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 4.3

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. :)