Related Posts
Apocalypse now and then: Chernobyl 24 years later
Monday marked the 24th anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine, considered...
Space news: Oceans on Mars, the apocalypse from above and no more men on the Moon
Scientists at the university of Colorado have discovered evidence that suggests that much of Mars was once covered...
Video: Europe debates nuclear power in wake of Japan crisisThe debate over nuclear energy has heated up in Europe. Though always controversial, the events post earthquake and...
Weird Science News: An unlikely saboteur
A time traveling bird who drops baguette bombs. Sounds pretty preposterous, doesn't it? But it's part of a...
Nuke news: Germany and Japan
Four major power companies warned that the post-Fukujima backlash against nuclear power in Germany country could result in...
Get your Eco Starter Kit
Create an account and start harvesting Carbon Credits! Exchange your Carbon Credits for green goodies, like the Eco-Hatchery Starter Kit!
-
Green network users
3,150 Users - Show All
Green Directory
Tip of the Day
Keep eggs out of the fridge to save energy when cooking them
Terra Nova: Apocalypse Dudes
Get off my lawn! (image credit: welcometoterranova.com)
Being an enthusiastic science fiction fan, when I saw there was a new post-apocalyptic/dystopian series on the way I was typically stoked. The involvement of Steven Spielberg and a couple of guys from the Star Trek franchise gave me moderately high hopes. However, Spielberg’s recent alien invasion series, Falling Skies, didn’t.
I was weaned on low-budget sci-fi films and TV from the 80s, which in hindsight usually weren’t very good (see Cherry 2000 or Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone for evidence). Still, these grim, if silly, visions of the future fed my imagination and dominated playtime:
I’d be a rough-and-tumble loner wandering a post-nuclear holocaust Earth with nothing but a bad attitude, a packet of trail mix and a sawn off shotgun. A second-rate Mad Max with a tough name like Wolf, Scully or Quaid.
But in recent years TV has upped the ante. Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly have left some pretty big boots to fill in the sci-fi department. Unfortunately, Fox’s Terra Nova plainly isn’t up to the task.
That doesn’t mean it’s bad. Cliché-ridden, soppy and action-packed – Terra Nova mixes the future with prehistory: A ruined environment under an authoritarian government in the year 2149; a rift in the space-time continuum allowing a limited number of people to travel millions of years into a past populated by dinosaurs; baddies, goodies (but which is which??)… That’s right, more or less equal parts Jurassic Park, Star Trek TNG and Lost.
It’s enough to keep me watching for now.
Add a grizzled patriarch with bulging muscles, a macho Jude Law look-alike, a dishy mom who can’t be more than 10 years older than her son and a bunch of other less than interesting types, including a girl who is a bit too much like Ellen Page.
The future is dark and tubular (image credit: welcometoterranova.com)
What I want to know about Terra Nova: what exactly destroyed the environment of 2149 (climate change? nuclear war? pollution? you knew I had to tie environmentalism in here somewhere), why guns don’t kill dinosaurs and if it’s actually set in the future rather than the distant past. None of the other plot twists from the pilot have sparked my curiosity.
I also hope we see more of the dystopian, post apocalyptic future – with its alluring twinkling lights, perpetual darkness and ruined skyscrapers – as well as the eco-friendly jungle bungalows of the future/past. Maybe they will talk more about interesting stuff rather than simply try to maintain the non-stop action the show seems to favor. I doubt it though – Terra Nova seems a bit too dumb for that.
Tags: future, sci-fi, Spielberg, Star Trek, Terra Nova
One comment
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Peru’s killer gold rush
Gold rushes in developing countries mean riches for a few and crumbs, death and ecocide for the poor and the environment. But never mind all that, there’s money to be made. Gold in Peru is booming. According to Australia’s 9MSN, Gold is now Peru’s number one export, with countries like Switzerland, Canada and the US as major buyers. The article also briefly mentions the conflicts and environmental damage caused by Peru’s goldmines without going into any detail. Here are some details: Gold mining is...
A drought big as Texas
As droughts cause famines in poor parts of the world like Somalia, they also affect the developed world, albeit in less catastrophic ways. France and the UK have worryingly dry areas, but nowhere so much as the US state of Texas. Have the ‘water wars’ already come to the United States? Well, maybe not, but things look bleak and even downright apocalyptic in parts of the state. Never a wet place, climate change and population growth in arid areas do not...
Rio+20=Earth Summit 2012 in Brazil
The world is facing a mounting crisis. In recent years we have experienced a combination of a global financial crisis, a food crisis, volatile oil prices, accelerating ecosystem degradation and an increasing number of climate-induced extreme weather events. These multiple and inter-related crises call into question the ability of a growing human population to live peacefully and sustainably on this planet, and demand the urgent attention governments and citizens around the world. –Earth Summit 2012 website The UN Conference on Sustainable Development,...
Obama’s ‘battle plan’ speech: Tough talk for BP, but what about climate change laws?
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama addressed the American people on national television, live from the Oval Office, in an attempt to inform and assure the nation about efforts to deal with the United States' largest environmental disaster ever. He also urged support for a move away from fossil fuels and towards a reliance on renewable energy. On the former – regarding both BP's responsibility for and government efforts to assist in the stopping and cleaning up of the massive oil spill...
Rachel Maddow on the Gulf’s future
Check out this clip from last night’s Rachel Maddow show on the situation in the Gulf of Mexico in light of BP’s successful capping of the oil well leak. Rachel is joined by NBC’s chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson to discuss possible scenarios such as hurricanes and contingency plans as well as the eventual relief well, which should offer a permanent solution to the leak in the Gulf. What next for the Gulf? Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news...
Preparing for the worst: Climate change adaptation
Inevitable changes in climate mean the vulnerable must adapt or suffer the worst consequences of climate change. Even climate skeptic Lord Lawson, who is not convinced that human activity is the main cause for climate change, supports aiding poorer, vulnerable countries to prepare for and deal with coming adversities. In a CNN 'climate change debate' with Lawson, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai agreed that poor countries must prepare for the worst and should not expect agreements at COP15 to...
Wildlife Souvenirs: Bring Back the Memories, Leave the Endangered Animals
Going on holiday is the ultimate time to tune out. You get to leave work and even your mother-in-law behind in the home country. For a few blissful weeks, the rainforest and the tropical ocean are your habitats, not the office cubicle. Ahhh … what a great vacation, nothing beats a rejuvenated attitude upon returning home. What could possibly go wrong after a delightful stay in the tropics? Well nothing except a customs officer confiscating your luggage, issuing a huge fine...
Spaniards drive their horses through the fire to get them “cleansed and protected”
On the Eve of St. Antonio’s Day (16th January), dozens of riders jump on their horses and ride them over burning stakes, which are set alight on the streets of San Bartolomé de Pinares in the Spanish province of Ávila. This unusual festival, known as "Luminarias," has been organized for over 500 years. Jumping through the fire is accompanied by the sound of bagpipes playing. The people of San Bartolomé de Pinares believe that the horses don't feel any pain while...
Social media, the Internet and the ‘death of the newspaper’
With new technology always comes the death or transformation of older industries. Environmental concerns necessitate some of these changes, but money has so far – almost across the board – proven to be far stronger motivation for change than any responsibility to the planet. Still, we shouldn’t bemoan the loss of “old” media like newspapers and magazines simply due to sentimental reasons. Certainly there are more practical concerns such as the loss of reliable local journalism, which suffers in much...
The great unknown: Mediterranean comes top 5 in marine biodiversity census
The Census of Marine Life is a 10-year worldwide project conducted by a network of researchers and coordinated in part by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The aim of the census – the first global study of its kind – is to ‘explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans’. From an article in the Telegraph: They hope that by creating the first catalogue of the world's oceans we can begin to understand the great ecological questions about habitat loss,...
View all articles
IT’S LIKE FEEDING YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN INGEST…….