Posted on 12/12/2011 6:17:59 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Are dinosaurs about to go extinct for a second time?
Fox's "Terra Nova," an expensive drama about a family that travels from the year 2149 to prehistoric times to try to save Earth, is fighting to survive past its freshman season. Because the show is costly and takes a long time to produce, Fox ordered only 13 episodes, the last of which will air on Dec. 19.
Now 20th Century Fox Television, the production studio that makes "Terra Nova" for the Fox network, is starting to lobby for a year two.
On the surface, the ratings for "Terra Nova" are not awful. It is averaging almost 10 million viewers in its Monday 8 p.m. time slot, and it is the No. 1 new drama among male viewers.
However, the pilot of "Terra Nova" alone cost about $15 million, and the show is one of the most expensive in history, so it may be hard Fox to justify a second year without higher ratings. The studio will likely try to make the argument that "Terra Nova" has done well in international sales, but that may not be enough to justify the financial risks of a second season.
Part of the challenge all along for "Terra Nova" was that it was trying to be a show that could appeal to families and kids in a time when the audience is very fragmented. A Monday night time slot probably didn't help it much. Sunday would have been a better fit for "Terra Nova," where it would have benefited from having NFL football as a lead-in and a better chance to grab families.
However, Fox has turned its Sunday night over to animation programming.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
This show is terrible. I watched the first few episodes and they went further and further down hill. I think it would have been better as a miniseries than as an ongoing program. I cannot name a Fox drama in recent history that didn’t end abruptly or have a hasty finish because it did so poorly. Their shows are no longer worth watching, IMHO.
Get better script writers. The shows’ story sucks.
I watched it once.
I, for one, would like to see this show back for another season - if the writing could be re-tooled and the plot lines simplified.. It seems that every week, a new sub-plot appears out of thin air, and none of them ever seem to get resolved, so the viewer (me) is left a bit lost trying to keep up with it all...
JMO, of course....
“Get better script writers. The shows’ story sucks.”
+1
I watched a couple of episodes.
Meh.
Disrespectful teens. Love interests. Authority struggles.
Felt like the recently cancelled show ‘V’ - but with dinosaurs instead of invading aliens.
I was going to give this show a try but I thought better. These kind of shows just don’t do for me. I would rather watch a 10th season of 24.
I’ve seen every episode only because nothing else is on at that time. I will continue to watch, but if somebody comes up with a Reality Show about Dirt and puts it on at the same time... Dirt it is.
LOL I'll suggest it to my agent. Maybe I can gin up a spec episode. The trouble is that the season one finale is already in the "can." So I'd have to wait and see if it's renewed or it's a waste of effort.
That's the kiss of death.
” My wife and I love it. Just finished watching tonight’s episode. “
I really kinda want to ‘love it’, so I keep watching — I’ll catch tonight’s episode on Hulu tomorrow, and hope it’s a good one.. ;)
(Odd situation - I live in a rural mountainous area, so it’s a tv/cell black hole, and can’t afford Dish, so I get all of my tv viewing online.. It works.. ;))
lol.
The history on Dirt on the History Channel.... Dirt at War on the Military Channel and Dirt Pawn on TLC....
heh
The LA Times bought the Fox ratings spin: ‘Terra Nova” ratings average about 10 million, so they aren’t ‘awful.’ Um, YES, THEY ARE. Because it’s not building.
And 10 million is not an acceptable number for an hour show (tougher to syndicate) this expensive.
If it gets another season, it’ll be because they’re sucking up to those pedigreed producers. Or something.
That reminds me of another show that I liked.....Jericho.
The slapped-together partial second-season was such a disappointment.
My tag says it all
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