough to record the rerun on NGC and watch it. I've got a SP set now.

I'm not normally a watcher of many prime time network shows.

I actually like the show despite all the criticisms of cliches...


cherry ghost said:


> http://www.aoltv.com/2011/09/26/terra-nova-questions-dinosaurs-sixers-spielberg/


Thanks! Answered a lot of questions.

I too was wondering about how the two sides communicate.


MikeekiM said:


> It's available as a free download on iTunes... Not sure how long that will last, so if you are at all interested, download it and save it for later...


There's also a ~2.5 minute sneak peak for free on iTunes that shows some behind the scenes stuff.


Zevida said:


> - Woeful special effects. Obvious green screen work. Terrible CGI. I know it is not going to be Avatar, but come on. If you are going to use CGI that much at least make an effort.
> 
> - Terrible story. First off, why do we care about population control, the dad going to jail, etc., when about five minutes after they arrive, none of that matters, Dad is a police officer again and it has almost no impact on what's going to happen next. Oh, that's right, it set-up the horrible teen angst story.
> 
> - Unlikable characters. Hot mom is fine.


I dunno, I liked the the show overall. I didn't think the effects were THAT bad. It's a TV show. They can only do so much on a TV budget. If you look back at B5, the effects look AWFUL but today's standards, but then again, CGI has come a long way since then.

As for "terrible story", well, I thought about this more and I think it was a decent setup. It's a commentary on the way our society might be headed and explains why people might be so eager/desperate to leave Earth and go into the past. If the show just skipped over it completely, we'd be asking even more questions about why they went back in the first place.

The mom is easy on the eyes. 

I too caught Brannon Braga in the credits and also had noticed Rene Echevarria in the credits who was involved w/Star Trek TNG. I then thought back and do think I'd heard about Braga working on this show but I dismissed it immediately since well... we all know what happened to Trek, pre-JJ-verse.

The music was well done. At the beginning, I guessed incorrectly that it was Bear McCreary's work.

Some people made comparisons to Earth 2. I dunno. When it originally aired, I recall watching or trying to watch the first ep. I thought it was slow and AWFUL. I never got to ep 2.

It'll be interesting to see how long this show lasts. Sci-fi just doesn't seem to do well for very long on network TV, even though I consider Fox to me a minor network player.


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## RGM1138 (Oct 6, 1999)

Well, it's good to know that Fresh's new gal-pal Skye has apparently had Special Forces training. That should come in handy. Maybe she could school the old gurl fren, when she inevitably shows up later.

It looks like FOX built a pretty expensive set, (somewhere in Kiwi land, maybe?). I was noticing that the family accommodations seem to be well built. Did they come prefabbed from the future or is there a Home Depot in the Cretaceous?

And, just thinking out loud: might there be some kind of crazy-assed bacteria or viruses 85M years back that humans never had a chance to become immune to? I guess that's a moot point, what with all the carnosaurs out to dine on the newbies.

I was intrigued by the alien-looking markings - until I found out they were made by Taylor's crazy kid. "Control the past - control the future"? How does that happen if they're in different time streams?

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Sleestak before this series is yanked.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

RGM1138 said:


> It looks like FOX built a pretty expensive set, (somewhere in Kiwi land, maybe?). I was noticing that the family accommodations seem to be well built. Did they come prefabbed from the future or is there a Home Depot in the Cretaceous?


Queensland, Australia actually.
And we know that they're still getting supplies from the future (at least for now).


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

It was driving me crazy wondering where I recognized Skye from. I finally gave in and checked IMDB:



Spoiler



the princess from Kings


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

scooterboy said:


> It was driving me crazy wondering where I recognized Skye from. I finally gave in and checked IMDB:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The odd thing is, she seems to have gotten younger since then.


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## RGM1138 (Oct 6, 1999)

JYoung said:


> Queensland, Australia actually.


Ah, well, I was in the neighborhood. Same hemisphere, anyway.



> And we know that they're still getting supplies from the future (at least for now).


Yeah, I got that. I just didn't see any construction workers or heavy equipment. And presumably, they're still in the building phase, to accommodate all those future TN dwellers.

Or, maybe they just build houses as needed. This week you're a carpenter, next week, a chef or a dinosaur-meat hunter.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> The odd thing is, she seems to have gotten younger since then.


That show aged everyone. 

(I didn't even bother watching the last episode or two, which is unusual for me.)


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

I think we need to keep in mind that the wide shot of the settlement showed the entire agriculture area surrounded by developed structures and buildings. I think we probably only saw a small part of the total facility in the pilot. Based on the size from the wide shot, that place is huge.


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## Johnny Dancing (Sep 3, 2000)

flyers088 said:


> Why does every kid in every show have to have the same teenage problems? Can't a show just have some normal kids without any real problems and a family that can function just fine. I get it you had to leave your girlfriend, you hate your dad for going to jail, ect.. Just tired of shows having to use the same kids story lines over and over again.


For me, this show has a very cool plot setup. It has time travel, dinosaurs, mystery... Get J.J. Abrams on it and turn this thing into an epic show. Note to self... Watch Persons of Interest.

As it is now, it seems they are set to ruin it with teenage angst. I hope the son doesn't become the V son where he is a total idiot and we all hope he gets killed off - or The Event type stupid girl for that matter.

Seems like a lot of teenagers in the storyline, maybe they are trying to suck in young viewers??? I worry that we won't get much more sci fi if they keep ruining great ideas with bad plots.

Come on, first day in this wondrous new world and the rebellious son gets in major trouble being stupid.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

This thread is making my head hurt.


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## frombhto323 (Jan 24, 2002)

whitson77 said:


> We liked it. But the son needs to tone down the brooding and whiny-ness


Definitely. Very, very annoying. Get over yourself, kid. You have dinosaurs running around trying to eat you, for goodness sakes!


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## frombhto323 (Jan 24, 2002)

Anubys said:


> The policeman also asked the commander (not good with names) why he didn't ask the powers back home about the Sixers. The commander said he can't trust anyone until he finds out who picked them out and sent them. So they clearly established that 2-way communication is normal.
> 
> *I am worried that the know-it-all girl is this show's version of Wesley Crusher*.
> 
> ...


Do not speak that name! They might get ideas.


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## classicX (May 10, 2006)

Polcamilla said:


> There's another possibility no one has thrown out.
> 
> It's our same time line, but Terra Nova never worked out, so all we have in the modern time is a small archaeological site with some 85 million year old human fossils.


Or that the probe was destroyed purposefully. The fact that they never found the probe in the future was purportedly the reason that they began sending people through (given the girl's explanation that the butterfly effect is why they were afraid); if the probe were found, they may have decided against sending people in the first place.

My "spoiler" plot point supposition (not having seen this week's episode, mind you):



Spoiler



I think there is a deeper purpose to Terra Nova, which was discovered by the sixers, and the prevention of which is their purpose in Terra Nova.

The son is a crazy supergenius trying to figure out a way to get back to the future.


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## DouglasPHill (Feb 10, 2005)

I just watched this first episode. Not what I expected but not bad. I think I would have cast a different actor as the husband/police officer. The wife/doctor character is too bossy. The husband/police officer is a little on the wimp side. The wife/doctor at one point looked away like she was hiding something from hubby.


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

Maddy described the probe when she saw it. "It's the probe! You know, the one they sent through when they first discovered the time fracture ... no one knew at first how far back the fracture went, or even where it led to. They sent this back with a beacon inside so that, you know, they could find it however many millions of years later. Only they never did. That's how they knew that they were dealing with a new time-stream.

I assume that there was a lot more to the analysis and conclusion than just "we never found it." She must be glossing over a lot of additional research. No doubt, if there is any justice in the world at all, they will slowly dribble out the information to the viewers. If they never address it beyond this meger explanation, then we will be frustrated, and can conclude that they just don't care about the details at all.

What could such a beacon be made of, if it was expected to last millions of years (100 million+?) and still be operational? They must have a lot more robust technology than we do today.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

I'm sure she didn't mean that it would still be powered up. Just that they never found the metalic object.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

And unobtainium never decays, so they should have found it.


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## rrrobinsonjr (Nov 26, 2004)

Dude over the radio
"Keep sharp eyes. Mira's in your area. We picked up sixer's radio chatter"

Taylor
"DAMNATION! Copy that.....MIRA.....just what I need right now!"

Jim
"Her people always this much trouble?"

Taylor
*"Yeah, so far. I don't know who sent them. I don't know why. But I'll tell you this. I'm not gonna let them...I'm not gonna let ANYBODY stand in the way of what we're building here. TERRA NOVA WILL SUCCEED!!"*

Ugh....How do they deliver dialogue like this with a straight face??


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

rrrobinsonjr said:


> Dude over the radio
> "Keep sharp eyes. Mira's in your area. We picked up sixer's radio chatter"
> 
> Taylor
> ...


Because they're being paid handsomely to do so?


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

rrrobinsonjr said:


> Ugh....How do they deliver dialogue like this with a straight face??


[Master Thespian] ACTING!!! [/Master Thespian]


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## RGM1138 (Oct 6, 1999)

dianebrat said:


> [Master Thespian] ACTING!!! [/Master Thespian]


Actually, wasn't that Michael J. Nelson?


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## philw1776 (Jan 19, 2002)

Terrible dialog
And I can't get past that 22nd century gun technology fires hundreds of rounds at an animal and does no damage except occasionally scaring it away
Then the teen angst drama pretty much does it for me
I'm sorta pissed and frustrated because being a kid who loves dinosaurs and SF in an older guys body I was so ready for this
Major fail


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

philw1776 said:


> Terrible dialog
> And I can't get past that 22nd century gun technology fires hundreds of rounds at an animal and does no damage except occasionally scaring it away
> Then the teen angst drama pretty much does it for me
> I'm sorta pissed and frustrated because being a kid who loves dinosaurs and SF in an older guys body I was so ready for this
> Major fail


Maybe they don't want to do anything except scare them away. If the killed them, they'd have a huge pile of dead meat to deal with. Maybe they're not "Good Eating."


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

Church AV Guy said:


> Maddy described the probe when she saw it. "It's the probe! You know, the one they sent through when they first discovered the time fracture ... no one knew at first how far back the fracture went, or even where it led to. They sent this back with a beacon inside so that, you know, they could find it however many millions of years later. Only they never did. That's how they knew that they were dealing with a new time-stream.
> 
> I assume that there was a lot more to the analysis and conclusion than just "we never found it." She must be glossing over a lot of additional research. No doubt, if there is any justice in the world at all, they will slowly dribble out the information to the viewers. If they never address it beyond this meger explanation, then we will be frustrated, and can conclude that they just don't care about the details at all.


I wouldn't be surprised if the reason they even mentioned the beacon was so they would have an answer to the question, "Would anything that happens at Terra Nova affect 22nd-Century Earth?", and feel that details aren't particularly necessary.

-- Don


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

That Don Guy said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if the reason they even mentioned the beacon was so they would have an answer to the question, "Would anything that happens at Terra Nova affect 22nd-Century Earth?", and feel that details aren't particularly necessary.


That's exactly how I saw it... the writers tossed out an short explanation for why viewers shouldn't be concerned about time travel paradoxes (paradoxi?) and for to give the writers free reign to not have to concern themselves about paradoxes.


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## mcdougll (Jan 27, 2003)

Jeeters said:


> That's exactly how I saw it... the writers tossed out an short explanation for why viewers shouldn't be concerned about time travel paradoxes (paradoxi?) and for to give the writers free reign to not have to concern themselves about paradoxes.


Could be. However, why have the little girl scratch her name on (or near) it? It wouldn't surprise me if that shows up later on as proof they are in the same time-line.


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

mcdougll said:


> However, why have the little girl scratch her name on (or near) it? It wouldn't surprise me if that shows up later on as proof they are in the same time-line.


Presumably (and hopefully), it's just a throwaway reference to how people draw their names into fresh cement.

If this is some sort of link to being in the same timeline, that's going to cause all sorts of problems. (Yes, I did have similar comments about _Heroes_, especially with the "the photograph changes when someone goes back in time" scene.)

Wouldn't 2150 already know pretty much everything that happened at Terra Nova, including when it was disbanded/wiped out, as its entire history has already taken place? (In which case, what happens if they find a skeleton of a person from 2150 before that person would have gone through the portal, and the person is killed and the body cremated before this can happen?)

Presumably, there is a way to control when each pilgrimage arrives (so, for example, the tenth pilgrimage did not arrive before the sixth); does waiting, say, one year in 2150 result in a one-year delay in TN? (Didn't the commander say that when he first went through, it turned into something like five months before anyone else?)

If there is a "butterfly effect," how does it work on a moment-by-moment basis? Theoretically, each change affects the future of everyone at TN, but not the past of everyone in 2150; they're shifting through a stream of alternate universes, as it were. However, if that was true, then why does sending people back from different times to the same time result in both of them being there?

Like I said - things get complicated unless you go with the "parallel Earths" theory.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Although things get a lot less complicated if the connection to the past is more or less stable...that is, they have no control over when it arrives. It's entirely possible that the colony will leave no recognizable trace on the geological record. Plus 80 million years is a long time, and it's entirely possible that the land they're on no longer exists (continental drift is great at wiping vast swatches of land right off the map).

If that's the case, then the people in the future learn about what happened to the colony more or less in real time, since the only information they'd get would be through the Time Tunnel.


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