Terra Nova Episode 1.01 Genesis, Part 1

It's 2149 and overpopulation has led to environmental collapse, so families are legally limited to two children. A newscaster explains that scientists have discovered a fracture in time and space that enables humans to travel 85 million years into the past, so they can rebuild civilization. The tenth pilgrimage to this "Terra Nova" departs in an hour.

Meanwhile, Jim Shannon removes a gun from his backpack, switches IDs, enters a restricted area, and joins his wife, Dr. Elisabeth Shannon. With them are their 17-year-old son, Josh, and their 15-year-old daughter, Maddy. After Jim and Elisabeth exchange backpacks, security detains Jim. Since Elisabeth has been recruited for her medical expertise, she and her family are allowed to enter the portal that will take them to Terra Nova. Jim overpowers the guards and joins them.

When the family arrives at Terra Nova, guards discover the Shannons' five-year-old daughter, Zoe, inside Elisabeth's backpack. Terra Nova Commander Nathaniel Taylor questions the Shannons, learns that Jim's an ex-cop who was imprisoned for having a third child, and assigns him to agricultural detail.

As the Shannons settle into their new home, Zoe wanders off, watches dinosaurs eating leaves off the trees outside the walls of Terra Nova, and she's nearly carried away while feeding them.

The next morning, the children are sent to orientation, Jim to agriculture, and Elisabeth to the infirmary, where a patient puts a knife to her throat, takes a guard's gun, and escapes.

Josh skips orientation and meets a teenaged girl, Skye. They sneak outside the walls and jump from a cliff into a deep pool fed by waterfalls. She shows him rocks with strange carvings, saying don't tell Taylor about them because this area is off-limits.

Meanwhile, Jim notices the gunman, who attempts to shoot Taylor and gets tackled by Jim. Impressed, Taylor takes Jim for a drive outside Terra Nova's walls, explains that the gunman was a "Sixer" - one of the people who came on the sixth pilgrimage, then stockpiled weapons and escaped with an unknown agenda. Taylor offers Jim a security job, which Jim accepts. Then they see two armored vehicles racing toward Terra Nova.

Taylor radios a warning and counterattacks, driving toward the vehicles. Rooftop gunners on the vehicles are firing at the carnotauri - flesh-eating dinosaurs - that are chasing them as well. One gunner fells a carnotaurus, but a second predator consumes him in one bite.

While Taylor tells Jim to take the wheel and jumps out to distract the carno, one of the armored vehicles crashes through the Terra Nova walls. The carno charges Taylor, who jumps back alongside Jim, and they make it back to Terra Nova, where heavy fire drives the dinosaur away.

Several Sixers emerge from the vehicle, including a woman whom Taylor addresses as Mira. Spotting Jim, she says, "You're new. Welcome to paradise."

Mira wants Taylor's would-be assassin, Carter, and will trade iron ore - the Sixers control the quarry - for him, medicine, and ammo. Taylor agrees to everything except the ammo.

Meanwhile, Josh and Skye meet other teenagers who are gathered around a container. Skye offers Josh a taste: It's moonshine made from fruits and nuts. When the other teens forage for more, Josh and Skye cut fruit with the barb from a slasher-tail dinosaur. She notes that the reason that Josh and Jim don't get along is that they're too similar.