Terra Nova
2011
Original language: English
- sci-fi & fantasy
- mystery
- action & adventure
The story
In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in jeopardy, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past. An ordinary family goes on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a part of a massive expedition to save the human race.
What it’s like
Lush, sun-saturated jungle imagery carries most of this show: dense green canopy, humid haze over rivers, wide vistas of volcanic plateaus and waterfalls, and the bright, slightly over-polished digital sheen of a 2011 network drama. Interiors lean on cool, clinical whites and steel at the settlement, so the contrast between sterile future and warm, wild prehistory is always visible on screen. Dinosaurs are rendered with CGI that reads as big, loud, and occasionally heavy against the terrain, and the score swells with orchestral brass and wordless choral pads during set-piece moments, then drops to ambient insect and bird textures in quieter scenes. The mood is earnest and adventurous, a family-survival frontier story with a steady undercurrent of unease about what the group is leaving behind. Pacing is brisk and episodic, with arcs that trace a fractured household slowly learning to trust one another and a settlement wrestling with its own divisions. Violence is moderate: occasional predator attacks and skirmishes with a few tense, brief moments of peril, with no gore. It suits a weekend marathon, background viewing while doing chores, or fans of dinosaur adventure who want something comfortable and family-friendly, though viewers seeking tight, slow-burn atmosphere may find it busy.
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