RE: Terra Nova: updates

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

On Wed, September 28, 2011 9:21 pm, Anthony Docimo wrote:

>> Okay, I watched the first part of the first episode of Terra Nova again.
>> Some comments/clarifications:
>
>> 4) It was unquestionably "Carnotaurus".
>
> That was the skull used for the leader's desk, wasn't it?

No, the skull was based primarily on Acrocanthosaurus.  (Maybe some
Allosaurus thrown in, particularly with the lacrimals).

>> 7) Despite the fact they come from the mid-22nd Century dystopian
>> future,
>> all the characters names, hair styles, slang, and clothing are just like
>> today.
>
>  Can we invoke TARDIS logic here?:  that the slang and such have been
> translated for the benefit of the viewer?
> (as contrasted with the Cosby Show, which made a point of inventing their
> own slang, so it wouldn't be dated)

Plenty of science fiction shows (Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) do
fine with some slang (incl. foreign words, etc.) thrown in.

> As to the names, if you took a sampling from 150 years ago (or 500
> probably), those names would still be in use.

Some would definitely be, yes. But just as a lot of names from Civil War
era are dated today, we'd expect at least some of these to be different
from present.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661

Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA