I liked the Time Tunnel design they ripped from the 2002 Time Tunnel pilot and tweaked for modern CGI. But the "not Jurassic Avatar" plot it chose, doesn't work.
I caught this recently. I'll admit I had very low expectations, but it's not altogether as bad as I'd suspected. The biggest problem is the actors. They're a dull bunch, and unfortunately I don't think they have what it takes to carry a show like this. Stephen Lang is the exception, and he manages to give the show what credibility it has. When a he tells you that you're millions of years in the past, and that that's a dinosaur, you can believe it. The effects are excellent at times, but hit-and-miss overall. There's some blue-screen work that doesn't quite cut it, but on the whole I was satisfied. The dinosaurs aren't the most accurate, but they're probably the most threatening dinosaurs seen since the Jurassic Park series. The family drama element is bottom-of-the-barrel cliché soap-opera stuff. It's really bad. Fortunately there are a few story threads that add some mystery and suspense to the proceedings, and hint at what is to come. It's intriguing enough that I'll give it another chance.
I see potential for this show, but nothing about the first episode made me super excited. Bland characters, poor acting and lackluster effects for such a pimped show. That said, the premise is interesting and the story seems pretty interesting. I'll keep watching for now.
A few problems i had with it No star power whatsoever. Unlikable main cast The Dinosaur CGI was decent at best Rebel Alliance V Empire plot(calling it now that the sixers are the good guys and half the camp relocates to them) I'll give it time to grow but not much.
I caught the premier, and I didn't think it was that bad. There is some potential here. Plus they have a Power Ranger, (Eka Darville RPM Red) so it can't be all bad!! I never saw, (or wanted to see) Avatar, so I don't get the comparison you guys are making. AFAIK, Avatar beamed someone's consciousness into someone else's body, and this is just time travel. Avatar with Dinos? Not quite... But really, can we get ONE show about Time Travel that doesn't reference the "step on a Butterfly and change History" thing?
I watched the premiere expecting it to be horrible and finding it just to be "meh." Though, seeing Brannon Braga's name repeatedly in the credits did make my eyes roll. I'll say this much, the production values are HUGE for a show with so much controversy around it. Fox is going all-in here regardless of whether it'll crash and burn or not. There's a lot to complain about, I mean it's an obvious Lost wannabe. My biggest beef was the shoehorned family tension. Angsty teenage boy with daddy issues. Yeah, it's par the course but does it have to be so by the numbers? The worst part in the pilot for me was Spoiler mom and dad taking the time to make up after a previous spat while they have a girl in desperate need of surgery lying at their feet and their son still out in the scary scary dinosaur jungle somewhere. Oh well. The dinosaurs were kinda cool, so I'll at least be watching for the next couple of episodes to see them and whatever plot threads they decide to dangle in front of me.
Agreed, the Avatar comparisons are purely superficial. Stephen Lang welcomes them to a lush tropical paradise from some messed up futuristic dystopia. That's about it as far as I could see. The themes and storyline really don't have much in common. So far. Terra Nova doesn't benefit from the comparison either, since it's by far the weaker of the two. Though I'm sure they're hoping it'll get a share of the same audience. yeah, that much seems clear.
I totally see the sons girlfriend getting recruited by the sixers then sent over in the next time wave.
The thing that ruined it for me was finding out Spoiler the weird writings were by some AWOL dude they brought with. I thought they would be alien or super ancient or something cool, and that made me excited about the whole show for some reason. It was decent up to that point. Knowing that, it's far less interesting.
I'm pretty sure that was an Acrocanthosaurus skull under Stephen Lang's table. Would be a pretty cool choice for a future dinosaur on the show. yeah, I was hoping it was some sort of alien or dinosauroid or sleestak or something. It's just way too premature to reveal anything about the origin of the writings at this stage. They should've held onto that for a later reveal. Shows like this need to keep the mystery and suspense going to keep the audience coming back.
I don't know what all the hate is about. Since when is a family type show involve people getting eaten by dinosaurs or getting their face torn to shreds by horny Pterosaurs, good ole family wholesomeness. I kind of get the feel of watching Dinotopia with a time travel twist in it and with a couple elements of Jurassic Park mixed in it.
Yeah, that really sucked. BTW the most recent episode was just eh. The little flying Dinos were not impressive or interesting and the plot felt very slow and predictable. Also the climax happened offscreen.
They might have lost me with the latest episode. It was like they were trying really hard to reach out to a different audience. They went with some very cheap soap-opera antics, and diminished dino-thrills. I suppose it was supposed to be a pterosaur version of The Birds, and that's not a bad idea if they'd used a bit more skill ratcheting up the suspense. Yeah, it does remind me of Dinotopia. That was kinda shit too. Over-hyped, big-budget TV show with 'good for TV' dinosaurs and dull unengaging actors.
I liked the idea of it. I wanted it to be good. I just found it relentlessly dull. There was no sense of conflict or drama and it just seemed to be going nowhere. The visuals were good for the time, but in no way lived up to the book illustrations.
The pterosaurs being relocated to new mating grounds? Also mirrored by the repeatedly failed attempts of Jim and Elisabeth to get busy? Just me? OK......
