Copyright © 2011 by Sarah Stegall
Terra Nova
Fox, Mondays, 8PM
“Bylaw”
Written by Paul Grellong
Directed by Nelson McCormick
Warning: this review contains some spoilers. If you’d rather not know what the episode is going to include, bookmark this page and read it after viewing.
“Ours is a colony of laws.” —Commander Taylor
I’ve been waiting for this conflict, and I am glad the writers didn’t put it off much longer. One of the first people we met in this series was Commander Nathaniel Taylor (Stephen Lang, Avatar), who rules the military and the colony with an iron fist. Although he has been portrayed more recently as a more compassionate man, he is still the steel-eyed leader with guns at his side and the law at his back. To all intents and purposes, he would seem to be the law. But he’s not, as our hero Jim should be pointing out to him regularly.
“I think this was a murder.” —Jim Shannon
A soldier on a routine patrol opens a door to a communications shack and gets eaten by a dinosaur. A tragic accident? Jim Shannon doesn’t think so, when he sees dinosaur scratches on the inside of the door. Someone had deliberately locked the animal in, someone who knew young Foster would be the next man on patrol. For the first time in the colony’s history, murder has been committed. Taylor at first relies on Jim’s cop skills, and the two work in tandem to track down clues. Jim ferrets out a story of a love triangle involving the young soldier and a bored wife named Rebecca Milner (Alice Parkinson, The Pacific), who married her plain husband Howard (Steve Rodgers, Legend of the Seeker) for his lottery ticket out of 2149. Howard, sweating heavily, confesses that he killed Foster in a fit of jealousy; although Jim is suspicious at the quick confession, Howard knows enough details about the murder to seal the case. Now what?
“I’m going to have to make a decision.” —Taylor
Since Howard has confessed, Taylor deems no trial necessary, and proceeds to pronounce sentence—banishment outside the walls of the colony. Some Terra Novans object, since such an exile means certain death, but Taylor overrides them. Shannon, who was a sworn officer of the civil law in 2149, seems to think this is fine. It’s up to other citizens of Terra Nova, and his own wife, to remind him that they have a responsibility to themselves, if not to Howard and the victim, to make sure justice is carried out under civil, not military law. Shannon remembers all too well how his hands were tied by the law back in 2149, when he would bring in “perps” who “got off” in court. This is more evidence, to my mind, that what Terra Nova needs most desperately right now is a bunch of lawyers. Without the protection of civil law, overseen by the people, it will be all too easy for Taylor to become a tyrant, with Jim as his enforcer.
“Like no one’s ever had reason to falsely confess?” —Elizabeth
Of course, as we all know, no one condemned to death on TV is ever guilty. Jim’s cop instincts tell him this was all too easy, and it does not take him long to seek out Howard, break his confession, and confront Taylor. Taylor is more concerned with the threat to his authority than the greater problem of a miscarriage of justice; like most men whose authority rests on military might rather than moral superiority, it all comes down to a question of power. Jim and Taylor clash over the progress of the newly re-opened murder investigation, but Jim eventually wins him over to help spring a trap on the real murderer.
“Either I’m supposed to be an adult here, or I’m not.” —Josh
I was pleasantly surprised at the number of false clues, red herrings, and fake reveals packed into this episode, given that it was also given over to two secondary plots. The first concerns Zoe’s passionate defense of an abandoned ankylosaurus egg, which she nurses to hatching status despite her mother’s doubts. The second story was about Josh, and was about as useless a diversion as possible. Skye, who has suddenly abandoned the smarts that made her an appealing female early on, goes with Josh to a meeting with Mira, whose sole motive for asking for something so dangerous is to… meet him? And then send him home? What the heck? Why bother? If I just want to see what someone looks like, I can whip out my iPhone and video chat. But this refugee from 2149 can’t? The Josh and Mira stories continue to annoy and waste valuable screen time. Josh can become dino chow any time and I’ll be happy.
“It felt like something from another time, one we’ve only read about.” —Elizabeth
This episode set us up for further conflict down the line, but not as effectively as it could have. Jim’s surprising defense of Taylor’s high-handed tactics was unexpected and disturbing, but perhaps not unrealistic. He’s a cop, which is to say, a barking dog. It’s his job to catch people, not judge them, so he sees an investigation only through his narrow view. He knows his job ends with an arrest, but as a citizen, he should be more concerned about civil law and judicial procedure, if only for his own protection. What happens when the day comes that Jim really has to oppose Taylor? That will be an interesting development.
“You’ve made your own fate. Now live or die with it.” —Taylor
Terra Nova returned from a two-week hiatus (due to the World Series) with 6.4 million viewers and a 2.1 rating with adults 18-49. This is down 25% from its last episode, which is a shame. These last two episodes have been the best in the series so far; I hope that the awful first few weeks have not driven away an audience that might appreciate what the show is offering now: mature characters, better stories, real conflict. While not yet must-see TV for me, it’s growing on me.