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Primeval: The Complete Series 1 and 2 | 
 enlarge | Directors: Andrew Gunn, Cilla Ware, Jamie Payne, Nick Murphy
Actors: Douglas Henshall, James Murray, Andrew Lee Potts, Lucy Brown, Hannah Spearritt
Studio: BBC Warner
Category: DVD
List Price: $49.98
Buy New: $33.92
You Save: $16.06 (32%)
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 973
Format: Box Set, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 4
Running Time: 585 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.6 x 1
MPN: WARDE29760D
UPC: 794051423221
EAN: 0794051423221
ASIN: B001D2WUGG
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: November 4, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/04/2008
Primeval was created by Britain's ITV as a big-budget primetime Saturday rival to the success of the BBC's Doctor Who. But unlike some efforts to buy big ratings, there's actually a lot of entertainment throughout the series. The crux of the show surrounds a series of strange creatures from both the future and the past who appear to be roaming around in the present day. So what's going on? And what can be done about the dinosaur-esque creatures, big insects, and assorted parasitic life forms that are suddenly roaming the Earth? That's where professor Nick Cutter and his team come in, and the fun really begins. A surprisingly human action-drama, Primeval clearly draws influence from Doctor Who, and while it never really threatens to rival it, it is nonetheless a good show in its own right. The special effects are suitably smart, but, more importantly, there's also a half-decent script at the heart of things, and that really does help lift the show. The second season finds Cutter and his team once again dealing with creatures quite literally out of their time. But this time, Primeval has a few more tricks up its sleeve. Because while the convention for much of season 1 was that the creatures that faced Cutter and his crew were arriving from the past, this time round there are monsters from the future to worry about too. Cue the likes of a woolly mammoth on the motorway, and a raptor-esque chase around a shopping center. The show then blends in some twisty narratives surrounding the characters themselves, which--while not particularly intricate or surprising--do keep up the fun, and it does its best to throw as much at the screen as it can. Primeval is very good fun, worth rewatching, and suitable for family viewing too. --Jon Foster
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
Beasts from Beyond Time and Space November 28, 2008
Zekeriyah (Chicago, IL)
One of the most brilliant TV shows currently on the air, Primeval focuses on the adventures of Dr. Nick Cutter, a brilliant evolutionary biologist, and his team as they track and study anomalies - literally rips in reality that let creatures from the distant past (and future) into our time. Yes, this means we see things like a giant mososaur in a swimming pool, a Columbian mammoth on the M25, and even a highly evolved echolocation predator from the future. Being a self-confessed Anglophile, and having grown up on shows like Doctor Who, I was eagerly awaiting this series showing up in the US. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.
It is an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable show, with decent special effects. If you enjoy shows like Doctor Who and Torchwood, then Primeval will be right up your alley. The entire cast is quite enjoyable. Douglas Henshall does an excellent job as Dr. Cutter, while James Murray plays his strapping young assistant Stephen. Hannah Spearritt, of S Club 7, plays Abbie, a reptile handler from the zoo. And then there is Connor Temple, played by Andrew-Lee Potts, who is the stereotypical conspiracy nut/computer nerd, down to his schoolboy crush on Abbie. Oh, and of course Professor Cutter's 'dead wife' Helen (Juliet Aubrey), who went through the anomaly years ago, and has suddenly returned... All of the characters are quite multi-faceted and interesting, making the show all that much more enjoyable to watch.
But what REALLY steals the show are the prehistoric monsters that come through the anomalies. As I said before, the special effects are really good. All of them are CGI, but if you have seen TV specials like 'Walking with Dinosaurs,' you'll know exactly what to expect. With the exception of a couple creatures from the future, all of them are real species. However, some of the creatures have been re-imagined to make them more frightening, or dangerous. Hence, we get arthropleura portrayed as a giant centipede, swarms of anurognathus that maul prey like flying piranhas (when they were actually insectivores), and even huge whipscorpion-like creatures from the Silurian period. Of particular note, Cutter and his team intentionally try not to harm species, returning them to their own era if at all possible, and many of the plots are more complex than just featuring a 'monster of the week' running amok.
As is typical with British shows, the first two seasons of Primeval had relatively short runs by American standards. Six episodes in the first series, and seven in the second. The American release, however, includes both seasons one and two combined together. The first season mostly concerns the team trying to study the anomalies, with Cutter following clues about what happened to his missing wife Helen. Although they are tied together, there is less overarching plot until you get to the final episode, which was really a surprise. The second season (or half, for us on this side of the Atlantic, anyway) concerns the newly changed team and their research facility, the ARK. There is more connection in the plot, as the team discovers a sinister individual using the creatures for evil purposes. The characters and their relations are much more complex and fleshed out.
Fortunately, we get both seasons in one DVD set, along with a ton of behind the scenes, interviews and 'making of' clips that show you your favorite episodes and actors. And monsters. Don't forget the monsters. Over all, this is one of the coolest and most innovative series to come out of Britain in a while. I absolutely love it, and am eagerly awaiting the upcoming third season (which I believe will start airing in January over in the UK; not sure when it will go stateside). In the meantime, if you haven't seen the show yet, catch up with the DVDs. Fans of Doctor Who, Torchwood and other British TV greats should definitely watch it, as should anyone who wants to see giant prehistoric reptiles running amok. Absolutely brilliant!
Great Si-Fi November 24, 2008
Oregon Grandama
Watched this in the UK. Moved to the UAE and had to buy second season. It is very interesting and keeps you on your toes. I can't wait for season three.
The BBC's Best effort to date! November 20, 2008
Josef H. Buerger III (Houston, Texas USA)
This is WITHOUT A DOUBT the BEST [most intense] TV series ever produced! It probably would have been too expensive to produce if some of the special effects used [some from WALKING WITH DINOSAURS and some from WALKING WITH PREHISTORIC BEASTS] hadn't been accessable. The casting was nearly perfect. The apparent bond formed among the cast looked similar to that formed by the cast of STARGATE SG1. It's too bad the BBC had to terminate such a good series after only [2] seasons. I have heard nothing but praise from everyone who has seen it. The only extra that I would like to have experienced dealt with the sound program. It's done in Stereo but using Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound would enhance the series.
Excellent!!! November 18, 2008
John I. Huscha (Washington, DC United States)
I was surprised that this show was so well written and filmed. The special effects are the best, the interaction and story line is excellent and I was hooked from the very first episode.
Cheers to the Brits!!!
Popcorn T.V. November 17, 2008
Alexander J. Stall
This show is like Godzilla with computer-generated creatures instead of guys in rubber suits. How? Because this show, like the Godzilla movies, features human characters and there lives which are really kind of dull and boring. Like the monsters of Godzilla, the monsters of Primeval are the stars, regardless of how much screentime they have. If I sound like I'm complaining I'm not. We love the Godzilla movies because of this, just as we love this show. Primeval is great. Unlike Doctor Who, which gave off corny, power ranger-jives, this show has more of a mature Sci-Fi touch. It gives off the feel of a documentary like Walking with Dinosaurs (surprise), except with a soap opera/drama backdrop, a la Buffy, Smallville, etc. albeit, shallow, and not very heartwrenching, or even interesting, (see Godzilla comparison above), instead of a narrator describing the actions of paleontologists digging up dinosaur fossils in addition to CGI prehistoric action (which is also exciting). So yes, the science in here is greatly exagerrated, and its not a thought provoking masterpiece, like, oh say, Jurassic Park (the book), but usually its nice to have something that's pure escapism, where you can just turn your mind off for 40 minutes or so, and just enjoy the ride, and help relieve yourself of the awful drudgeries that is work, school, chores, and anything else that just fills up our short lives with stress and aggravation and anything that requires thinking so hard it leaves your brain dead by the end of each weekday.
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