*sends for and adopts Russian little sister...heh heh heh...*
Now we have 4
Does Terra Nova Have the “It” Factor to Make It Big?
Fox is, in the opinion of many, taking a pretty big risk in Terra Nova. Why? For many reasons.
First of all is the boring-yet-very-real concern of the cost. The first episode, which they say is two hours in length, cost $15 million alone. The thirteen episodes are being shot in Australia, which is an expensive country to shoot in anyway, but coupled with the facts that it is set in the middle of nowhere, which increases shooting costs, and that they have had to break to accommodate Mother Nature and her pesky flooding…well, the numbers don’t lie. Fox has invested a lot in a show that may or may not do well in its target audience and time bracket. Which leads us to the next concern.
Second, Terra Nova is being pitched to a very broad audience. Fox doesn’t even like calling the show a sci-fi adventure, preferring to call it an “epic family drama” instead. This is a smart tactic, because women are some of the biggest TV watchers of family dramas, and women watch their shows consistently and loyally. Women don’t, however, always get hooked on sci-fi, but throw in the word “family” and you may have a better chance. However, they are being crafty about the female watching demographic, not depending heavily on it, as evidenced by the fact that they did not put the premiere date (which will be September 26) during the “normal” Fall premiere week. Why? Because Terra Nova would have been having to follow the Emmy Awards show, a show which has a very fermale-heavy audience. They just didn’t think it was an appropriate time, and I for one agree with that assessment. Someone who has just spent hours watching an awards show is not going to want to sit for another two hours watching a show that may or may not be your cup of tea. Unless you’re a mom like me, who will skip the Emmys and make sure to watch a sci-fi or fantasy or compelling epic family drama—because, sorry, but awards shows are excruciatingly boring.
Sci-fi and dinosaur devotees will, of course, at least give the show a token try, and hopefully be drawn in by the storyline and suspense. Fox isn’t counting on the dinosaur dynamic to keep people, and that is very realistic and wise. “If we can get people to buy into this family, then we have a shot,” Preston Beckman, Fox’s scheduling executive. “If it’s dinosaur of the week, we’ll never have a shot.” The show’s creators have actually invented some new dinosaurs, which will be fun in a way, but could actually tick off the hardline science fans, but let’s hope they allow for some creative license. Let’s also hope that the media blitz of early posters Fox put out, which feature slightly tongue-in-cheek warnings about feeding dinosaurs, etc., don’t focus too much attention on the dinosaurs.
“We can sell dinosaurs to one audience, time travel to another and a family drama to another,” says Beckman. “The T-Rex we all know and grew up with may not be correct. … We don’t want to market with the wrong dinosaurs.”
The ultimate staying power of Terra Nova will lie in its storyline and characters, not special effects. Anyone who saw (and hated) the Star Wars prequels knows that.
They’re casting their figurative seed far and wide, waging a high-profile ad campaign that, it is hoped, will hook people’s interest and keep it until September. Fox is inserting trailers in all kinds of movies, from Super 8 to Harry Potter’s new flick to X-Men: First Class. They’re putting ads out during baseball games, especially during the All Star Game, and will feature a big spot on September 25, which is when the NFL season double-header is supposed to kick off. That’s a whole different kettle of fish—if the lockout hasn’t been resolved by then, who knows what will happen to the Fall advertising schedule? Regardless, between the sports ads and the new animated lineup for Fox (The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy, et al) on Sunday will be saturated with Terra Nova hype, because there is a high correlation between viewers who love animated series and sci-fi…oops, “epic family drama.”
Terra Nova is everywhere, or will be: museums, zoos, amusement parks, and soon at Comic-Con in San Diego, that golden citadel of all things wonderful and geeky. Note how the big networks have begun catering to the “kinds of people” who know and love Comic-Con: they have seen how the huge hits (and, let’s be fair, the huge flops) have been sci-fi, superhero, fantasy, etc., in the past decade. So those of us who have always secretly treasured our inner awkward teens, feel proud of it—we’re powerful now, and Fox and others know it.
Will Fox be able to pull it off? If Terra Nova broad enough to appeal to such a wide audience and keep them? Will it fare well this season , or will it quietly go into that good night, in the way Flash Forward and The Event did? Let’s hope not. I think Terra Nova has something they didn’t.
And…dinosaurs isn’t it. Well, not all of it.
Series premiere is tonight
on TV?
Yep, on TV. Not sure I'm gonna watch it. If I'm in the hotel, probably will watch Eureka, Warehouse 13, and Alphas. If out, will be watching the 'skins beat up on the 'boys (hopefully)
Maybe they will repeat it later at night?
I'll check it out. See if it's worth following for at least a few episodes.
That's my plan too...I am afraid though that I will like it and of course since it's on FOX, it will be canceled after 3 episodesOriginally Posted by Pony
I'm sure they have filmed at least 6.
What I don't get is why they went back 80 million years? Why not go back to after the dinosaurs/ice age?
1 episode aired, canceled, then DVD releaseI'm sure they have filmed at least 6.
Yeah, that's my biggestabout the whole premise too...hopefully they will explain it
I think if they don't do a good enough job explaining some basics that the sci fi crowd will turn it off pretty fast. I guess we'll have to wait and see....
I thought it wasn't too bad....lotsa stuff thrown at you in those first 2 hours though
this suitable for kids?
I liked it but why do I feel like its Lost but with Dinosaurs? Already don't like Josh.
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