My biggest complaint with Terra Nova thus far has been that it hasn’t decided what it wants to be. With such a promising pilot episode and fairly decent follow up, the stage seemed to be set for an edgy sci-fi mystery with solid family dramatic elements and some good sound action sequences.
So, why are we watching a police procedural? Why have we gone from the wonders of Lost to a poor mirror of Law and Order: LA in a handful of episodes?
The premise in ‘Bylaw’ is that someone has used a dinosaur (a Nykoraptor to be exact, which we saw trying to take a bite out of Jim’s head as he hung like a human pinata) to kill one of Taylor’s soldiers using another dinosaur’s blood as bait. Jim’s in his element here (remember he was a cop), and starts interviewing the Foster’s peers. We learn about an interesting piece of tech which serve as a soldier’s dog tag. They hold the soldier’s medical data, but can also hold personal bits like photos and such. In this case, it could hold the key as to who took Foster out, but to find out, they’ll have to track down and open up the Nyko that ate it.
Jim and Taylor track the nefarious Nyko and take it out via what apparently is a laser. After the dinosaur autopsy, which does recover the dog tag, we find out that Foster was having an affair with Rebecca.
Rebecca is married to Howard, a much older guy who found women throwing themselves at him after being one of the lucky pilgrims to trek to Terra Nova. Then something happens that you definitely do not expect to happen in your typical police procedural halfway through episode: Howard admits to the murder and the case is closed.
The question becomes what happens to a convicted murderer in Terra Nova, considering this is the first time it has happened? There are two options: prison or banishment. Elizabeth and Jim debate as to what Howard’s fate should be with Elizabeth taking the not unexpected viewpoint of prison. Jim has kind of a unique viewpoint on the subject seeing as he was in prison for years prior to his escape and their jump to dino-land.
The ultimate verdict chosen is banishment. Howard, the convicted murderer with a jealous streak, is given an assault rifle and some food. Good idea. It isn’t like he’s ever let his emotions get the better of him and commit a heinous and violent murder. Give him a gun. Good plan. Actually, as it turns out, he’s probably pretty harmless.
Actually Howard wasn’t being fully honest and the killer is still out there. Foster wasn’t killed because of his dip into the floozy pool, but rather over money. After a thorough physical beat down, Jim and Taylor send the real killer outside of Terra Nova without the benefit of even a butter knife.
‘Bylaw’ isn’t as bad as it could have been considering the plot line. If this is what the show had set out to be this whole time, then it would work as a mid-level entry. A police procedural isn’t what is expected from a Steven Spielberg-produced series with dinosaurs, so it’s a bit of a letdown. The subpar subplots with the Shannons getting their own dinosaur as a pet, and Josh meeting Mira to get the ball rolling in bringing his girlfriend through the portal, don’t help much.
There was no full season pickup for Terra Nova and if things don’t start meshing with the audience soon, I fear there may not be a second season either. I’m hopeful as I still really like a lot of the characters and think that the show has a ton of promise. But ticktock goes the clock for the Shannon family, and someone needs to impart the show with a clear direction if the other side of 2012 is to be reached.
– James Zappie
