Jurassic Park this is not, but its also not a complete travesty. Terra Nova contains time-travel, dinosaurs, action, suspense and teenage angst; well four out of five a'int bad. Terra Nova might be the most ambitious television program ever, with enormous physical sets and tons of special effects that bring the dinosaurs and two very distinct civilizations to life. The fact that this program is executive produced by Steven Spielberg doesn't mean much, the obvious Jurassic Park connection is the most Spielberg provides to the show, what your left with is an ill conceived melodramatic family drama filled with some great action scenes and some very impressive visual effects.
Unfortunately Terra Nova doesn't have much substance, filled to the brim with less than thrilling performances and a feeble attempt at a family torn apart drama. Steven Lang is the only recognizable actor in the entire cast and he is just playing the exact same role he had in Avatar, to a T. Apart from Lang the rest of the cast is as forgettable and wooden as you would find in any day time soap opera. Which brings me to my biggest complaint, "who cares", I mean nobody on the show is compelling, if they had a "Hello My Name Is ..." sticker in plain view I would still forget who the heck any of them where, and why they mattered, other than being fresh bodies for the carnivorousness dinosaurs.
All in all Terra Nova is a less then impressive pilot that has some potential, if some major overhauls are made to some key elements of the story and if the lead characters are given a more interesting role to play. As of now, its a very expensive sometimes impressive light show, which only proves that money and a recognizable name (Steven Spielberg) means nothing if it doesn't have heart. Now excuse me while I re-watch Jurassic Park.
(2 out of 5)
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