Primeval v2 s3 5*

5* Primeval UK v2 s3 2009 Trailer
Diictiodon Dance & Rex's Debut
Dinosaurs funnier than people?
Dr Who 11
s3 Teasers
BBC America Episodes
Henshall gallery
BBC America video clip library
Good music, found on YouTube after relevant episode. Wiki, v1 S1,2 bits

Paradise Preview. If you like Ben Miller as stuffy administrator, he starred (Kris Miller replaced?) as chief Detective Inspector Richard Poole for Murder in Paradise, set in tropical island, like a holiday. See blog post on Free TV for old episodes (I just started Season 2 so far). Filmed near in Vancouver, Primeval: New World disappointed, thankfully cancelled.

Disc1
Previews: Torchwood: Children of Earth, BBC America Channel

E1 Crocodile Fears - writer Steve Bailie
Home Office chief James Lester (Ben Miller) copes with Christine Johnson (Belinda Stewart-Wilson), "think velociraptor, only better dressed", and adds gunpower, security leader Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield) to ARC team, because of Steven Hart sacrificed himself to keep dinosaurs trapped last season. Jenny/Claudia (Lucy Brown) still around, back to brown hair, less glam, occasional pretty face, no important purpose. Called to the British Museum for a time anomaly, Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall), gelled-up blonde elfin Abby (Hannah Spearritt), scruffy short-hair Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts), and Becker try to protect exotic Prof/Dr Sarah Page (Laila Rouass), underemployed Egyptologist who scares her childrens' tour for fun. After seeing supervisor Marion's partly eaten body, she runs straight to the crocodile-like monster. Big dark wide eyes, dark glossy hair, bronzed skin - eye candy. Dilly dumpkin stupid ijit.
http://www.bbcamerica.com/primeval/videos/cutter-meets-sarah-page/Sarah frightens Connor, making up curse that anyone who touches "sun cage" dies. Ridikilus. She re-interprets heiroglyphs; magnetite highly magnetic cage held, not sun rays as Egyptians said, but winking anomaly. Connor moves cage; anomaly moves, jaws emerge and bite his jacket. Lots of silly, lots of scary. Chases, scream. Loose in London, Pristichampsus, on 4 legs or two, takes parking cop, dives into Thames.

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Spoilers:
One villainess, deserter wife Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey), isn't enough. Christine has ulterior motives. Military squad, sent after artifact, killed by future monsters. Sun cage shipped to unknown destination. Helen stole artefact after squad ran, moves into empty warehouse with replica soldiers (Cleaner -Tim Faraday). Other female role is Sarah as Holmes' Watson, triggers two new research directions: to electricity when current blocks anomaly after she screeches aahelpmeaa at Conner, and to mythical legends - chimera, Pegasus, yeti, Hydra, kraken, Minotaur - so her Egyptian archaeology degree, brilliance, and "not good at following orders ... you'll fit right in", joins the team.)
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E2 Haunted House - writer James Moran
Flashback 14 years ago when two boys vanish from "murder house", chased by invisible-seeming black-camouflage snarling dog-size monster. Survivor Ryan had sense to throw ashes, turn beast visible. First prediction from tied-string model sends the team in present day, but one victim's brother, DC (Detective Constable) Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) arrests Connor, observed by little Emily. Abby stays, classic innocent follows noises while nasty creeps behind her.
http://www.bbcamerica.com/primeval/videos/haunted-house/
Helen pickpockets Sarah's pass, sends in clone, shot dead by Becker, recognized as soldier (replica of earlier Cleaner) killed by scorpions in Silurian desert last year.

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Spoilers:
Emily feeds monster like pet so it wont hurt anyone else. Danny shoots monster back into anomaly, apologizes to Ryan for suspecting brother's murderer, quits police. Helen steals Nick's DNA.)
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E3 Medical Mayhem - writer Mike Cullen
Helen orders clone to jump off building to death, he obeys, sends Nick replica to let in her army, take over ARC. Reporter Mick Harper (Ramon Tikaram) from last year returns to get dinosaur evidence, locks Abby and Nick in creature-infested hospital operating theatre with delivering pregnant mom. Abby's experience includes "zebras, lions, antelopes, and a giraffe once". Itsy bitsy cutesy toothy-clawed wiggly-tail ratty-chipmunk-beaver Permian diictodons chew through everything, awesome visual and sound effects, provoke lots of laughs. Rough tough smackdowns. Hoorah Abby and Lester. diictodon

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Spoilers:
Two diictodons "missed their last bus home". Nick replica responds to Helen's voice, who orders explanation of artifact or shoot to kill. Becker frees others to broadcast cobbled recording "Stop". Nick saves Helen and artifact from her bomb explosion, but she shoots him dead. My least favorite moment ever. Nick's last words. Connor finds him. Nick gives him artifact, asks him to stay, dies. Connor carries him out then. Why not before? save him?
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E3 commentary by producer/co-creator Tim Haines, actor Potts (Connor), co-creator/ occasional writer Adrian Hodges
Replica was cleaner in first episode, so now called "Cleaner" like assassin. Tony Mitchell "Mitch" truly afraid of heights. Contrast of super-light front deliberate because of terrible drastic bad end. Diicotodon wiggling under blanket really toy. First series could hit, but not touch CGI, now pick them up. She didn't wash her hands before delivery. Connor doesn't get credit for writing adlibs, introducing himself to diicotodon.

Cleaner clones were layered shots of same actor. Tim says can see shot join, I thought I could, till body moved over vertical line to lighter side. Artifact "McGuffin" dirt is wax. Double shots of one Doug (Nick) two steps behind the other done with massive clunking stop motion camera. Replicas have limited intelligence, not fully human clone. Jenny repeats Claudia's line "Don't go. You're making a mistake." from earlier season. Death motivated by actor Doug needing to leave show; Potts choked up on sadness at readthrough, slipped off without saying goodbye.

E4 A Gigantic Problem - writer Paul Mousley
Jenny in jeans, more like s1 Claudia. Christine E1 in own big building, orders Captain Wilder (Alex McSweeney) to lift cloak, kill escaped future predator, prep men for ARC team arrival at their anomaly. Becker greets former Sandhurst teacher Wilder. Reporter Mick from before smashes in, steals handheld detector, takes camera crew to airport anomaly, locks away Connor and Jenny. G.Rex gigantic, faster, stronger, bigger against cars, planes, trucks. Trailer.

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Spoilers:
Danny lets them out. Jenny kicks him off; he saves them flying copter diversion. "Two lessons. But they went unbelievably well." Mick gets people killed, endangers everyone, just like Sanctuary episode. I hate ijits that cause others' destruction, deserve their own. Abby's brother Jack (Rob Lowe) comes to stay.
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Disc2
Preview: S4 Dr Who with David Tennant, Catherine Tate
Better without the annoying Helen.

E5/1 Future Epidemic - writers: catherine linstrum, paul mousley (no capitals in credits)
Diicotodons named Nancy and Sid, latter escapes; Lester catches Connor living at work; offers his city week flat. Danny tests security so on hand for trouble. Bigwig Sir Richard Bentley (William Scott-Mason, sheesh so many hyphenated Brits) gets infected by anomaly toxic aggresive fungus, last seen at St Pancras train station. Christine visits to ask about artifact; one of her men trespasses, infected by fungus sample, encase in body bag; monster emerges. Why do they always run toward the humans aggressively, instead of hiding away? catching them by surprise?

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Spoilers:
Lester - "This could be tricky to explain to the next of kin. Good news is he's not technically dead. Bad news, he's turned into a mushroom." Adjusting Abby's special environmental controls heats and dries lab monster out and it explodes, but Connor goes back in to rescue Sid. Sir Richard goes for dark damp tunnels. Yes. Danny volunteers to drive them flamethrowers. "If I'm going to go in first, I'm going to call the shots." Back at lab, Connor warns "ash" is spores; flame bad; mobile fails first warning; tells Sarah freeze lab. Trailer.

Just watched the same in original Star Trek 3.18 "The Lights of Zetar" where the increase pressure to kill aliens in chamber. Danny's the only one got the guts to at least try to toss in another fire extinguisher. She has no pulse; why couldn't they've done the same for Nick? Danny joins. Makes sense. Jenny packs up. She wasn't much except a love interest because Connor and Aby have each other - real life too.

E6/2 For the Birds - writer Paul Farrell
Wartime elegant outfits, dancing broken by last diary entry "They're coming", prehistoric birds (attacking of course) flips to 8 hours earlier Danny testing security again "Bang" - Becker. Some footage imitates through security cameras seems pretentious until backs onto Catherine spying. Laser light activates artifact into prediction map, Catherine orders go in. Becker delays her so others get away with artifact to "safe house" address from Lester, rundown shack in the woods without electricity ... and plot circled around to opening set. Anomaly means Christine's team coming. Meanwhile Jack gambles away Abby's pet prehistoric flying lizard Rex.
"The Minister is an imbecile who can barely blow his own nose ... a Whitehall glove puppet with the IQ of a root vegetable". Song: Better Man by Bill Baylis. http://www.bbcamerica.com/primeval/videos/wild-goose-chase/.
Note: "artifact" in American = "artefact" for British, generally, captions in British spelling

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Spoilers:
Danny sets trip-wire with Abby, strings and empty tin-cans, I remember one similar, later when she gets stuck with Connor in past. Sarah finds satin dresses, Connor finds generator, skeleton. Danny finds journal in code. Abby decodes. anomaly. Funny in a twisted way, guys all in formal tuxes, girls in evening gowns, going the other way from usual, crash car. Chases should have more crashes by hero.

Suddenly the maxis are micros. Where can girls run? Un-exploded minefield. Flying feathers. Awsh. Flesh ripping sounds. Explosions. Play fort. Cheers for Becker's undercover recording Christine.
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E7/3 Dragon Tales - writer andrew rattenbury
Sir William (Tony Curran - I knew he was Dr Who #11's Vincent Van Gogh) rides after a dragon beast through a forest, into an auto junkyard in our century. E3.3 commentary says they try to imbue reality, so they do, make dragons real using dinosaur time travel. Why does idiot Abby jump in front of trouble, that nearly kills Becker too? Injured, late Cretaceous herbivore Dracorex is still dangerous. Danny's center rooster top hairdo is not meant to be silly, just as outdated as hip sixties. Chasing a knight through a carnival parade, sub-plot retrieving Rex is maybe my fave light episode. Trailer.

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Spoilers:
Knight into modern pub and Sarah into the medieval time is fun juxtapostion. Chocolate bribery "ruin your teeth ... have the whole bar" for scoop on de Mornay was so worth the investment. I don't think they talked like now. "I can't hear you Danny. You're breaking up. Oh. Shame." She shows so much initiative, I'm afraid for her future. If she wanted to out-talk Sir William, she should have kept the garb he would recognize. Ace moment when Connor appears to be on his own rescuing Rex "You and whose army?" ... backed by Becker in short black sleeves, bullet vest, dark aviator shades, trigger on the finger, chewing gum, cocky attitude, head and three guns cock, two lined up dead on.
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E8/4 Oh, Brother! (as in film) - writer Cameron McAllister
One of worst episodes, because ijits endanger the people they supposedly care about. Giant insects (later finally small insects, but overwhelming flood, is there ever cuddly fluffy small friendly, like Tribbles?) invade racetrack. Ijit Jack steals Abby's detector, endangers others, she endangers others, into future with predators and no backup, then on her own. Odd film tints all brown, reverse, like Firefly flashbacks. Trailer.

Should knock her out, like soldier did Cutter in S1. They only have so many bullets in one gun. Danny's got a personal bias, having lost a sibling to an anomaly. good squishes on the baby predator. I fast forwarded lots. Selfish git "You've gotta help me. You coward.". If one arm's broke, use the other, twit. If you're told to keep quiet, shut your trap. Becker says get going, sacrifices himself, they just watch. I hoped the paraffin Danny smelled was useful. "Don't stop till you get to the anomaly" - they hang about gawking? Meanwhile Sarah closes the anomaly on them because of a baby insect, few inches, okay, maybe 12". If you have to be afraid, make the cause a big one, please.

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Spoiler:
While in the future, Danny sees a Wilder lookalike and brunette in modern light pant outfit (Eve - Kate Magowan), later "sleeping" under observation by Catherine, who takes gizmo from girl's back. Of course everyone gets home, no more monsters, scratches, one arm sling. "If I told you Becker would have to kill you, and he's already looking for an excuse". Kiss.
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Disc3
Preview dvd Primeval V1 S1,2

E9/1 Herd Logic - writer Paul Farrell
ATV driver finds baby rhino dino, mama finds him and stag weekend campers. Oh dear. While Danny infiltrates Christine's complex and finds Eve, other four find a grazing herd of Amblotherium. (They find all-terrain-vehicle wreck - and bra? - no search for survivor. Tsk.) Abby wastes time whinging about not looking like a stripper, promising baby release, instead of getting the job done. Reminds me how often other rescuers of humans do the same. Some help when ijits scream attracting trouble. The monster plot was a tad new, good, but Helen back? Pshaw. Humbug. She's a cartoon Moriarty. Steven-Nick conflict hooked on her sex appeal, but now she might as well be a Dalek, ornamental pretty colored maybe. Trailer.


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Spoilers:
Eve as Helen in high-tech disguise is lazy, deus ex machina. She could open a future anomaly in the ARC and push Christine through there to her just desserts? Helen had only one shot, hostage lost anyway, they had a room full. Whomp her with the artifact? Throw the artifact across the room to distract her? Helen, killer, should be shot on first sight, nothing else, no sense in following her, except for Flemyng-Danny to take new job.
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E10/2 The Chase Continues - writer Steve Bailie
Hardly a spoiler that Danny doesn't shoot, nobody tries; Helen wins again. Keep the rendezvous, get home, can't save the world if you're dead. Firefly E8 Out of Gas was the color reversal film used to separate present from past, here for future. If Danny thinks anomaly behind door Christine's, why not test? bop through and back to warn Becker and Sarah, who you just sent there? Why not shoot predator with gun instead of feeding the gun to the predator? Yeesh. Becker doesn't have extra guns in the car?

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Spoiler:
This is the point of the episode. They better not slip her back from another timeline for eternal havoc. Losing our heroes in the past is humungously high scary cliff-hanger; Nick shot; anyone can die. Helen falls.
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Extras:

Cutter's Odyssey
Blow by blow on episodes and relationships from Doug Henshall. La Palma, two volcanoes, one active, ash 6500' up, need no acting, feels like another world. Heroism is "ordinary people doing extraordinary things", what I wanted these people to be. With Helen, always "baffled". He'll most of all miss the camaraderie, grown in cold and wet and rain. "It's been a blast." Trailer.


Genesis of a Creature Megaoptra insect e8 at racetrack
2008 competition winner Carim Nahaboo 16 drew in 1 1/2 hours, animator added wings, carapace, front claw "arms", maggot added to life cycle. In sketch book, most from imagination, other dead specimens, ends up "real and terrifying". I thought Lotus looked like toy, but nope. Focus on Carim behind scenes, sees steps - design, animate, light (hairs), model, on set, role, composite (12 people), delivery - intersperse everyone involved, intermediate and final footage. Stinger evolves into ovipositor into human host.

Background song (Better Man by Bill Baylis) dramatizes triumphant return of snappy James Lester (Ben Miller). Whole ARC team applauds. Christine Johnson (Belinda Stewart-Wilson) exits ignominiously, arrested after Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield) records her insult to Minister responsible "imbecile who can barely blow his own nose ... Whitehall glove puppet with the IQ of a root vegetable".