Wondercon 2011: ‘Terra Nova’ Panel Recap

“Welcome to Terra Nova” … And with that, I am already hyped for a new show executively produced by Steven Spielberg that I know very little about except that it has dinosaurs and the man of all men, Stephen Lang.

For those who were lucky enough to make it to the Esplanade Ballroom on the final day of WonderCon in San Francisco, you were shown something pretty fantastic.

Set in the year 2149, Fox’s new show “Terra Nova” is about how pollution and overpopulation has destroyed the sustainability of earth for mankind. Scientists discover a portal to the prehistoric era, and the Shannon family journeys back in time, in a bold experiment to save humanity and to try and rebuild civilization. However, the new paradise is not all its promised… cue rampaging T-rex.

Fans were shown the trailer for the new series which was nothing short of amazing. Especially in terms of production value where we saw some amazing scenery and quick cuts of various dinosaurs from friendly to savage. The clip starts out a bit slow slowly introducing the Shannon family wondering if moving to Terra Nova was the right thing to do. Of course, there’s no such thing as paradise and the soft tone of the trailer is transformed into a break neck quick cuts of things going wrong Jurassic Park style.

For those who’ve seen the Superbowl spot for “Terra Nova,” the footage is basically an extended cut of that with more talk that fleshes out the various characters and their personalities.

While comparisons to “Land of the Lost” and “The New World” can be made, don’t be fooled, “Terra Nova” appears to be its own creation at least that’s what producer Brannon Braga insists. According to Braga, he is excited about being able to combine futuristic population and tech in a primitive setting (Dino Riders anyone?). He says that like “LOST” there will be some flashbacks to the future timeline and they will try to answer questions about the “Butterfly effects” in new and interesting ways. Despite flashbacks, however, “Terra Nova” will not be a time traveling show.