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By the way, Blayne, at the very least, your posted article earlier got a couple things wrong.
It's not a colony of misfits and outcasts. The doctor wife was specifically recruited because she's the top of her field. There's some sort of mix of lottery and recruitment going on. It's not a sci-fi Australia where they send outcasts, they're trying to build a successful world, so they send the best.
I'm not sure I get his point about the climate. Weren't oxygen levels back then dramatically higher than they are now? The sense I got from the show was that the air wasn't just CO2 heavy, it was just plain polluted in general. So they weren't just trying to escape CO2. And they specifically mentioned the problems with the soil. Furthermore, if the problem is too much O2 and not too much CO2, I don't see what the crop problems are, except for the fact that I seriously question how suitable the soil would be, but then, I'm not a terraformer. Really, with a colony of earth worms they could solve that problem.
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CO2 is just one reason I suppose. I mean, look at that planet, who wouldn't like to leave this place... And by the way, is every episode going to be that long or was it just the first one doubled?
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Blayne Bradley
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The episode was doubled ala Stargate Universe's pilot, it says "Genesis Part 1, Part 2" in the credits.
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quote:Originally posted by Szymon: CO2 is just one reason I suppose. I mean, look at that planet, who wouldn't like to leave this place... And by the way, is every episode going to be that long or was it just the first one doubled?
They mentioned that there were domes, so I suppose there is some way to live other than in the polluted environment.
Some people may not want to go because they are afraid of living in a place with huge meat eating dinosaurs.
Something else I thought of though.... How is it they are able to create a freaking time machine but not a decent interplanetary colonization program?
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Blayne Bradley
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Not all technology levels are equivalent, they found a negative space wedgie that they could force people through with enough energy.
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Yeah, living in a dome for a whole life must be really fantastic. This ore thing is also far-fetched, why dont they just send iron from the future? Wooden fence is really funny. But maybe they will explain the transportation problem in further episodes, so that it is more credible.
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quote:Originally posted by Szymon: Yeah, living in a dome for a whole life must be really fantastic. This ore thing is also far-fetched, why dont they just send iron from the future? Wooden fence is really funny. But maybe they will explain the transportation problem in further episodes, so that it is more credible.
I got the impression that it was a special kind of iron ore. You know, with magical properties.
I did think it was kind of awesome how Taylor said he lived in the jungle for 118 days (or however long it was) before other colonists arrived. I don't exactly know how they were able to get the place built without any heavy machinery though. The time portal didn't really look like it was more than about 15 feet high either, so I don't know how they would get it through.
As for the wooden fence, why on earth would you leave enough space open for smaller meat eating dinosaurs to make it through and potentially eat small children? Or small children to just squeeze through?
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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Was it just me or did anyone else think this show would have been more interesting with a few more mysteries? I was also disappointed that the guy's son was the one behind the math on the rocks stuff, rather than some mysterious alien/dinosaur race or something.
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I'm actually fine without the LOST-style mystery. I mean, we still don't know exactly what his son is doing out there. There's still mystery, it's just not crazy mystery like LOST.
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Yeah, it's too soon for another mystery heavy show along the lines of LOST. I'm fine with "What do the drawings mean?" but I wouldn't be fine with, "What does reality itself mean?!"
Today's episode wasn't too bad, it was kinda nice to get a sense of Tera Nova only existing for about a year. We got some drama with the ex-boyfriend, which I'm sure we haven't seen the last of, and we were briefly reminded somebody in the camp is working for the other team.
My only gripe, (Spoilers!!!!!)
Those pterosaurs couldn't possibly weigh more than five lbs. Yet they knocked not one, but two people out just by swooping by. One guy actually had his feet fly above his head before hitting the ground he was hit so hard. Also, I laughed when the son couldn't shut the door because again a five-pounder was flying and pushing against it.
What was up with people just holding their hands up to get picked and slashed at? Freaking swat and grab at those things, they can't be that durable.
posted
I don't know, they looked bigger than five pounds to me. When Zoe is hiding under the bench and the thing comes at her, it looks like she and it are pretty close to the same size. I mean a cocker spaniel is 25-30lbs, and I'd say they were probably about that size or bigger. Now add the impact of them flying to that weight and I'd say they were more than capable, in their thousands, of causing a lot of damage and injuries.
When did they say that Terra Nova had only been there for a year? I got the impression from the first episode that earlier pilgrims had come years and years ago. Were they in some sort of camps before Terra Nova was built?
I'm glad the kid dropped his mopey whining thing. His "welcome back to the family" comment was more playful than petulant. If the other doc sticks around, I think we're supposed to think he's the spy.
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So for the people who are going to get invested in watching this show: how on earth do you think it's ever, ever going to survive?
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Hard to say before they get further into it. After three episodes, there is a lot of potential, and I think the acting is certainly there, but the writing is hit-or-miss.
I can't tell if they are going to turn this into a Star Trek TNG/Stargate style weird-thing-of-the-week format, or if they are going to harp on the serial plot, or some combination of the two.
They have 10 more episodes guaranteed, we'll see after that, and it's helped by the fact that it's syndicated, already, in a half dozen other countries, that helps to defray the cost.
I think it's still too early. And frankly, this is almost always why I never watch new shows. I hate that shows have to be a success after two episodes or they're already a failure.
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Lyrhawn: For them to be able to fly at all, they have to have lower mass. Birds have hollow bones to partially accomplish this. If they somehow managed to top say 30 lbs, they would still die plowing into a human being, even a ten year old.
It's not a question of them causing damage, they can certainly scratch, bite, etc. They could even dive bomb into a person seriously stab somebody ala The Birds. But they couldn't hit a full grown man and cause him to almost do a flip, and they DEFINITELY couldn't stop a teenager from shutting a door, no matter how much they flapped their wings.
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But those things were pretty damn big. Birds are, by and large, pretty small. And pterodactyls were HUGE and still flew.
I'll grant you the door closing thing. But hey, a golden eagle can take down a medium-sized reindeer in the wild. This doesn't strike me as too far-fetched.
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Pterodactyls definitely could fly, and glide. But they couldn't just zip around like a peregrine falcon.
They really didn't seem very big to me. That wing material is extremely flimsy and gives the appearance of greater bulk than is really there. The things are even more useless on the ground, their hands and feet are functionally useless.
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When I first saw the fence, I thought- it is not enough for probably 85% dinosaurs. And it wasnt from the second episode. They should have some kind of underground shelters. But then, they made it to the shaft so they are apparently very intelligent... I liked the 3d computer things though, something like Ender's, that's how I always imagined them.
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Blayne Bradley
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: So for the people who are going to get invested in watching this show: how on earth do you think it's ever, ever going to survive?
Fox makes it about 50%, but it does have 9 million viewers, good acting, an interesting premise and is syndicated over seas.
BB: I'ld say that "Reality Is Unrealistic" and leave it at that, momentum from diving at the right angle and from seeing the relatively odd balance the people who fell over were at makes it reasonable.
They weren't exactly standing still with their legs firmly, they were running and pannicing.
I'm with Lyrhawn, they looked heavier than 5 pounds and they are NOT birds, they're reptiles.
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Blayne: Why on earth does it matter that they are reptiles not birds? Gravity doesn't really care what kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species you are assigned to.
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quote:Originally posted by Jeff C.: I was also disappointed that the guy's son was the one behind the math on the rocks stuff, rather than some mysterious alien/dinosaur race or something.
Someone send a copy of Chrono Trigger to Steven Spielberg! Quickly! The show can still be salvaged!
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Blayne Bradley
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Blayne: Why on earth does it matter that they are reptiles not birds? Gravity doesn't really care what kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species you are assigned to.
People thought the honey bee wasnt able to fly once.
I also happen to know that a goose can break a grown mans arm. I don't think its far fetched for a dinosaur bird thing to do have a similar amount of newtons behind its dive bomb.
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Yes, and by people I didn't mean credited people with degrees, I meant Joe Schmoe's gut feelings.
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Blayne Bradley
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quote: Score one for the fanbois! In its second week (and third episode), Fox's Terra Nova fell a scant 3% to a 3.0 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. Update: in time zone adjusted fast nationals, Terra Nova was adjusted up a tenth to a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating, retaining 100% of last week's two-hour premiere rating.
Woot.
I know exactly what this show is, its Stargate Universe (one way wormhole) meets Eureka (out of town cop) meets Jurassic Park.
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Blayne: Why on earth does it matter that they are reptiles not birds? Gravity doesn't really care what kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species you are assigned to.
Then why don't lizards ever pole vault?
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: Yes, and by people I didn't mean credited people with degrees, I meant Joe Schmoe's gut feelings.
So by extension your belief that these dinos can bowl grown men over, and push doors open are based in gut feelings?
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Blayne Bradley
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No, I am saying that your objection that they cannot do so and it by implication breaks your willing suspension of disbelief is gut feeling and not rooted in fact.
Other people I have spoken to have had some form of experience or another where they have encountered similar, something small but otherwise fast moving easily bowling them over. A soccer ball for instance can easily send someone into a concussion.
I wonder if Mythbusters would take the case.
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Blayne: Why on earth does it matter that they are reptiles not birds? Gravity doesn't really care what kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species you are assigned to.
Then why don't lizards ever pole vault?
Not sure if that was a informed joke or not, but they did.
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: No, I am saying that your objection that they cannot do so and it by implication breaks your willing suspension of disbelief is gut feeling and not rooted in fact.
Wait what? You were the one who mentioned bumble bees being unable to fly.
quote: Other people I have spoken to have had some form of experience or another where they have encountered similar, something small but otherwise fast moving easily bowling them over. A soccer ball for instance can easily send someone into a concussion.
I never said the things couldn't knock somebody out. I said they couldn't hit with so much force a person's feet fly above their head, and they hit the ground. I also stated it would be impossible for them to keep a teenage boy from closing a door. Maybe if their beaks got wedged in the doorway, but certainly not from muscular might.
quote: I wonder if Mythbusters would take the case.
I doubt they'd need to, what I'm ascerting seems so patently obvious, I'm not sure why you think there is any debate on the subject.
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They only need to have low mass relative to wingspan. The heaviest flying bird nowadays can get up to 44 lbs, and the ecosystem then could support larger flying animals. The largest pterodactyl, quetzocoatl, topped 100 pounds. Plus, flying animal's wing muscles are much stronger proportionally, which is what lets large swans (big ones are 20 lbs-ish) occasionally break children's arms and do other heavy damage. The front of the wing is generally very strong, as well.
I'm just about to watch the episode, but I could easily see a large pterodactyl doing the things listed.
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You know, I think they actually fail to have a consistent size. After the attack, Dr. Creepyface cradles a small one in his hands that make them look tiny. But in the later night time attack, they appear to be the size of a small child.
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Blayne Bradley
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The adult sized one I am certain is about the size of a 11 year old and a low center of gravity.
Mythbusters takes ALOT of surprisingly simple/obious cases, you would be surprised like does a silencer actually make the "pwuff pwuff" sound.
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Yeah, those were nowhere near the size of an 11 year old; the largest ones we saw had bodies slightly larger than an 11 year old's head.
However, I mostly had no problem with how they were portrayed. For instance, the son being knocked over when we first saw them attack was him running away and being knocked off balance/tripping. Most of the physical reactions to their attacks were similar. The not being able to shut the door thing was silly, but I suspect mostly due the actors and director having a hard time working with an enemy that was all cgi and possibly still not finalized in appearance.
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: They have 10 more episodes guaranteed, we'll see after that, and it's helped by the fact that it's syndicated, already, in a half dozen other countries, that helps to defray the cost.
I think it's still too early. And frankly, this is almost always why I never watch new shows. I hate that shows have to be a success after two episodes or they're already a failure.
That's not what you should hate. This show has set itself up in the unenviable position of needing to be a wild success right out of the gate to justify its four million dollars an episode budget, and is being headed by people who will astound me completely if they defy my expectations by (1) not writing the show into several sci-fi corners, and (2) not writing characters poorly and getting watchers stuck in a wasteland of bad drama to shore up the time you can't fill the screen with dinosaur CGI rarr snarl.
This is not an issue of the industry being oppressive to hopeful ventures; if it bombs, it's its own fault. And I will be pretty amazed if this doesn't bomb.
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One thing that drives me nuts? Starting a TV season with multiple parallel love stories that all progress at about the exact same time.
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Point is, a bunch of screen time goes to watching two boring teenage romances blossom at the same time.
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Awww come on. I think the 16 year old girl and the soldier boy is kind of innocent and cute.
The son though, meh. At least they are using it as a plot device to show that the bartender is working with the sixers. I do have my doubts about Skye though. (The blonde girl) I think she is also working with the sixers, and I'll bet she secretly blames Taylor for losing her parents.
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Blayne Bradley
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I think I can put the blame entirely on Brannan Braga.
We have people BACK IN TIME with DINOSAURS and yet they are finding ways to screw up, seriously? Weird mutant virus? Episode THREE!? They could be exploring dinosaurs or something but nooooo.
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I'd blame Spielberg and his insistence on it being a "family show". Braga's last "hands-on" job was probably Enterprise, and it was a lot better than this.
This week's episode was a little better. Only one dinosaur, but it was moderately more interesting. But when did the others . . . I mean the sixers . . . become wild barbarian primitives? The scenes from next week look good. I guess they're finally trying to do some mythology (I say finally, but we're only a handful of episodes in).
Posts: 1204 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Enterprise was triple-cursed: - The Star Trek fans felt alienated because of some of the changes (tv-style theme song, step back into the past, "excessive" time travel, etc) - The non-Trekkies wouldn't watch it because Trek was . . . well, Trek. - It received a Friday timeslot (of death) prior to widespread DVR availability.
For all the challenges, it actually did really well, and it did well in syndication later. It had more viewers than Fringe does now. It was actually a very strong show -- probably the best ST series since TNG. I know that I'm not alone in that opinion.
From a science fiction fan's perspective, Enterprise was vastly superior to Terra Nova. From a family show perspective . . . I don't know. My kids seem to be enjoying Terra Nova.
quote: If you watched it, it was actually a very strong show -- probably the best ST series since TNG. I know that I'm not alone in that opinion.
Really? That's amazing. I live with a gaggle of nerds and I can find no dissent of the opinion that Enterprise sucked. I can't judge personally because I could not get through more than four episodes but it really did bore me silly.
Also, the best series since TNG was DS9.
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You can certainly personally hold the opinion that Enterprise was better than DS9, but you are going to be in the extreme, extreme minority.
I definitely disagree with the idea wholesale! I thought Enterprise started horrifically, and even in its 'stride' wasn't .. going to survive.
I went and hunted down my status posts from after I tested both of those other shows.
IT Crowd:
quote:watched the first episode of a show called The IT Crowd. I thought "This show is either british, or an already cancelled disaster"
maybe in a few episodes i'll hope it's british
pps i loathe british laughtracks
wait, that answers the question
big bang theory
quote:i need to make a comic about two dinky tv execs going 'assburgers is sure funny huh!!!!! lets make a show about it!!!!!!!!11111 we will call it big bang theory~'
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