Thread: Terra Nova

Behind the Scenes at 'Terra Nova' - WSJ.com

New series on FOX next fall. The article is currently free to read at the above link from the Wall Street Journal.

The first two hours of the show cost about $16 million (producers say some of these costs will be amortized over the length of the show). Production in Australia required 300 crew members. A single scene that shows the family, the Shannons, arriving at their prehistoric home required 410 extras. The towering sets took nearly 15 weeks to build and include a Terra Nova "colony" the size of a football field inside 18-foot walls, complete with a market, hospital and residences. An 8-foot animatronic velociraptor makes a cameo in the second hour.

Essentially the show is about a group of settlers from the future (2149) that go back in time to start over. The article is really interesting giving the development background on the show. It looks like it could be an interesting show. FOX has already committed to the series for the fall since it was so expensive to produce the sets they went ahead with filming episodes.

First promotions should appear during the Superbowl.

They also briefly talk about the new Incredible Hulk series coming to ABC.

YouTube - FOX - Spielberg - Terra Nova: 10 Million Bucks And Nothing Shot! TV Industry News 10.13.10

TV news update from last October on Terra Nova... $10 million spent and not one foot of film... I guess the next $6 million was used to actually film the pilot (in the report they guessed it could take $10 million).

James Hibbard

Instead of launching with a May 23 preview as originally planned, the adventure series will now debut next fall.

Source & More:
ew.com

Is it FOX network? Check.

Is it a Sci-fi series? Check.

Will Fox screw up the episode order, and cancel the show early? Check!

Fox does has a good record of starting Sci-fi series then killing them...

Originally Posted by dfergie

Fox does has a good record of starting Sci-fi series then killing them...

Most networks have the same ability to cancel scifi series as Fox.

Originally Posted by MikeD-C05

Most networks have the same ability to cancel scifi series as Fox.

Yeah, but the point is, FOX has a reputation for doing this, time and again.

As mentioned in the WSJ article above the sets and pilot were so expensive to set up they kept shooting episodes because it would be too expensive to stop production. So, Fox will probably have the entire season shot before the pilot airs. Of course they will probably still be working on the special effects.

I wouldn't fault Fox, any more than ABC & NBC, when it comes to shuffling timeslots and early cancellations. All three have done it often. But at least they keep trying. It's hard to find any sci-fi ever on CBS, since they only bring us sitcoms, crime dramas, and reality shows.