Steven Spielberg’s 'Terra Nova' deserved a longer run

Steven Spielberg has long returned to science fiction, exploring aliens, digital worlds and time-bending ideas across his films. He also helped bring several sci-fi shows to television, and in 2011 he backed a bold attempt to put dinosaur thrills on weekly TV with Terra Nova.

The series debuted just after Lost ended and was canceled after a single 13-episode season, even with fans still wanting more story 15 years later. Created by Craig Silverstein and Kelly Marcel, the show assembled an impressive ensemble that included Stephen Lang, Jason O’Mara, Shelley Conn, Allison Miller, Landon Liboiron, Alana Mansour and Naomi Scott.

It followed the Shannon family — Jim (O’Mara), Elizabeth (Conn) and their three children — in 2149, when Earth is dying. Elizabeth’s medical skills earn the family a place on the 10th Pilgrimage to Terra Nova, a human colony established 85 million years ago in the Cretaceous, where they must learn to keep dinosaurs at bay while adapting to life in the new community.

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