The Brachiosaurus is the first dinosaur that appears onscreen in "Terra Nova."
Courtesy of Twentieth Century FoxTerra Nova may look like paradise to residents of the dying world of 2149 transported back 85 million years through a fracture in time but, as with any new settlement, there will be challenges.
Residents of the new colony dubbed Terra Nova will be very much like settlers of a new frontier, establishing a new way of life, including laws – and how the settlement will handle the community’s first murder. Executive producer Brannon Braga says upcoming episodes will explore building a new society, and among the issues that pop up will be the ethical treatment of dinosaurs.
“There’s a real philosophy behind that on the show in that they don’t want to hurt the dinosaurs,” Braga told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. “Nobody in this colony wants to kill a dinosaur unless they have to.”
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Braga noted that how the dinosaurs are treated will become “a huge bone of contention as the season progresses” both within the Stephen Lang-controlled colony and outside its walls with the Sixers, adding that it’s part of the big mystery surrounding the group that have split off from the new society.
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Braga noted how dinosaurs would be treated was something that Terra Nova executive producer Steven Spielberg had a direct hand in when he noted that not a single dinosaur was killed in Jurassic Park.
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“People don’t want to see dinosaurs get killed,” Braga said. “They get mad because dinosaurs are these noble, majestic creatures. We’re taking that same philosophy but taking it a little deeper.”
Braga noted that the new colony will be very aware of the footprint the settlers leave and will act accordingly.
“They don’t want to come raid this place,” he said. “In fact, the way that the colony is integrated into the environment is somewhat holistic. They’re very conscientious of how they affect this world it’s their world, we’re just living in it.”
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So how will the colony handle hostile dinosaurs? Sonic weapons — that viewers will see in the first hour of the two-hour Sept. 26 premiere – and tranquilizer darts will be part of their overall weaponry.
“The philosophy is to not make the same mistakes we made the first time around, and that includes maiming and killing animals,” Braga said.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
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