DVD Review: Terra Nova The Complete Series [M15]

Starring: Jason O’Mara, Stephen Lang, Shelley Con, Landon Liboiron, Naomi Scott, Alana Mansour

The Show: Terra Nova was a huge television event last year, it was advertised quite a lot and the marketing suggested it was an action adventure about dinosaurs. The show did not get a Second Season, the ratings were just not there – they dropped off as Season 1 progressed. Personally, I would fault the marketing because it have audiences a false idea of what the show was about, and they did not get what they were promised.

For me, I watched the pilot and the first few episodes and as I adjusted to what it was actually about I quite liked it. However, as my life got busy and I had to deal with my constant health issues, I never got the chance to watch the rest of the episodes. With the release on DVD, I finally had the chance to experience all of the episodes and I was a fan.

Synopsis: It is the year 2149, and humanity is in the final throes of extinction. Those fortunate enough to escape are allowed to travel back in time 85 million years to an outpost known as Terra Nova. For the Shannon family, it’s a chance to reunite and start over. But once there, they face giant, carnivorous dinosaurs, and mysterious forces conspire to destroy the entire experiment — and everyone involved in it!

The pilot episode was a feature length event, and honestly it was a lot of fun. It set up why there was a colony of humans back in the age of the dinosaurs and it was a nice touch. The colony itself and the dangers they faced daily were established, and very quickly it was obvious that the dinosaurs played a secondary role. This was a family action/drama with a lot of heart, and that even living so far in the past, human issues were very much universal.

I really like the sets and the look of the show; they spared no expense by the looks of it. It felt very genuine and it certainly made humans look so small on the grand scale of things. I thought the dinosaurs looked really good, and it was a job well done. It has never been easy to match the fantastic job that the team did with Jurassic Park, but for a television show I think they set a very nice standard.

The show had a really great cast, with the standouts and more interesting characters being Jim played by Jason O’Mara and Commander Taylor played by Stephen Lang. Some supporting actors were a little bit weak, but on that grand scale I think it panned out to be very solid. Towards the latter half of the Season, the cast were really feeling at home on the show.

By the end of the episodes, the show had hit a good stride, and it was really starting to get its feet. It is a shame we did not get a Second Season, the show could have progressed even more – I liked the direction it was heading into. This was an entertaining piece of television, and I am glad I finally got to watch the entire run.

The Australian DVD
Audio/Video: The video is presented in 1.78:1. Audio is presented with 5.1 Dolby Digital. It contains subtitles for the hearing impaired, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish.

The video and audio quality for this is as good as you’d expect. It looks very sharp, and the sound is crisp. I was rather impressed and it remains one of the nicest looking TV DVD I have seen this year – a good well done here.

Extras:
* Deleted Scenes
* Director’s Diaries – Making the Pilot
* Occupation / Resistance Extended Episode
* Mysteries Explored
* Cretaceous Life: The Dinosaurs of Terra Nova
* Audio Commentary on Occupation/Resistance with Stephen Lang, Brannon Braga and Rene Echevarria
* Gag-Reel
* Bonus Motion Comic

This 4-disc set comes with a nice array of extras, and certainly enough to please fans. Deleted scenes and gag reel are pretty good, always interesting to see what was left on the cutting room floor. The Extended Episode is worth a watch, again it is interesting to see – and the audio commentary is very much worth a listen.

Making of is really good, it is very interesting and I really enjoyed it. Mysteries and Dinosaurs of Terra Nova features are pretty cool, and possibly my favourite extras to be honest. The bonus motion comic is really good, and it is a pleaser if you wanted extra after the final episode.

Overall Rating