Primeval (TV series)
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| Primeval | |
|---|---|
 Primeval title logo |
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| Genre | Science fiction drama |
| Creator(s) | Adrian Hodges Tim Haines |
| Starring | Douglas Henshall Hannah Spearritt James Murray Andrew-Lee Potts Juliet Aubrey Lucy Brown Ben Miller |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Cameron McAllister Tim Haines |
| Running time | 45 min. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV1 |
| Original run | February 10, 2007 – present |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Primeval is a British science fiction drama television series produced by Impossible Pictures for ITV. First broadcast in early 2007, the series has been renewed for a second series by ITV, to be shown in 2008.[1]
The series follows a team of scientists who investigate anomalies in time and deal with the ancient creatures that come through. The team of five is led by Professor Nick Cutter, a palaeontologist determined to find his wife who disappeared while investigating an anomaly in the Forest of Dean, England eight years previously.
The series was created by Adrian Hodges, who wrote the majority of the scripts, and Tim Haines of Impossible Pictures. It was produced by Haines and Cameron McAllister. Primeval features film-quality 2D & 3D special effects by London effects house Framestore CFC. It previously had the working title Primaeval.
Episode one was first broadcast in UK on ITV1 on 10 February, 2007 at 7:45pm. The episode was shown on Hong Kong TV channel TVB Pearl on 14 February 2007, only four days after the UK premiere.[2] The series also began to air on April 4, 2007, in Canada where it has been licensed by the channel SPACE[3]. It has also been licensed by the Australian network ABC,[4] the New Zealand network TV2,[5] and by the Spanish network Cuatro;[6] it will air on these some time in 2007.
ITV previously produced Prehistoric Park, a programme with the similar premise of the main characters travelling back to the time of the dinosaurs (or even earlier).
The opening theme song was made expressly for the show, whilst the closing theme song is All Sparks by Editors although on the DVD it is changed back to the show's opening theme.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
The series features a cast of five main characters who investigate time anomalies for the British government:
- Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall), palaeontologist and leader of the team
- Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt), zoologist
- Stephen Hart (James Murray), Cutter's lab technician
- Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts), Cutter's student and dinosaur geek
- Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown), Home Office official and the team's government contact
Other central characters include:
- Sir James Peregrine Lester (Ben Miller), a senior Home Office official
- Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey), palaeontologist and Cutter's long-lost wife
- Captain Tom Ryan (Mark Wakeling), special forces leader.
The series also uses several minor characters, some of which appear in several episodes.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Filming locations
The series was filmed partly at Pinewood Studios and these locations:
- London Underground
- Whipsnade Zoo
- Canary Islands
- Black Park, Buckinghamshire
- Outside the Nurse's Home at the now-closed Queen Elizabeth Hospital (on Hackney Road, London E2, UK).
- Outside the Toyota head office in Epsom
- Inside Victoria House, 37-63 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4DA
- Around the college CEME (Centre for Engineering and Mechanical Excellence), Marsh Way, Rainham, Essex, RM13 8EU .
[edit] Palaeontological inaccuracies
In the first episode (and also in the second), the Gorgonopsid was referred to as a dinosaur, whereas in reality it is a primitive synapsid, closer to a mammal than a dinosaur. The pareiasaur was correctly called an anapsid, but from then on was also wrongly called a dinosaur, although dinosaurs would not appear for millions of years after pareiasaurs died out.
The coelurosauravus in the episodes, including "Rex", were shown flapping their membrane "wings" when as in modern gliding lizards this would have been impossible for them. Then, through the anomaly in the late Permian, a group is shown soaring high in an open space without losing height, when in life they would have only been able to glide from tree to tree or to the ground, except when strong eddying winds caused lift.
In episode 3 the mosasaurs were shown with a armoured crocodile-like body, but in reality they would have been smooth-skinned and streamlined.
In episode 4 Helen Cutter referred to an Utahraptor that she met in the Jurassic, but Utahraptor in reality lived in the Cretaceous. Also in this episode the dodos were depicted as fat and clumsy, as those bought to by sailors for zoos were due to overfeeding in captivity; real wild dodos would have been somewhat slimmer than shown in the show.
In episode 5 Anurognathus is incorrectly said to have lived in the Cretaceous period, 85-70 million years ago. In Walking with Dinosaurs, Anurognathus is correctly said to have lived during the Jurassic, 155-140 million years ago, 75 milllion years earlier.
In Episode Six the Gorgonopsid does a suplex to kill the Predator.
[edit] Reception
"Episode One" was viewed by 6.7 million people, a 29% share of the available audience.[7] "Episode Two" was viewed by 5.9 million people, a 27.5% share of the available audience.[8]
The show's creators deny that Primeval is a clone of Doctor Who, which is famous for its use of time travel. (Primeval is also the title of a Doctor Who audio adventure produced by Big Finish Productions). The lesser charge that Primeval is a rival to Doctor Who suffers from the fact that the first series of Primeval will finish airing before the 2007 series of Doctor Who airs. In a recent interview, Douglas Henshall stated it was different as Primeval is an ensemble piece which deals with what problems come to them.[9] While this is different from the time travelling pair in Doctor Who its spin off, Torchwood, has a similar premise to Primeval. Torchwood is set in modern day Cardiff and the team cope with threats that come to the city through a rift in space-time. Both teams also have pet prehistoric reptiles, a Pterodactyl in Torchwood, and Rex the Coelurosauravus in Primeval.
The show has been recommissioned for another series.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "ITV goes for more 'Benidorm' and 'Primeval'". Digital Spy.
- ^ Pearl Schedule. TVB Pearl. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
- ^ MISSLACE (March 16, 2007). Primeval premieres on SPACE this April. SPACECAST / SpaceBlog. SPACE: The Imagination Station. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
- ^ Michael Idato (4 January 2007). 2007 from the couch. The Age. Retrieved on January 9, 2007.
- ^ BBC Drama and Factual Titles Head to TVNZ. Scoop.co.nz (10 January 2007). Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ De Pablos, Emiliano. "Cuatro stocks up on U.S. fare", Variety, January 16, 2007. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
- ^ Joanne Oatts (2007-02-12). 'Primeval' swipes 6.7 million viewers. DigitalSpy. Retrieved on February 12, 2007.
- ^ Joanne Oatts (2007-02-19). Second 'Primeval' loses bite. DigitalSpy. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
- ^ TV & Satellite | 6 February 2007
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Primeval at itv.com (Official website)
- Primeval at Douglas Henshall's website
- Primeval at TV.com
- Primeval at the Internet Movie Database
- Information on the series Primeval including synopsis, photos and video clips at MIN
| Impossible Pictures Productions |
|---|
| Land of Giants • Ocean Odyssey • Perfect Disaster • Pickles: The Dog who Won the World Cup • Prehistoric Park • Primeval • Sea Monsters Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets • The Ballad of Big Al • The Giant Claw • The Lost World • The Legend of the Tamworth Two The Story of One • T. rex - 100 Years in Pictures • Walking with Beasts • Walking with Dinosaurs • Walking with Monsters |
| Primeval |
|---|
| Primeval main pages |
| Impossible Pictures Productions | Time anomaly |
| Main characters |
| Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) | Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) | Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) Stephen Hart (James Murray) | Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown) | James Lester (Ben Miller) | Tom Ryan (Mark Wakeling) |
| Primeval lists |
| Episodes | Creatures | Minor characters |
