British "Primeval" Series

Wednesday, January 21, 2009


I'm not sure if the British realize how good they have it TV-wise. They have Doctor Who, while we Americans are stuck with the dull-yet-bizarrely-popular Lost. They have the excellent BBC documentaries while we have the Discovery Channel, which is rapidly dumbing down. And they have a show about a team of scientists battling prehistoric creatures.

In truth, the first series of ITV's Primeval left me with mixed feelings when it aired in 2007. The special effects were excellent, but the writing was rather amateurish and the paleontological aspects were often downplayed. Still, it showed a lot of promise, and after its short six-episode run, I was left wanting more. The second series with seven episodes aired in 2008.

Here's the plot description from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primeval

The series follows a team of scientists who investigate anomalies in time and deal with the ancient creatures that come through, although they are not always prehistoric. The team of five is led by Professor Nick Cutter, a palaeontologist determined to find his wife who disappeared while investigating an anomaly in the Forest of Dean, England, eight years previously.

One decision the producers made in Series One was not to feature any dinosaurs or really any recognizable creatures other than a pterodactyl and a few dodos. I thought it was an interesting decision, given there are plenty of other prehistoric animals that are rarely featured in television or movies, but probably not the wisest one since the majority of the viewing public wants to see dinosaurs.


You can check out Primevalon the official web site. There also is a web site for the lead actor that is updated pretty regularly with news about the show.

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