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(More customer reviews)Possibly a few scattered SPOILERS...
Okay, the Brits have sure been bringing it to the TV sci-fi genre. Originally aired on the U.K.'s ITV network, PRIMEVAL is the latest offering to reach the States, and, to me, it's just as addictive as DOCTOR WHO (Doctor Who - The Complete First Series) or TORCHWOOD (Torchwood - The Complete First Season).
PRIMEVAL basically plonks prehistorical and futuristic monsters into the present and has them scaring the bejesus out of the unsuspecting British population. These often frightening beasties come from rifts in the space-time continuum which are manifesting unpredictably in the U.K. A small team of scientists, led by maverick evolutionary professor Nick Cutter, investigates these temporal doorways. But Cutter and company are often hampered by the British government, which (perhaps understandably) seeks to keep a lid on these mind-boggling goings-on. But it's hard going, keeping it all on the covert, what with these things occasionally popping up in public areas and a certain young member of the team unable to quite keep his mouth shut. Anyway you slice it, to quote the resident nerd Connor Temple, "I think the scientific term is 'really bad news.'"
As the team encounters each new anomaly, the mystery just deepens. Each anomaly presents its own challenge, as a different and often lethal entity seems to emerge each time. Cutter states that "Some force out there ripped the boundaries of space and time to shreds." I can't say how far away this show is from answering that big conundrum, but the journey to that revelation can't be any more fun and exciting. Meanwhile, a running story arc involves Cutter's long-vanished scientist wife, Helen, whose mysterious disappearance eight years ago has been torturing him ever since. Ensuing episodes provide an answer, and it's one that Cutter doesn't feel too good about. Anyway, Cutter's wife proves to be crucial to figuring out what's going on.
What first jumps at you is how convincing these paleontological horrors look. And what a range of nightmarish creatures. The pilot features a killer dinosaur and a lovable flying lizard. Further episodes would provide creepy arachnids and monster centipedes skittering and crawling in the London Underground, sea monsters in the basement, dinosaur raptors tearing up shopping malls, and a mammoth rampaging on the freeway. It makes for an arresting contrast and it's so dang cool, seeing these fantastical hundred-million-years-old creatures messing about in modern-day U.K. That they're so realistically rendered allows these episodes to generate ample levels of suspense and fear. Those spiders... Uuuuggghhhh...
But not all the creatures are gross and scary. One of my favorite and funniest episodes features the now extinct dodos, who are cute and bloody stupid (they also come carrying deadly parasites). By the way, I really like this one also because it shines the spotlight on Andrew-Lee Potts, who is simply fantastic in the episode's closing minutes.
The acting is far from shabby. While the characters initially play second fiddle to the creatures, most of the cast do grow on you. I happen to think that the most endearing ones are the aforementioned Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt). Connor is the most sympathetic character here, a student of Prof. Cutter, although Connor never went to any of Cutter's seminars. He also gives us the most laughs. Abby is the reptile zoologist but, more importantly, she looks smoking in skimpy undies. The team's leader, Nick Cutter, is reserved and brooding and obsessed in all the ways that render me indifferent. Stephen Hart is the lab technician, and, for purposes of good TV ratings, fills in the role of all-around handsome devil and intrepid man of action. As a fellow guy, I'm rather jealous of him. Rounding out the core characters of Series 1, the lovely Claudia Brown, of the British Home Office, serves as the team's supportive government liaison.
Meanwhile, a character pops up the third episode, someone who's been temporally around the block and now touts a more clinical and longview perspective with regards to humanity and its future. This character would prove to be the most fascinating person in the series.
Series 2 introduces several new key characters: Jenny Lewis, a public relations officer, and Oliver Leek, another of Cutter's assistants. I don't want to spoil anything, so the less said about them, the better. Series 2 tends to focus more on futuristic and even more dangerous predators. Series 2 also really puts the characters thru the wringer.
There's a bit of a soap opera factor here. These actors are beautiful folks, so romantic tensions are expected. Assorted crushes and pinings develop, and, yes, I've my own ideas as to who I want paired up. Connor's my dude, and he's liking someone fierce. But the odds are against him. To my regret, PRIMEVAL doesn't even try to be as racy as, say, TORCHWOOD. Did I already mention that Abby looks really good scampering about in her undies? It bears repeating, says the pig in me.
Time twists and shocking reveals and the deepest of betrayals. And heaps of cool monster action. Keep on watching, and don't be too surprised when you get rapidly drawn into the story. PRIMEVAL - THE COMPLETE SERIES 1 & 2 collects Series 1 (six episodes) and Series 2 (seven episodes). The good news is that production for Series 3 is already underway. With the bar having already been raised so high, I can't imagine what's in store for us in Series 3, which is projected to contain 10 episodes. But keep raising that bar, ITV...
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