Primeval

[Dirk Gently]

Are Torchwood going to help them seal their rift in time and space?

I was thinking along similar lines, there was more than a touch of Torchwood about this series. But I did enjoy it & thought that it bodes well for future episodes. Lets hope the quality doesn't drop.
Having said that, if I missed an episode I wouldn't cry, it's not really gripping yet.

[Dave Tudor]

I was pleasantly surprised.

I will post more later.*




*When I've got the image of Hannah Spearrit in her knickers out of my head.

[Wayne]

I thought was pretty good, as it goes. I'm not blown outta my mind or anything, but i enjoyed it. It looked good, it was well paced, didn't drag, & the acting was decent enough.
Hannah Spearmint is not a patch on Lucy Brown, though.

It's just lost points for me for the Mother of the kid thinking that her son wrecked his own room! How absurd is that? I haven't got the strength to rip out a window let alone a 10 year old!

I took that to be an intentional thing that was just thrown in to be funny. Although it didn't make me laugh, & if it was meant seriously, then i agree with you.

[Pip Madeley]

I was pleasantly surprised.

I will post more later.*

*When I've got the image of Hannah Spearrit in her knickers out of my head.

Better put the cocoa on then.

[Carol Baynes]

An illustrator friend of mine worked on this, and a few of us were meant to go round and watch it with together while we're all in Bolton again, but I've got a bad stinking cold and am off to bed early(ish). I watched it though and thought it was alright. The special effects are good, but it didn't blow me away.

[Trudi G]

I thought it was bloody awful! The CGI would have been good a couple of years ago, but it was no better than most computer games. The merging of CGI with live action was absolutely appalling. It was like "Ooh, what can we do to match Torchwood? I know, we'll get some dinosaurs, some cheap CGI and some C-List actors, that'll work!"
The only reason i can think of that Ben Miller was in it was that he read the script and assumed it was a parody.

[Wayne]

some cheap CGI and some C-List actors, that'll work!"

It succeeded in matching Torchwood then!

I thought CGI was alright. Not that i'm an expert on it, 'coz i don't see much of it apart from new Who, Torchwood, & the occasional film once in a blue moon.
Bring back CSO!

[Trudi G]

It succeeded in matching Torchwood then!

Touch!

[Milky Tears]

My foot went through the TV after five minutes and I'm boycotting bloody Asda!!

[Wayne]

My foot went through the TV after five minutes and I'm boycotting bloody Asda!!

Why, was 'Torchwood' on?

[stuartdg]

This was better then I expected;the effects were well realised and Doug Henshall makes for an enigmatic lead.It also gave the main players equal screen time,which is something Torchwood could learn from.Certainly the potential is there and I'll be back for more next week

[Wayne]

It also gave the main players equal screen time,which is something Torchwood could learn from.

Good point. That's true!
Yes, i'll be watching (& recording to disc) next week, as well. I thought the trailer for next week's looked rather good, actually.

[stuartdg]

Other points to note Rex dancing to lift music was cool.

How is it a huge dinosaur can't break down a school classroom door,yet is easily knocked over by a car?

[Larry]

completly forgot all about it .

[Dirk Gently]

Really, what did you think of Primeval?

[Wayne]

completly forgot all about it .

They're showing it again tomorrow at 4.30 if you're interested.

[Dave Tudor]

I wasn't sure what I'd make of this, but I found it really quite enjoyable. I did have reservations, mainly because ITV don't have a great track record in sci-fi drama in recent years (or in most drama!) and dinosaurs, especially of the CGI variety seem a bit passe now - after all, 'Jurassic Park' and 'Walking With Dinosaurs' rode that particular wave years ago.

However, 'Primeval' is riding a new wave, thanks to a certain hugely successful Saturday night BBC sci-fi series, one which seems to have shown TV producers how to make good, popular telefantasy for a mainstream audience once again. OK, so it wasn't nearly as original as 'Doctor Who', the characters are slightly cliched, and this first episode didn't totally blow me away, but it was certainly engaging, exciting, with a fairly pacy script, decent direction and very good special effects. It also had something for all the family, with cute, flying lizards for the kids, lots of action for the teens, and an emotional heart (in Cutter's search for his wife) plus lots of eye candy to keep the mums and dads (and old pervs like me) watching. Other than that, any similarities with 'Who' were purely superficial (charismatic Scottish leading man, former pop star as the cute female lead, blah blah blah...).

So, I was fairly impressed, and, as Saturday night family entertainment, it shows more promise than the rather disappointing 'Robin Hood'. I'll certainly be watching next week.

[Jonno]

My views echo most of yours - very enjoyable and watchable, but at this early stage not the sort of thing I'd want to get on DVD - yet. I also agree with Dave that it's better than Robin Hood.

My favourite scenes naturally were those featuring the predatory dinosaur - I think they've gone with the Who thing of having it work best as a scary thing in places where a child would normally feel safest - in your bedroom and in school!

I definitely rolled my eyes a bit though at the jeep hitting the dino - surely the jeep would have been crumpled and the dino barely scratched?!

As usual with ITV, far too many advert breaks spoilt the rhythm though...

[Doctor Vendetta]

Me and a mate were watching this last night, and we couldn't figure out why Cocky Macho Leather Jacket Guy didn't get ate by the big carnivorous lizard after it battered him at the school.

Help please!

[Simon R]

I liked it more than I though I would though as with "Torchwood" it was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be.

It was well made and expensive looking although I didn't like the effect for the vortex...why did it have triangular shapes in it? I prefer my vortexies more swirly.

The characters were a little unoriginal (the lovable geek, the feisty blonde babe, the brooding professor, the comedy beurocrat, the cute animal the kids will love etc) and the whole thing did feel a little made by committee but there was potential there and next week's looks good. There wasn't much substance but as a sort of action piece it worked well.

Boo and hiss for the awful "looking for lost wife" storyline. If the professor bloke wants to explore pre-historic Earth then Scientific curiosity should be more that enough motivation and not some cheesy quest for a dead wife which is so obviously designed to tug the heart strings.

I can see why people might say it's like "Torchwood" but surely this is coincidence as "Primeval" must have been well into production by the time Torchwood was screened.

[Alex]

I came in to this with very low expectations and found myself pleasantly surprised too, okay some of the cgi wasn't perfect, but at least there was a lot of it, and most of the action scenes were really well done too. It didn't seem to be trying too hard to be cool, and it felt solid and well thought out.

I've really liked Douglas Henshaw since I saw him in the film Orphans about eight years ago, and it's nice to see him in something really high profile, and his character's very likable, as are most of the others, something I can't really say about Torchwood, where I found myself only really interested in Jack, and thus frustrated when they ignored his back story a lot.

They do seem to be ticking boxes a little to make sure there's a character who will appeal to everyone, but the only one I don't like is the stereotyped geeky bloke, but I've vague hopes that they'll flesh him out / develop him more as the weeks go on.

[Dirk Gently]

I think it is worth pointing out that this is probably aimed at 10 to 15 year olds & as such it was probably a big success with them. As adults it may have been a bit simplistic but it was adequate family entertainment.

[Si Hunt]

I thought it was quite good and held the attention well. Good things: the CGI and action sequences were good, and although clearly contrived for the kiddie/toy market the baby dinosaurs gave it a nice fantasy touch and showed they arn't going to get all bogged down making it too realistic. I liked the device of them stepping into the past and then having to get back again. The stuff in the school was good too.

On the downside, it all feels a bit unrealistic and cheesy - a time hole opens, and the Lovable Geek and his dull mate are allowed to potter round the woods near it without anyone minding. There is one government beaurocrat and, unfeasibly, she is young and attractive. There is a zoo keeper roped into it and, unfeasibly, she is young and attractive. There is a scientist guy roped in and, unfeasibly, he is invited by the government woman to nip through the wormhole for an explore! I didn't like not being sure of the show's premise - does the time hole open on a different era every week? If it's closed, what's next weeks going to be about? If next weeks is about insects and not dinosaurs (which looks fab) why is it always called Primevil? Also blowing a dinosaur in the pre-credits sequence was silly.

Above all, it all feels a bit lazy to me. There doesn't seem any more to it than "let's do a thing with dinosaurs in" which itself isn't exactly a mindblowing idea.

BUT the execution was great, and it has potential. It's a shame they didn't find the timehole in secret, but let's now keep it between a very characters - let's have lots of missions into different time zones, adventures within them, and perhaps a loose plot-strand about who the people are that have gone there before them and what they got up to. This aspect I like.

So. Jury's still out. But a half-decent start from a lazy and contrived premise.

Si.

[Doctor Vendetta]

So can no one explain why the Leather Jacket Guy didn't get munched down like an old Twix?

Right then, I won't bother paying the licence fee, I'm not putting up with poorly thought out telly!

[Dirk Gently]

Right then, I won't bother paying the licence fee, I'm not putting up with poorly thought out telly!

Oh very good, punish the BBC because ITV can't be bothered to think out a story line!