PAST AND FUTURE: THE RETURN OF PRIME-TIME 'PRIMEVAL'!

It's Dino-time once more for heroes Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts), Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and Matt (Ciaran McMenamin) in season five of PRIMEVAL. Images: IMPOSSIBLE PICTURES.

Family friendly Dino carnage returns to the UK's ITV1 and HD channels this Saturday at 6pm with the return of cult-hit sci-fi/monster drama PRIMEVAL, as the scientist/army comprised ARC team responds once more to the threat of time breaching creatures of all shapes, sizes and weirdness, from past, present and future, onto British soil (well, Irish soil, really-the country now being the series main location filming base, filling in for London's noted modern architecture). This fifth (and likely final) series set with our current band of heroes, most notably series regulars Andrew-Lee Potts and Hannah Spearritt as scientists Connor Temple and Abby Maitland, sees the continuing threat of the mysterious anomalies growing larger as a scheme by scheming industrialist business Philip Burton (STAR TREK's Alexander Siddig) gets out of control and soon has frightening effects for the whole of sentient creation.

Check out our previous features on Season Five: ROMPER STOMPER! "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FIVE

MONSTER MUNCH! "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FIVE

CREATURE FEATURE! KOOL TV REVIEW OF "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FIVE

Season Five trailer (from when it was previously on WATCH): Primeval Series 5 Official Trailer - YouTube

Teaser posters for the new series PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD

It's not perfect, and the ultimate resolution to the series story arc (begun in tantalising small bits during the previous season four) is a bit ho-hum rather than as spectacular as it should be (probably the result of budget cuts when the series had to be co-financed between ITV, the satellite channel WATCH (who had first transmission dibs on it last year) and other European TV backers), but the work put into all by the resident creatures effects team is good, the cast give it their best and the series ultimately ends on a relatively successful all for one and one for all note. At least one of the main cast, Potts, will return for a cameo appearance in the now-in-production new series of PRIMEVAL being filmed in Vancouver, Canada, with an all-new cast within a major format shake-up re-imaging/spin-off hybrid thingy. PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD, made by the Space channel in association with some of the key creative team of the original UK series, promises in its press release to be a darker and scarier ride for its thirteen episode premiere season duration, giving the series a further youthful, sexed-up new cast (apparently including VAMPIRE DIARIES Sara Canning as a predator attack expert, HEARTLAND's Miranda Frigon, ONCE UPON A TIME's Geoff Gustafson and YOUNG JAMES HERRIOT's Danny Rahmi), and further gory special effects against a story backdrop that builds on what was originally established on the Brit side of the pond. Whatever happens with the new series, at least it can't be any worse than the early episodes of TERRA NOVA!

More news as and when...

CREATURE FEATURE! KOOL TV REVIEW OF "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FIVE

Matt Anderson takes on a T-Rex in PRIMEVAL Season Five. Images: WATCH.

Please note: this review contains possible SPOILERS!

ITV had first dibs on the Dino-mania of the returned from prior cancelation PRIMEVAL, now its the turn of the UK digital satellite channel WATCH, one of the series now primary co-funders, to get in on the act with their exclusive transmission rights of Season Five during the tail end of 2011 (though it’s a shame that the channel couldn’t make the most of the HD filmed show in terms of picture quality. Oh, and a further message to WATCH, please shop bombarding us with un-necessary info at the top of the screen- it takes us out if the drama and fans already know that you have a dedicated website section to the series-if we want it we’ll find it, don’t you worry!). As the monster packed show unfolded, it was, in many ways, business as usual regarding its continuing format and mix of old and new characters, and the same criticisms I had from my previous Season Four review remain pretty much in evidence-for good and for bad. It once again got off to a bit of an underwhelming start with the burrowing creatures-its lower production budget being a lot more noticeable this time around-but, again like last season, it improved as it went on, remaining enjoyable enough family fare.

PRIMEVAL's three main stars: Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts), Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and Matt Anderson (Ciaran McMenamin).

Episode Two’s Submarine adventure and Three’s Raptor on the loose in Victorian London were both good fun and amongst the highlights of the season for me, backed up with some fine CGI creature work, but, like all the stories this season, they could’ve been far more developed in their story telling.

Ruth Bradley returns in Episode Three as Emily Merchant, soon reined in by her nasty husband, Lord Henry (Stephen Hogan) 

Of the new characters introduced in Year Four, action hero lead Matt Anderson, played by Ciaran McMenamin (who, with his Irish Sam Worthington-ish looks, seems a lot more comfortable in the role this time around)- is finally revealed as being from the Earth’s future, on a determined mission to stop businessman/industrialist Philip Burton’s and duped Connor Temple’s plans in harnessing the dangerously powerful, life threateningly forces of the mysterious anomalies, whilst Ruth Bradley also returned as his past love, Lady Emily Merchant, in Episode Three, where she was certainly memorable in her new super heroine-like costume: her cowl wearing, blade wielding attributes, and the Emma Peel leathers, as she tried to track down and corner the time crossing Raptor in her native environment, though she wouldn’t be quite as well served in the latter episodes where, now a firm part of the ARC team, she had more running about with a dino stun gun, kicking a few security guards and having a quick snog with Matt rather than having any meaty character storyline or further development. Also wasted was the other newcomer, the baddie secretary/assistant to Philip, April, as played by the lovely cool blonde Janice Byrne, who ultimately felt like a stock baddie by season’s end, whilst charmingly cute Ruth Kearney, as computer-whizz Jess, really needs to be allowed to get away from her desk at the ARC facility a bit more, too!

Having not been in the Year Four stories very much, it was nice to have a more prominent appearance in the series from Ben Miller, who continued to be very enjoyable this year as Ministry Boss James Lester, though there have been many times throughout the entire series run when the quirky comedy surreal-ness of the actor in his role has often led me to wonder if he’s been acting on the wrong series at times, seemingly walking in and out of PRIMEVAL’s sets and drama as if by accident and improvising. And that wouldn’t be a bad thing, believe me, because he’s great and very funny! I loved his penultimate episode ARC garage face-off, mega-gun in hand, against a fearsome creature atop his prized new Jaguar! Great stuff.

Matt and Connor take on some memorably nasty Beetles in Episode Four.

Former modern DOCTOR WHO script editor Helen Raynor added some welcome variety to the mostly male writing team of the show and crafted up the best written episode of the season by far-Four- working with limited resources in a positive way and creating a seriously nasty threat to the ARC team with her multiplying killer beetles threat/base under siege scenario, which was atmospheric and tensely realized by director Robert Quinn, who, alongside other series regular visualist, Cilla Ware, was easily the best director of the returned two seasons.

As the time for the season (series?) finale swiftly came, there was a lot of running about, fighting, chasing and throwing computer buttons and panels in the last two episodes- reminiscent of the best and worst aspects of Jon Pertwee’s era of seventies DOCTOR WHO- as the ARC team attempted to stop Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig) from activating his New Age generators and wrecking the planets future, but it was all a bit passé to this writer. We all knew Philip was a creep from the offset, but I was hoping for something a bit more major to happen dialogue and character-wise between him and Connor rather than the pretty underwhelming scene where he talks to the injured young scientist trapped in an upturned jeep. This should have been a bigger moment for the series. The sub plot idea of the anomaly creatures fully unleashed across the Earth was also a good one but that should have been saved for a potential movie-there was no real point in the dinosaurs turning up in Episode Five’s second half other than to provide a bit of variety amongst the human based action…

Abby takes aim on some future monsters in the Season Finale.

For a brief few minutes of Episode Six, the Season Finale became dinosaurs meets the futuristic wastelands of THE TERMINATOR as Matt returned back to his annihilated future time, alongside Abby, to rescue the once again anomaly trapped Connor-he’s so unlucky, that boy- from hordes of nasty mutated creatures, though not enough time was spent there developing that intriguing realm before they were quickly whisked back to deal with the final solution of Philip’s power plant.

Finally realizing he had been used and duped by the late Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey, who craftily managed to sneak in and return for some importantly needed baddie voiceover speak), Silly Billy Philip managed to be all right in the end, becoming heroic enough to save lives and the future, as he literally disappeared up his own anomaly, so to speak! With all that resolved it was then back to the ARC for a guns down dark corridors wrap up against some of the aforementioned future nasties, now in our time and possessing vicious sonar like tracking abilities, in an enjoyable last ten minutes.

With the bangs detonated and that weeks batch of CGI monsters defeated, PRIMEVAL ends on a subtle note of finality as our heroes, almost BATMAN-like, rushed to their next containment mission, but, as ever with the series producers, there's always a sneaky, normally twisted side plot that can be activated and developed further if picked up for another run. Though the ARC team may admirably handle carnivorous dinosaurs, there are ultimately far worse creatures out there in charge of their destinies: the suits and bean counters of the TV accounts department who will make that final decision as to whether the series will come back for Year Six. If ITV’s ratings for their screenings in 2012 are good, and if overseas sales remain strong in Europe and America, chances are positive that PRIMEVAL may well return to unleash more wonderful creatures coming up and attacking us through our loos!

Now there’s a nasty thought!

KOOL TV OVERALL SERIES RATING: 3 out of 5

PRIMEVAL Season Five is available on DVD and Blu-ray from July 11th.

ROMPER STOMPER! "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FIVE

Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) is in trouble again! PRIMEVAL Season Five. Images: WATCH 

Just to re-remind UK viewers that the new fifth series of the dino-hit PRIMEVAL is playing exclusively on the WATCH channel every Tuesday from 8pm tonight. Here's a few more images from the new series.

The ARC team: Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield), Matt Anderson (Ciaran McMenamin) and Abby (Hannah Spearritt)

Lovely new ARC recruit April (Janice Byrne)

Another hungry monster roars back!

Here's a monster packed trailer: YouTube - Primeval Series 5 Official Trailer

Season Four of PRIMEVAL is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

MONSTER MUNCH! "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FIVE

Ready for more anomaly action-the PRIMEVAL team stand ready. Images: WATCH.

Picking up straight from where the prior series ended on its cliffhanger note, the new fifth season of the monster (I mean that figuratively and literally!) hit series PRIMEVAL, successfully combining dinosaurs and time travel in a fun way for family audiences of all ages to enjoy, continues its life after cancellation exclusively on the UK's WATCH channel (and presumably BBC AMERICA around the same time) every week from May 24th, with its producers promising the action and excitement stakes being taken up a notch from what had been a prior slow burning fourth season on ITV shown earlier in the year. Seemingly abducted (but by choice), what will happen to our amiable hero scientist Connor (Andrew Lee-Potts) in the ambitious hands of wealthy industrialist Philip Burton (STAR TREK's Alexander Siddig)? And just how will the persevering ARC team deal with the newly discovered revelation about the mysterious anomaly gateways which have been letting in all manner of weird and wonderful beasties into our universe?

Back on the monster beat: Hannah Spearritt as Abby and Ben Mansfield as Captain Becker.

To save the past? Stephen Hogan as new character Henry Merchant.

I'm really a nice guy, y'know! What's that crafty industrialist Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig) up to this season?

Ambitious major highlights this season include a vicious burrowing creature terrorising London in the opening episode, a submarine under attack from a Liopleurodon and, even more intriguingly, another time travel story, this time set within the foggy, cobbled streets of the Victorian past, amidst a Velociraptor terrorizing old London town, and which also sees in the return of last season's mysterious Ruth Bradley as Emily Merchant, previously caught in our future and with a healthy admiration for hero with a secret, Matt Anderson (Ciaran McMenamin), and the introduction of new actor Stephen Hogan, presumably playing her long lost husband, Henry.

New character April (Janice Byrne) joins the ARC team.

Last seasons introduction of McMenamin and Ruth Kearney as leggy tech heroine Jess Parker to the series seem to have been well received, and now joining them as a semi regular is the lovely Janice Byrne as ARC technician April. Previously employed by Philip Burton, and a possible new love interest for Connor, just how she becomes embroiled in the series remains to be seen, but there may be more to her than meets the eye...

Will Connor and Abby regain their mojo for one another this season?

Scary monsters, human baddies, people being eaten and all round general mayhem and destruction...what more could TV viewers want from a series on a Tuesday night!

Keep an eye out for WATCH's PRIMEVAL site here: Primeval

Season Four of PRIMEVAL is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

WHO LET THE MONSTERS OUT?! "PRIMEVAL" SEASON FOUR - A KOOL TV REVIEW

A deadly Spinosaurus contemplates its human dinner menu in the new series of PRIMEVAL. All images: ITV 1.

After a long absence, it was good to see a new season of PRIMEVAL back on ITV 1 in a prime Saturday mid-evening slot, saved by the kind of funding agreements that only London’s Merchant bankers could dream about!, though it ultimately needed and deserved a more spectacular series introduction, and re-introduction to viewers who hadn’t seen it in ages, nearly two ages, than what was eventually seen on screen-it was pretty much business as usual despite the loss or writing out of several of last seasons regular characters (they killed off Laila Rouass when they couldn’t get her back from SPOOKS or HOLBY CITY!) with one major monster and a thin plot capable of sustaining fifty minutes being the order of the day for the opening episode and the others to come, but it all could have been far more densely plotted and interesting. Despite the occasional thrill and spill here and there, backed up with some atmospheric direction from time to time, the oomph factor wasn’t really there in abundance, which was a shame as I thought that the show’s format had started to evolve and hit its stride creatively in the third year before it’s once cancellation. It was all still likable fun, of course, don’t get me wrong, but disappointingly not involving enough, with this seasons running plot about discovering who and what are behind the evolving anomalies acting more as a teaser for things to come rather than providing totally satisfying answers after the previous three years. And what’s happened to the series creators Tim Haines and Adrian Hodges in writing episodes? The latter only co-wrote one episode this season (episode five, which sadly turned out to be the least interesting one of the year).

Action men! Matt Anderson and Captain Becker go dino hunting!

Now filmed in Ireland, with the country more than adequately getting away with covering for London, and making the most of some of its beautiful countryside scenery (especially shown in episode five), the series revamp also boasted two new Irish lead actors: rising star Ciaran McMenamin as lead action hero/ladies heart throb with a strange past (and future), Matt Anderson (sounds like the name of an HASBRO toy!), proved okay, a competent leading man, but he hardly set the screen alight with much charisma (I personally would have preferred a more well-known, perhaps older name actor/actress as the new series lead), whilst Ruth Kearney as Jess Parker showed promise as the sweet and sexy new Anomaly tracer/ARC technician with the wacky fashion style (and certainly a far quicker and infinitely leggier computer analyst and tracker than 24’s Chloe O’ Brian ever was!), but she did have very little to do in her first season, which was a bit of a shame. The same also, despite his work in the sinister finale (linked to the “New Dawn” plot mentioned earlier in the season), with that fine actor Alexander Siddig, who could have been the series main star playing a heroic character if the producers had chosen it (he’s not that old!), wasted as the series shady PROSPERO company industrialist/profiteer Philip Burton, appearing in the episodes prior to the finale just trotting in and out of the storylines at key moments, and with no real characterization, apart from being shadowy. And how did they manage to waste a fine character actor as Anton Lesser over six episodes!! Hopefully he enjoyed the Irish summer since he was always out in the garden offering sage Obi-Wan Kenobi advice to his son!

Get away from my husband-to-be! Jenny (Lucy Brown) lays down the law to any attacking monsters in her guest return for the enjoyable Episode Six.

Of the rest of the regular main leads, Andrew-Lee Potts and Hannah Spearritt as young leads Connor and Abby proved as amiable as ever and a true plus factor for the series. She may have let her hair down in a new straw cave woman style but Abby’s a little more spiky and action heroine this season after her unwanted year trapped in the past –and especially when she takes on the unwanted passenger of the worm dinosaur in episode five, whilst Connor could prove the overall key to saving the planet long term from the anomalies. Ben Miller was great to have back as the Man from the Ministry, James Lester, even if his part in the show has shrunken ever further, whilst action hero Ben Mansfield as Captain Becker proved as largely incompetent as he was in the last season. And what happened to all the ARC’s soldiers this year? Could the Production Team not afford to hire them?

Back to the present, Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) gives a warning to Matt (Ciaran McMenamin) and Lady Emily Merchant (Ruth Bradley).

Above all the lead actors however, and as usual, the big stars of the series are the CGI monsters, which, like the episodes they appeared in, also proved a mixed bag. Kudos to the Spinosaurus in the series opener, and the bird creatures in the finale-they looked great watching them in high definition. Additionally, the CGI flying green cutie Rex, despite little screen time this year, was much better than before- who wouldn’t love him in their home or office, eh? The Hyaenodons wreaking havoc on the lavish wedding of guest star returnee character Jenny (played by the ever yummy Lucy Brown) were also a fun standout of an enjoyable penultimate episode, but Five’s worm dinosaur-like Labyrinthodont hybrids looked weak in the outdoor exterior scenes.

Building sub-plots alongside the creature attacks had proved successful in prior seasons, and this idea was tried once more, with the hardly new but always intriguing concept of time travelers from the past and future entering our present day. Sounds promising, but it should have been more interesting than it ultimately was. Lady Emily Merchant, played by Ruth Bradley, who joined the series around Episode Three, was okay and certainly had the ethereal/haunted look required, though Jonathan Byrne as Ethan Dubrowski-the time traveling nut job Victorian era Russian anarchist who’s also from the present day- proved to be a bit of a drag in the latter half of this season, with things regarding the character only perking up with the much welcome return from the past of once series lead Danny Quinn (played well by the much missed Jason Flemyng) in a series finale which showed PRIMEVAL just about going somewhere as it headed to its mild cliff-hanger ending! With its fifth season having been already guaranteed, pre-planned and filmed I was expecting something a bit bigger and game-changing.

With ratings over the course of this new season shooting up, down and all over the place, the series audiences seem to have shown the same kind of inconsistency as the episodes themselves, so here’s hoping for a faster paced and more exciting, surprising Season Five, so as to build its audience base back, later in the year.

Despite its faults, PRIMEVAL remains fine family entertainment. And I’m glad its back.

KOOL TV OVERALL SEASON RATING: A could be so much more than it ultimately is 3 out of 5.