Am I done yet?
And now, my last spoiler-free review until next month: Terra Nova
I'll admit right up front that I didn't really want to write a review of this because there's almost too much to say about it and I was feeling lazy.
To summarize: it kind of sucked but it wasn't horrible.
From the second I heard of the show the first time (like a year and a half ago, way before it was even actually filmed) and read that it was being made by Brannon Braga, I was afraid it was going to be one of those big budget, high concept shows with crap characters and lame stories that thinks it's way more epic and dramatic than it is. In other words, I went into it expecting another Falling Skies.
Well, I was mostly right.
I will say, Terra Nova is a LOT better than Falling Skies. If only because at the very least the story is more interesting, there are least a few characters I did like, and as a whole the collective group of people don't just seem way too stupid to root for. Also, it's not unnecessarily "dark" and bogged down with "dark" emo drama.
The biggest problem I had with Terra Nova is the whole idea of having the main characters be this Disney-fied overly-sweet family unit with forced (and lame) plot-point DRAMAZ and no personalities other than "dad", "mom", "son", and "daughter". They're so generic and boring that they're totally uninteresting and there's no reason to give a shit about them.
On the other hand, though, it held my interest the whole time... it wasn't boring, the action was there and well-driven, and the things that were good about it kept me from banging my head against the wall the entire time... like the fact that at least the army and "government" of the Terra Nova colony actually knew what they were doing and weren't totally incompetent. They knew how to deal with criminals and dinosaurs (oh yeah, btw, there's dinosaurs. that's awesome too.), and they mostly dealt with all the situations using their branes... mostly.
Also, there are at least two characters that I like so far, because they both seem to have branes and personality. And they both called some of the idiot characters out on their shit. Fortunately one of them is the leader. If the leader were a dumbass this show would literally have no hope. Oh, and the baddie humans seem to have personality and be more awesome too, though we didn't see much of them. In any case, if all the characters were as interesting as all them or better, it might actually be good.
I say that because the story itself was actually interesting, and it gave us some hints of possible more interesting things to come. So it has the potential to be good, if only it had better characters.
Also, the show is REALLY pretty. From the landscapes to the setting to the CG shots of the future world... visually, PRETTEH. But then, the idea that being pretty makes up for a good story is the biggest problem in hollywood these days, so... did I mention there's dinosaurs?
They just need to cancel this show and make a new one set in the future world instead. A whole new story about surviving in that over-industrialized, dying world, which was way more interesting and full of potential beyond just "dinosaurs". A whole new story that's way better written with way smarter characters. And some fucking humor, fcol.
*ahem* but anyway, as for the series at hand...
Even with the positives it has going for it, I can't give it anything higher than a C-... it'd be a D if it weren't for liking a few of the characters.
Definitely the worst pilot I've seen this fall, which is a shame, because it really does have lots of stuff going for it... which is basically worth nothing because all the main characters are stupid and boring. That said, unlike crap like Falling Skies or SGU, it held my interest and I didn't COMPLETELY hate it, and indeed I didn't feel like I wasted my hour and a half either. So I will continue to watch and not feel like I'm wasting my time unless it just keeps getting worse. Which is entirely possible.
I'll admit right up front that I didn't really want to write a review of this because there's almost too much to say about it and I was feeling lazy.
To summarize: it kind of sucked but it wasn't horrible.
From the second I heard of the show the first time (like a year and a half ago, way before it was even actually filmed) and read that it was being made by Brannon Braga, I was afraid it was going to be one of those big budget, high concept shows with crap characters and lame stories that thinks it's way more epic and dramatic than it is. In other words, I went into it expecting another Falling Skies.
Well, I was mostly right.
I will say, Terra Nova is a LOT better than Falling Skies. If only because at the very least the story is more interesting, there are least a few characters I did like, and as a whole the collective group of people don't just seem way too stupid to root for. Also, it's not unnecessarily "dark" and bogged down with "dark" emo drama.
The biggest problem I had with Terra Nova is the whole idea of having the main characters be this Disney-fied overly-sweet family unit with forced (and lame) plot-point DRAMAZ and no personalities other than "dad", "mom", "son", and "daughter". They're so generic and boring that they're totally uninteresting and there's no reason to give a shit about them.
On the other hand, though, it held my interest the whole time... it wasn't boring, the action was there and well-driven, and the things that were good about it kept me from banging my head against the wall the entire time... like the fact that at least the army and "government" of the Terra Nova colony actually knew what they were doing and weren't totally incompetent. They knew how to deal with criminals and dinosaurs (oh yeah, btw, there's dinosaurs. that's awesome too.), and they mostly dealt with all the situations using their branes... mostly.
Also, there are at least two characters that I like so far, because they both seem to have branes and personality. And they both called some of the idiot characters out on their shit. Fortunately one of them is the leader. If the leader were a dumbass this show would literally have no hope. Oh, and the baddie humans seem to have personality and be more awesome too, though we didn't see much of them. In any case, if all the characters were as interesting as all them or better, it might actually be good.
I say that because the story itself was actually interesting, and it gave us some hints of possible more interesting things to come. So it has the potential to be good, if only it had better characters.
Also, the show is REALLY pretty. From the landscapes to the setting to the CG shots of the future world... visually, PRETTEH. But then, the idea that being pretty makes up for a good story is the biggest problem in hollywood these days, so... did I mention there's dinosaurs?
They just need to cancel this show and make a new one set in the future world instead. A whole new story about surviving in that over-industrialized, dying world, which was way more interesting and full of potential beyond just "dinosaurs". A whole new story that's way better written with way smarter characters. And some fucking humor, fcol.
*ahem* but anyway, as for the series at hand...
Even with the positives it has going for it, I can't give it anything higher than a C-... it'd be a D if it weren't for liking a few of the characters.
Definitely the worst pilot I've seen this fall, which is a shame, because it really does have lots of stuff going for it... which is basically worth nothing because all the main characters are stupid and boring. That said, unlike crap like Falling Skies or SGU, it held my interest and I didn't COMPLETELY hate it, and indeed I didn't feel like I wasted my hour and a half either. So I will continue to watch and not feel like I'm wasting my time unless it just keeps getting worse. Which is entirely possible.