Episode list

In the dawn of the Twentieth-Second Century, Earth is depleted with the environment completely destroyed. The cop and family man Jim Shannon is happily married with Dr. Elisabeth Shannon, and they have the teenage son Josh; the teenage daughter Maddy; and the three-year-old daughter Zoe. However, the law only allows two children per family and when the police officers find Zoe, Jim hits the commander of the operation and is arrested. He is sentenced to six years in the prison, but two years later, Elisabeth visits him and says that she was invited to go to Terra Nova, a settlement 85 million years in the prehistoric Earth. The problem is that he is in prison and Zoe is not allowed to go. Elisabeth plots a scheme and Jim flees and is transported with his family to the past. On the arrival, they meet the leader, Cmdr. Nathaniel Taylor, who gives an opportunity to Jim to stay in Terra Nova.

Josh and his friends get stuck in the jungle and have to be saved.

When Terra Nova comes under attack from a legion of Pterosaurs, Jim and Taylor must find a way to save the colony before it's completely overtaken. Elisabeth discovers a former flame is also living in Terra Nova and may have been responsible for her recruitment. Syke tries to make Josh feel at home and Reynolds get protective of Maddy.

When Elisabeth, Jim, Malcolm and Taylor investigate radio silence at a nearby scientific outpost, they discover an outbreak of a mysterious virus causing memory loss, paranoia and eventually death. The group must work together to find a cure before they lose their sanity and all of Terra Nova is infected.

Commander Taylor immediately grants sanctuary to little runaway Sixer girl Leah Marcos. He's even prepared to fight off a return claim, but Miera gives in suspiciously easily when Leah chooses to stay in Terra Nova. Jim lets her stay in the Shannon home, at least until a permanent foster family is selected. Jim can stop Leah just before she could flee the camp with a mysterious item she dug up from Mira's former home. Taylor mistrusts her story she had to fake having ran away because her kid brother is kept hostage, but Jim sets out to the Sixers side. He's captured and released with assurances the boy was never in real danger and a vague claim the Sixers serve the real, secret present-world purpose of Terra Nova, after an invitation to change side. To Josh's mild amusement, Maddy fails her medical training apprenticeship, being unable to stand disgusting symptoms.

Jim discovers that the raptor-killing of soldier Foster, from Mark's unit and their illegal gambling organizer, was arranged as murder. Howard Milner confesses, but Jim soon realizes there's more to the case. Commander Taylor proves ruthless in punishment. Meanwhile bar owner Tom Boylan's price for helping Josh's girlfriend Kira on the next space-trip goes up. Skye helps Josh on the errand to Mira, who makes him promise a marker 'no questions asked'.

A crashing meteor wipes out all technology and wreaks havoc on the colony. Meanwhile, Maddy and Reynolds are stuck out in the wilderness, Elisabeth and Skye work together to save a life and Taylor tries to prevent Mira and the "Sixers" from invading Terra Nova. Also, a mystery man makes his presence known.

Josh grudgingly admits to Boylan he must honor Mira's marker-calling when asked to steal a drug from mother's hospital. Skye's skepticism makes him demand proof first that Kara can be contacted, which he gets. Boylan promises to wipe good-for-nothing Willy's debt if he takes the blame, but Jim soon sees trough that ploy. Taylor meanwhile finds banished Curran, saves him form a Komodo-dino and promises leniency if he brings a message to the Sixers camp. Famous scientific explorer Ken Horton visits the colony, on a mission for Dr. Malcolm Wallace, but fan Maddy soon gets him too to doubt Ken's identity.

It's the colony's founding day. Josh asks dad Jim to check up on Boylan, whom commander Taylor grills mercilessly about the Sixers' mole, then uses a truth serum overdose. Thus Jim hears about a secret buried under the pilgrims tree, which Malcolm knows to be Taylor's alleged first home as colony founder. There Jim finds a corpse, which misses an arm, just like missing general Philbrick. Meanwhile a smashed giant dragonfly is found to be chip-bugged by the Sixers. Malcolm repairs it to trace their mole's communication line. When it enters the Shannon home, Jim is arrested as suspect of being Mira's mole, but he's soon released after hearing Taylor's story about his own son Lucas's part in the ignoble true motives for founding the colony.

Taylor and Mira square-off in the jungle where he learns more about her plans and about his son. But then they both face a pre-historic enemy they must conquer together. Meanwhile, the "Sixer" mole scrambles to cover its tracks as Terra Nova goes on lockdown and Jim closes in. Also, Zoe faces a difficult decision as the Ankylosaur she has been caring for grows rapidly.

Lucas races to assemble the final pieces of his mystery device, in advance of the 11th Pilgrimage's arrival. Also, Jim and Taylor confront the colony's "Sixer" mole, Skye is reunited with a familiar face and Terra Nova prepares for war.

The 11th Pilgrimage arrives in Terra Nova and the mysterious Phoenix Group in 2149 makes its move to pillage the past with the help of Lucas and Mira.

Jim and Taylor team up in a last stand against the Phoenix Group, a colonist makes the ultimate sacrifice and a decision is made that will change life in Terra Nova.