Primeval Season 3 Episode 5

Posted by Blackett on Apr 25, 2009 in Features, ITV, Primeval, TV | 1 comment

Well here we have it the half way point of the latest series of Primeval and by god we are hemorrhaging characters like there is no tomorrow.

Two weeks ago we lost Cutter, granted it was no big loss as he had the charisma of a dead cat but he was meant to be the central point of the series, he was the lead scientist in anomalies research and (possibly more importantly) he was the only one who remembered the world before his evil wife changed  it some how (I doubt it will ever be explained) into an alternative land where The Ark exists and Home Office employee Claudia Brown has changed into PR guru Jenny Lewis.

And now in this episode we lose the just mentioned Jenny Lewis. Thankfully she isn’t dead, as she is one of the best things about this programme, and I’m guessing she will popping up in the last episode or two. Sadly her leaving had no ooomf in it and just like Cutter dying no one really seemed to care that much. The writers of this series really need to learn to tap into their more emotional side if they want this programme to really make an impression. From a good drama I want to be able to go on a roller coaster of emotion, when it comes to Primeval there are tense moments, horror, comedy etc but when it comes to the romance and grief it really fails.

The rest of this episode was a little bit meh. The story revolved around spores that turn people into mushroom folk. The mushroom men were beautifully realised and the Aliens themed sections in the sewer were suitable tense. But there seemed to be too much going on and no one section was given enough focus leaving it all feeling a little flat. Then there is the painful shoe horning of the policeman into the team, it makes no sense that a team of scientists would need an ex police man on board, its not like they need the muscle after all they have an army as back up. Its also side that he seems to be getting alot of limelight and the other new characters, especially Sarah Page who just seems to sit around The Ark all day (has she actually left the building yet) she had so much potential to add even more girl power to the mix but is lucky if she gets a line.

Then there is the issue of Primeval just forgetting its own continuity, this weeks best gaff was lovely Hannah Spearitt who is meant to be a zoologist specialising in reptiles suddenly has a deep understanding of botany, in her especially brand spanking new just constructed for the convenience of this episode botany lab.

This was an alright episode, when Ben Miller gets alot of screen time it always makes it more interesting. It just felt a little messy.

Please write your views below.