"PRIMEVAL: VOLUME TWO"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Douglas Henshall as NICK CUTTER Jason Flemyng as DANNY QUINN Andrew Lee Potts as CONNOR TEMPLE Hannah Spearritt as ABBY MAITLAND Laila Rouass as SARAH PAGE Ben Mansfield as CAPTAIN BECKER Lucy Brown as JENNY LEWIS Juliet Aubrey as HELEN CUTTER Ben Miller as JAMES LESTER Not Rated Available on DVD September 15 BBCAmerica.com Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The BBC’s premiere monster-of-the-week adventure series “Primeval” continues with volume two (which is actually the third season from short-run British television). In this season, Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) is just beginning to understand the anomalies, and his borderline psychotic ex-wife Helen (Juliet Aubrey) is causing problems in the time stream. The ARC isn’t just coming under attack from prehistoric monsters, but from government agencies, traitorous conspirators and even poker-playing college kids.
WHAT I LIKED
I was quite fond of the first volume of “Primeval” because it embodied the essence of a monster-of-the-week show. Like the U.S.’s “The X-Files,” this series presented a different creature coming through rifts in time each week and gave us some excellent action. However, unlike “The X-Files,” “Primeval” is very accessible for family viewing. Sure, people get killed (including some key cast members, as happened last season), but it’s presented in a very light comic book sort of way.
With this ten-episode volume, we are given more backstory to the ARC and the people working there. In some ways, this volume has become less about the monsters and their capture and more about the political struggles within the British government itself.
Helen Cutter ahs taken a larger role, proving to be a formidable opponent for the team. She’s got a secret that has a fantastic reveal as the season progresses, and the shows do offer some surprises by playing against the adventure film type.
Of course, you get your fair share of dinosaurs in this volume, including some velociraptors that have borrowed all their signature moves from the “Jurassic Park” series of films. However, there are some new creatures, including some mysterious humanoid nasties that make significant appearances throughout the season. There’s even an insect-like creature designed by a fan as part of a contest from the show.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
With the shifting cast in this season and last, the characters haven’t had much of a chance to settle. The ones that get developed the most are Abby and Connor (Hannah Spearritt and Andrew-Lee Potts). Sadly, just as some characters become interesting, they are dropped from the series, letting someone else fill their shoes.
The new characters do gel eventually, but too much of this gives “Primeval” a shaky stance. Both Laila Rouass and Jason Flemyng are good additions to the series, but Ben Mansfield is a poor substitute for James Murray.
As an avid watcher of “Doctor Who” ever since the 1970s, I have come to forgive some cheesy special effects from the BBC. However, the computer generated creatures in “Primeval” continue to be a little low-rent for what I’m used to. Rather than being on-par with its American counterparts, they’re more along the lines of the effects you’ll see in your average “Power Rangers” episode.
DVD FEATURES
The three-disc DVD set includes ten episodes along with audio commentary on selected shows. There’s also two twenty-minute featurettes, one examining Nick Cutter’s character on the show and the other focusing on the contest winner whose insectoid creature was developed from concept to final production.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who want a monster-of-the-week show to watch with the kids.
