About Cherry Mischievous » Contact »

Thursday 19 April 2012

Review: PRIMEVAL (SEASONS 1-3)

Primeval
TV show produced by Impossible Pictures for ITV.
Seasons 1 to 3 DVD box set

About Primeval:
Primeval is a rip-roaring, special effects-laden thriller in which the past, the present and the future collide.

When evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter discovers prehistoric creatures alive and well in the present day the natural world is turned on its head and humanity faces a threat to its very existence. Unexplained anomalies are ripping holes in the fabric of time, allowing creatures from the past, and the future, to roam the modern world.

The series aims to capture the imaginations of everyone; a family show with a fresh and modern feel. Suddenly the world we thought we understood has changed. Nothing is certain. What kinds of relationships emerge in this shared world of secrets and suspense? What sort of creature can you next expect to see? Where will the next anomaly appear and what on earth will come out of it? So many questions but only one thing is sure, in Primeval the past is as real as the present and it’s just an anomaly away.

Primeval attracted 6.4 million viewers when it was first broadcast on ITV1 in a primetime slot on Saturdays in 2007 and the second series went on to achieve the same high level of viewers. Its success has also been demonstrated internationally, distributed to more than 80 countries, the series became the second biggest show ever and continues to perform above the slot average in Germany on Pro7.

Prepare for more explosive action as Primeval bares its newly sharpened teeth in an extended run of ten episodes due to be broadcast in on ITV1 in the UK in early 2009.

Starring: Douglas Henshall, Jason Flemyng, Andrew-Lee Potts, Lucy Brown, Hannah Spearritt, Laila Rouass with Juliet Aubrey and Ben Miller. Featuring Ben Mansfield and Belinda Stewart-Wilson. Producer: Tim Bradley. Executive Producers and co-creators: Tim Haines and Adrian Hodges

An Impossible Pictures production for ITV and Pro7. Distributed by BBC Worldwide. www.impossiblepictures.co.uk

Series one: 6 × 50’
Series two: 7 × 50’
Series three: 10 × 50’
Source: Info in the About Primeval was taken from http://www.primeval.tv/ on 02/12.2011.

Review:

I like the English accent. And it seems that the producing studio has at least invested in 3D animation software in their cinematography which I really, really like because then it looks very good on the screen. Unlike the previous English TV series I bought just before Primeval's DVD box set which was Merlin. Merlin looked like it was filmed in the 70's. The camera people and director might have been talented but it could not compete with advanced cinematographic software. So I probably be looking forward to more shows produced by Impossible Pictures in the future, i.e., Here Be Dragons.

Some of the scenes were not very logical, i.e., Helen's escape scene from Lester's clutches, keeping plots logically inline with time paradoxes, etc. And the fact that these anomalies seems to be happening only in England. The explanation for the show's premise did not allow for the fact that the anomaly can only show in one country... It is supposed to show up everywhere... so, it happening only in England is not logical. However I do really like the idea of a "time-space distorting anomaly". It's like Star Trek all over again. That bit appealed to the scifi/fantasy geek in me!

What I find annoying though is the fact that they changed about 50% of the main cast halfway through Season 3. That, I didn't like. I think one of the main staying power (among other things) of Star Trek TNG is that the entire main cast remained the same throughout its several years of running until the end finale. Primeval lost a bit of it's "staying power" with that change of cast.

Overall I like the premise of the show and the professional cenimatographic effects but I didn't like the change of cast and some rather weak plot.

Empirical Evaluation:
Cinematography = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
World building = 4.5
Plot = 3
Acting = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Trailer:

5 comments:

Tales of Whimsy said...

I looooooooooooooooooove this show. I need to get my hands on the rest still :)

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

Oh, I've never seen this! I think I need to find it though. :) Thank you!

Imo said...

OMG I LOVE this show so much (but only the first two seasons)! I hate how they killed off pretty much everyone, but at least we still have Abby and Connor :D so cute

Blodeuedd said...

I watched it, but I did not like the change of cast either and there were such big jumps in between seasons that I could all confused

roro said...

i know this soon
but it never aired here
so sad
gr8 review

Post a Comment

Due to high volume of spam I have to utilize comment moderation. Please bear with me. Thank you!

 
Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog