Category: Primeval

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Primeval Season 1

Episode 1

PrimevalPaleontologist Dr. Nick Cutter finds his attention drawn to a recent sighting of a “monster” near the Forest of Dean. Initially setting out to debunk it as a hoax, Cutter and his assistant, Stephen Hart, stumble upon evidence that something roughly the size and weight of a dinosaur has been active in the forest. Recently laid-off zoo employee Abby Maitland, following up on a letter from a young boy who needs help with an unusual lizard, makes a house call and discovers that the lizard in question is a new species. Asking the creature’s owner to show her where it was found, Abby also wanders into the Forest of Dean, stumbling upon Cutter’s expedition just as an enormous creature moves past them. The discovery of a glowing portal, hanging in the air, throws Cutter’s entire conception of science into chaos: the portal leads to what appears to be prehistoric Earth, from which the creatures – both large and small – are originating. The British government soon gets involved, over Cutter’s objections; the scientist now thinks his missing wife (long presumed dead) may have wandered through one of the anomalies, and intends to explore the past and look for her. The government, in the person of Sir James Lester, is far more interested in sealing off what could be the biggest threat to public safety ever known.

Order the SeriesDownload this episodewritten by Adrian Hodges
directed by Cilla Ware
music by Dominik Scherrer

PrimevalCast: Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Douglas Henshall (Nick Cutter), James Murray (Stephen Hart), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearritt (Abby Maitland), John Voce (Tim Parker), Mike Goodenough (Dave Greene), Gail Kemp (Mary Trent), Jack Montgomery (Ben Trent), Lucy Brown (Claudia Brown), Mark Wakeling (Capt. Tom Ryan), Ben Miller (Sir James Lester), Jane Cameron (Teacher)

Notes: Devised by Adrian Hodge and Tim Haines, creators and producers of the popular Walking With Dinosaurs documentary series, Primeval not only offered a new venue for the realistic CGI dinosaurs that had become a hallmark of their work, but was also ITV’s most popular attempt to create a science fiction series to rival the BBC’s revival of Doctor Who. Ironically, it was BBC America that gave Primeval exposure in the US.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Primeval Season 1

Episode 2

PrimevalBelieving that he’s sighted his missing wife Helen alive and well, Nick Cutter begins obsessively scouring her written research notes, looking for any vague mention of the anomalies that he wouldn’t have recognized before. Connor learns of a possible sighting of huge prehistoric bugs in the Underground system, and talks Abby into joining him to investigate. This irritates Cutter, who decides that Connor is too young and inexperienced to stay on the team. But when the rumors of giant insects in the Underground turns out to be true, Lester sends in the Special Forces, who are promptly driven back to the surface. Cutter, Abby and Stephen investigate for themselves, and quickly discover that the biggest and deadliest of the bugs has yet to make an appearance…

Order the SeriesDownload this episodewritten by Adrian Hodges
directed by Cilla Ware
music by Dominik Scherrer

PrimevalCast: Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Douglas Henshall (Nick Cutter), James Murray (Stephen Hart), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearritt (Abby Maitland), Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Ben Miller (Sir James Lester), Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown), Stephanie Street (Dr. Lewis), Mark Wakeling (Capt. Tom Ryan)

Notes: At the end of the first Special Forces visit to the bug-infested Underground, see if you can “spot” the famous Wilhelm scream over the two-way radio.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Primeval Season 1

Episode 3

PrimevalCutter and the his loosely-organized ad hoc anomaly response team are called in to what seems like the murder of a man at a swimming pool, except that there’s no body. As unlikely as it seems, Cutter’s theory is that a prehistoric aquatic beast is involved, by way of an intermittent underwater anomaly that changes positions. At a nearby reservoir and swimming area, a creature is sighted again, and it deposits the remains of the missing swimmer for all to see. Cutter and Stephen lead a team of divers to find the anomaly underwater, only to see a diver accidentally pass through it, followed by the creature. Cutter theorizes that the anomaly could be shifting positions along a “temporal fault line,” an idea that meets with disbelief from Lester. When the missing diver’s body is recovered, with yet another hint that Helen is alive, Cutter can no longer keep his search for her a secret.

Order the SeriesDownload this episodewritten by Adrian Hodges
directed by Cilla Ware
music by Dominik Scherrer

PrimevalCast: Douglas Henshall (Nick Cutter), James Murray (Stephen Hart), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearritt (Abby Maitland), Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Ben Miller (Sir James Lester), Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown), Andrew French (Detective Inspector), Mark Wakeling (Captain Ryan), Pascale Burgess (Jane Dexter), Jake Curran (Tom), James Bradshaw (Duncan), Aled Pugh (Plumber)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Primeval Season 1

Episode 4

PrimevalBrought back to modern-day London by force, Helen Cutter is ordered held by Lester for questioning. Helen makes a threat – prehistoric creatures will be unleashed into London unless she is allowed to go back through an anomaly. She leads the team straight to one and then bolts and runs through the anomaly, leading them to a prehistoric hillside where dozens of anomalies lead – the nexus point of time travel. Helen disappears, but there’s a new problem: a small flock of dodos waddle into the present day, bringing with them a parasitic infection that modern medicine can’t hope to contain. One of Connor’s college roommates becomes patient zero.

Order the SeriesDownload this episodewritten by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle
directed by Jamie Payne
music by Dominik Scherrer

PrimevalCast: Douglas Henshall (Nick Cutter), James Murray (Stephen Hart), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearritt (Abby Maitland), Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Ben Miller (Sir James Lester), Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown), Manjeet Mann (Mrs. Davis), Amaar Sardharwalla (Small Boy), Mark Wakeling (Captain Ryan), Jake Curran (Tom), James Bradshaw (Duncan), Billy Carter (Doctor)

Notes: Connor says his Thursday nights with Tom and Duncan used to consist of “Battlestar Galactica, Blake’s 7, and pepperoni pizza.” Which doesn’t sound bad, really.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Primeval Season 1

Episode 5

PrimevalSightings, and a grisly death, at a golf course confirm that a new prehistoric predator is on the loose. After tranquilizing a large pteradon and finding that it has eaten no human meat recently, Cutter and Stephen find the culprit soon enough: a flock of small pterodactyl-like creatures that feasts on victims en masse, following the scent of blood if any is spilled. Unfortunately, Cutter’s government liaison (and Lester’s reluctant underling), Claudia Brown, has been injured, making her the new meal of choice for the creatures. Just when Claudia believes she’s about to die, she is helped by the last person she expected to see.

PrimevalOrder the Serieswritten by Chris Lang
directed by Jamie Payne
music by Dominik Scherrer

Download this episodeCast: Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Douglas Henshall (Nick Cutter), James Murray (Stephen Hart), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearritt (Abby Maitland), Ben Miller (Sir James Lester), Ike Hamilton (Andy), Mat Curtis (Jeff), Mark Wakeling (Captain Tom Ryan), Adam G. Goodwin (Medic)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Primeval Season 1

Episode 6

PrimevalAnother string of deaths and disappearances is the first clue of another deadly predator from the anomaly, but this time Helen Cutter arrives to offer her help. This time, the team’s adversary is very different: it’s a highly-evolved hunter from the future, a revelation which startles Cutter, who assumed that all of the anomalies led to the distant past. Worse yet, it’s a hunter following the scent of a very specific prey – Helen herself – so her willingness to help is hardly a gesture of goodwill toward Cutter or his team. Cutter’s increasing attachment to Claudia also seems to irritate Helen, who strikes back with the revelation that she had a brief affair with Stephen even while she was married. It’s only when Cutter agrees to accompany Helen through the anomaly in an attempt to lead the predator back to its native time zone that he realizes it’s all another scheme of Helen’s. Cutter barely survives this trip to the past, and when he returns, he’s the only one who remembers a woman named Claudia Brown.

Order the SeriesDownload this episodewritten by Adrian Hodges
directed by Jamie Payne
music by Dominik Scherrer

PrimevalCast: Juliet Aubrey (Helen Cutter), Douglas Henshall (Nick Cutter), James Murray (Stephen Hart), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearritt (Abby Maitland), Ben Miller (Sir James Lester), Mark Wakeling (Captain Ryan), John Voce (Tim Parker)

Notes: Not just one, but two “Wilhelm screams” can be heard in the course of the bloody encounter with the future predator. The “future camp” was glimpsed, complete with the partly-unearthed skull of its unfortunate victim, in the series premiere.

LogBook entry by Earl Green