Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry

Well wasn't this episode a twisty hot mess? :) The third brand-new episode of Inspector Lewis featured on Masterpiece Mystery this season features swingers, fetish photographs, and a PRIMATE LAB!!! I can't think of another show out there that could make that list of plot elements work except Lewis. :) Here's the episode summary from the PBS website:

Sometimes murder extends its reach even beyond the medieval walls of Oxford. So it goes when suburbanites Nick and Honey Addams return home after a night out to find their babysitter, Jessica Lake, dead, her wrists symmetrically bound to the Addams's bed. Her death pose is shocking; more so is Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately) and DS Hathaway's (Laurence Fox) discovery of fetish photographs featuring Jessica in similar restraints. With Jessica as her muse, the provocative "Oxford type" artist, Marion Hammond, used fetish photography to explore the dual nature of passion: innocence and corruption. In the dark and varied worlds at the outskirts of Oxford, Lewis and Hathaway search for answers in an abandoned children's home, a primate lab, and the upscale home of smug venture capitalist Tom Garland. To piece together the terrifying symmetry of Jessica's murder, Lewis and Hathaway race to solve the mystery of the girl behind the muse. (90 minutes; TV-14)

The episode opens with Nick (Ciarán McMenamin) and Honey (Georgia Taylor) Addams awaiting the arrival of Jessica Lake (Abi Hardingham), a babysitter scheduled to watch their toddler-age son while they go play tennis with Nick's boss and his wife. There is obviously a great strain on the Addams marriage, and it's about to get worse as the couple returns the next day to find their toddler shrieking and their babysitter dead, tied in a symmetrical bondage position to their bed (I would SO be moving). The careful arrangement of Jessica's body suggests premeditated murder -- but since the Addams spent the night away from their home at the last minute, and Jessica was a replacement babysitter, was she the target or a "convenient" replacement?  

Lewis (Kevin Whately) and Hathaway's (Laurence Fox) investigation takes them to an animal behavior lab at Oxford, where the Addams's original babysitter, Yasmin Randall (Leila Mimmack), had been asked to work a last-minute shift. Jessica not only knew Yasmin, but she had been hired to work at the lab by primate researcher Dr. Bob Massey (Con O'Neill), who just happens to be the father of her boyfriend Gideon (Pierro Niel-Mee). As if that isn't enough of a tangled mess of associations, the investigation uncovers S&M-style photographs of Jessica, reminiscent of her death pose, that lead Lewis and Hathaway to a rather controversial, avant-garde photographer, Marion Hammond (Lucy Cohu). Marion was working on an exhibit featuring Jessica's poses entitled "Unspeakable Acts." Marion's somewhat devil-may-care attitude towards her controversial work raises the possibility that she could have been involved in Jessica's death, all in the name of her art. Or perhaps it was Silas (Bronson Webb) and Kyle (Merveille Lukeba), fellow squatters with Jessica at their now-abandoned former home for troubled teens -- the former distinctly unbalanced and determined to exact superhero-style street justice on Jessica's killer.

The Addams's marriage troubles come into play in a disturbing fashion when Lewis and Hathaway visit the home of Nick's boss to verify the couple's alibi. Tom Garland (Gary Kemp) and his wife Davina (Katrine De Candole) are wealthy, privileged, and used to getting their own way -- and their home, decorated with Marion's highly-sexualized photographs, suggest the couple explore the behaviors exhibited in Jessica's photos and death scene. In typical Lewis fashion, Marion's work has touched and connected all of the disparate individuals, from wildy varied backgrounds, that touched Jessica's life prior to her death -- the question is, who took the images displayed in the photographs too far?

This was a fantastically twisty, convoluted episode. I loved seeing Ciarán McMenamin on television again, though I'm really starting to question why I like him so much. Aside from his hit-or-miss turn as Matt on Primeval, he seems to play rather questionable (??) characters a little too well, if you know what I mean. Comes off as wishy-washy after a while, poor guy. The revelation that he pressured his wife into participating in a swingers' session with the Garlands absolutely made my skin crawl. Nevermind that the couple didn't follow through with it -- the idea in and of itself is just...ick, you know? McMenamin saves his character by the end of the episode, but barely. Speaking of the Garlands, the wife Davina may look familiar -- she played a brief role in X-Men: First Class as well as a memorable appearance in Zen.

My favorite guest star in this episode was Lucy Cohu as Marion. I think she has such a striking on-screen presence, and while I can't say I liked her occupation in this film, I loved her style. :) Cohu played Jane Austen's sister-in-law Eliza in Becoming Jane, Captain Jack's daughter in Torchwood: Children of Earth, as well as appearing in Ballet Shoes and Miss Marple. Eventually we'll see her on Masterpiece in the second series of the rebooted Upstairs Downstairs as well.

I confess the mystery in this episode kept me going until nearly the end. I love how it set up Gideon's father as a parental hero of sorts, as he is the one who stayed to raise Gideon after his mother -- the icy Stanza Massey (Anna Wilson-Jones) -- couldn't handle motherhood and left her family, doing "penance" by working with the youth home that raised Jessica and her squatter roommates. But it is Dr. Massey who, somewhere along the line, has begun a slow descent into madness. Alternately repelled and fascinated by Jessica's artfully staged photographs, he longs to recreate the work -- to the point that he does so twice, and nearly a third time (after he attacks his son!) when he confronts Marion as the creative force behind the photos. That scene was one of the series' best suspense-wise, as the chills of having a madman invade Marion's home like that was brilliantly played. I loved the fact that out of this tragic family mess, Gideon's mother steps up and realizes that her son needs her as an active presence in his life, the conclusion hinting at a more hopeful future for the tragedy-ridden family. Side note: When Chief Superintendent Innocent (Rebecca Front) turns up at Marion's apartment to oversee Dr. Massey's arrest -- am I forgetting something or does this series bring Innocent into the "field" more frequently than ever before? I'm just used to seeing her in the office, lol!

As is the norm with this series, the episode provides a slew of wonderful Lewis and Hathaway-centric character moments. From their good-natured ribbing of each other to the fantastic way they've learned to practically read each other's minds -- this duo has come so far, and I never tire of watching each tiny nuance and expression exhibited in their interactions. I was especially touched by how Jessica's death prompted Lewis to call his own daughter -- unless I'm forgetting something, she's never featured in an episode. But I love how the show reminds us again and again of just how much he loves his family. I also loved the moment when Lewis asks Hobson (Clare Holman) about her report on Jessica's death -- and she teases him good-naturedly about using the term "funny business" instead of something more direct like assault. They are SO CUTE TOGETHER.

There is also a lot of humor at poor Hathaway's expense, but I loved every second of it. There's nothing quite as satisfying as seeing the straight-laced, oft-times somber Hathaway getting a bit rattled. I loved how he goes to the Addams's home to look for their son's favorite toy stuffed giraffe, and gets positively drowned in kid-related items. And then when he realizes he saw the toy in the friggin' primate lab, and has to go into retrieve it -- but only after a severe warning about not looking "them in the eyes" OR ELSE -- oh, it was an undeniably serious moment, critical to the investigation, but seeing Hathaway so tightly wound, it cracked me up!

I thought this was one of the series' more suspenseful episodes, full of the show's trademark twists and turns. Thoughts?

Primeval 4.7

For all this fourth season of Primeval has been an up and down experience for me quality-wise, I've got to give the writers and actors credit for delivering a strong season finisher with episode seven. This week's anomaly opens in an old prison that's been turned into a museum. I loved this set-up - with the iron bars and enclosed cells, the setting reminded me of something out of an old horror or haunted house flick.

The Ethan (Jonathan Byrne) and Emily (Ruth Bradley) storyline has been pretty poorly handled this season, and while I'm not surprised the whole thing turned out to be a giant red herring, I feel like the writers wrapped things up in the best possible fashion they could. Emily has been staying at the ARC offices until Ethan is found*, and she's warmed to the idea of making a new life for herself in the present. Bradley's handled the concept of Emily developing feelings for Matt with good grace, and I have to give her credit because goodness knows she hasn't had much to work with in the reciprocity department up to this point.

When Connor (Andrew Lee Potts), Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and Becker (Ben Mansfield) arrive at the prison, they discover there's something very strange about this anomaly - the locking mechanism won't hold (which Matt suspects has to do with Ethan's interference), allowing "terror birds" (i.e. overgrown ostriches that apparently eat people) to come through and run rampant throughout the prison. Terror birds has got to be the lamest name ever for a creature on this show, just sayin'. But we get an even BETTER surprise coming through the anomaly - DANNY (Jason Flemyng). He may look atrocious in a grubby flannel shirt and a mullet, but he hasn't lost his ATTITUDE! And he beats up terror birds with a big stick! That's the kind of devil-may-care attitude the show has been missing this season.

So, clever Ethan has apparently jury-rigged a simple radio to clue him into the location of anomalies, and so he inevitably shows up at the prison. In the firefight that ensues, he comes face-to-face with Danny and lo and behold we get this season's big reveal - Ethan is really Patrick, Danny's long-lost brother, first mentioned in season three, episode two! Honestly the Ethan/Patrick thing is more of an effort at continuity and thoroughness than I ever expected from this show, fairly impressive. However, the revelation that Ethan is Danny's brother proves that everyone, and I mean everyone, has been giving him way more credit for being an evil anomaly controlling mastermind than he deserved. While I can't begin to fathom the trauma being stuck in prehistoric times wreaked on Ethan/Patrick's fourteen-year-old mind, I also think it's an equally big stretch to have had his trauma translate into turning him into a timeline-hopping killer/madman. I'm sure there's a lot of truth to the idea that the more one kills, the easier it becomes, but to make the jump from killing animals for survival purposes to humans, and somehow doing all this because your big plot is to get back at your brother for abandoning you, is a bit ridiculous. Not to mention his obsession with killing Emily, but why not heap one more contrivance on an already convoluted plotline? *sigh*

Danny's big news (aside from discovering his brother is a nutjob that is) is that Helen Cutter somehow knew Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig), which puts Burton's activies and the whole "Prospero" project under suspicion (just in case you weren't wary of him already). *wink* By tying Philip to Helen Cutter and her apocalyptic aims for the destruction of mankind, Primeval is reaching for an ambitious, series-length mytharc. While I applaud the effort, and am very curious to see where things go in series 5 (especially since series 6 is not a foregone conclusion, given what I've read of the show's ratings battles), I do wish that the writers had been given more time to develop these ideas. However, there's no use I suppose in continually bemoaning the fact that too much gets crammed into too few episodes, and that qualm aside, this episode is a solid launching pad for the next spate of episodes due later this year.

The reason the prison anomaly wouldn't close was interesting, I thought - it makes sense in a weird sort of way that if two anomalies opened in the exact same spot that something extra strange would happen. The implications - that multiple anomalies, reacting against each other, could cause untold numbers of weaker portals to open, is a terrifying one, and I do dearly hope that the show doesn't squander the possibilities from this development later on. I love that it's Connor who figures out the double-anomaly mystery, and that he's the one to project the apocalyptic implications for anomalies, if they continue at their currently appearing trend. I even love the fact that he's still naive enough to take his findings to Philip - that fail, however well-meaning, balances out the great strides we've gotten to see Connor make throughout the show as an increasingly viable and valuable member of the team. Cutter would be proud. :) If the man's got to have a weak spot, it makes perfect sense that it would be his predisposition towards fandom that would place him in peril.

This episode was Matt's (Ciarán McMenamin) strongest outing to date as team leader. He seemed to exude genuine feeling for his teammates this episode, instead of just phoning it in. While I appreciate the fact that Matt was close to his father and dedicated to his (finally clarified) mission, what hooks me with a show are the characters and their relationships. And if someone's supposed to be heroic, dang it I want them to prove worthy of the adjective! Matt seemed genuinely interested in Emily's safety and her decision to stay or return home (one of the two anomalies at the prison is identified as her original time period, thanks to Connor's handy-dandy anomaly dating device!). The realization that Ethan is not the super-villain he'd thought also serves as a much-needed shock to Matt's system - he's not always right, and inspite of the elaborate subterfuge employed by his father to secure him the position on the ARC team, the real baddie has been operating right under his nose. When Emily and Matt say their goodbyes, thankfully the show doesn't stray into melodrama - instead there's a very subtle hint that they really like each other, but this just isn't going to work out. I found it a bit poignant but not overdone, nicely balanced, and McMenamin actually seems emotionally engaged for a change, which is a HUGE step in the right direction for his character.

*Side note on Ethan/Emily - Are we just supposed to take Ethan's apparently intense hatred for Emily has a sign that his deranged, or is there more to their story? I didn't quite buy the guy's drive to eliminate Emily as a carryover from his introduction. I'd like there to be more to their story, in part because I thought Emily was a much better addition to the core cast than other female members past and present (Jess, Sarah).

So, going forward, there are a few things I'd like to see happen in series 5. First and foremost, I would love to have Abby drop-kick Philip for daring to mess with her man. Second, I really, really, really hope Danny comes back. If his return in this episode was to merely pass on news of the connection between Helen and Philip, I am going to be CRUSHED. If Danny doesn't return, the whole Ethan/Patrick red herring of a storyline is just going to be ridiculous. (WAIT A SEC...googled Primeval series 5, and according to this article, we haven't seen the last of Danny OR Patrick! Woo-hoo!). The ARC desperately needs someone with Danny's energy and attitude...and if Danny returns in a bigger capacity for the back six episodes this year, I have high(er) hopes that the show could see a sixth series. Besides, Ethan needs redemption and Danny needs to be finally excised of the guilt he's carried with him over his brother's disappearance. Third point, now that I've sufficiently recovered (momentarily) for Jason Flemyng fangirl squealing, is that I really need to see Lester (Ben Miller) deck Philip for 1) being evil and 2) for MESSING WITH HIS FRIENDS! Because though he'd never admit it, Connor, Abby, Becker, and Danny are HIS PEOPLE, DANG IT! And fourth, but certainly not least, figure out what to do with Becker and Jess (Ruth Kearney) - separately, together, whatever, I don't care...but these characters will hopefully be better and more consistently served by the next six episodes. Becker's predisposition towards anger/angst this season has been way overdone. And while Jess's character has grown marginally less annoying as series 4 has progressed, she still feels completely unnecessary and superfluous to the team. The writers seem to have had trouble with female characters (see Sarah) except for Helen and Abby. 

While series 4 hasn't been quite as consistently brilliant as I'd rank series 3, it's been so good to have this show back on my TV screen, if for no other reason than quality time spent with the likes of Andrew Lee Potts and Ben Miller is never wasted. :) The show is in a good position to finish the year strong with series 5 (I imagine we'll see premiere announcements this summer, maybe?), and I have high hopes those episodes will deliver.

Primeval 4.6

Well, obviously I fell behind with my Primeval Series 4 reviews. Thankfully this season was only seven episodes, so I don't have too much catching up to do. *wink* This episode opens with the mysterious Gideon (Anton Lesser) having some sort of flashback to another world. As we learned back in episode three, Gideon is terminally ill - and at this point he's so close to death he's fanatical in his insistence that Matt (Ciarán McMenamin) promise he'll use Emily (Ruth Bradley) as bait to capture Ethan (Jonathan Byrne) and stop him from destroying humanity. For reasons that have yet to be revealed, Gideon has lumped Ethan in the same category as Series 1-3 baddie Helen Cutter - an amoral individual with the right knowledge to wreak unimaginable havoc on mankind. Only Ethan is an underdeveloped, poorer version of the same type - mainly due to lack of decent characterization - only part of which, to my mind, can be blamed on the fact that this is a seven episode season. Matt, being the stoic lump on a log that he is, of course promises to do just this - because even if in Matt's world he's sort of attracted to Emily, he can't let that interfere with his mission. I like the basic idea behind Ethan and Matt as adversaries across time, but I think the fact that again, this season is so short, the impact of the possibilities between these characters are never fully explored to the extent one would wish.

This week's anomaly opens at a swanky mansion where a wedding is being staged. Matt, Emily, Connor (Andrew Lee Potts), and Abby (Hannah Spearitt) are sent to investigate the anomaly, leaving Lester (Ben Miller) to man the ARC offices and Becker (Ben Mansfield) to track down Ethan, with Jess (Ruth Kearney) for company. The creatures this week cracked me up! Hyaenadons are apparently quite fierce dog-like creatures who are rather cute when they're in the "puppy" stage, quite another thing when they are fully grown. While searching the mansion, Connor and Abby run into the bride-to-be who turns out to be none other than former ARC team member Jenny Lewis (Lucy Brown), more high maintenance than ever. I have VERY mixed feelings about her reappearance. Jenny left the team in episode 5 of series 3, shortly after Cutter's death and the realization that yes, he wasn't crazy - in a different timeline she was his true love Claudia Brown. I guess my main issue here is that seeing Jenny again reminded me of how much I preferred the Claudia incarnation of this character - Jenny always came across as way too...hmm, I don't know...wishy-washy to me. For most of series 2 and 3 Jenny didn't deserve Cutter AT ALL...and then she leaves the show when she finally starts to show some moxie (and act like Claudia). So in the intervening time since she's left the ARC, she's attempted to completely purge her former life from her mind and she's gotten engaged to a musician with horrible fashion sense. Nothing against musicians, but yeesh after Cutter's awesomeness this Michael (Rory Keenan) person is the best rebound option the writers could come up with? And in spite of her past experience with the ARC she is delusional enough to think that the anomaly won't leak creatures to wreck her wedding. That's just delusional. *wink*

Connor had perhaps one of his best awkward-but-you'll-forgive-him-'cause-he's-adorable moments ever when he and Abby are catching up with Jenny and he off-handedly suggests that he and Abby should get married at this location. Abby's look of shock and horror at the off-the-cuff way he brought up marriage was absolutely priceless! And then the way he tries to back pedal, and then just sort of gives up because he knows he's dug himself into a deep hole is vintage Connor. One thing that has remained constant for me throughout Primeval's run is how much I love these two characters, and series 4, for as much as some of it's been up and down quality-wise in my opinion, has given me plenty of fantastic Connor/Abby moments for which I am eternally grateful. It was also a lot of fun to see Connor cut off and locked in the basement with only baby hyaenadons for company while their very angry mama tries to take him out. The sequence managed to strike just the right balance of Connor's dorkiness and proficiency.

The whole concept of Emily and Matt working as romantic interests really crashes and burns completely here. First and foremost, Matt's high-handed attitude toward keeping Emily in sight at all times just made me want to smack him upside the head for acting like such a neanderthal (apologies to the guys in the Geico commercials). And while I get that she's from a different era, for someone who has been traveling through anomalies for as long as she has, I was surprised she didn't kick him to the curb figuratively and literally. But alas, that is not to be as apparently she's supposed to see past the facade into his tortured soul or something, so she puts up with his chauvinistic shenanigans. Whatevs.

On to Becker and Jess's activities this episode. Jess, I know, is a really hit-or-miss character - and perhaps I am tolerating her more only because my ability to stomach Matt has decreased by a proportionate amount each week. Anyway, I thought it was kind of cute that she brought takeout to Becker's stakeout in front of Ethan's hideout (wow...look at all those words ending in "out"). I also liked how Becker's predisposition to run in and just get the job done backfired on him here, as he ends up in the middle of a booby-trapped room and Jess has to save the day and disarm Ethan's bomb. Nicely done, girlfriend. *wink*

While Jenny's return felt a bit lamer than I would have wished, I did enjoy the craziness that ensued when Connor frees himself from the basement and interrupts the ceremony. If looks could kill poor Connor would have been fried on the spot. The set up played nicely into hyaenadons following and completely freaking out everyone in the audience. Finally we see more than a small handful of one-off episode characters encountering dinosaurs gone wild! This show works best for me when there's a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor (the complete lack of that is Matt's downfall), something Danny's character brought to the show in spades. That quality was abundantly present in the spectacle of overgrown wild dogs terrorizing wedding guests, while Abby and Emily, decked out to the nines in formal dresses, wielding maces as weapons.

I really thought it was a nice touch to finish the episode by having Lester officiate Jenny's wedding (who knew managers of top-secret government offices could perform weddings?). This was one of those scenes that forced Lester out of his comfort zone, and while he may complain we know him well enough by now to realize that somewhere deep (deep) inside he's probably rather touched. *wink* With only one episode left, we finally get the not quite surprising revelation that Gideon is Matt's father, and they are (also not surprisingly) not from this time period - sent from the future to stop someone - who has now been revealed to be Ethan - from using the anomalies to destroy mankind. Like much of this season, the overall storyarc has been rather poorly developed...so I'm curious to see what sort of cliffhanger we're left with after episode 7...

Primeval 4.5

I finally got the chance to re-watch episode five of Primeval this weekend since BBC America finally put the episode On Demand. This episode continues the overall up-tick in quality and storyline this series has enjoyed since episode three. The action opens with Philip (Alexander Siddig) offering Connor a job in his private lab, doing anomaly research away from the ARC. Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) is clearly flattered since Philip is his geeky idol, for reasons I have yet to grasp given Philip's presence on-screen this season. But whatever. It's been kind of fun to see Connor's predisposition towards Philip fanboy-dom get on Abby's (Hannah Spearitt) last nerve, especially after Philip orders all of the creatures in her beloved menagerie put down.

In fact, this episode has pretty much forced me to conclude that Philip has been one of the most poorly conceived and realized characters in the show's history. Having seen episode six, and with only seven episodes in this fourth series, I have my doubts that the writers can save Philip by the season's end, but who knows? *sigh* But if Philip doesn't have a point as far as the show's story arc goes, I will say I do enjoy witnessing how he gets on Lester's (Ben Miller) nerves. If there was any doubt in my mind about Lester's qualifications - which there wasn't, BTW - forcing Lester to tolerate a boss like Philip proves that my favorite snarky ARC manager needs no overseer. Between getting annoyed by Philip, telling Matt off for not listening to him, and fumbling through actual field work by standing in for Jess as a communications director, Lester was in FINE form this episode.

I really loved the whole execution of the creature storyline in this episode, the whole thing was well-conceived and quite creepy. The picturesque town giving off anomaly signal "flashes" was eerie in a horror flick kind of way - everything was "too" quiet and "too" perfect to be genuine. The way all of the townspeople cover up rumors of the Wichfield (sp?) worm was a neat twist on creature incursions - no one wants to acknowledge that the impossible is occurring, so it is repressed, that kind of thing. When Abby and Connor arrive and visit the pub to try and glean information from the locals, I loved how Abby was immediately pegged as the more serious, threatening of the two when she's given the bigger drink at the bar - poor Connor. *wink*

So while Connor and Abby split up to take care of the anomaly, Matt (Ciarán McMenamin) leaves to pursue the kidnapped Emily (Ruth Bradley) and the mysterious Ethan (Jonathan Byrne), who knows way more than any self-respecting 19th century anomaly hopper should about the 21st-century, like how to drive modern cars. AND he lets drop a comment about taking revenge on his FAMILY. Hmmm... I have really liked McMenamin in other projects, but I have to be honest, overall he's been a disappointment as team leader in Primeval. He's just WAY too serious for his own good - that's why I liked Danny so much in season three, and why as tragic as Cutter's departure was, I wasn't all that sorry to see him go. The show needs someone charismatic in a lead role, who brings a sense of adventure to the storylines, not stoic gloom-and-doom. It is with some hesitancy that I've watched Matt's relationship with Emily unfold over the last few episodes. Emily's served to loosen him up just a bit, but sadly Matt is still an extraordinarily stuffed shirt and makes Emily look positively charismatic by contrast. The hopeless romantic in me did love the moment he rescues her from the crypt, though. :) And if his connection with Emily has proven to indicate one thing, it's that both of these characters are not of this time period.

So back to Connor and Abby for a few moments...I thought having Abby trapped in a camper while the creature of the week - this time a labyrinthodont - made for some fun action sequences, especially when she starts driving the camper with the creature hitching a ride on the roof at high speed to the anomaly location. I also thought Connor's discovery that the fuel the creepy farm-folk were dumping down into the mountainside was somehow affecting the strength of the anomaly was pretty interesting. I'm not even going to try and discuss the science of that, when it comes to this show I'm not that interested in specifics. LOL! There was a fantastic angst-ridden Connor moment when, in the cave, he's confronted by the labyrinthodont that's eaten Abby's tracker and he thinks he may have lost his one and only love. I loved watching Connor go all fighting mad, since that's not a side of him that we usually get to see. And then of course to have Abby show up - his relief was almost palpable. The moment was capped by a fantastic kiss - and can I just say, Andrew Lee Potts is the master of the "sudden" on-screen kiss (just watch the last five minutes of SyFy's Alice). Knowing that Potts and Spearritt are a couple in real life made the moment all the sweeter.

Becker (Ben Mansfield) was a no-show this ep, and sadly wasn't missed by yours truly. Jess (Ruth Kearney) was also relegated to the background, but I've got to say she's getting on my nerves less and less as the show goes on. I think it's a combination of having her scenes reduced and the fact that when she's on-screen she's less annoying, proving her worth bit by bit each week. I really enjoyed her exasperation with Lester's high-handedness - those were some cute moments.

So, thoughts? Anyone besides me as exasperated with the show's development of the Matt and Philip characters? This was one of the best field operations this season IMO. And I continue to love watching Connor and Abby's relationship develop - they've come a long way since season one, haven't they? :) Episode six review coming soon!

Primeval 4.4

Well, unfortunately I'm two weeks behind on my Primeval blogging (blame Downton Abbey, haha!), but I hope to remedy that situation this weekend. This episode, while entertaining, felt like a bit of a let down after last week's wildy entertaining anomaly in a theatre storyline, and the introduction of Emily (Ruth Bradley) and the evil Ethan (Jonathan Byrne). The Ethan/Emily storyline was almost completely sidelined for this episode. The scriptwriters appear to be teasing with the idea of an Emily and Matt (Ciarán McMenamin) romance - not sure how that is going to work out but it is at least serving to make Matt a marginally more interesting character IMO. Abby (Hannah Spearitt) and Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) are also headed for a bit of a rough patch in their relationship, thanks to Connor's geeked out hero worship of Philip (Alexander Siddig). Turns out Philip's near-death experience in the previous episode left him more than a little freaked out by the ARC's on-site menagerie. He wants to put all the creatures down, including Rex, and of course there is no way Abby is going to stand for that. As much as I LOVE Abby and Connor, I'm glad the writers decided to throw a little bit of tension into their relationship - and when Philip, Connor's professional idol, attacks Abby's beloved animals and Connor doesn't immediately support her - well, it's an entirely believable couple issue within the context of the show.

This week's anomaly opens up in a school. If you set aside the fact that this school holds Saturday detention for three students (seriously, three? that's it?!), the chase throughout the school corridors turns out to be pretty entertaining. This mission finally sees Jess (Ruth Kearney) involved in a mission in a meaningful way, even though she's back at the ARC base directing operations remotely via the school's security cameras. I'm still not overly fond of her character, but the scriptwriters handed Jess a major reality check with this episode that was long overdue and finally showed us the type of computer skills she brings to the table. Abby initially tries to get Jess to help her smuggle the creatures out of the ARC, but when Jess witnesses one of the therocephalians kill a student, she's dealt a major reality check about the dangers involved in the ARC's work.

The therocephalians were fierce and creepy, and oddly seemed to multiply like crazy - which, given their venomous bite and flesh-eating preferences made them extraordinarily creepy. I really enjoyed seeing Connor in the field for a change instead of Abby - he's always been more of a tech guy, but he gets to show how adept he is in the field in this episode, with the added bonus that he gets to save the day and impress the two dorks who actually survive the detention/creature debacle. Which brings me to this whole mission. Inspite of the detention contrivance, it was actually kind of refreshing to see the show recognize that the ARC doesn't operate in a vacuum - and it's highly realistic that innocent bystanders would fall victim to creature incursions occasionally (way more often than they do on this show anyway, haha!).

The dangers of the ARC's job hit closer to home than usual when Becker (Ben Mansfield) is overwhelmed by the therocephalians. I really do love Becker in all of his stoic, upstanding goodness, but his...how can I say this...his strictness this season has been a bit over-the-top. I get that he was emotioanlly scarred by losing Danny, Connor, and Abby at the end of Series 3, but if anyone should be scarred it should be Connor and Abby - and they've re-acclimated to life in modern times remarkably well. Becker by comparison seems to view anything less than by-the-book, break no rules success a personal failure. Hopefully, it will do his character a bit of good to have had a close brush with death. And since it seems like a Becker/Jess romantic pairing is inevitable, I was glad to see Jess remind him that lives saved were just as important to remember as lives lost. The man needs to dwell on the positive a bit more. LOL!

It's no secret that I absolutely adore Lester (Ben Miller), and he was hilarious in this episode. He has not responded well to Philip's new role as ARC boss - and the beauty of Lester is that he's utterly incapable of turning off the sarcasm and snarky comments. I loved it when he threatens what might happen to Philip's reputation if the ARC's secret operations became public knowledge, and it's leaked that he's a dinosaur killer. As Lester reminds Abby, the mammoth did save his life once - but that doesn't mean that he's actually a nice person. :) Oh Lester, I adore you in all of your snarky glory and highly repressed niceness.

Looking foward, I really hope that the Emily/Ethan mystery lives up to the hype. I don't think I'd really like it if Ethan turns out to be a male version of Helen, but who knows?! Maybe it could work. And the show really needs to make sense of Philip's involvement with the ARC and the "new dawn" operation, and Matt and Gideon's (Anton Lesser) relationship and their secret plans for the anomalies. Given Matt's nearly empty apartment, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps he came through an anomaly at one point - hence his reluctance to talk about his past. That would be an interesting plot twist, hmm? :)

Primeval 4.3

Um, WOW. For my money this was easily the best episode of Primeval so far this season, and it hopefully, hopefully bodes very well for the rest of Series Four. Despite the noticable and much-lamented (on my part, anyway!) absence of Lester (Ben Miller), this episode was a huge leap forward in story quality and stakes for our characters, and very reminscent of the type of story that made me fall in love with this show in the first place.

For the first time in the show's history (correct me if I'm forgetting something here), we get actual unknown characters coming through an anomaly into present-day London. The set-up for these characters is most intriguing - apparently a group of them have a colony of sorts that travels through time. It really reminded me of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World, for some reason. In addition to the Lost World connotation, these mystery intruders lent the storyline a real "steampunk" vibe, which turned out to be completely on the mark since at least one of this group is from Victorian-era London (at this point it's unclear if the unseen members of the group are also from the late 1800's). And to make things even more interesting, the setting for the anomaly opening is a beautiful theater, which of course reminded me of The Phantom of the Opera, with the creepy tree creature taking the role of misunderstood and feared Phantom. *wink*

Perhaps Lester's absence in this episode left the scriptwriteres more "room" to finally explore the mystery of Matt's (Ciarán McMenamin) association with Gideon (Anton Lesser) and the reason Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig) was so interested in financing the ARC operations. Apparently Gideon is dying of some unknown disease, and has been waiting for something to do with the anomalies for years - a cure, perhaps? The question remains, is Matt simply his disciple of sorts or could Matt be his son? And what exactly are they waiting for?! The answer had better deliver, know what I mean? :) I am hopeful that since Matt's deception appears to be tied to an real emotional connection with Gideon, that their master "plot" isn't going to turn out to be like Helen's (i.e. wiping out mankind). That would feel like a copout IMO.

For much of this episode, Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) and Philip take center stage. Last week when Connor was allowed to rejoin the ARC team, it was clear that Philip thought he was unsuited for the task, in part due to his lack of military training and the fact that Connor can be a little, well, unorthodox. LOL! While Abby (Hannah Spearitt) and Becker (Ben Mansfield) are sent to the theater to invesigate the anomaly, Connor is sidelined so he can run tests on the new security system Philip wants put in place at the ARC. This opened the door for some workplace related humor (irritation at the boss, dismay at having to write reports) that was pretty funny. When Philip stumbles upon Rex loose in the menagerie, and the security system goes into lockdown, Connor and Jess (Ruth Kearney) have minutes to work out a way to save Philip's life, since lockdown = the oxygen being sucked from the room where the creature incursion has been detected.

Thankfully this episode pretty much sidelined the supposedly brilliant Jess in favor of letting Connor shine and remind us just why he's such a valuable member of the team. If anyone is going to nearly accidentally kill the boss, it's going to be Connor. But see that's one of the many things I love about his character - Connor may seem to screw up regularly, but no one could be more invested in learning from his mistakes and making things "right" than him. When Philip thinks he's going to die, he lets slip to Connor that the reason he's working with the ARC is that he's part of operation "new dawn," which sounds suspiciously like a "reset" project, which really reminds me of crazy Helen. But of course before he can share more information, Connor proves that he's a computer wizard every bit as good as Philip and deactivates the lockdown. After all, he's the original ARC computer master. :) And can I just tell you, I freaking LOVED the revelation that his password was "Abby Temple." Long before Abby would give him the time of day he was dreaming about being married to her! LOVE it! And only slightly less gratifying was witnessing Philip's new respect for Connor's capabilities - though since I don't quite trust him, Connor had better watch his back.

Back to the humans that come through this episode's anomaly for a moment. Lady Emily Merchant (pictured above) is played by Ruth Bradley, and crazy, unhinged Ethan is played by Jonathan Byrne. Bradley appeared in the movie Flyboys, which is long overdue for a rewatch in my book since I can't remember if she played the romantic lead or not. Emily's incursion presents an interesting opportunity for conflict between Matt and Becker. Matt breaks all the rules and follows her through the anomaly, not realizing she went there on purpose. Becker is obviously still so scarred by the events of last season that he has to be convinced to bend the rules and reopen the anomaly to give Matt the opportunity to come back. The show's attempt to create some sort of possible romantic attraction/tension between Matt and Emily sort of works...at least in my opinion Matt came across as a bit less of a cold fish in this episode, what with the crazy rule breaking and all. *wink* I'm more interested to see how his flagrant disregard for ARC protocol and his protection of Emily (known to Abby, but hidden from Becker) plays out - there's all sorts of potential for dividing the team here if things go south.

With not just one but two great chase-and-destroy the tree creeper sequences and the mystery of how humans from over a century ago coming through an anomaly could impact the storyline (please, please scriptwriters don't have squandered this opportunity!), this was easily the best episode of the season thus far.

I have no idea what episode the above picture of Connor is from, all I know is it came up when I was searching for episode three pics. But even though it doesn't belong to this episode, who doesn't appreciate a gratuitious Andrew Lee Potts picture?! So you're welcome. :)

Primeval 4.2

So, I realize this review is horribly late since episode three airs tonight, but what can I say? I was seriously distracted by Downton Abbey blogging this week. :) Episode two of this season of Primeval opens with a flashback to five years ago, when a random woman found a creepy lizard-like creature ransacking her living room and flushed it down the toilet. If you can ignore the logisitics of that actually working (that lizard was HUGE - seriously what are toilets like in the UK? LOL), it is nice to see the show address what happened to creatures who came through anomalies before the creation of the ARC. Flash-forward to the present, and we find Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) and Abby (Hannah Spearitt) being debriefed by Matt (Ciarán McMenamin) following their return after a year-long absence through an anomaly. The standout performances in this episode easily belong to Connor and Lester (Ben Miller). The ever-prickly Lester continually goes to bat for Connor and Abby - of course, he only compliments them when they aren't around. One has to maintain one's imagine, no? *wink* Besides revealing that yes, he does indeed have a heart, it's fun to watch Lester cope with Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig), the billionaire investor who funds 50% of the ARC's operations. Philip doesn't seem to really have a point, other than to undermine and annoy Lester. Hopefully the showrunners have a master plan for his character, otherwise I fear he is destined to simply clutter up the team.

This episode was a great venue for showcasing Connor's personal journey since the show began. Dismissed from the team thanks to the new "army experience" rule, and with no immediate prospects in sight, Connor decides to do a little creature sleuthing on his own. He runs across an old friend from his college days - Duncan, played by James Bradshaw. Duncan was part of Connor's gang of college friends - all conspiracy loving geeks. The group was torn apart when Connor joined the ARC team, and one of their number was killed by poisonous dodos (seriously, it was creepier than it sounds) in episode four of Series One. Duncan has really regressed, I guess you could say, while Connor has managed to mature (most of the time, haha)thanks to the faith Professor Cutter placed in him early in the show. This episode was a reminder that it easily could have gone the other way for Connor. Duncan and Connor's scenes were also a lot of fun, especially at the end of the episode when Duncan congratulates Connor on "making it" by dating Abby - Connor's geeked-out response, and then his quick reversal when he returns to join Abby in the car is hilarious to watch, and very well played by Potts.

I was only annoyed by Jess (Ruth Kearney) approximately 50% of the time she was on-screen this time around. She seems to be a genuinely nice person, in spite of the slightly creepy way she keeps talking about "knowing" everyone since she's read their files (over and over and over again in the case of Becker, methinks!). What I would like to know is what the heck is the pay scale at the ARC? Because Jess's apartment is RIDICULOUSLY nice. Not to mention ridiculously furinished - you couldn't help but notice that she has four rotary phones, lined up to spell out her name. Is that some stupid trend I'm not aware of? LOL! However, her crushing on Becker (Ben Mansfield) is still painfully awkward. But I LOVE the fact that he's not giving an inch - and the scene at the end where he remembers to bring her chocolate was kinda cute.

I was pretty pleased with the creature/chase portion of the show. As far as the world of the show goes, having the Kaprosuchus terrorizing a homeless community living near its lair felt like a pretty believable set-up. However, Jess's insessant online stalking of Matt when he leaves the ARC to follow Connor and Abby to the creature site really annoyed me after about sixty seconds. I just feel like there has to be a better way to prove her worth to the team than her penchant for nosiness...but maybe that's the route the showrunners are taking, so who knows?! *sigh* Which brings me to Matt...what kind of team leading idiot goes into the field with no weapon? I really want to like Matt's character, since I do like McMenamin, but he's so stiff on-screen it's hard to really get a feel for the character. I will be shocked if Matt doesn't get eaten by a creature before the end of this season - with his continued meetings with Gideon (Anton Lesser), and hazy motivations, I'm guessing he's doomed.

I really liked the chase through the container yard at the docks. That was a nicely creepy, tense set up, since with the containers stacked high, and everything looking the same, it would be quite frightening to be tracking down a rogue dinosaur in such a constricted area. It was also fantastic to see Connor prove himself in the field. We all knew they *had* to let him back on the team, but nonetheless it was fun to see him prove his mettle. And the final scene, where he confronts Lester demanding his job back, not knowing things have already been decided in his favor - that, my friends, was one of my favorite moments in the entire series. Lester's deadpan delivery of "well, you're back on the team" and Connor taking full credit for it and high-fiving Becker was absolutely HILARIOUS. Andrew Lee Potts had me laughing so hard, so many times in this episode - he really is the heart of the show now, and deservedly so in my opinion.

Looking forward to tonight's episode, which promised the arrival of humans through an anomaly (I doubt it's Helen reincarnated, but you never know with this show). Here's hoping that the show finds a point for Philip and Gideon soon, and that maybe, maybe Matt loosens up a bit.

Primeval 4.1

If you've been around this blog for a while, you might remember - or even share - my enthusiasm for a brilliant little British science fiction show called Primeval. The show has quite a tumultuous history - in the middle of series three, which ended on a creative high note in my opinion, it was announced that the show was canceled, and then it was resurrected thanks to an innovative co-production deal just a few months later. Unfortunately, the months it took to negotiate a new production deal made it impossible to bring the show back in 2010. But the wait was worth it, and the show exploded back on my very happy TV screen last Saturday night. If you haven't made time to watch the "prequel" videos, filling in the gaps between the end of series three and the beginning of season four, you can do so here. I highly recommend it - not only do these short videos briefly introduce the new characters, but they serve as a great refresher since the show's been off the air for well over a year.  

At the end of series three, the core team was absolutely decimated. Connor (Andrew Lee Potts), Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and team leader Danny (Jason Flemyng) were stranded in the past when the anomaly through which they'd followed their nemesis Helen closed. This threw the entire ARC team in turmoil. Lester's (Ben Miller) leadership is called into question, and Becker (Ben Mansfield) and Sarah (Laila Rouass) are devasted by the loss of their friends. Becker vows to never give up the hope that his lost friends will one day return - especially after Sarah is killed on one of the ARC's search missions for the remaining team members. Sarah was an incredibly under-used character in series three, so I can't say I was surprised that the writers quickly dispatched her during the show's hiatus. Poor Laila Rouass never really got a fair shake in the world of Primeval. *sigh*

So, in the intervening time between series three and four, the entire ARC operation gets a major makeover. Now only 50% government-run, Lester finds himself answering to both the government and Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig), the wealthy scientist responsible for privately-funded 50% portion of the ARC's operations. I don't have a clear read on Philip's character yet, except to say that in keeping with the best tradition of this show I'm sure there's definitely more to him than meets the eye. And since he's sure to lock horns with Lester, I'm sure to enjoy his tenure on the show. :) With Connor and Abby's return in question, new team members have also been brought on board. Jess (Ruth Kearney) has taken on Connor's role as resident techie, and between that, her "airy" personality, and her oh-so-obvious infatuation with Becker, she's already on my last nerve. It will be interesting to see if the showrunners can "save" her character for me (but I'm not holding my breath). The most exciting addition to the cast for me is new team leader Matt, played by Ciarán McMenamin. I've been a fan of McMenamin since I first took notice of him in the Masterpiece Mystery series Jericho. As Matt, McMenamin is quite frankly hotter than I've ever seen him on-screen, and the character also has a delicious air of mystery about him. Matt is clearly qualified to step into the role of team leader, but his motivations are highly suspect when we see him reporting to Gideon, played by Anton Lesser, who apparently has nothing better to do than sit around and stare at plants. Lesser's character is obviously the "new Helen," the only question being is he as crazy as his villainous predecessor, and does he share similar goals? The pull between Matt's undercover activities and his developing loyalty to his ARC teammates is going to be interesting to watch play out - my only concern is that his divided loyalties are setting Matt up to become Stephen 2.0 (see series one asap if you don't get that reference *wink*).

Becker, especially, has taken the loss of Danny, Connor, and Abby hard. There is little better I like in my TV shows than heaping helpings of British angst, and Mansfield delivers on that score better than I ever thought possible, alternating angst with moments of unexpected humor. :) Becker is quite resistant to change, and it was a lot of fun watching him clash with Matt's new leadership style (LOVED the moment when Matt tased him, that was hilarious). Lester also had plenty of great scenes in this episode. Not only do we get to see *hints* of the character's deeply buried compassionate side (HA!), his sarcasm was also out in full force when watching his office trashed by a dinosaur. As much as I love Andrew Lee Potts, Ben Miller's Lester may just be my favorite character on the show. They can never kill him off, I really think I will quit watching if that *shudder* ever occurs.

I love that Connor and Abby are finally in a relationship (as Potts and Spearitt are in real life!) - after all, being stuck in the Cretaceous period for a year would probably create a pretty strong bond, no? *wink* Connor has grown up and matured a lot over the course of the show (I love the slightly scruffy look...and shirtless Andrew Lee Potts at the end of the ep? Didn't expect that but thank you ITV... *wink*), but I was really relieved to see that he hasn't lost all of his trademark, adorable penchant for goof-ups even after making like Indiana Jones in the wild for a year. I nearly cheered when he screwed up and re-opened the anomaly  into present-day London - the ARC may be updated, but some things need to never change. I loved Abby's protectiveness of Connor (their on-screen chemistry is, unsurprisingly, off-the-charts!), but most of all I loved the fact that it's the old team members that "save the day" in the end. Their methods may not be quite as polished but Connor and Abby still get the job done. :)

The special effects in this episode were terrific, well up to the show's best standards. It was a lot of fun watching a giant Spinosaurus rampage through London. The only think lacking in those scenes were more terrified crowds...the streets were way too empty to be "realistic," but if lack of extras was a budget cut that helped bring the show back, I can live with that.

Looking ahead, I'm anxious for Connor and Abby to be re-instated as full members of the ARC team. The new rule about field agents having military experience is quite the insult to the pair's history, never mind the fact that they survived for a year in the Cretaceous period, which in my book is all the field experience someone could need. *rollseyes* However, I do think it was a great story idea to force Connor and Abby to question their place with the ARC - it's going to be quite interesting to see how the old members integrate with the new. I'm also anxious to learn more about Gideon and Philip's role with the ARC (because frankly, Alexander Siddig is gorgeous!) and if Jess will prove less annoying as time goes on (though I'm not holding my breath on that score).

Also, going forward, I don't anticipate that all of my episode reviews of this season will be quite this long. Though one never knows. *wink* In many respects this episode was a set up for (hopefully) awesome things to come, and since the show has been off the air for over a year it was fun for me to spend some liesurely time revisiting old friends. So, if you watched the episode what did you think? And if you didn't and you're intrigued, if you are a Comcast subscriber BBC America has the episode available On Demand. For those of you who stuck with me through this long post, here's a little Becker present for you:

You're welcome. :)

Oh happy day!

This is fantastic, amazing, unbelievably good news! BBC America just announced that they will premiere the new season of Primeval January 1st, the same day as in the UK! Yes, yes, YES!!! My excitement just cannot be adequately expressed by mere typing...

You can read more info about the new season here (thrilled to find out that Ciarán McMenamin is joining the cast, I LOVE him!). Here's some excerpts from the press release:

When rips in time called anomalies started opening across the UK, dangerous creatures from the past and future began appearing in the most unexpected places, endangering lives and putting the whole of humanity at risk. A crack team of specialists were appointed by the government to deal with these "creature incursions." This job has proven deadly for multiple team members and threats continue to escalate.

Ciarán McMenamin (Jericho, Demons), Alexander Siddig (Clash of the Titans, 24, Syriana, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and young Irish actress Ruth Kearney join the team at the Anomaly Research Center (ARC) after the government loses faith in Home Office official Lester's (Ben Miller) ability to run such a dangerous and expensive operation on his own. The anomaly operation is now a public/private partnership, part-owned by the government, and partly by charismatic scientist Philip Burton (Siddig).

With Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts, Alice), Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and Danny (Jason Flemyng, X-Men: First Class, Snatch) trapped in the past at the end of season three, the ARC has found new recruits to take their place: Matt (McMenamin), the new field leader, who's more than just an ex-soldier. He's a zoologist, with an uncanny ability to understand animals. A private man, Matt carefully guards the secrets of his past and the real reason he joined the team. Unconventional Jess (Kearney) now runs operations from the ARC Control Centre. She is highly efficient and her work ethic is second to none, though she is human enough to nurse an unrequited crush on Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield).

The new season picks up approximately one year after the last season ended - Abby and Connor finally escape from the Cretaceous period, only to be followed by a giant Spinosaurus, the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs. A new ARC team springs into action, leaving Abby and Connor's place within the team in jeopardy while their former leader Danny is still missing.

There's also some exciting Doctor Who-related news in this release - for the first time that I'm aware of, the Doctor Who Prom special will air on Christmas Day in the US (along with the Christmas special that evening). The Prom is a live concert event featuring stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.

And here's a new Primeval teaser: