From Fox and executive producer Steven Spielberg comes the new science fiction series Terra Nova. It's about the Shannons, a family from a dying distant future who are transported back to prehistoric times to join and help build a new colony called Terra Nova (Latin for new land). From creators, Craig Silverstein and Kelly Marcel, the show stars Jason O'Mara, Stephen Lang and Christine Adams. Let's see what they have in store to wow us before the pilot episode airs September 26.
11:00 Jumped right into screening the pilot. Looks cool so far, reaction to come immediately after.
11:47 Sorry about the delay! The pilot was great, if not without it's problems. More on that below but first let's get to the panel.
11:52 The special effects coordinator asks the crowd what they thought of the dinos which garnered a lot of cheers. He added that "doing dinosaurs on a tv schedlue is a challenge and it's only going to get better as we go." And if anyone's worried there won't be enough dinos roaming Terra Nova, he said "it is a dinosaur show, you're going to see them on-screen, it's going to be badass"
11:59 Steven Lang is asked about his character Taylor and if he has a hidden agenda to which he says that the show has both"a future and a past each with mysteries to be answered. Taylor, is also a mystery and enigmatic" and they're trying to craft a "mythic arc."
12:00 On their influences one said Giligan's Island (which got some laughs) while the others all worship Gene Roddenbury and Star Trek.
12:01 Lang comments on working opposite CGI, noting "It's difficult but requires focus and imagination. Specific guidance from a director, and confidence in the expertise of the effects team." Adding, it wasn't "so different from acting with the creatures in Avatar." He quickly tossed in that "Jason O'Mara couldn't be here but he send his wishes and hopes to be here for many future Comic-Cons"
12:05 A fan wants to know if there will be lots of people being eaten by dinosaurs like one such incident in the pilot and Lang says "with the reaction that one got, we're going to have a mandate from the network, one eating per week." The exec producer said not to worry, "we'll satisfy your bloodlust."
12:06 Having Steven Spielberg involved helped them deal with the daunting task of being compared to Jurassic Park.
Now, the pilot. All in all, it was pretty rad and I'll definitely be tuning in to catch the 2 hour premier. There's a really interesting contrast between the dark, dystopic and dying future and the lush, open spaces of the past. They do a great job introducing the Shannons and getting us to immediately care about the family. As the pilot progressed though, I felt that there was some trumped up family drama that wasn't nearly as engaging as the Lost-like questions upon questions that the action driven narrative raised. O'Mara and Lang are great, especially when in scenes together. I will say the dinos don't look great but let's hope with some more time (and money) they can really start nailing the effects. I'd recommend checking this one out in the fall.
