Shocky Watches Terra Nova: Genesis parts 1 and 2

Shocky Here

What Is there really left to say about FOX? They have a reputation for very quickly axeing new shows if they dont get stellar ratings, especially genre shows. Geeks around the world know them as the killer of Firefly, which lasted 14 episodes, 11 of which were aired, out of order and on Fridays, yet, it still has one of the biggest cult followings of all the shows in the last decade.
 When I got news of the upcoming FOX show known as Terra Nova, I had two reactions:
1. I HATE FOX!DIE!DIE!DIE!Oh hey a new show
2. R.I.P. Terra Nova...it just wasnt on the right network...
  Terra Nova was something different though, when I looked closer. It was a big , ambitious production. It had money behind it, and names. Big names. Steven Spielberg. It was like a summer blockbuster, expected to draw in a crowd. By the reports, the pilot did fine, not amazing, but fine. The thing was, looking at some more articles closer to the premiere, I got the impression that the creators wanted it to be more than that. Not just Jurassic Park with some permanent residents, but a show with actual characters and drama.
This is what caught me, especially straight after watching BSG. I KNEW this thing would fail. I WANTED it to. This was my original drive to watch it.
Then I finished BSG. I needed somethign new. Something not on DVD
  Thats how I came to Terra Nova with its 2 hour pilot.Now I will actually talk about the show.

   The show starts in a depressing, dystopian future with grey skies, smoke, pollution, giant cities and of course, giant digital propaganda billboards.Here we are introduced to our main characters, and for your pleasure, I will give detailed descirptions of their personalities!
Main Character Guy is the protagonist of the story, and the father of the family. I believe theyre called the shannons, but unfortunately, I cant remember their first names. Main Character guy  has a job as a cop in the future, but goes to jail when the police find their illegal 3rd child. Because of overpopulation families can only have two children. I find main character guy is a pretty basic protagonist. Actually he's quite bland and generic, but not annoying at least. Hopefully as the series progresses, he develops more too.
Then there is Main Character guys wife, who is a doctor. She visits him in jail to inform him that shes been chosen to travel to Terra Nova, as they needd doctors, but cant bring their third child. Like Main Character Guy, there isnt much to her yet either. Shes likable enough though. Apparently, she has hatched a plan to get him and their youngest child through the portal.
  This plan works, and he meets them there with Main Character Guy's Youngest Daughter, aka plot device only there to look cute, hidden in a backpack.
After an exciting bit of excitement and some more trouble, they make it to the settlement.
  Now the concept of this show is pretty good. It involves some alternate timestream they jump into so they dont disrupt the future and some plan to not make the same mistakes by being eco-friendly.
Yay!
 The exposition here really made me thick of that TNG episode where Data has this complex diagram of gazillion parallel universes branching off one another(Parallels). Im guessing a different timestream is somewhat like that. Time travel plots can actaully get quite confusing if you think about.
So we see Terra Nova and its all pretty scenery(actually it is quite stunning) and everyone is all happy and stuff.
Now we meet Badass Commander Guy whos name is actually Taylor, but that seems to be his type. He is actually the coolest character ,as predicted, but how he will rank against previous badass commanders, only time will tell. So hes all like suspicious at first with Main Character Guy's criminal record, but decides hes okay with it. Unfortunately for Main Character Guy hes been assigned the job of gardener, and has some fun hacking vines of the fence.
Life is good.
Next we get some character moments inside their new home. Main Character guy connects with his youngest daughter again. Oh how cute.
Then she goes and plays with her first Dinosaur.
OMG A DINOSAURRR!!!
Unfortunately it is not a carnivorous dinosaur, and not after the one thing I wish was eaten but I know wont be:
Main Character Guys Son but we'll call him Teen ANGST. This lovely young man HATES his father, as we learn through the following dialogue:
"WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE"
Oh what fine writing.
NEVER SEEN BAD FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE,NOPE.
Did I mention I just finished BSG.
  But this kid is far worse than that.
    Theres also Main Character Guys Older Daughter who is the nerdy smart type I believe and only there for exposition. We'll ignore her as she does nothing for the rest of the episode besides spout something about a probe and meet her obvious love interest.
   The family's first day at Terra Nova starts out pretty regular. The parents go off on their jobs, with both discovering the local flora and fauna. Seriously, Giant Slug-Leech Things are gross but it kinda just looked like a rock. The daughters go to school and get some tour of sorts while Teen Angst goes rebel and runs off with his Obvious Love Interest and her friends.
   Then, another concept is introduced. The Sixers.
The Sixers
Some rogue people from the 6th pilgrimage that suggests some sort of conspiracy and makes me question the security in Terra Nova. Theyre here to provide conflict. They make me think of a name of a fandom for some scifi show thta involves a number.  If there is a sci-fi show with fans known as sixers I feel genuinely sorry for them.  At the moment, Im not very sure about the sixers, how theyll be portrayed when it comes to wether theyre right or wrong, we dont even know their motivation yet though so I cant really judge them.

    While Main Character Guy and the Badass Commander are dealing with them and some dinosaurs whom only manage to take out one unlucky redshirt, Teen Angst and his new friends decide to go OTP... I think it was that...OT something. A stupid acronym for going outside the settlement.
This is stupid of course because THERE ARE MAN EATING DINORAURS.
Yeah we know its coming. I seriously hope they get eaten. All of them.
     Your probably thinking Im cold and cruel and love seeing people die, but thats not true. I didnt love seeing people die on BSG. In fact my soul was crushed. Multiple times.
  Maybe thats why I cant get attached to these people...I have no soul....
   Anyhow, Teen Angst, Obvious Love interest and The Wesley Brigade of Irritating Kid Characters in Sci-Fi Shows(Honestly, the only teen character I ever liked was River. The rest of them fall under the Wesley Crusher category. They can go get eaten for all I care, I dont need them mucking up the important adults lives and stealing spotlights through stupidity and such)
(Evene though I am a teen. But I wouldnt do what the Wesley Brigade did because IM NOT STUPID.)
(I think...)
  go off to enjoy scenery, dive into waterfalls, reveal secret writing things that Taylor wants no one to know about but obviously have to do with the plot, drink, and act liek theyre cool. Only one of these things is important.
    Back at Terra Nova, The Sixers act all hostile and they have some trade for some ore. Then they leave. As they drive  through the jungle they run into some dino trouble. One vehicle gets attacked by Slashers, some sort of dinos with blades on their tails, in around the same area as the Wesley Brigade. This all climaxes when the battery packs for The Wesley Brigade's vehicle get taken by Sixers and they end up stuck in a Sixers vehicle occupied by a half dead guy. Of course, Main Character guy and Badass Commander come and save them in the nick of time after the Wesley brigade manage to do A LOT OF STUPID THINGS.
Wait...I meant MORE STUPID THINGS.
           SOMEHOW they all survive(I think) althoguh badly wounded.
Which sucks. I wantedthem to die. This si illogical they should be dead, especially the one that went running through the jungle followed by Slashers.
It ends with the family, safe back in Terra Nova, lookign at the large moon in trying-to-be special moment.
Ans some talking. Who wants to bet Teen Angst is magically good with his father again?
Whatever.
 Oh and some mysterious stuff involving Taylors lost son to draw in some more viewers ...
    
     Genesis part 1 and 2 are a decent pilot. The plot is engaging enough and the overall look of the show is great. It sets uup enough things for me to want more, and I will keep watching this show. The biggets problem is the characters, btu can you really expect a show to start with good, strong, interesting characters?(except for BSG...and Firefly...) Hopefully theyll improve with the show.

Well theres my thoughts on the show so far. Next week, Ill watch the next episode and probably have something to say about that. For now Im glad I managed to not talk about the one thing I thought about throughout this viewing:
Battelstar Galactica.
Just cant get it out of my mind.


Seriously though? An Angel? Really?

Introducing..

ME.
  Well, I doubt an introduction is very interesting to read, but I guess Ill try and make this as short as possible. Hi there. I am Shocky. Im gonna keep my name in blue at the moment because colour coding might be useful later. If your wondering, my name comes from my Warrior name from the warrirocats forums, which was my original introduction to interenet communtities and while Im not exactly proud to have started as a warrior cats fan, might as well stick with a name. Okay Ill get going now...
 I am the SCI-FI part of this power trio(apparently I am "the Kirk" of the 3 of us), I watch the Trek, I watch the Wars and Im probably a bit more picky when it comes to choosing what media to consume. While I do love Fantasy, I own the extended editions of LOTR, and I have liked anime since last year when I became friends with the Otaku mentioned in the title, I know the most about this genre. I think I need to set up a few things here quickly.
a) We are all the same age, teens, so this is coming from a teenage girls point of view. Although I dont think I fit under typical as that includes those who watch Jersey Shore and spend all night and Facebook.
b)I want to defy stereotypes. Especially the one above. Specifically the one above. Actually thats kind of redundant as I just mentioned I dont consider myself to fit under it...
c)Theres still many MANY series and movies I have to watch, and things I have to learn, but I like to think my opinion matters.Even if no one reads it.

  Now thats basics out of the way, people may want to know what Im into. Well, for one Im a Trekkie, so references ar epossible. Second, Im a browncoat, so I have a burning desire to avenge cancelled cult shows.(FOX I will bring you down with HATE!!)
I like to read, and was once a Potter fan at about...age 9. Now I like to read and watch internet reviews. I like to talk and discuss things I see, although sometimes its incoherent babbling...At the moment I just finished watching the Re-Imagined series of Battlestar Galactica(Lots of things to say about that) and the next thing I have planned to watch is Farscape. Just thought it should be known.
  I like SCI-FI driven by characters over concepts. I loved Inception, thought it was great, but I dont like how  movies like it and The Matrix feel too cold for me. One thing I loved about BSG was how much it had. It had great characters, conflicts and plot and at the same time some really good ideas woven throughout.(Although how all the buildup was eventually dealt up was...dissappointing)Inception,in the end, was about the idea,how it worked and what it does to the characters. BSG, while its not fair to compare a show to a movie, puts a lot more focus on its characters and their specific conflicts.
    There are lots of things to make something good or bad to me, but overall I value characters. Thats why I love Firefly.

-Shocky      

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our new blog! We are three teen aged girls, two of us are geeks of different genres and the other is an otaku (manga and anime super fan, basically.). We are pretty passionate about our fandoms, and we all love to write. So we decided to make a team blog where we can post our opinions, our reviews, and have group discussions about a variety of topics that we enjoy on a weekly basis. We're sure you'll find something you'll like on here.

Basically the three of us are:
A Sci-fi fan geek
A Harry Potter/Fantasy geek
A Japanese Otaku Fangirl

The three of us will take this week to introduce ourselves to you and talk about our respected fandoms a little bit. We're pretty excited to share our opinions with you! So thank you!

I'll be introducing myself later this week!

-Jasmine (Your fantasy girl)