October 3: TJI Brief #7

[Zeke]

So who's been checking out Terra Nova? I've been looking forward to this show since it was announced last year; the biggest name attached to it is Stephen Spielberg, but the one that got my attention was Brannon Braga, who's the showrunner. (Ironically, he recently mentioned that "Terra Nova" was his least favourite ENT episode.) Good Trek fans will recognize another of the producers, René Echevarria, and David Fury of Whedonverse fame was involved for a while. So far I'm cautiously optimistic -- the pilot was amazing.

Or was it? Not according to This Just In! Back when the show was first announced, I had an idea for a TJIB and even wrote most of it, but never came back to it. Now that the show's on the air, I decided to finish off the article. The premise is now just a wee bit impossible, so pretend you're reading it last year. Here's Terra Nova pre-cancelled.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I was even thinking of giving Ron Moore a call, although he's been a bit capricious lately."

*wince*

How about Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos? 1992. Cut off in mid-pilot and no one ever found a trace.

Huh...I think that might actually be true. Didn't it get yanked when an executive actually watched it?

Montgomery's comments, the first he has made since 2005, were dismissed by Mr. Rice as "shale".

Hah! Nice callback.

[NAHTMMM]

No interest in the show, but the brief was amusing.

[evay]

I've been saying since last year that this thing is going to bomb. I don't think it was Comic-Con 2010, maybe the TCA? when Braga stood up in front of what was potentially his friendliest possible audience and got the grandfather paradox question, he shook his head in disbelief and complained, "No, we didn't figure that part out yet! You're nitpicking like this is Star Trek! Can't you just watch the show?"

He's creating yet another time-travel show and can't be arsed to figure out how to prevent the most basic paradox that time-travel causes? Not worth my investment.

Oh, and Zeke, LOVED the article.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I don't think it was Comic-Con 2010, maybe the TCA? when Braga stood up in front of what was potentially his friendliest possible audience and got the grandfather paradox question, he shook his head in disbelief and complained, "No, we didn't figure that part out yet! You're nitpicking like this is Star Trek! Can't you just watch the show?"

If you watch the commentary track on the Generations DVD, there's a comment that shows that Berman and Braga have absolutely no idea how fandom thinks. I understand that SF TV is a niche market, and that the success of a TV show is measured in total eyeballs by the networks, and you have to try and get it to appeal at least somewhat to the mainstream audience to keep it on the air. However, SF fans are a breed apart from people who watch Home Improvement or Dancing With The Stars or Obnoxious Reality Show #47, and alienating them will ensure that nobody will watch your show.