Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
My friend Tristan Abbey (a faithful and paid-up member of Ricochet, I hasten to add), dropped me a line the other day to say, "I hope you've been watching 'Terra Nova,' the new show on Fox in which people from a couple of centuries in the future, when the earth is choking on pollution, travel back in time 80 million years (yes, I know; people from the future travel back to the past; it can be confusing) to found a colony."
As it happens, I'm a sucker for all forms of entertainment in which people find themselves running for their lives from dinosaurs, so I had indeed been watching "Terra Nova." But I'd kept the fact to myself, thinking of it as a guilty pleasure. Tristan's recommendation puzzled me. He's a brainy guy who recently finished up work at Georgetown for an MA in international security and now edits Bellum, a collaborative blog on geopolitics and defense policy.
"Terra Nova?" I asked by reply email. "But, Tristan. Whatever would you see in such a show?"
Tristan's answer:
There are three reasons to watch Terra Nova:
1. Most shows of Terra Nova's ilk feature communities facing unexpected existential threats.
Battlestar Galactica chronicles the exploits of a military vessel as it shepherds the last remnants of mankind through space after a surprise attack from the Cylons. Jericho showcases the survival of a small-town in Kansas after a nuclear attack rips apart the fabric of the United States. In The Walking Dead, Deputy Grimes wakes up one day to discover Georgia has fallen to a zombie apocalypse. Lost begins when a plane crashes for no apparent reason on an island we know even less about at the end of the show than we do at the beginning. In every one of these shows, the survivors regroup, new leaders emerge, and the struggle is the story. Terra Nova is different. Seeing a dim future for Earth, mankind takes preemptive action when it discovers a brand-new world to inhabit.
The infant civilization is extremely well-organized, well-funded, and well-supplied. Rather than a story about people not realizing a crisis is upon them until too late, Terra Nova is a hopeful project of a future seen, a problem confronted, and action taken.
2. Terra Nova is relatively unique insofar as the benefits of technology are available to our protagonists. The Galactica survives because its computer system is antiquated. The people of Jericho deal with the effects of an electromagnetic pulse that knocks out virtually everything. Grimes' merry-band of non-bitten humans makes do with scavenging for spare parts and whatever they can find on the road. The islanders of Lost build rafts out of seat cushions from the plane. The colony of Terra Nova, in contrast, has advanced medical devices, sonic cannons, and high-end touch-screen computers. It's civilizational sci-fi in survivalist clothing.
3. For those obsessed with political theory, the show raises questions about the nature of society and government. Terra Nova basically is a military dictatorship in which the rules don't apply to the ruling commander, the ends frequently justify the means, the economy is driven by directives from the top, propaganda is pumped into the population, and there isn't the slightest hint of democratic self-rule -- yet we find ourselves rooting for the colony's success.
My. I feel much better now about spending an hour each week in front of "Terra Nova."
Any other Terra Novians out there?
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Oct '11
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Patrick O'brien is great.
Oct '11
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Joseph Stanko
The ostensible purpose is colonization, not to fix the future.
I could easily have the rationale wrong, I haven't watched closely since the first half hour. I suppose I could substitute a point about the dream of running away to start over, this time with perfect knowledge of what to do and complete authority to do it, and naturally bringing along all the advantages from the current realm but none of the old baggage, but that might be seen as a flip-flop. Not a good season for those.
Jun '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Barfly
I suppose I could substitute a point about the dream of running away to start over, this time with perfect knowledge of what to do and complete authority to do it, and naturally bringing along all the advantages from the current realm but none of the old baggage, but that might be seen as a flip-flop. Not a good season for those. · Dec 11 at 1:33pm
So would that make the Sixers conservatives? They were sent by the old order that controls the future to infiltrate the colony, and their chief goal seems to be to undermine the authority of Commander Taylor, the military dictator. After all, just imagine all the good Obama could have accomplished if he'd had dictatorial powers and didn't have to compromise with those pesky Republicans...
Oct '11
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Taylor and the other "pilgrims" think that the goal is colonization, but actually it has been revealed that the whole point was to use the prehistoric world as a resource mine to fuel the future. See, the future is a different time line than the past (this was explained by the older daughter), so they don't have to worry about the butterfly effect.
Sep '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Peter Robinson
Aw, heck, Barfly. You're right about all of this. But may I have your permission to put sweet reason out of my mind once a week to watch those folks run away from dinosaurs? · Dec 11 at 10:46am
The dinosaurs represent unfunded liabilities, and the runners are the US taxpayer.
Dec '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
What's a good caliber for Dinosaur?
LW · Dec 11 at 10:53am
May I suggest .700 WTF.
You'll probably have to jump through the NFA hoops (rifled barrel over .50 cal is considered a destructive device, so you gotta do the paperwork and pay the $200 tax), but that is a small price to pay for the Raptor dropping 13,000 ft/lbs of muzzle energy.
EDIT: I typed up a huge post here (like 1,000 words), but thought it better as a stand alone post in the member feed. I'll link back to it from here when I get it posted.
Here it is:
A thought on Terra Nova and other fledgling societies.
Edited on Dec 11, 2011 at 6:28pmDec '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Joseph Stanko
So would that make the Sixers conservatives?
No, the Sixers are putative Anarchists who are actually criminals in the employ billionaire corporatists who want to extend their control of government into this new world as well. They only want to overthrow the current dictator to install a new one that will do their master's bidding.
Those values in no way represent conservatives.
As for it being far fetched, I could very easily see a future where corporatism and socialism/totalitarianism has made the world unlivable. Look at what the Soviets left behind.
Does a future where population controls are enforced at gunpoint strike you as a particularly capitalist vision? Not me. It does look to be a pretty predictable endpoint for totalitarian governance though.
Just from what I've seen of Taylor so far, he strikes me as a very good facsimile of a futuristic George Washington. Willing to do whatever it takes to protect his fledgling nation (like paddling across a frozen river to gank a bunch of redcoats on Christmas), but ultimately humble enough to step aside when said nation is strong enough to stand without him.
Aug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
I never miss it.....
Jun '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
CoolHand
No, the Sixers are putative Anarchists who are actually criminals in the employ billionaire corporatists who want to extend their control of government into this new world as well. They only want to overthrow the current dictator to install a new one that will do their master's bidding.
Those values in no way represent conservatives.
Actual conservatives, of course not. I only meant that, if Barfly is correct that the show is a leftist allegory, then the Sixers represent what leftists really think about conservatives: we say we're for small government and self reliance, but secretly we're all tools of sinister corporate interests (aka the "vast right-wing conspiracy" aka "the 1%") who want to overthrow Obama and replace him with a President who will do Wall Street's bidding.
Aug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Terra Nova joins with that grand fraternity of science fictions television shows - including Earth 2, Seaquest, the original Battlestar Galactica, and the first few seasons of Star Trek The Next Generation - to be utterly RUINED by terrible, TERRIBLE, teenaged characters.
So, no, I have not been watching it. I'd rather keep my meals in my stomach, thank you.
May '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Wish I could join in the praise here, but the pilot was derivative, badly-written schlock. Life's too short to waste on bad TV.
Jul '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
I've been watching TN also, and have enjoyed it so far. Early frustrations with rebellious teenagers and precocious children have been allayed somewhat by the quality of the actors, and the unfolding of the overall plot.
It's an interesting twist on the "space colony/frontier" genre, moving it from space to time. I still have some logical problems with the alternate timeline plot point, but I'm willing to wait and see how that pans out.
The discussion of the use of a benevolent military dictatorship as the colony's organizational structure misses a rather obvious point: most of the other SF canon use the same thing, "Star Trek" being the most obvious example. It's easily understood, it gives a star or stars primacy of position, and it allows for the climactic decisions that make good drama. As for its realism, most fledgling colonies resort to some hierarchical organization, just because sometimes difficult choices have to be made that everyone must abide with, if not support. Participatory democracy usually arrives when survival has been assured.
May '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Uhm... I've been watching Terra Nova all along because it has Jason O'Mara in it. I thought that was reason enough...
Aug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
I was burned by the final episode of the american version of Life On Mars.
Fool me once, shame on you ...
Aug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
I'm willing to be 10,000 of Mitt Romney's dollars that you will be disappointed.
From what I've seen, fixing the dunderheaded time travel plot holes is not a high priority for the producers.
Considering how expensive the show is to produce, and how miserable the ratings have been, I doubt Fox will pay for a second season.
As such, I think you should plan for a quick, messy, and wholly implausible series finale ... just like the american version of Life On Mars.
Aug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
I cannot be nearly that charitable.
The idea that kids would be SO STUPID, and security SO LAX, that children would be able to go "outside the wire" in an environment that includes FREAKING DINOSAURS for NO OTHER REASON than to have a quick dip in the ol' swimmin' hole, stretches my suspension of disbelief FAR beyond the breaking point.
This show angers up my blood, it's so stupid...
Aug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Peter Robinson
But may I have your permission to put sweet reason out of my mind once a week to watch those folks run away from dinosaurs?
No, because the show does not set itself up as mindless escapism. The show dishonestly takes on the pretense of "philosophically-meaningful science fiction".
I love mindless escapism. It can be great fun. But the product has to KNOW that it's mindless escapism.
If a show sets itself up as "meaningful", then it has a huge responsibility to be scientifically, philosophically, and dramatically plausible.
Terra Nova fails on all three counts.
It's like trying to produce a "very special episode" of The Flintstones. It's simply the wrong fictional environment for that sorta thing.
Edited on Dec 12, 2011 at 1:06pmAug '10
Re: Why We Should All Watch "Terra Nova"
Sorry for the multiple posts, but I truly loathe Terra Nova.