Even if you've never actually watched it before, chances are anyone who's ever lived in the U. K. between 2007 and 2011 has most likely seen a bit of PRIMEVAL at some point in their lives (or just heard of it, at the very least). Hailing from ITV and being branded as the channel's first foray into the sci-fi genre, PRIMEVAL was originally conceived by producer Tim Haines, co-creator of the astounding Walking With... documentaries. Along with his writing partner Adrian Hodges, Haines set out to put his passion project in motion by placing these long-extinct ancient animals in the contemporary setting of a drama programme that'd be more familiar to the home-viewers. To great effect, PRIMEVAL practically became an overnight success, with the show not only earning high broadcast ratings with audiences in Britain but also attaining a particularly strong following over in the U. S.. With 5 Series in total, the show ran its course and had a decent enough lifespan before eventually being put on life-support once the quality took a significantly big dip with the later couple of seasons. But on the whole, has the show stood the test of time? Short answer... yes!
Watching from seasons 1 to 3, you get a good sense of the large scope and epic scale this ambitious production was on. Back then, there wasn't really much like it in terms of a well-balanced mixture between complex science-fiction and high-end action in British television programmes. The most high-concept thrilling TV entertainment with hard-hitting emotional beats and lighthearted levity moments we got at that time was with stuff like Doctor Who, but that leaned more toward meaningful sci-fi plots and thought-provoking cautionary tales rather than scenes of pure fast-paced action set-pieces with a sense of fun, which is mainly what PRIMEVAL's eye-catching spectacle was all about and it excelled at nailing that aspect by delivering on what was promised to us with great effectiveness (which has basically been the driving-force behind its universal appeal). Other groundbreaking elements would include the main focal point of the entire show - the creatures; the dated photorealistic CGI used to depict them admittedly is slightly hokey by today's standards but still pretty darn spectacular, considering these were TV visual-effects and not something made for a big-budget movie. And of course, they did the smart thing of having constructed practical props for convincing interactions between the human cast. These primitive technological advancements in providing small screens with topnotch VFX value is probably a contributing factor in what helped revolutionise the television industry to where it's at nowadays.
First season is simple and straightforward; time-portals (dubbed "anomalies") start opening up all over the country and a crudely-assembled team of lab scientists, animal handlers and government officials are put to the task of learning more about this strange and fascinating new phenomenon as they also must fend off the prehistoric (and sometimes futuristic) creatures that make their merry way through. Second season is even better with an intriguing conspiracy plot-line; trying to keep the massive secret of something that's potentially life-threatening from the whole planet, our team now find themselves in the midst of a nefarious betrayal as they struggle with the ever-growing challenge of not letting the anomalies become public knowledge. Third season is where things start to go off the rails a bit and take a slight dive as it's an extremely mixed bag; an unfocused narrative-structure with a poor resolution at the end, the team's adventures this time around have some highs and lows in this muddled odyssey of conflicting tones, rushed ideas and bizarre creative decisions (due to many of the cast members departing the show halfway through its run, last minute rewrites are to blame for these inconsistencies). The fourth and fifth seasons I'll just talk about together as they basically feel like the same exact thing anyways; feeling like one long continuous streak of nothing but an unsatisfactory change-up, this finale definitely leaves an awful lot to be desired, especially since it's not as awe-encompassing as it's showrunners probably would've liked it to have been (you could even call it a slight disappointment).
The overarching storyline of discovering new things about the rising surge in anomaly cases is conveyed excellently throughout the entire series, showing how the co-creators put a lot of effort into their programme's world-building. Everything to do with this fictional universe's internal logic was surprisingly well-thought-out, right down from its very inception with the writers remembering to stick to these sets of rules for almost every episode. Although on the contrary, some plot-lines felt lacking and underdeveloped, like with the future exploration narrative of season 3's uneven structure. Not to mention, the cliffhanger climaxes of each season were always the most frustrating part for me with them often feeling rushed and being left unresolved, such as the aforementioned third season. While there's certainly plenty of plot-threads revolving around government cover-ups and numerous creature incursions throughout a majority of the series (plus mythical inspirations from folkloric legends), there sadly aren't as many to do with the environmental impact the temporal anomalies have on the natural world. Sure, there're few and far between, but nothing tremendously substantial enough to be deemed noteworthy. Explaining how a widespread historical phenomena such as unpredictable magnetic events and rips in the fabric of reality would drastically affect the Earth's balance of nature in modern-day would've been an interesting subject to explore further, than what little they inevitably ended up doing with regard to it (you'd think there'd be numerous geological disasters going off on a regular daily basis globally).
Of course, the series touches upon how the characters' actions in the past can severely affect how the present world turns out when they travel through the anomalies; with some changes being insignificant and barely noticeable while others, on the other hand, are quite far-reaching and can leave you in a fit of mind-boggling confusion as to the altered state of the 21st Century's new timeline (the paradoxical ramifications can go from minuscule to major). Can't forget to mention, it also vaguely alludes to the fact that since the anomalies have been active for some amount of time in the far distant past, it manages to give a plausible explanation for why the extinct animals aren't anywhere near as accurate as their real-life counterparts from actual prehistory, assuming it's made the fossil record evolve differently somehow (so people can stop their whinging and whining about how the show isn't 100% faithfully accurate, because it was never meant to be). And as for indulging in a little speculative evolution, the ideas presented range from either being completely feasible or totally unbelievable; this goes for most of if not all the fantastical make-believe critters invented for their elusive future worlds (some of which borrowed certain elements from Dougal Dixon's own hypotheses).
As with any moderately long-running TV series, PRIMEVAL had its heyday as it came and went at exactly the right time. Not pulling in the same high viewing figures meant the buzz from the masses just wasn't there anymore, leaving an abundance of potential behind (could've been exciting). Continuing its legacy for a brief period, a Canadian spin-off series was produced following in the wake of the original show's cancellation, with PRIMEVAL: New World swapping out family-friendly entertainment for a more grittier vibe by establishing a darker mood. While this spiritual successor has been criticised for its episodes being just "inferior clones" trying to imitate the original series' plots, I still enjoyed and appreciated this version for what it was attempting to do in the long run (I especially preferred some of the newer designs and lifelike portrayals for most of New World's creatures more-so than many of the unrealistic aesthetic choices made-up for the older ones).
I'd describe PRIMEVAL as a solid 7/10 show, although my rating would've been a lot higher if it'd actually managed to keep up with its initially consistent quality (then I'd possibly have given it an 8/10). I like to imagine that in some form or another, whether it be on a streaming service format or traditional television again, PRIMEVAL will hopefully make a triumphant comeback (but I won't hold my breath for the chances of that happening anytime soon).
Watching from seasons 1 to 3, you get a good sense of the large scope and epic scale this ambitious production was on. Back then, there wasn't really much like it in terms of a well-balanced mixture between complex science-fiction and high-end action in British television programmes. The most high-concept thrilling TV entertainment with hard-hitting emotional beats and lighthearted levity moments we got at that time was with stuff like Doctor Who, but that leaned more toward meaningful sci-fi plots and thought-provoking cautionary tales rather than scenes of pure fast-paced action set-pieces with a sense of fun, which is mainly what PRIMEVAL's eye-catching spectacle was all about and it excelled at nailing that aspect by delivering on what was promised to us with great effectiveness (which has basically been the driving-force behind its universal appeal). Other groundbreaking elements would include the main focal point of the entire show - the creatures; the dated photorealistic CGI used to depict them admittedly is slightly hokey by today's standards but still pretty darn spectacular, considering these were TV visual-effects and not something made for a big-budget movie. And of course, they did the smart thing of having constructed practical props for convincing interactions between the human cast. These primitive technological advancements in providing small screens with topnotch VFX value is probably a contributing factor in what helped revolutionise the television industry to where it's at nowadays.
First season is simple and straightforward; time-portals (dubbed "anomalies") start opening up all over the country and a crudely-assembled team of lab scientists, animal handlers and government officials are put to the task of learning more about this strange and fascinating new phenomenon as they also must fend off the prehistoric (and sometimes futuristic) creatures that make their merry way through. Second season is even better with an intriguing conspiracy plot-line; trying to keep the massive secret of something that's potentially life-threatening from the whole planet, our team now find themselves in the midst of a nefarious betrayal as they struggle with the ever-growing challenge of not letting the anomalies become public knowledge. Third season is where things start to go off the rails a bit and take a slight dive as it's an extremely mixed bag; an unfocused narrative-structure with a poor resolution at the end, the team's adventures this time around have some highs and lows in this muddled odyssey of conflicting tones, rushed ideas and bizarre creative decisions (due to many of the cast members departing the show halfway through its run, last minute rewrites are to blame for these inconsistencies). The fourth and fifth seasons I'll just talk about together as they basically feel like the same exact thing anyways; feeling like one long continuous streak of nothing but an unsatisfactory change-up, this finale definitely leaves an awful lot to be desired, especially since it's not as awe-encompassing as it's showrunners probably would've liked it to have been (you could even call it a slight disappointment).
The overarching storyline of discovering new things about the rising surge in anomaly cases is conveyed excellently throughout the entire series, showing how the co-creators put a lot of effort into their programme's world-building. Everything to do with this fictional universe's internal logic was surprisingly well-thought-out, right down from its very inception with the writers remembering to stick to these sets of rules for almost every episode. Although on the contrary, some plot-lines felt lacking and underdeveloped, like with the future exploration narrative of season 3's uneven structure. Not to mention, the cliffhanger climaxes of each season were always the most frustrating part for me with them often feeling rushed and being left unresolved, such as the aforementioned third season. While there's certainly plenty of plot-threads revolving around government cover-ups and numerous creature incursions throughout a majority of the series (plus mythical inspirations from folkloric legends), there sadly aren't as many to do with the environmental impact the temporal anomalies have on the natural world. Sure, there're few and far between, but nothing tremendously substantial enough to be deemed noteworthy. Explaining how a widespread historical phenomena such as unpredictable magnetic events and rips in the fabric of reality would drastically affect the Earth's balance of nature in modern-day would've been an interesting subject to explore further, than what little they inevitably ended up doing with regard to it (you'd think there'd be numerous geological disasters going off on a regular daily basis globally).
Of course, the series touches upon how the characters' actions in the past can severely affect how the present world turns out when they travel through the anomalies; with some changes being insignificant and barely noticeable while others, on the other hand, are quite far-reaching and can leave you in a fit of mind-boggling confusion as to the altered state of the 21st Century's new timeline (the paradoxical ramifications can go from minuscule to major). Can't forget to mention, it also vaguely alludes to the fact that since the anomalies have been active for some amount of time in the far distant past, it manages to give a plausible explanation for why the extinct animals aren't anywhere near as accurate as their real-life counterparts from actual prehistory, assuming it's made the fossil record evolve differently somehow (so people can stop their whinging and whining about how the show isn't 100% faithfully accurate, because it was never meant to be). And as for indulging in a little speculative evolution, the ideas presented range from either being completely feasible or totally unbelievable; this goes for most of if not all the fantastical make-believe critters invented for their elusive future worlds (some of which borrowed certain elements from Dougal Dixon's own hypotheses).
As with any moderately long-running TV series, PRIMEVAL had its heyday as it came and went at exactly the right time. Not pulling in the same high viewing figures meant the buzz from the masses just wasn't there anymore, leaving an abundance of potential behind (could've been exciting). Continuing its legacy for a brief period, a Canadian spin-off series was produced following in the wake of the original show's cancellation, with PRIMEVAL: New World swapping out family-friendly entertainment for a more grittier vibe by establishing a darker mood. While this spiritual successor has been criticised for its episodes being just "inferior clones" trying to imitate the original series' plots, I still enjoyed and appreciated this version for what it was attempting to do in the long run (I especially preferred some of the newer designs and lifelike portrayals for most of New World's creatures more-so than many of the unrealistic aesthetic choices made-up for the older ones).
I'd describe PRIMEVAL as a solid 7/10 show, although my rating would've been a lot higher if it'd actually managed to keep up with its initially consistent quality (then I'd possibly have given it an 8/10). I like to imagine that in some form or another, whether it be on a streaming service format or traditional television again, PRIMEVAL will hopefully make a triumphant comeback (but I won't hold my breath for the chances of that happening anytime soon).