ORBzine - Primeval (2007) TV Review
[Season 1 !Season 2 !Season 3 !Season 4 !Season 5 !New World ]
Season 1
Primeval [Season 1, Episode 1]
1.1
Shown 11th February 2007 [Sunday]
A gigantic prehistoric monster is on the rampage in an English forest. A Professor and his sidekicks are hired by a secret Government Dept to solve the mystery. The monster came through a time portal ...
This is ITV's first Spec Fic show since the 1980s. Obviously an attempt to cash in on the new generation of fans created by the Dr Who relaunch.
Primeval [Season 1, Episode 2]
1.2
Shown 18th February 2007 [Sunday]
Conor, the student, decides to go monster-hunting without Government help. He recruits Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ), who looks great while dancing in her underwear.
London's subway tunnels are infested with prehistoric bugs.
Primeval [Season 1, Episode 3]
Helen Makes Contact
Shown 25th February 2007 [Sunday]
A prehistoric giant crocodile gets in via an underwater anomaly.
The Prof gets a chance to meet his wife again. Will he choose his marriage or his duty?
Primeval [Season 1, Episode 4]
Dodo Madness
Shown 3rd March 2007 [Sunday]
Connor the Nerd's conspiracy-theorist buddies bug him. When the team discover a new wormhole, the buddies capture a Dodo!
Unfortunately, the Dodo has a parasite ...
Primeval [Season 1, Episode 5]
Pter-Able News
Shown 10th March 2007 [Sunday]
Something eats a Golfer, so the team investigate. They sight a huge Pterodactyl overhead. Connor stupidly brings Rex along, which leads to more conflict ...
Claudia gets temporarily blinded. Worse, she and Cutter get attacked in a Stately Home.
Primeval [Season 1, Episode 6]
Future Foe
Shown 17th March 2007 [Sunday]
The worst monster of all is on the loose ...
We get to find out who the skeletons in the first episode were ... and where the missing wife's loyalties lie!
Season 2
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 1]
Jurassic Mall
Shown 12th January 2008 [Saturday]
The Prof has to adjust to the new universe. His lady friend has been replaced by an annoying lickspittle (Karl Theobald - Plebs (2013) ), who spends most of his time getting on the Boss's nerves. Also, the team now has a brand new shiny HQ.
The team go Raptor-hunting in a shopping mall. They are remarkably inept - but the fact that their SWAT backup was recently eaten may explain it. A civilian is slaughtered while under their protection (they do not even do First Aid!), and Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) is endangered unnecessarily at least twice!
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 2]
Mealworms, Indeed
Shown 19th January 2008 [Saturday]
A hi-tech office block has a gas leak. Unfortunately the gas is the prehistoric atmosphere, and the creatures that breathe it are enormous hairy carnivorous worms!
Conor falls out with Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ), but gets a new GF. Too good to be true, eh?
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 3]
Catfight
Shown 26th January 2008 [Saturday]
The team investigate a Big Cat sighting. But this is not an escaped puma or an overgrown house-cat - it is a sabre-tooth tiger!
Conor's new girlfriend Caroline has a secret agenda - as if we did not see it coming. But what's surprising is who she's working for ...
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 4]
Underwater Menace
Shown 2nd February 2008 [Saturday]
The team hunt aquatic monsters that have appeared in a London canal. The first one is a super-shark from the future ... the other is a CGI version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon !
Connor has to sort out his feelings about Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ).
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 5]
Silurian Sands
Shown 9th February 2008 [Saturday]
The team must have been watching Stargate SG-1 , because they now use a camera-robot before going through the anomalies. This robot was jury-rigged by Connor, though last week Stephen could get a hi-tech military robot sub just by asking for one!
The Prof and his sidekick try to save a teenage girl who wandered through an anomaly. They end up in a desert full of super-sized insects, re-enacting the film Tremors .
Connor makes his choice of girlfriends. Unfortunately, he forgets that Caroline hates Rex, the pet dinosaur ...
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 6]
Traitor Revealed
Shown 16th February 2008 [Saturday]
Mammoths go mad on a motorway!
Cutter puts into action his plan to catch the traitor. However, the villains are a couple of steps ahead of him ...
Primeval [Season 2, Episode 7]
Concrete Menagerie
Shown 23rd February 2008 [Saturday]
The villains have launched their takeover scheme. The good guys must save the day - and luckily, they have some unexpected allies.
Finally we get a catfight between Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) and her rival.
The ending has an unpredictable twist ...
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 1]
Crocodile Fears
Shown 28 Mar 09
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 2]
Haunted House
Shown 4 Apr 09
A bunch of teenagers get stalked by a killer in an empty old house ...
Years later, the Ark team arrive to investigate the killing. They suspect something came through an anomaly in the house.
A renegade police detective, Danny Quinn (Jason Flemying - The 355 ) interferes in their investigation for personal reasons.
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 3]
Medical Mayhem
Shown 11 Apr 09
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 4]
A Gigantic Problem
Shown 18 Apr 08
A couple of journalists (including Ferdie the gay from This Life) stalk the team.
The team, in turn, stalks a Gigantosaurus - a super-predator that's bigger than a T-Rex.
Danny Quinn (Jason Flemying - The 355 ) pops up again and makes himself useful.
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 5]
Future Epidemic
Shown 25 Apr 09
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 6]
For The Birds
Shown 2 May 09
The team, or those who remain of it, are hanging out in a 1939-era cottage. But someone or something is closing in on them!
This is a bookend sequence, and we switch back to HQ some time earlier. The villainous bureaucrat woman is on the prowl, and launches her takeover attempt. Can Lester save his Department?
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 7]
Dragon Tales
Shown 9 May 09
Connor discovers that Abby's brother has auctioned Rex on-line. The micro-dinosaur is listed as an exotic reptile, which is a technically accurate description. However, not only does nobody recognise Rex for his true species, but nobody seems to realise that importing exotic and endangered species is a crime!
A dino comes through an anomaly, followed by a knight in shining armour. The reptile is fearsome-looking but injured. The knight, however, is somewhat aggressive and thus takes a lot more handling.
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 8]
Oh, Brother!
Shown 16 May 09
Abby's idiot brother gets too curious about what she does for a living. He accidentally goes through an anomaly, and gets trapped in the poast-apocalyptic future.
The team go through, with minimal firepower. The Asian babe, who is terrified of insects, is left alone with a swarm of giant man-eating ants.
Danny Quinn (Jason Flemying - The 355 ) sees a strange woman in the future. She is dressed like a civilian, and accompanied by some MOD thugs.
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 9]
Herd logic
Shown 23 May 09
Some prehistoric Rhinos are on the loose near a camp-site. Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) has to help a naked Groom on his stag weekend, and he mistakes her for the stripper.
Danny Quinn (Jason Flemying - The 355 ) pays the MOD a visit, and takes off with the mysterious woman from the future. We find out who she is, though not what her shadowy motivations are. She has tech that can open wormholes at will!
Primeval [Season 3, Episode 10]
The Chase Continues
Shown 6 Jun 09
The Team head through an anomaly to retrieve the artefact from the future.
The SWAT guy and the Asian babe are left to cover them on Earth - where more monsters are on the loose!
Helen is back, with an insane plan to save the world. Unfortunately it involves the total extinction of the human race.
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 1]
Back from the Cretaceous
Shown 01/Jan/11
Lester gives a voiceover for the benefit of new viewers. The old team are all dead or MIA. The new team is Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) and a mouthy miniskirt-wearing techie babe. A billionaire James Khan lookalike (Alexander Siddig - Star Trek: DS9 ) named Philip is co-funding the project.
Connor and Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) are still alive, dodging dinosaurs and living off the land in the Cretaceous era. Can they get back home?
The project are still trying to build new weapons to defeat dinosaurs. They have new super-tasers ... but the best weapon seems to be S-Club Seven at full blast!
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 2]
Be Inconspicuous
Shown 02/Jan/11
Connor and Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) are back, but as civilians they are technically banned from field-work. Connor is not happy about having to abandon his life's work, although he has not hit the age of Thirty yet so he does not have much to complain about.
Connor's friend from college - probably the only person Connor knows who has not been eaten - is investigating mysterious goings-on. A prehistoric crocodile is living in the sewers, and it is very hungry.
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 3]
Lockdown
Shown 08/Jan/11
Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) meets with his secret contact. It turns out that they are not just playing politics. The contact seems to know the future, and the team will make something bad happen.
A group of humans come through an anomaly, pursued by arboreal velociraptors. Matt bonds with one of the women, but the man in the group has his own agenda.
Philip (Alexander Siddig - Star Trek: DS9 ) has Conor work on the central computer's security system. Naturally the entire base goes into accidental lockdown mode. Can Conor hack the system before Philip and Rex die?
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 4]
Breakfast Club
Shown 15/Jan/11
Connor, Becker and Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) are called to an anomaly in a High School. The building is meant to be empty, but a teacher and three pupils are in for Detention.
Philip (Alexander Siddig - Star Trek: DS9 ) orders the destruction of all the specimens in captivity. Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) runs around, trying to save the animals. Will Jess or the Boss help?
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 5]
The Worm
Shown 22/Jan/11
The sensors detect an unstable anomaly at a remote location. Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) joins Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) and Conor there. Becker is still on sick leave after being injured in the previous ep, and the goon squad (glorified redshirts) are nowhere to be seen.
Philip (Alexander Siddig - Star Trek: DS9 ) takes the controls at HQ, sending Conor to secure the anomaly while Abby goes after the monster by herself. Yes, they are out in the middle of nowhere, so far from London they don't know what country they are in (supposedly England, though the locals have hints of Irish accents) ... They have no backup, but they split up anyway! Have none of them seen monster movies, or even Torchwood episode Countrycide?
Lester helps Matt track down the time-travelling woman and her abductor, Ethan. It turns out that the abductor may be the new Helen-style recurring villain, with insane plans for a bloody revenge. Luckily his plans are much smaller - he only wants to target his family, whoever they are.
Matt is beginning to piece things together. Not only does he know what his secret contact tells him, he also knows about the time-travellers. Not to mention that Conor blabs about Philip's secret research project, Prometheus.
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 6]
The Brave Bride
Shown 29/Jan/11
The team investigate an anomaly at an English Country house. The basement has been invaded by a wolf-like creature. Unfortunately, the team ignore the fact that wolf-like creatures usually hunt in packs! Instead of securing the location, the team dress up and attend an old friend's wedding. Their weapons and SWAT backup are left in the vehicles. Luckily, the House has more medieval weapons than an SCA meeting.
Becker is back from sick leave, so he is set to work hunting Ethan the time-travelling psycho. Unfortunately Ethan is an Anarchist assassin and expert bomb-maker, and he is hunting someone too.
Primeval [Season 4, Episode 7]
Surprising Visit
Shown 05/Feb/11
The team get a call-out to a Victorian prison. There is an unusual anomaly - it gives an incorrect reading on Connor's new time-calculator, it refuses to lock down, and it keeps spawning smaller anomalies in the nearby area.
A Terror bird keeps hopping back and forth between the mini-anomalies. Also, unrelated to the previous episode another old team-member is back.
We get to find out how Ethan became an Anomaly traveller. He has a detector, so he can locate them. Also, he has the skills to take out members of Becker's goon squad when he finds them on guard duty.
Primeval [Season 5, Episode 1]
matt's Secret
Shown 24/May/11
Lester is caught in a traffic jam. By strange coincidence, this was caused by monsters from an unregistered anomaly.
Philip (Alexander Siddig - Star Trek: DS9 ) invites Conor into his conspiracy. He wants to harness the power of the anomalies.
Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) discovers Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) is up to something. He reveals his secret mission to her. But this leads to mistrust between her and Conor ...
Primeval [Season 5, Episode 2]
The Submarine
Shown 31/May/11
A plesiosaur comes through an underwater anomaly. Lester gets the use of a Royal navy submarine, and sends Ciaran, Connor and Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) down on it.
Primeval [Season 5, Episode 3]
In The Good Old Days
Shown 07/Jun/11
The team accidentally send a raptor back into Victorian England, circa 1868. Yes, the Ardmore Studio back-lot from Where's Jack? came in useful after all!
Ciaran goes back alone and discovers that Spring-Heeled Jack is blamed for a murderous killing-spree. The mystery woman is there, acting as a secret vigilante. Her husband is a sexist idiot of unrealistic standards, Calling her a woman instead of a lady.
Primeval [Season 5, Episode 4]
The Prototype
Shown 14/Jun/11
Conor's work for Philip (Alexander Siddig - Star Trek: DS9 ) is successful. He manages to create an artifical anomaly. However, they do not bother using the time-calculator on it so they have no idea of what is on the other side. Despite having no idea of the threat level, Philip refuses to let anyone lock it down. After all, it is a relatively small anomaly and it is locked in Conor's lab in the ARC.
Naturally, the lab (and then the entire ARC building) gets compromised. Thousands of fist-sized carnivorous beetles flood through, and chew through the building's wiring.
Primeval [Season 5, Episode 5]
The End of The Future: Part 1
Shown 21/Jun/11
Philip's evil plan is to control all the Anomalies. But Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) knows this will cause the Apocalypse - or will it?
Connor and Abby ( Hannah Spearitt ) must save the world - Again! Even Lester the boss lends a hand.
Primeval [Season 5, Episode 6]
The End of The Future: Part 2
Shown 28/Jun/11
Connor is trapped on the other side of the Anomaly. Matt (Ciaran McMenamin - Heretiks (2017) ) lived there, so he goes after him. Can they get back in time and find a way to seal the Anomaly before the Apocalytic future happens?
Jess and Lester the Boss are trapped in the HQ, when there is an incursion by the Monsters. Our heroes have to get inside Connor's lab in order to seal the Anomaly. But because this is the final ep of the Season, there is a real sense of jeopardy. Especially when one considers this show's impressive body-count of supporting characters.
Primeval: New World
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 1]
The New World
Shown 29 October 2012
Pretty-boy scientist Evan Cross (who looks just like Zane from Eureka ) discovers an anomaly in Vancouver. And naturally, a velociraptor or two gets through and starts to eat people. Well, the old and ugly people get eaten. A small number of young, unrealistically attractive people are left alive to form the core unit of heroes for the show.
Evan and his friends work for a creepy mega-Corp, run by a beautiful woman - Ange Finch ( Miranda Frigon ) who looks about thirty years old at most. She does not have security teams available, so she calls in the Government to help. In one of the better aspects of the show, this turns out to be a dusty long-forgotten under-funded office (the opposite of the UK version) - run by a slob who is implied to be VERY good at his job.
In a piece of continuity with the real show, Connor (Andrew Lee Potts - Red Mist ) turns up to retrieve some Anomaly data that Evan stole from him. Yes, Evan has a dark and murky past with his own agenda, which will hopefully be the show's story arc this Season. But while Connor mentions the Official Secrets Act, it seems that Lester and the UK Government have not informed their American opposite numbers.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 2]
Sisiutl
Shown 5 November 2012
A giant sea-serpent eats some oil prospectors on motorboats off the Canadian coast. The black detective turns up to investigate. Yes, the entire Police Department only has one detective: they cannot even afford to give him a partner!
A Native American with a camcorder shows footage of the serpent to the pest control girl ( Sarah Canning ). She decides to go investigate herself, without informing Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) and the scientists. While this may seem stupid, apparently she actually mentioned the real-life dinosaurs in her official report! It never occurred to her that someone would have concealed the carcasses, and thus she just made herself look either stupid or insane. Which she probably is, as she goes serpent-hunting without backup.
The scientists have their Anomally-detector working. By incredible coincidence, the very first one they choose to investigate is ... the one that the sea serpent came through!
Mega-Corp lady Ange Finch ( Miranda Frigon ) tries to get Evan to work hand-in-glove with the Government guy. Of course, Evan objects in principle to working with The Man. However, without the legal authority that the Government can give him, he is nothing more than a loose cannon with more money than sense.
Bearing in mind that this does not merely share the concept of the original show, but also the universe (Connor is present in both shows) ... it is strange to see characters running around trying low-tech solutions to things the original team sorted out in the first Season.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 3]
Fear of Flying
Shown 12 November 2012
A plane flies through an anomaly on a runway. The team take it upon themselves to investigate. Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) and the blonde girl Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ) go through, in an attempt to rescue the crew and prevent the appearance of a cargo plane in the fossil record. They are besieged by Jurassic insects!
The South Asian guy and his GF guard the anomaly. Unfortunately the Insect Queen gets loose, and tries to lay its eggs in people. That is what happens when you only have four amateurs, with hypo-dart guns and no military backup! Seriously, except for Toby the tech-babe ( Crystal Lowe ) who they talk to by phone, even the other regular cast members do not appear this week. No wonder they keep finding themselves out of their depth. Amateurs!
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 4]
Angry Birds
Shown 19 November 2012
An anomaly opens in an old train yard, where a couple of farmers are growing a crop of marijuana. They discover a strange bird, and keep it as a pet. Not unlike the ep where Conor's flat-mates keep a Dodo. After all, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) and the blonde girl Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ) turn up, posing as wildlife inspectors. They break in, and get caught by the weed-farmers.
The Military fellow tries to prove his worth to the team. After all, he has access to military hardware and the personnel qualified to use it. But Evan is mistrustful.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 5]
Undone
Shown 26 November 2012
A direwolf is stalking sexy co-eds on the local college campus.
The South Asian guy's GF is a security guard at Evan's HQ. She and a fellow redshirt are left in charge of a van with a tranquilised direwolf in it. This will end badly ...
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 6]
Clean Up on Aisle Three
Shown 3 December 2012
Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ), the blonde girl Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ) and the British Asian guy go on field assignment again. This time it is in a warehouse, luckily it is closed for the night. Unfortunately there is a swarm of little monsters, like the Compys in Jurassic Park 2 .
The Brit is still angry after the events of the previous episode. Looks like we have evidence of both continuity and character development.
Lady Executive Ange Finch ( Miranda Frigon ) feels like quitting the company. The Military dude is making progress with her, so he tries to keep her on his team.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 7]
Babes in the Woods
Shown 10 December 2012
The Scooby gang discover another anomaly, this time out in the woods. The Asian dude and the attractive brunette go looking for it. They discover that the monsters are surrounding a Cabin in the Woods - and it is full of lingerie models. By an even stranger coincidence, the brunette girl used to work with them - and she lived with the butch blonde who stays to help the hunt.
Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) takes the blonde Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ) and the Corporate woman on the hunt. He is STILL resisting the idea of Government involvement, even though the Military would be SO much better at this kind of thing. I mean, two of his own security personnel got eaten a couple of eps back, never mind what happened to his own wife.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 8]
Truth
Shown 17 December 2012
The team go dino-hunting. This time the creature is a herbivore. The sighting is in the city centre in broad daylight, but luckily the military are around to do the cover-up.
Back at HQ, Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) sees the monster that killed his wife. He evacuates the building and stages a lockdown. Then he goes on a rampage, using any means available to destroy the beast.
Evan has to reveal his secrets to his minions. He opens the secret basement level, and shows the frozen body from the parallel universe. Also, he reveals how utterly obsessed he still is with his dead wife.
By the end of the ep, his entire operation has suffered terrible losses.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 9]
Breakthrough
Shown 22 January 2013
A couple of skateboarders videotape a triceratops. Soon, the video goes viral. As a last resort, Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) tells Toby the tech-babe ( Crystal Lowe ) to ask the military guy for help.
Evan and the blonde woman Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ) go hunting for the triceratops. By strange coincidence, the animal has wandered into the country estate of Evan's business rival (Colin Ferguson - Eureka ). This gives Evan the opportunity to clear the air with his opponent, and bond with one of the few people he has anything in common with.
This allows for a potential story arc to be developed. Will Ferguson return, as a fellow time-traveller?
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 10]
The Great Escape
Shown 29/Jan/13
One of the captured specimens breaks out of containment in the secret military lab. A SWAT team is despatched to retrieve it. However, a local cop gets a report of something and he calls in the blonde woman Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ).
Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka )'s hotch-potch operation is down to him and the blonde woman Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ). Toby the tech-babe ( Crystal Lowe ) has the day off, and everyone else has quit. And yet he STILL blames the military for everything!
The military team corner the monster in an ice-skating rink. They show a typical disregard for tactics, splitting up so it can pick them off one at a time. Worse, Evan jams their tracker signal, so they have no idea of the monster's location.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 11]
The Inquisition
Shown 05/Feb/13
The Military stages a major crackdown on Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) and his team of misfits. Lieutenant Leeds is thrown in a prison cell, and Evan gets called in for interrogation. The result is a clip show, but we get some actual plot advancement as a result.
The man in charge of Project Mayhem is Justin Louis. He was the USAF Colonel in Stargate: Universe . Now, to differentiate him as a Canadian Colonel, he has slightly longer hair and a moustache.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 12]
The Sound of Thunder, Part 1
Shown 12/Feb/13
Things are back the way they used to be. Ange Finch ( Miranda Frigon ) is in charge again - but she is Civilian administrator of Project Mayhem. Leftenant Leeds is now her minion.
Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) is still a bumbling idiot. He and his trio of hench-persons go anomaly-hunting, and run into a Giant Scorpion. And it gets worse from there. Toby the tech-babe ( Crystal Lowe ) is stung, while Evan and the blonde Dylan Weir ( Sara Canning ) get lost in prehistory trying to get a venom sample.
Luckily, Project Mayhem has military medical staff. Lexa Doig , last seen as a doctor in Stargate SG-1 (and as a time-traveller in Continuuum ) tries to save Toby.
Primeval: New World [Season 1, Episode 13]
The Sound of Thunder, Part 2
Shown 19/Feb/13
Conor (Andrew Lee Potts - Red Mist ) and an Arc team chase an Allosaurus through what is meant to be the streets of London. His rookie member makes the same kind of dumb mistake Evan's team is infamous for, and Conor ends up going through the anomaly to save him. By sheer chance, ignoring the near-infinity of time and space, he ends up stumbling across Evan's tracks.
The title of the ep is a reference to a classic scifi story about how killing a single prehistoric butterfly can change the course of human history.
Evan (Niall Matter - Eureka ) ends up in his own past. He and Conor go after the Allosaurus, which went back to its fateful encounter with Evan's wife. But the Colonel decides to take the dinosaur for his collection.