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Terra Nova – A worthy villain?

Surprisingly, this episode gave us a nice serving of beefy goodness with its potatoes to counteract the schmaltzy fluff inevitable with each airing, not the least of which was Lucas turning into a half-decent badass.

- Season 1, Episode 10 - "Within"

Suddenly, badass Lucas’ plan culminated.

He got that EMP-proof contraption of his functioning properly with the assistance of “Bucket The Spy” (Skye), floored a patrol contingent on their collective asses when they attempted to make a move against him and was still able to get in a few parting words with dear old Dad before zapping himself back to the future.

I have to admit: I kind of dug it. Holes, inconsistencies and hogwash still ruled the day on this episode of Terra Nova, but at least it was entertaining and held my interest more so than previous chapters. For the first time since the premiere, we got something akin to anticipation about the next airing — which just so happens to be the finale. We were treated to a little more background of Taylor’s off-kilter son, too, making Lucas seem worthy of the warped villain persona he’s comfortably stepped into.

So, an all-out war is about to start with the Sixers “employers” and it could turn out to be a fun romp. I have a feeling there may be somenifty surprises, but I also have a foreboding of cheesiness reigning the day. And clocking in at two hours with commercials, all that congeelee could mess with my system … if you know what I mean.

But! I’m looking forward to it. Bring on the baddies!

Notes:

  • Goofy stuff: Mason reprimands Josh for lying to him about Skye’s whereabouts, tells him never to do it again and, as punishment, takes his guitar away and grounds him. When he and Taylor find out about Skye’s clandestine activities and confront her unexpectedly at the outpost? She gets a “Wait for us back at the compound” slap on the wrist as they saunter off. *sigh*
  • There will be circus performers coming to throw wrenches in the Terra Nova utopia. What? You didn’t know this? You didn’t see next week’s preview with the ‘splosion and that one dude doing a flip in the background? Well … I’m here to tell you: In 2149, Cirque Du Soleil is still going strong. Uhm … I mean … in the past of the future of 2149 Cir … oh, never mind.
  • More goofy stuff: The portal was developed so there could be a pinpoint arrival of anyone coming out of 2149 and into the past, right? (Nothing speaks like experience after all.) So … the incredible technology was there to regress anyone stepping through to millions of years hence … but not to where they would step foot in the distant past? I reject that. Funny that someone would end up in a lake as mentioned in this episode, but why not in the middle of a mountain? Or 20 feet in the air? How ’bout half in and half out of a dinosaur? *sighs again*
  • The grandstanding faux veranda overlooking the denizens of Terra Nova as Taylor talks to them has completely lost its credibility. It was a gimicky schtick during the premiere when the boss man lorded over everyone and it’s sunk to newer lows each time it’s happened since.
  • Oh … here’s a good one: The technology exists to recreate fried chips on Terra Nova … but not to concoct a wheel for a wheelchair? *major, big, huge SIGH*

Photo Credit: FOX

4 Responses to “Terra Nova – A worthy villain?”

December 13, 2011 at 6:23 PM

Lying = Grounded and no guitar
Treason = A few mean looks from Taylor and a cure for mother’s desease
Murder = Spy-Assignment and reintegration into the colony

Terra Nova is neither here nor there. The writer’s have to decide if it is a show for the family, where forgiveness and second chances are very important. Or they have strict rules to keep everyone safe.

December 14, 2011 at 6:40 AM

I can’t view the words “Lucas” and “badass” in the same sentence without cracking up. He’s pathetic, cowardly, myopic, and horrifyingly creepy, but not at all scary or intimidating. How does he manage to make his interactions with Skye, nearly an adult woman, come off as pedophiliac rather than menacing?

I forgot lazy, as the only reason he threatened Skye’s mother in the first place was because he couldn’t be bothered to wait the extra couple of weeks for his box computer to do his math, and wanted the Eye to do it overnight.

And taking Skye away from the watchful eyes of any Sixer guards to deliver his threats? I was wondering why she didn’t just shove the obnoxious sociopath over the balcony as soon as he said he’d kill her mother, and let him find out how many meters it was to the jungle floor for himself, if he wanted to know so badly. Or, if she didn’t care about making it look like an accident, whip out the sonic pistol she was carrying and blast the asshole over the side.

Speaking of sonics, the writers really haven’t adjusted to the nonlethal mandate from the producers, and write everyone as if they’re pointing assault rifles at people. Hence the soldiers at the Portal and then Taylor and Jim doing the “stop or I’ll shoot” routine instead of simply stunning Lucas as soon as they saw him. On Star Trek, they at least used their phasers pretty callously and preemptively much of the time when the stun setting was an option.

I don’t think we learned anything new about Lucas’s backstory other than the exact date of his mother’s death, though. Everything else had been said before.

The original portal was the unexpected result of particle physics experiments. They neither chose the time nor the place (nor even the universe) where the other end terminated, but had to take what they got. Even with the current mechanism, there’s been nothing to indicate they can redirect the portal to another time. As we saw here, opening the portal blows anything in front of it away, leaving an opening for travelers to step through. People get tossed away relatively unharmed, but it could conceivably cut a dinosaur in half. It’s not teleportation, so the travelers don’t end up in the same physical space as something else, but walk through the wormhole and out the other side. They don’t end up trapped inside a mountain because it’s a Spielberg family show.

Interesting that the annulus isn’t large enough to drive new vehicles through, though.

I like Taylor’s sermons from the mountaintop. He’s one of the few watchable parts of this show anyway.

They can’t make new wheels because this is a kumbaya zero-impact environmental treatise where they won’t even clear large carnivorous predators from their immediate surroundings, let alone establish a manufacturing base. And the writers have never heard of small 3D printers and how necessary they would be for an isolated colony like this, especially with an additional 140 years of development.

I’m guessing that Taylor and Mira will be forced to work together again before the climactic battle is over. Probably first to rescue her daughter, and then to fight the forces of evil, as I don’t imagine them being smart enough not to double-cross her now that she’s served her purpose. Plus Taylor has shown he’s willing to give anyone a second (or third, or fourth) chance.

December 14, 2011 at 11:41 AM

Considering the advancements in medicine … why is anyone still in a wheelchair anyway? and how would someone in a wheelchair be allowed to travel to prehistoric times anyway (it’s not like the guy is an important scientist or anything) …

December 14, 2011 at 11:46 PM

I thought his legs got eaten by the dinosaurs we rarely see, and are barely afraid of.

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