Throw Jurassic World, La Brea & Torchwood in a Blender? You’d Get Mid-2000s Sci-Fi Series Primeval

As a seasoned gamer and sci-fi enthusiast with a soft spot for time-traveling adventures and prehistoric beasts, I must say that stumbling upon “Primeval” on Peacock feels like unearthing an ancient fossil of pure entertainment gold!

If you weren’t tuned into U.K. sci-fi TV back in the mid-2000s, there was this offbeat, thrilling journey series I almost missed – a blend of time travel, dinosaurs, and a rollercoaster ride of wild escapades.

Originally airing in 2007 and intermittently until 2011 for a span of five seasons and 36 episodes (keep in mind, this is a U.K. show where the number of episodes per season tends to be lower), “Primeval” is now available for streaming in its entirety on Peacock. This makes it an ideal moment to immerse yourself in a science fiction journey that boasts ambition beyond measure (even with a meager budget) and offers nothing but pure, unadulterated entertainment.

The series presents an intriguing premise: Strange occurrences are manifesting, resulting in doorways to the past appearing, through which dinosaurs and ancient creatures often migrate into our current era, causing widespread chaos. Fortunately, we’ve got a tight-knit group of attractive and contemplative researchers investigating this predicament, initially led by Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) and Stephen Hart (James Murray). In the early seasons, they are later joined by Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts), a university student, and Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt), who become essential members of the team during the show’s first couple of seasons.

In many science fiction series, as they continue for longer periods, the cast changes somewhat, but the creative team effectively maintains the pace of the story without getting overly focused on identifying who is responsible for capturing all these dinosaurs, saber-toothed animals, and dodo birds each week.

Throw Jurassic World, La Brea & Torchwood in a Blender? You’d Get Mid-2000s Sci-Fi Series Primeval

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1. As a gaming enthusiast, I’m pumped about the first look of James Wan’s Peacock Horror Series: Teacup!

Why Primeval is worth a watch (or a rewatch!)

Despite not receiving as much attention as other shows, “Primeval” was quite successful during its run and managed to amass a loyal fanbase by capturing the essence of its diverse concept. In simpler terms, you could say that the show combined elements from films like “Jurassic World,” “La Brea,” and “Torchwood.” It delved into stories involving time anomalies, dinosaurs in the present era, and gateways to different periods in history. Essentially, each episode introduced a new portal, presenting the team with a fresh creature, mystery, and challenge to handle.

Despite being a sci-fi series with a more modest budget, the visual effects are surprisingly robust. They may not trick you into believing it’s a Steven Spielberg production, but for its TV category and time period, they stand strong. The VFX were entrusted to Framestore, a London-based production house that had previously worked on the BBC’s “Walking With Dinosaurs” nature documentary. Thus, there was already some level of understanding about the project’s requirements.

Just like many great science fiction series, Primeval experienced cancellations here and there. Its original broadcast network in the UK, ITV, ended production after Season 3 (despite good viewership), due to bigger financial difficulties. However, a co-production agreement was later made that allowed the show to continue for two more seasons before being cancelled again.

But even that wasn’t the final end for the Primeval franchise, as it eventually spawned the loosely-related 2013 spinoff series Primeval: New World, which actually aired on SYFY for its single 13-episode season (the spinoff was led by SYFY fan favorite Niall Matter, who played Zane Donovan on Eureka).

2024-08-16 21:01

Why Primeval is worth a watch (or a rewatch!)

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