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PRIMEVAL |
Matt Anderson - Ciarán McMenamin Connor Temple - Andrew Lee Potts Abby Maitland - Hannah Spearritt Becker - Ben Mansfield Jess Parker - Ruth Kearney James Lester - Ben Miller Philip Burton - Alexander Siddig Emily Merchant - Ruth Bradley 
OTHER PRIMEVAL SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 PRIMEVAL CREATOR INTERVIEW Interview OFFICIAL SITE Official Site OTHER TIME TRAVEL SHOWS Doctor Who Journeyman Goodnight Sweetheart Life on Mars Ashes to Ashes Daybreak Doctor Who 
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Episode 1 - First transmitted 1st January 2011Connor and Abby have managed to survive for a year in the prehistoric past, but the arrival of both raptors and a Spinosaurus in the area means that they are going to have to abandon their base near to the anomaly that could take them home, but still shows no signs of opening. In the present day, there have been a lot of changes at the Anomaly Research Centre thanks to an influx of private sector money. When an anomaly opens to admit not only Connor and Abby, but also the Spinosaurus as well, the new team has to spring into action. After becoming nearly extinct itself, PRIMEVAL returns to our screens with a couple of favourite dinosaurs in the shape of the raptor and the Spinosaurus just to show that things haven't changed that much witht he show even if they have with the cast and the crew. Connor and Abby are back, providing the core of the team and the sense of continuity with Becker and Lester providing the same in support. The new faces are Ciarán McMenamin as the new team leader who has his own agenda, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE's Alexander Siddig as billionaire Philip Burton who clearly has his own agenda and Ruth Kearney as the new tech geek on the block who might have her own agenda. Thanks to the loose ends that needed tying up, this opening episode hits the ground running with its great special effects dinosaurs, fun dialogue and performances and frankly nonsensical plot. A Spinosaurus, one of the biggest dinosaurs there ever was rages through a densely populated residential area (as stated in the script) and there are only two people on the street to notice it? Seems a bit unlikely. Still, events move at a pace and everyone ends up having a good time. It's good to see you back. TopEpisode 2 - First transmitted 2nd January 2011Whilst Abby gets a job looking after the animals in the ARC's menagerie, Connor is fired and takes refuge in Jess's flat. Searching the internet for creature sightings, he finds an old friend who is also obsessed with proving that the dinosaurs exist. Together, they investigate some deaths at the docks and find a Kaprosuchus running amok. After a nice little prologue that sees the baby beast being flushed into the sewers where it grows to its full size, this episode becomes a chase as the team follow the creature from the site of its kills into a maze of containers that provide an ideal space for lots of running and dodging and nearly being eaten. Connor is faced with the knowledge that he is at least partly to blame for his friend's deterioration after abandoning him with the knowledge that dinosaurs exist, but no explanation and Matt continues his clandestine meetings with a mysterious contact. Jess's flat turns out to be huge and surely more than she could afford on a civil service wage, so there is the possibility that she's not on the straight and narrow as well. Friendly flying lizard Rex makes a comeback as well. These are all hints, though, as the episode is all about the dinosaur chase and the fun that ensues. TopEpisode 3 - First transmitted 8th January 2011An anomaly opens up in a theatre to allow through a trio of people, one of whom is injured. Following them are tree-dwelling reptiles. As the team are sent to deal with both the humans and the creatures, Connor is held back by Philip Burton to work on the security system in the ARC. This malfunctions, leaving Burton in a life-threatening situation that only Connor can resolve. This episode proves that nature can come up with much more impressive monsters than any design team. The tree-dwelling dinosaur creatures never seem remotely real even without the cheaper CGI making their movements jerky and distracting. In close up, when roaring and the like, the heads are impressive enough, but the full body movement just isn't right. They also don't look like real creatures either. The human trio are more interesting, but the truth behind them doesn't come out, this looking like becoming a plot arc for the season. The man, Ethan, is a killer and the women have been able to keep him in check, but now that they are gone, he is free to go on a rampage. TopEpisode 4 - First transmitted 15th January 2011An anomaly opens up in a school where three kids are being held in detention. Whilst the team desperately try to round them up, they hack the schools computer system, locking all the doors. Abby, meanwhile, must find a way to save the animals in the menagerie that are threatened with destruction. Anomalies, it seems, have a talent for only opening where there are very few people around to see them. In this case, the school works perfectly well, though it is about the most high-tech school ever. The show also throws a curve ball by showing that it isn't unwilling to kill off children as part of the plotline. That aside, though, it's the usual run around looking for the dino and dodging the teeth when they finally appear. It is fortunate that the team now have guns with limitless supplies of energy as there are so many to be stunned that it would take an articulated lorry to transport them back through the anomaly. The therocephalians (try saying that after a few pints) are better rendered than some of the others so far this season. TopEpisode 5 - First transmitted 22nd January 2011Connor and Abby investigate the Wychfield Wyrm legend to find that its genesis lies in a pair of Labyrinthodonts held in a cave near the seaside town. Matt, meanwhile, has to rescue Emily from Ethan. The wide open spaces of the coastal landscape are welcome after so many episodes where everything takes place inside a building. Even so, there doesn't seem to be anyone about to see the monsters. In fact, one attack takes place at a caravan park where there only seem to be two boys playing despite there being barbecues burning. Perhaps the ARC team ought to be investigating the kidnapping of all the tourists rather than hunting the monsters. Matt's story with Emily and Ethan is a bit more believable that Abby driving around in a camper van with a monster holding onto the roof rack (no really) and proves to be more exciting, but the show is going to have to do a lot better than this if it is to keep its place in our affections. TopEpisode 6 - First transmitted 29th January 2011Ex-member of the team Jenny Lewis is getting married, so when the team show up with guns unsheathed in search of an anomaly in the hotel and a bunch of Hyeanadons (prehistoric hyenas, of course), the wedding is put into disarray. Becker goes after Ethan who is one step ahead. It's possible that the Hyeanadon are the worst rendered creatures that the show has come up with yet in these cheap CGI days. They never convince for a moment, either the adults or the pups. Then again, the coincidence that an anomaly opens in the exact place at the exact time of Jenny Lewis's wedding is pretty unbelievable itself. That said, it's a welcome return for Lucy Brown as Jenny, immediately making us regret that she ever left the show. She livens up an otherwise formulaic story that is notable only for Connor's bungled suggestion that he and Abby should get married. The bomb subplot for Becker and Jess is tired, but at least has Becker confidently Jess to avoid the green wire only to be told that there is no green wire, just two red ones. TopEpisode 6 - First transmitted 5th February 2011An anomaly showing unusual properties opens up in an abandoned prison and allows through Roc-like terrorbirds. It also allows back Danny, previous leader of the ARC team. As a result, Ethan's true identity is revealed and Matt tells Emily what he knows and where he came from. One week after the return of Jenny Lewis we get the return of Danny Quinn, once more played by Jason Flemyng. His relationship with Ethan is a surprise and brings closure to one particular strand of PRIMEVAL's mythology. The conclusion is so open-ended, however, that it's hard to believe that we won't meet either character again. The speed with which Emily is consigned back to her own time is almost rude and the lack of chemistry between her and Matt is palpable in the lack of impact at the parting. His revelations come as no surprise. The only cliffhanger that really interests is Connor's prediction that the anomalies are leading to an catastrophic event. That's something to keep us interested. Top |
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