Primeval's team is headed by Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall), an evolutionary scientist who is still recovering from his wife's mysterious disappearance several years previously. Surrounding Cutter are a motley crew of younger kids, including zoologist Abby (Hannah Spearritt, sort of a British Gwyneth Paltrow), technician Stephen (James Murray), and self-professed dinosaur "geek" Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts), whose lifelong quest to catalog various species comes in handily in virtually every episode as he's asked to identify or disclose data about various beasties attacking the sylvan English countryside. Also along for the ride, at least for the first season, is governmental operative Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown).

It quickly becomes apparent that Cutter's wife has disappeared into one of these anomalies, and after Cutter himself takes a brief trip through one of these cosmic doorways and finds proof of her existence, he starts seeing her back in his own timeline. This adds a bit of mystery to the goings-on, as Helen Cutter's (Juliet Aubrey) "away time" and ultimate motives in the present remain an enigma.

Primeval is ultimately all about the monsters, and while something like this can devolve into a Lost in Space-esque level of ridiculousness, the series manages to remain relatively grounded in its well developed characters, even when those characters do unbelievably stupid things. More than once as I watched these episodes I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming at the television. In one episode where they are being bitten by a giant centipede cum scorpion looking creature, I couldn't help but wonder why they kept going back into the demon's lair wearing regular street clothes. Especially when a sewer worker who had been bitten by the beast's spider tag-alongs was wearing a full body suit with a sealed helmet (he gets bitten while he's eating lunch, hence no helmet). It's stupefying plot developments like this that tend to drag the show down from time to time, so you must keep your own tolerance for such plot holes in mind as you decide whether or not to invest your time in the series.

There is an unexpected twist at the end of season one, which I won't spoil for you, but which is slightly alluded to above. This puts a whole new spin on the team's efforts and opens the series' possibilities up immensely. Primeval offers generally excellent CGI effects, with some imaginative creature design, that kids especially will probably find very exciting. The show actually manages to impart a modicum of dinosaur history as it goes along, always cloaked in banter between the characters.

If you're a fan of Doctor Who or especially Torchwood, my hunch is you'll get a big kick out of Primeval. Yes, the show can be maddeningly overwrought and full of plot holes big enough to drive a, well, a dinosaur through, but it's also fun and visually engaging. The team is a nice assortment of well defined characters and there's enough backstory and general intrigue to hold viewer interest even when individual plot elements are more than a bit anomalous themselves.

The DVD

Video:
Primeval sports a very sharp enhanced 1.78:1 image that for the most part immaculately melds CGI elements with live action. While colors seem a bit muted (perhaps intentionally), overall the image is well detailed with above average contrast. I did notice a couple of brief instances of aliasing.

Sound:
The standard stereo soundtrack is generally quite robust, though this is certainly one series that could have benefitted from a more envelloping 5.1 mix. LFE's are fairly abundant throughout this series due to the dinosaur roars, but across all frequencies things are bright and sharp, if not especially directional. There are English subtitles available.

Extras:
Two above-average and fairly long featurettes are offered, one tied to season one, the other to season two, as well as a pretty lame commentary for one episode.

Final Thoughts:
Primeval is a fun and at times surprisingly involving show that could use a little sharper writing to tone down the more ludicrous plot deficiencies that tend to weigh it down. Kids of all ages will love the interplay between prehistoric beasties and modern day humans, and the mystery elements of Cutter and his wife Helen help lend the show an added patina of intrigue. Recommended.

____________________________________________
"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet