Air Date: Monday, October 17, 2011, 8/8c on Fox
This week’s episode “The Runaway” focuses on a little girl who has run away from her home with the Sixers. Her reason seems plausible, but the crew at Terra Nova discover she’s one of Mira’s (Christine Adams) spies come to collect a mysterious box. We still don’t know who the leak within the compound is and it doesn’t appear we’ll find out anytime soon. My money is on Dr. Malcolm Wallace (Rod Hallett). He has a sneaky way about him and manages to show up at the oddest moments. It’s obvious he’s threatened by Jim’s (Jason O’Mara) presence, although I initially thought it had to do with the good doctor wanting to resurrect old feelings between him and Elizabeth (Shelley Conn). I don’t think that’s the case at all now—Jim’s a cop, a good one, and on security detail. He’s become Commander Taylor’s (Stephen Lang) go-to guy, after Alicia (Simone Kissell). Jim’s presence may cause more trouble for Malcolm than he may have hoped for.
Observations and thoughts:
I like watching Terra Nova without having a dinosaur pop on screen every five seconds. I get that the show is set during the time when reptiles roamed the earth, but it should focus more on the people who make up the new colony. With the focus returning to the colonists, my attention is now centered on the performance (or lack thereof) of the actors who embody the human inhabitants of Terra Nova.
The most unrealistic portrayal of anyone on the show happens to fall to Naomi Scott. Maddy is a teenage girl, but Scott is too bubbly—too quick to jump to do everything—and doesn’t seem sincere. Maddy’s reactions almost seem convincing when she’s with Reynolds (Dean Geyer), but I still get the feeling Scott’s fighting back nerves in order to get her lines out. An acting coach wouldn’t hurt.
O’Mara’s use of an American accent hinders his performance, severely. You can almost see the concentration on his face as he makes sure his words don’t sound different from one sentence to the next. (Or maybe it’s just me.)
I like Mira. It’s not very often you see a woman of color in her position—she’s a leader. She reminds me of Bea Klugh (April Grace) from Lost in that she has a job and does it no matter what. She seems tough and you know she’s full of knowledge she doesn’t want to divulge to just anyone. The Sixers are the outsiders, but somehow I feel they might be on the right side of things. What do we know about Commander Taylor? What isn’t he telling the colonists? You’d think there would be some way to get back to 2149. Portals don’t usually go one way, but then again, I’m no sci-fi expert.
Taylor and Mira are both playing a game. I don’t know who to believe anymore but I’m carrying some doubts about who is telling the truth. Taylor was sent through the portal to do something and he appears to be upholding his part of the bargain. So why would an entire sector of people break away from their ‘life-saving existence’ to either get back to 2149 or stop Taylor from accomplishing his goal. What exactly could that be?
Guest star Morgana Davies as Lea Marcos is superb. Lea doesn’t like much of anything—the color yellow, combs, hot water—and I don’t have a single reason to not believe her. To have such a young actor upstage some of the more seasoned veterans makes me shake my head. I know they can do better.
One other positive about “The Runaway” is the stunt work. I like to see a woman who can kick ass just as well as any guy. Lt. Alicia (or her stunt double) does a great job of holding her own, and really shocks me when she jumps off a cliff with no hesitation.
Funny line:
Jim to Reynolds about courting Maddy: “You are aware that I carry a gun, have a quick temper and tend to hold grudges, right?”
**
I want to like this show more (I’m pulling for it to get better), but it seems to be slipping. I’m concerned the acting isn’t as up to par when the show first began, which seems unreal to me. Maybe my feelings from the first episode were carried over and now they don’t fit. My eyes are open. *sigh*
Terra Nova returns in two weeks on Monday, October 31st at 8/7c on Fox. For more on the show, visit http://www.fox.com/terranova/.
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