What I’m Watching: Terra Nova

Terra Nova: Season 1, Episode 9 “Now You See Me” (C)

Here we have another wasted opportunity, and another disappointing episode that’s nowhere near as exciting or satisfying as it could be. Putting Mira and Taylor together for nearly an hour is a cool idea, yet somehow it’s terribly uninteresting. Their chance meeting reminded me of the complaint I’ve heard some voice about “Star Trek” series, that the captains and high-ranking officers are always the ones going out on missions rather than some random red shirts, and therefore the fact that the two highest-ranking members from each camp happened to run into each other felt more than a little convenient. Swapping stories about how long they’ve been able to survive in the wild was old mildly intriguing, and I preferred Taylor’s theory about an alternate universe where they might instead be allies. The presence of a dinosaur was a letdown as well, and it’s seeming more and more like the show’s entire budget was spent on the pilot, which I still maintain was incredibly awesome. I’m glad that this whole Boxer plotline is done with, since I don’t have any interest at all in that. Mark’s bumbling in front of Jim is silly at best, and it would be better if he spent more of his time with Maddy. I don’t quite buy the fact that Skye is the spy, even if her mother is sick and only the Sixers can help. I imagine there are some seriously scummy people, like Boylan, in Terra Nova, and so having it be a blackmail victim is a bit of a cop-out.