Primeval Season 3: the final chapter in a superb British SF series?

29 September 2009

Gerard Wood

Season 3 of Primeval has just been released in the US on DVD (available as Primeval Volume 2) and it was with mixed feelings that I watched the ten episodes over again. This is a superb science fiction series, uniquely British with its quirky blend of wit and drama, an ensemble cast playing three dimensional characters with interesting back stories, topped off with outstanding special effects. Although there are occasional patchy episodes, in general the scripts across all three seasons maintain a high standard, deftly managing the inevitable conspiracies and treacheries and the wondrous complexities of time and space and human relationships.

So why the mixed feelings? Watching the season over again is a sad reminder that the axe has fallen well before its time on Primeval and we may never know how the climactic Season 3 cliff-hanger is resolved! [Update: Primeval saved from extinction!]

But perhaps all is not entirely lost. More of that later.

Produced by Impossible Pictures for ITV in the UK, Primeval launched in early 2007 with the discovery by evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) of prehistoric creatures alive and well and wreaking havoc in the British countryside. The creatures had made their way into the present through Anomalies, holes in the very fabric of time, and Cutter is tasked by the government with investigating the phenomenon and containing any threat. Throughout Season 1 Cutter and his team work out of the Home Office, but the inevitable consequence of meddling with time is finally realised and the climax of the first season finds Nick returning from the past only to discover a new present: his team now work for a high tech, well-resourced government organisation called the ARC, the Anomaly Research Centre, but on the flip side, Cutter's co-worker and love interest, Claudia Brown, has been erased from existence (and everyone else's memory), never having existed in this new time-line.

Season 3 picks up the story in the aftermath of the death of Cutter's right-hand man Stephen Hart (James Murray). An act of bravery and perhaps of atonement, Hart sacrificed himself in the dramatic Season 2 finale to save Nick and Helen (Nick's estranged wife) and, ultimately, humanity. Only two other members of the original team remain, student palaeontologist, all-round nerd and clumsy genius Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts), and Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt), a spirited zoologist and the very antithesis of nerd. It's a credit to the writers and actors that when Connor and Abby eventually come together (as we knew they would), it's actually kind of believable!

Major changes to the cast occur early in Season 3 (no spoilers in case you haven't seen it), but the cover art of the DVD is fairly suggestive of what goes down (check out the DVD cover art below). Former London detective Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) joins the team, along with Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield), the ARC's new head of security. Cutter's theory that myths and anomalies are somehow connected sees the introduction of Egyptologist Sarah Page (Laila Rouass) to the team, fleshing out their expertise with her knowledge of all things mythological. The implication of Cutter's theory that anomalies are not a new phenomenon but a recurrent fact of history (and pre-history) is one of the most exciting aspects of the season, and it allows the team to map past anomalies and begin to predict their future manifestation.

I was taken by Primeval's premise from the very first episode. Season 1 was outstanding from start to finish - which was perhaps not so difficult given its short run of six episodes. Created by Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines, and profoundly indebted to Haines' work with the BBC's effects laden science extravaganza Walking with Dinosaurs, Primeval was something to behold: stunning visuals, a great cast and eclectic characters, and compelling story telling. Season 2 was only one episode longer but within a few episodes was flirting with disaster with its increasingly formulaic plot: an anomaly would open somewhere, one or more creatures would come through, the team would deal with the problem. Midway through the season things changed for the better however and the conspiracies, treacheries and power struggles that had been latent until then came to the fore and the season finale was thrilling.

I found that Season 3, with its ten episodes, followed the same trajectory as its predecessor: it starts off superbly, begins to lose its way in the middle with a return of the formulaic episode and builds toward a thrilling climax as the plot line concerning Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey) takes centre stage. Helen is Nick's estranged wife and nemesis - in love with him but intent on destroying him - driven by her quite literal vision of the future in which humanity has been destroyed and her belief that it is Nick's work and the ARC that are responsible.

Much like that other superb series axed this years, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Primeval ends at a high point, both in terms of the story and its production. Rumours earlier this year that the show was to be axed due to ITV's massive losses were denied initially, but given such losses (£2.7 billion apparently), the 15 June announcement that "After three very successful series of Primeval there are no plans at the present time for it to return to ITV" came as a shock but little surprise. Even though the show had seen a very gradual decline in viewing figures since Season 1 it was still averaging a very respectable 5 million viewers in the UK in its third season.

On a more positive note, and much like Joss Whedon's masterful sci-fi-western Firefly and its movie incarnation as Serenity, a movie version of Primeval is in the works. Warner Bros. acquired the screen rights to the series back in May, reportedly in a high six figure deal. Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Foster will produce and a writer has yet to be announced. Variety confirmed that Warner Bros. and Goldsman will relocate the story to the US and "ramp up the spectacle". Foster commented that "There is a solid mythology to the series, but the movie has the dinosaur element of Jurassic Park and the time travel element of Lost, and it just feels like the kind of big movie that Warner Bros. does well".

It has also been rumoured that Impossible Pictures is in talks with a US broadcaster concerning a spin-of series, most likely to be based in the US (there's no logical reason, of course, for Anomalies to be confined to the British Isles). However, it doesn't sound like we can expect the resolution of Season 3: series creator Tim Haines indicated that if the new show went ahead it would most likely "start from scratch", with a slightly edgier feel.

Really not sure what to think of that.

If you haven't seen the show, check out this clip from Season 3, Episode two:

Season 1 and 2 of Primeval are available in the US as Primeval Volume 1. Season 3 has just been released as Primeval Volume 2. All three seasons are highly recommended: