Farewell, Terra Nova – We Hardly Knew You

One of the few genre shows that I had really come to enjoy was FOX’s Terra Nova. EW is reporting that Terra Nova, hanging in limbo since December, has finally been cancelled despite a 10.3 million-viewer audience and a 3.6 Ratings Share.

Although I’m not ready to join the “Save Terra Nova” campaign, I do hope that FOX follows through on their promise to shop the show to another network. Maybe SyFy will consider picking it up. I hope so, but they seem to be devoted to producing cheap, schlocky science fiction crap that attracts random bored viewers.

A few other networks come to mind but I’m still struggling to help Legend of the Seeker fans find a new home for their show (which I happened to like more than Terra Nova). I can only do so much for science fiction fandom these days, and frankly I’m barely able to do that much.

What I liked most about Terra Nova was the fact that it was focusing on the human stories, even if they were a bit goofy, rather than trying to bamboozle the audience with the dinosaur-dilemma-of-the-week. Yes, there were a few episodes that were dinosaur-centric, but the storylines were solidly built around the human characters with a solid mix of background critters for the “oh, wow!” factor.

The whole time travel concept has failed many times through the decades. It’s hard to figure out why networks don’t put their faith in good programming, other than that they get the heebie-jeebies for the oddest reasons. It’s their jobs to run the networks and I’m sure their personal likes and dislikes have a lot to do with what we have to choose from.

It feels like science fiction and fantasy shows have to work harder to be accepted on network television, but every now and then you come across one that succeeds. I was really hoping that Terra Nova would make it. I was looking forward to the show’s return. In fact, I still am.

If anyone wants to leave a note with information on where the Terra Nova fans are gathering to start a campaign to save the show I’ll be glad to provide some links and occasional comments.

Meanwhile, I’m now just hoping that Falling Skies returns to the air as promised. You can learn a little more about FS Season 2 here.