The ratings are in: Seven Million people watched the show last night. Initial ratings for the premier were 9.22 million viewers, which is pretty incredible since it held 'em for 2 hours. Second episode was said by the PR flacks to have held the entire premier audience, but in fact it dropped to 8.73 million. That's actually better than anyone would have expected, and so good I don't know why they even bothered to exaggerate it. Some sophomore dropoff is to be expected.

Dropping 2.2 million viewers in just 14 days, however, *IS* a significant cause for alarm.

The last current show I reviewed was “Outcasts,” an ultimately fairly dismal and pointless British series that seemed to eschew logic, plausibility, and occasionally coherence in an effort to be a sort of unofficial fifth season of Battlestar Galactica. (“Ok, so we kill Apollo, and focus on new characters, but they’re still on earth, living like hillbillies for no good reason…”) I’m confessing this up front because the previews for “Terra Nova” remind me *A LOT* of “Outcasts,” only with a budget.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 11/22/09

I ended up blowing off Iron Man on Friday night so I could watch this film and review it for you. Unfortunately stuff came up, and I didn't get to post it until Sunday. Meanwhile I went ahead and watched the Saturday repeat of Iron Man, and reviewing that before I completed writing this one. Obviously planning is not my strong suit, and I've always had a delicate relationship with time.

To say that any fiction has to conform to someone else’s idea of what’s “right” based the current mores of theology, science or whatever is to miss the point of fiction. Fiction is about exploring the “what ifs” of life and thought. Granted: it needs to be interesting and/or entertaining, but it can be as wild and unconventional as the author can successfully create.