Primeval 3.8

Spoilers...

After a break last week, Primeval returned tonight with the first of its last three episodes (say it with me...*SOB*!!). This time, an anomaly to the future has opened up, and guess who's back - the insanely evil future predators, first seen, if memory serves me correctly, in the finale of series 1 (episode 6 of the series overall). This episode contained several great moments, starting with when the team first arrives at the anomaly site, and they all start griping about Danny's (Jason Flemyng) driving, and Becker (Ben Mansfield) complains about being stuck in the back seat. I just love the whole vibe Danny's presence has given the team. As seen later in the episode, Danny knows how to make tough decisions and be a capable team leader. But in those moments inbetween, when lives aren't on the line right that second, his presence brings an element of fun to the team. They're like this wonderfully dysfunctional family, that will poke and gripe and needle each other, but at the end of the day they are willing to lay their lives on the line for each other and their work.

If the show is going to be ending in a few weeks, I am grateful that this episode gave me a scene I'd been wanting to see - Lester (Ben Miller) and Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) as roommates! :) There's a whole show right there in that situation, Lester & Connor, the Odd Couple of the 21st century!

This episode sees Abby's (Hannah Spearitt) situation with her unbelievably stupid younger brother really come to a head. Not only has his presence forced Connor to room with Lester (well, honestly, I'm grateful for that development because it's resulted in some real hilarity), but it's caused a lot of tension between Connor & Abby - i.e., she thinks Connor's some sort of ingrate because he refuses to rat about what a git her brother is (see losing Rex in episode 7...ugh!). So the entire team sans Sarah (shocker...I still think Laila Rouass has been criminally underused during her time on this show) must put their lives on the line when Abby's brother disappears through the anomaly. This was where Abby really started to get on my nerves - she was being extremely headstrong because she was upset, I get that - but did she have to be so annoying while being concerned for her only living relative's safety? Is that asking too much? *sigh*

However...good points out of this scenario:

Becker gets to be wonderfully heroic. I absolutely loved the moment where he got so exasperated with Abby refusing to listen to him that he called her "Abigail." You could cut the frustration in his voice with a knife. And then when he proves willing to sacrifice himself for Danny, Connor, Abby, and her STUPID INGRATE OF A BROTHER - I was so freaking proud I cheered. (There is an upside to watching these last three episodes, knowing they're the last episodes of the show - if someone kicks the bucket I don't have to fathom continuing to watch the show without them. Know what I mean?) But Becker LIVES!!! That made me very happy. :) It's nice that he's proven to have ability as well as sense (unlike Stephen!).

Connor and Abby finally, finally, FINALLY actually KISS!! Yes, said kiss was marred by the most gosh-awful, random song insertion in the history of awkward television moments (what was that, Tom Jones?!). But if the show is ending at least I got the satisfaction of seeing their relationship progress. I'm sure it didn't hurt that Andrew Lee Potts and Hannah Spearritt are a real-life couple (at least I rather hope they still are). The look on Connor's face when Abby breaks the kiss is just priceless. :) His character has really grown & matured throughout the show's run, without losing any of the goofy charm that makes Connor so appealing.

So who is the woman Christine's (Belinda Stuart Wilson) flunkie brings back through the anomaly? Will Danny really listen to Lester's admonition to play by the rules? (I think not!) I'm attempting to mentally prepare myself for an extraordinarily unsatisfactory show finale in two episodes...but I'm sure it'll be wrenching. It's a real shame this show was axed when creatively it still shows so much promise!

Primeval 3.6

Spoilers...

I finally got around to watching episode 6 of Primeval today. Allow me to just take a moment to say I'm incredibly grateful for vacation days, and I'm also wildly hopeful that maybe, just maybe, the craziness of the last few weeks is winding down.

I absolutely loved this episode. The "terror birds" bore more than a passing resemblance to giant, over-grown ostriches. Despite their ridiculousness, they were surprisingly a bit scary. I mean who'd of thought giant ostriches could be such killing machines? LOL! There were so many moments that I absolutely loved in this episode...here's the rundown:

Danny (Jason Flemyng) giving a mean James Bond impression while working with Becker (Ben Mansfield) to test the facility's security. The humorous rapport that had going on was fun to watch. I LOVED the brief moment when Danny shot Becker's confidence that security was perfect by making an off-hand reference to a camera in an air duct. He's fast proving to be an adept team leader.

Lester (Ben Miller) giving Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) a ride to work but determined to hide the fact that they are now "flat mates" (see episode 5 for Lester's uncharacteristic moment of compassion, ha!). The whole "I'm senior managment and you're...whatever you are" comment cracked me up!

After Christine (Belinda Stuart Wilson) takes over the ARC, Danny, Connor, Abby (Hannah Spearritt, and Sarah (Laila Rouass) flee to the woods (random I know) and come across some sort of an abandoned lab station. I really, really liked how the setting was "frozen" in time. When Sarah begins to read some of the abandoned journals and finds mysterious references to "something" coming, you of course know that the "something" has to refer to a creature from an anomaly. The set up sort of reminded me of Danny's introduction to the team in episode 2 - as I said in my review of that episode, if anomalies have been appearing throughout time, other people had to have encountered them. Now whether or not they knew what to make of them is another story entirely. And in the "oh my gosh that's so sweet" category, I absolutely LOVED when everyone dressed up in 1930s clothes and Connor and Abby pulled a Fred and Ginger and started dancing. (Danny doesn't look half bad in a tux either, just sayin'...)

Despite the sheer ridiculousness of the ostrich-like creatures, I thought this episode gave a good view of how well the new team was coalescing. Danny has a lot of potential as the new team leader - he seems more devil-may-care, more energetic, dare I say it - more fun? - than what has previously been seen on the show. And hallelujah thank you for finally letting Sarah see some serious action instead of just sitting in the ARC cleaning off artificats. LOL!

And now to the best part...in my post on episode 4 I mentioned being a little worried about Becker's loyalties - is he truly loyal to the ARC team, or is he a soldier 1st and foremost, potentially at risk of being corrupted by Christine? In another hallelujah moment, I was oh so happy to see that Becker kicks butt in more ways than one - the fact that he's not above a little espionage in order to sabotage Christine's hostile takeover of the ARC was, in a word, awesome. The way he played Christine and she never even saw it coming - well there's just not words for how fantastic that moment was. If that had been the only great moment in the show that would've been enough, I was so freaking happy about it. LOL!

Which brings me to an even better moment, the crown jewel moment of all the hilariously wonderful bits in this episode, the moment where Lester gets his very own SLOW CLAP!! That was bloody brilliant to quote Ron Weasley. Absolutely fantastically bloody brilliant. The look on Lester's face was priceless. It just reinforced my love for his character a hundred times over.

And just because I can, and because he was so fantastic in this episode, here's a completely gratuitous shot of Becker. :)

Primeval 3.5

Spoilers...

I really, really liked last Saturday's episode of Primeval. So the funky mutant fungus/mold men were among the less believable creatures in the show's history (the walrus-like thingys from series 2...can't remember which ep...are the absolute dumbest IMO!!)? The pace of the episode really worked for me, and it was packed top to bottom with tons of humor. Lester (Ben Miller) was on fire this episode. It starts right at the beginning with when he asks Becker (Ben Mansfield) to pistol-whip Danny (Jason Flemyng) for being a smart-aleck after they catch him breaking into the ARC all the way through to his long-suffering tolerance of Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) crashing at work. I couldn't believe it when he actually offered Connor the keys to his downtown flat - that moment was priceless! Could Lester have a heart?! ;-) His flash of generosity was only topped by his smug pleasure in one-upping Christine's (Belinda Stuart Wilson) attempts to maneuver one of her team members into the ARC as Cutter's replacement. Undercutting that power grab by appointing Danny was well played indeed.

Speaking of Danny, I thought this was his best episode yet. Flemyng really seemed to be relishing the campy adventure factor and just having a rollicking good time in front of the camera. Sure, Danny's a bit pushy, but I like his devil-may-care bravado and willingness to do, well, whatever it takes in order to get involved with the ARC team. He's a more active version of the Cutter we saw in the 1st three episodes of this series run. As to his qualifications - well, when it comes down to it, Dr. Page (Laila Rouass) is the only one remotely qualified academically speaking, and while she had a decent presence in this episode she has yet to be given enough screen time to really justify her role on the show IMO. Apparently all it takes to be a member of the ARC team is sheer grit and fearlessness, which Danny seems to have in spades. So Connor and Abby (Hannah Spearritt) are way too easily accepting of his involvment - I really didn't care. Maybe they sense a kindred spirit (i.e., we don't know what we're doing, just making this up as we go along, etc.).

This brings me to the Danny-Jenny (Lucy Brown) factor. Danny appears very willing to replace Cutter in Jenny's life, which is played rather sweetly in my view. However, Jenny's having NONE of that - which I kind of respect her for - and after barely surviving death by mold we get our second departure of the series. Shockingly enough, this one nearly brought a tear to my eye. I really liked the fact that Jenny left the ARC on her own terms. And while her last look around the office was the stuff all great departure cliches are made of, I ate up every second. All that was missing was having her walk out of the building to a flipping slow clap from the rest of the team. THAT would've been priceless!!

In summation, I am really quite pleased with this episode and with the direction of the third series thus far. The departures have been rather wrenching, but I like how they've brought some additional emotional depth to the team members' relationships.

Primeval 3.4

Yes, I know, still haven't caught up on the Primeval blogging. *sigh* ;-)

Spoilers...

Episode 4 marks the first episode without Cutter (Douglas Henshall) *SOB*, and somewhat to my surprise I really liked it. This show (so far, anyway) has done a very good job handling the impact of characters' deaths on those who remain behind. It's acknowledged, it actually appears to matter, but they don't dwell on the point at the expense of moving forward with the story. This episode brought us two great examples in Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) and Jenny's (Lucy Brown) respective reactions to Cutter's death. Connor really appears to feel the weight of Cutter's last words ("it's on you now") and really wants to do good work. Now being Connor he is still going to screw up, but he's so dang cute one can't help pulling for him. LOL!

This ep had some excellent Connor/Abby (Hannah Spearritt) angst as well. It's a very solid indication that maybe, just maybe, their relationship will get somewhere...someday...for two seconds (I'm getting desperate, people!). Connor's reaction to the phone call from Abby's little brother (question - is it weird that he didn't know she had a little brother apparently?) about giving her a night out was priceless!!

Jenny's reaction is a bit wrenching. She's clearly living with "what might have been's" and deeply regrets never telling Cutter how she felt about him. The question is, can she handle working at a Cutter-less ARC? She's professional and driven as always but clearly it's a struggle. You know she's not quite herself when she can't keep Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) in line. Speaking of Danny - I really liked his character in this ep. Now that he's come to terms with the fact that something from an anomaly killed his brother, he's fully embraced the idea of working with the ARC - whether they like it or not. His rather laid-back, devil-may-care attitude is a refreshing change to throw into the established dynamic of the team. I think he's going to bring a breath of fresh air to the show (and annoy Lester, which will really make my day). ;-) How can you not love a guy who'll commandeer a helicopter after only two "unbelievably fantastic" flying lessons to fight off a dinosaur? Seriously!! Plus he's really hot when he's wearing black and riding a motorcycle. Just sayin'... ;-)

Lester (Ben Miller) is quickly becoming my favorite character of the season. His scenes never fail to crack me up. He's got the extreme "stiff upper lip" thing going on, so it's absolutely freaking hilarious watching him attempt to keep his frustrations under control. I LUV how Christine-the-witch's character (Belinda Stuart Wilson) brings out this sort of protective team player side of his personality. It's perfectly okay for him to throw around sarcastic remarks about the ARC crew, but if an outsider does it, well that's crossing THE LINE, people. LOL! I'm getting VERY curious about how Christine got her own anomaly set up and what exactly it is she's trying to accomplish. Speaking of Christine, I'm a little worried about Becker (Ben Mansfield) since he apparently one of her military team members was an instructor of his at Sandhurst. Note to Becker: Learn from Stephen's example and don't let yourself be emotionally blackmailed!! I'm getting too much of a kick out of the Connor-Becker team dynamic to want Becker gone anytime soon (the nerd versus the G.I. Joe type is too funny).

The G-Rex in this episode is a really prime example of how good the CGI-effects can be on this show. It works best when they're recreating a dinosaur instead of a futuristic creature IMO. I love seeing the G-Rex rampage around the airplane hangar and in relation to the 747...very nicely done IMO. I'm not going to even COMMENT on the stupid reporters because they just get on my last nerve (note to reporter dude, GET A FREAKING HAIRCUT!). I almost forgot, though, the Crocodile Hunter-type filmmaker the annoying reporter people brought to the anomaly - that guy had the animal show-host type nailed. Quite funny when prehistoric creatures are involved, ya know?

I guess that about covers my thoughts on this episode of the show. Of course it will take a few more episodes for the fallout of Cutter's absence to really be felt, but I have high hopes for the show's future. I'm still mulling over just a bit why Cutter's death hasn't had a greater impact on my view of Primeval...but that is subject to change at any moment, I suppose! The showrunners need to keep in mind, however, that Lester's character is my line in the sand...kill off Lester and I will be crushed, do you hear me, CRUSHED!! ;-) Hopefully I'll get my thoughts on episode 5 up this week...we'll see. LOL!

Primeval 3.1

Spoilers...

Quick thoughts on the first episode of the new season of Primeval before the second episode airs tonight. I know this can be a bit confusing because British shows are often commissioned for an odd number of episodes per season or series. While this is for all intents and purposes season two in the US, it's really series three (series one consisted of episodes 1-6, and series two episodes 7-13). So that's why there's a "3.1" in the title of this post.

ANYWAYS...I thought this was an extremely strong start to the new series. I absolutely loved it! This show has consistently gotten better and better with each successive episode. The mythology and the conspiracy factors introduced in episodes 7-13 last year really ratcheted up the intrigue and tension, making this a bit more than "just" a dinosaur adventure show. The show is actually really lucky in regard to how well all the pieces of the puzzle have worked as they've been introduced. I don't know how much of an overall "plan," if any, the show runners had from the beginning - either the brilliant pieces of the puzzle were already in place, or the showrunners are geniuses. Maybe both.

Series three picks up right where last year's fantastic cliffhanger left off - the team is still reeling from the aftershock of Stephen's (James Murray) death. I appreciate the fact that the team didn't just forget Stephen and automatically move on with their lives. Though to be quite frank I was ready for his character to die - he'd gotten way too stupid over Helen (Juliet Aubrey). Speaking of Helen, I still hate that chick. She has got to be one of the best villains to come along on television in ages. LOL!

This episode also introduces two new team members - hottie Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield) and Sarah Page (Laila Rouass), a smart and sassy Egyptologist (BTW, loved the action in the British Museum!). All of the other regular team members are back, including Cutter (Douglas Henshall), Connor (Andrew Lee Potts), Abby (Hannah Spearritt), Jenny (Lucy Brown), and my favorite, the acerbic Lester (Ben Miller). Lester had some of the best lines in the episode IMO. When he "cracks jokes" I was just rolling with laughter...love his dry, dry sense of humor. I loved Connor's interaction with Sarah. Not only did she do an excellent job messing with his head (HA!), but he got to prove that he knows a thing or two about what he's talking about - even if his spastic, goofy personality makes him a bit hard to take seriously. Good work by Potts in this ep!

I loved the way this episode introduced the idea that the anomalies are somehow tied to ancient cultural landmarks (like the Egyptian sun cage) and traditions. It makes a lot of sense (as much as a show like this could make sense, HA!!). Myths = anomalies. Should be a lot of fun for the next nine weeks. I also loved the fact that Lester's got a few more headaches to deal with besides the fact that he can barely control the Cutter's team - the government apparently wants to interfere more in his work, as seen by the introduction of Christine (Belinda Stuart-Wilson). Christine's role in the conspiracy has me very intrigued - apparently Helen has some competition for power, artifacts, and a general megalomaniacal desire to control the world and alter the fate of mankind...nothing major. LOL!

I guess that's about it...love Lester, really like the new team additions, still hate and loathe Helen, and I'm so freaking happy this show is back on the air. Remember, new episode airs TONIGHT!