Primeval Pimping Post (omg alliteration!)

[vaznetti]

I was going to make a wanky post, but have decided instead to write a little bit about Primeval, a six-episode series made this year by ITV; the Canadian channel Space is going to start showing it April 4th at 9 pm. It's an excellent show about time-travel and dinosaurs, and the short version of my pimp is that if you like (a) Dr. Who or Torchwood

Comments

[midnightsjane]

Ohh, I saw the promo for Primeval on Space when I was watching BSG. I remembered some of my flist in England raved about it, so I've put it on my must watch list. Thanks for the pretty pics and the rundown. This shows some promise for something to fill the gap that's been left in my TV viewing of late.

[vaznetti]

Watch it! The first episode does a great job setting the show up (and yes, the second is a bit dumb, and has giant insects, but still), and really it's all a great deal of fun.

[midnightsjane]

I will! I've marked it on my calendar, so as to remind myself to set the VCR..
Giant insects, eww. I'll cover my eyes. lol.

[cofax7]

hmm. Man, it's not like I'm not completely behind on EVERYTHING. But Dinosaurs!

(I went to Google for lunch yesterday because a friend works there, and OMG they have a metal cast of a T Rex in the courtyard. Eating a pink flamingo. ::loves::)

[vaznetti]

It's really good! And not just because of the prettiness! There are dinosaurs and dramatic tension!

[cofax7]

Okay, and I watched it all, and man, the end! Awesome! Butterfly effect!

(Also? I guessed that that camp was what it was. Because yeah, I am SMRT. And stuff.)

Now if only Abby would put on some pants clothing, already. She's adorable: I might like her best, even if she doesn't have any Sekrit Pain.

That was neat, although it is yes, a lot white. And Stephen really doesn't do it for me: he's too constructed.

[vaznetti]

I loved the end! And -- travel to the future as well of the past! How cool was that?

Yeah, I guessed the camp as well -- it wasn't exactly un-obvious -- but still liked the way they pulled all that off. Although, poor Ryan! I liked him. And don't know why they didn't bring him back to be buried in the present, but, ::handwaves:

I do wish Abby didn't run around in her underwear, yes. But I think I like her because she doesn't have secret pain -- she's a little too well-adjusted for that.

And Stephen really doesn't do it for me: he's too constructed.

Well, he's really just there for the slash factor. And the secret manpain.

[muridae_x]

Also, the show has already had its first giant wankfest, this time started not by a fan, but by Russell T. Davies, who claimed that the show was too white. (It is very white, but my bet is that Davies is more concerned that it was a better product than Torchwood

Exactly the same thought crossed my mind when I saw the wank in question. It is white but, er, so is Torchwood? Given the backgrounds of most of the main characters (Home Office, university students/professors), I'd say that they're more likely to be white than not, but it would probably have been nice to have one or two variations in skin colour.

The dinosaurs though, are as multiracial as you can get.

The final episode is excellent, and changes the rules of the game in a really interesting way.

I had to watch the Sunday repeat after seeing it on the Saturday; that final episode gave me so much interesting stuff to ponder upon. I'm just hoping that, unlike the Star Trek writers, they know roughly where they're going with the exit from that cliffhanger, rather than just

[muridae_x]

so is Torchwood?

... other than Toshiko, of course. But one solitary character doesn't make a show ethnically diverse.

[vaznetti]

Toshiko, who is in no way a stereotype. Anyway, don't the Welsh count? I thought there was some kind of wank about how the Welsh are an oppressed minority and should count.

[muridae_x]

I'm sure the Welsh think so. :-)

But in that case, let's include Nick Cutter, since Dougie Henshall hails from Glasgow. Tenuous, I know, but British television still doesn't employ the same levels of PC-by-numbers in casting that American shows do, and I'm sure they were thinking mostly of how cool the dinosaurs were going to be, and who they could get in front of the camera to react to them.

And while Russell T Davies's accusation does have some truth too it, it mostly smacks of sour grapes.

[the_grynne]

I have trouble seeing past Stephen's obvious love for Nick, though. Seriously, I am not making this up.

*g* I giggled my way all through this summary - granted, I'm a very full-on giggler, but your recaps are the best.

[vaznetti]

Remember that scene where someone has to give Nick mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? And I think I ends up being Claudia, but BH turned to me and said, "You were hoping it would be Stephen, weren't you?" or something like that.

Sad, but true.

[the_grynne]

You've seen Jurassic Park 3, yes? I always felt the Stephen/Nick relationship was similar to the Grant/Brennan mentor-protege relationship. And look how that turned out...

[hossgal]

Ooooo...dinos! Invading Britian!

I think I might be severely scolded, though, if I were to try this show before I tried FNL.

How good are the production values? (Explosions and dinos, I mean.) Because (at least before this dr who) what "they" said about brit tv was that the writing (and generally the acting) was stellar, but the sets guys were making stuff out of plastic bags and haggis.

it's meant to be a bit like Buffy in its appeal

Can you unpack that? Please?

Also - who is Russell T Davies? (And am I ever glad to not be in SGA this week.)

- hg

[muridae_x]

The production values are pretty decent - the dinosaurs are being CGI'd and animated by the same people who did the "Walking with Dinosaurs" factual series a few years back.

Russell T Davies = current executive producer/creator of Torchwood and the revamped Doctor Who. Primeval got compared a lot to both series in advance publicity and reviews, so he probably feels his babies are being slighted. Myself, I think that Primeval is very much doing its own thing, and borrows even-handedly from a far broader range of science-fiction and fantasy, and that he should get a grip and see if there's any room for improvement in his own shows.

[vaznetti]

The CGI is pretty god -- the team who made this also have done effects for a lot of documentaries about dinosaurs. The production values on British TV (science fiction) have improved a lot, except in Dr. Who, where the bad sets and props are something of a tradition.

Can you unpack that? Please?

I think it was meant in terms of target audience -- that the show is marketed toward young teens, but that it will appeal to adults as well. I actually think it's a bit grown up for the time-slot they've put it in (Saturday evening), but that may just be the impression fo the final episode -- the earlier ones are much more, "Hey, dinosaurs! cool!"

I suspect you will be scolded if you see this before FNL, but then again, there's only 6 hours of it.