Jason O'Mara Promises No Polar Bears For Terra Nova

Jason O'Mara talks Terra Nova and how it won't be another LOST. Questions will be answered and there aren't any Polar Bears. I like Polar Bears. But I also really like Jason O'Mara. He's awesome.

Question: What do you think people will take away from the message aspect of this show?

JASON O’MARA: This is a scary, scary vision of the future. This future is what happens, if we don’t do anything about it now. It’s a worst-case scenario, but it’s not impossible. This show points it out and says that this is a possible future for us, unless we do something now.

Were you excited to get back into the time-travel business?

O’MARA: Well, I called my family, saying, “Guess what? I got a new show. It’s about a cop who travels in time.” And they said, “I think we’ve seen that one.” I was aware of the similarities when I read the script, but the differences are so overwhelming that I can’t really compare the two. Even from a character point of view, Sam Tyler was lost and desperate to get back home, whereas Jim Shannon is hungry to get he and his family here and then take care of them. Sam Tyler’s challenges were internal, and Jim’s are external. His challenges are to do with getting on with the day-to-day in Terra Nova and trying to get past some of this wildlife. It can be a little tricky, from time to time, just trying to stay alive.

How much modern stuff do you take with you and how much is going to be primitive?

O’MARA: We take quite a lot of modern stuff with us, but everything that we don’t bring, we have to make, so that stuff is primitive. The good news is that we have naturally occurring products again, like leather, wood and cotton, that we don’t have in the future.

Can the people in the past communicate with the people in the future?

O’MARA: That’s an intrinsic part of our mythology. You’ll have to see the series. There’s no question we ask that is not dealt with directly in the story, either in an episode or an arc of episodes.

What’s it like to work with Steven Lang? What kind of dynamic does he bring?

O’MARA: He’s very intense and very focused, and he’s extremely committed to every scene he plays. I try to keep up with him, and try to be as committed and dedicated as he is. He’s extremely professional. He’s been in the business a long time, and he is highly committed to this project, as I am. It’s our responsibility to give this series some weight and make it feel real to people, and we both take it very seriously. We both stay very physically fit. We want to be the kind of people who could undertake surviving in this hostile environment. He’s a lot of fun to be with.

What do you think about the comparisons to Lost?

O’MARA: Well, we don’t have any polar bears on tropical islands, and all of our questions are answered. We never leave a question hanging.

You can check out the rest of the interview here.

Are you excited for Terra Nova? Will you be tuning in? I certainly will be. I hope it doesn't go the way of Flashforward and The Event.