Terra Nova

This is one of the few sci-fi TV series produced in recent years that deserved a better fate (it was cancelled after the season 1 finale). 
In the year 2149 mankind has abused of Earth so much that the quality of the planet resources , and therefore life itself, is declining rapidly. As a window of hope a rift in time is discovered and groups of people are sent 85 million years into the past to the time of the Cretaceous period. These "chosen" ones are people carefully selected because of their abilities so for example Elizabeth Shannon is chosen for being an outstanding doctor. She is sent with two of her three children while her husband, Jim who is a former police, remains in prison and her little daughter whose conception was considered a crime in a time when only two children are allowed per couple is left alone. But the Shannons have a plan and  Jim manages to escape and bring their little daughter with him the day they are sent to the Cretaceous, a non-return trip because the rift allows to go into the past but not to return to the present. There, the Shannons are introduced to the community called Terra Nova and their leader, commander Taylor. Their adventures facing this new life and the enemies of Terra Nova which are many is the core of the series. As usual a good sci-fi series has a lot of mysteries that  are presented and revealed as the series progresses. The plot is good and though there a lot of new faces in the cast I would say the acting is quite acceptable and consistent. I also liked how family conflicts become central in this show and how they are treated so carefully. The special effects are just perfect and rival those of the Jurassic Park films. Big names such as Brannon Braga and Steven Spielberg were attached as producers of the series and that makes for me harder to understand why such a good show was not given a second season which perhaps was part of the original plan since the finale of the only season leaves with some loose ends that promise for more but in the end did not see the light.
Since it has only one season, go buy it and get entertained for a weekend.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do you say MIRADOR in English?

Image
"Hmm, why do I have this nagging feeling that someone is watching me watching?" In Spanish, a MIRADOR is any place that allows a privileged view of the surroundings. In English, a MIRADOR is a VIEWPOINT or a LOOKOUT. Another possible translation is VANTAGE POINT, though in a tourist context this term is a bit less common.
Read more

The Maps of Ship-Trap Island

Image
Once I had my high school students read The Most Dangerous Game, a short story by Richard Connell. Rainsford, the main character, is a professional hunter traveling by ship to his next hunting area, accidentally ends up in an island called Ship- Trap island. When he goes into the island he finds there are two men living in a palace in the island. One of them is a Cossack general and the other, his brutish servant.  The Cossack is called general Zaroff who is also  a game hunter but has become bored of hunting regular game and now uses the island's unique position to capture sailors from shipwrecks. He lets them go first and next after some time he hunts them down. Rainford's arrival who is worldwide famous presents Zaroff with a rare opportunity to find excitement in hunting again by hunting another hunter. Little does Zaroff know that Rainsford is The Most Dangerous Game in the World and hunting him will not be easy at all. My students enjoyed themselves at reading...
Read more

How do you say EXAMEN SUPLETORIO in English?

Image
Darn! I wonder if there's a Make Up exam for this Make up exam! I remember that long ago I asked my distinguished and knowledgeable colleagues of that time to enlighten me and tell me the right English word for what we know in Ecuador as EXAMEN SUPLETORIO or EXAMEN DE RECUPERACION.  After hearing Recovery exam or Supplemenary test and even Supletory exam, I was not convinced so I decided to go to a higher authority and looked up one of those encyclopedic dictionaries from Oxford or Cambridge university (these were the pre-browser times) and found the right expression is MAKE UP EXAM which is taken when an exam has been missed or when a student needs to change one score with a more favorable one. The British say RECUPERATION EXAM which is perhaps more practical since to some people the term Make Up is confusing. Make-up is the word for the wearing of cosmetics. There are Make-up tests which are oriented to future Make-up artists.
Read more