# Terra Nova - What a terrible idea for a show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332 "2011-01-12T13:01:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/1 "2011-01-12T13:01:13Z")
Read about it [here](http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/11/terra-nova-avatar-first-look/). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/2 "2011-01-12T13:08:35Z")
Can you at least summarize a bit in your OP? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/3 "2011-01-12T13:08:36Z")
So it’s _Land of the Lost in Space_, is it? ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/4 "2011-01-12T13:16:20Z")
It sounds OK in theory. No wait, no it doesn’t. Traveling back 85 million years? We wouldn’t even be recognizable as humans by the time they caught up to ‘our’ time. And the producer groaning at a time paradox question? Like he wasn’t expecting that? An easier way to deal with our old pal Chicxulub would be to show up at 55 million years BC, and skip the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/5 "2011-01-12T14:44:13Z")
> [@](#): > > “They’re hoping to restart humanity through this time fracture they’ve discovered,” Braga sa… That’s as far as I got. Literally I’ve stopped reading. Braga. Oh it’s Braga. Of course it’s Braga. No. He doesn’t care about your stupid time paradox issues. Braga’s the Michael Bay of sci-fi storytelling if you were to take away all the exposions. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/6 "2011-01-12T14:49:30Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Can you at least summarize a bit in your OP? Sorry about that… Lets see, um… Earth in the future is unlivable, so families are sent back in time, 85 million years, to the Terra Nova Colony in order to remake humanity. From the pictures it seems they bring some modern technology back with them. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/7 "2011-01-12T14:51:41Z")
I wouldn’t exactly call it a terrible idea. “Humanity retreats into the past to save itself” could actually be an intriguing premise. After reading the article, though, I have my doubts that this particular show will be any good. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/8 "2011-01-12T15:06:13Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > It sounds OK in theory. No wait, no it doesn’t. Traveling back 85 million years? We wouldn’t even be recognizable as humans by the time they caught up to ‘our’ time. As long as they stay away from butterflies, the time line should be OK. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/9 "2011-01-12T15:19:03Z")
They should look out for psychic aliens singing “Danny Boy”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/10 "2011-01-12T15:20:46Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I wouldn’t exactly call it a terrible idea. “Humanity retreats into the past to save itself” could actually be an intriguing premise. And it was, when the original Star Trek broadcast the “All Our Yesterdays” episode back in 1969. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/11 "2011-01-12T15:24:49Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I wouldn’t exactly call it a terrible idea. “Humanity retreats into the past to save itself” could actually be an intriguing premise. That’s actually an awesome idea. Would be interesting to have a story of Humanity constantly having to go back in its own timeline to prevent extinction from an unavoidable cataclysm. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/12 "2011-01-12T15:31:22Z")
Sounds like they basically just wanted to have a series about a human colony living in the same time as dinosaurs, and made up some explanation as to why. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/13 "2011-01-12T15:45:07Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Sounds like they basically just wanted to have a series about a human colony living in the same time as dinosaurs, and made up some explanation as to why. But that’s insane, humans did live alongside dinosaurs. I saw that in a museum. Remember the Bible, Gen 6:4 “There were giants in the earth in those days.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/14 "2011-01-12T15:56:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > They should look out for psychic aliens singing “Danny Boy”. I saw that. ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/15 "2011-01-12T15:57:09Z")
Meh, it could be interesting if they thought it through a bit more…but I doubt they will. I can buy going back in time, as long as you do it Back to the Future style and realize that you’ll be creating a totally separate timeline. So you’d have to send everything back **all at once**. You couldn’t make several trips, because your current timeline would cease to exist. Plus it would be great for all these types of stories to see how they do with absolutely no infrastructure at all. Sure your anti-gravity device helps you move that 2 ton box of supplies with one finger…what happens when a part breaks on it that you can’t replace or repair? It’s great that you have automatic weapons that can shoot explosive rounds at a bazillion rounds per second to keep the Dinosaurs away…what do you do when you run out of bullets? How does the society start to break down as more and more technological items stop working? How do they improvise tools and materials? How do they deal with basically an entirely different eco-system that has different flora and fauna than they’re used to dealing with? Now that show I’d watch. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/16 "2011-01-12T16:20:33Z")
That would explain the present day “greys” and their fascination with our rectums. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/17 "2011-01-12T16:46:01Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > But that’s insane, humans did live alongside dinosaurs. I saw that in a museum. > Remember the Bible, Gen 6:4 “There were giants in the earth in those days.” That’s a slight mistranslation; it originally meant “There were well-hung men in the earth in those days”. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/18 "2011-01-12T16:46:02Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > That’s actually an awesome idea. Would be interesting to have a story of Humanity constantly having to go back in its own timeline to prevent extinction from an unavoidable cataclysm. Like The 4400? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/19 "2011-01-12T16:51:22Z")
I was all ready to take issue with you. [_Terra Nova_](http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9C02E7D81238F935A15757C0A962948260) is a great show. This show… no so much. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332/20 "2011-01-12T16:57:38Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > That’s a slight mistranslation; it originally meant “There were well-hung men in the earth in those days”. Ha, where have all the well-hung men gone? > [@](#): > > from **enalzi** > > Like The 4400? Didnt see 4400. But I meant humanity taking refuge in its past; again and again. Was that the premise of the 4400? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terra-nova-what-a-terrible-idea-for-a-show/567332.md?page=2)