Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7946 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-19
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 277 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The ITV chequebook was waved very firmly in the direction of Primeval, a big-budget prime-time 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 episodes here that make up the complete first series.

The crux of the programme 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 lifeforms that are suddenly roaming the Earth? That’s where Nick Cutter and his team come in, and the fun really begins.

A surprisingly human action-drama, Primeval clearly draws influence from the BBC’s megahit, 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 there’s also, more importantly, a half-decent script at the heart of things, and that really does help lift the show.

Already commissioned for a second series, these maiden adventures for the Primeval team offer some rollicking entertainment and plenty of rewatch value. And with that in mind, this complete first season is a smart buy. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
When mysterious discrepancies in Britain’s time/space/continuum begin to occur, zoologist Nick Cutter and his band of assistants begin to investigate. However, unbeknownst to the team, prehistoric creatures have used the breakdown in time to set foot in the present day. Featuring state-of-the-art special effects, but grounded by a very human love story - PRIMEVAL is compelling viewing for the whole family.

Customer Reviews

Primeval
I am surprised at how much I have enjoyed the first season of Primeval. I expected to see another TV series that relies solely on special effects and nothing else. Primeval is not like that. You get to know the characters very quickly, each having a distinct personality that grows as the episodes progress. The story lines are simple but not that simple that you get bored and lose interest. I would be happy to recommend this series to anyone and look forward to the adventures ahead.

American Fan
In response to a previous review (American grit), may I please give you an American perspective on this show? True, the budget for the average episode of '24' is probably comparable to the budget for the entire series of 'Primeval'. No doubt Americans spend a lot of money creating TV "grit". However, any attempts by Americans to touch a subject like this would be far inferior to this show, and probably downright disastrous! I agree that the characters were a bit underdeveloped. Perhaps the second series will have more episodes in which to do so. I will be very happy indeed if that's the case. I've always been a fan of Brit creations like the Walking With series and 'Chased by Dinosaurs/Sea Monsters', 'Prehistoric Park', etc. To see a SciFi show based on all those familiar (yet not cliché) creatures, instead of the usual Dinosaurs or giant snakes we get all the time here was very refreshing. As I said, I don't think any TV producers here could tackle this type of show as impressively as 'Primeval' has done. I mean, if American actors threw around words like Permian or Carboniferous, the surge of infrared energy from remote controls simultaneously switching channels would be detectable from deep orbit! 'Primeval' managed to make those words seem gripping!

4 stars instead of 5 was for one simple reason: the series needed to be longer. The thread (and characters) just demanded more time to fully develop. I thought the action was very well done, despite the obvious CGI effects. In my opinion, it did not significantly detract from the enjoyment. The stories were well-paced and interesting. I thought Douglas Henshall was excellent! I'd like to see him enjoy himself a bit more in the next series. I really hope the entire cast returns. It was strange seeing Ben Miller in that type of role, having seen him first in 'Worst Week of My Life'. Toward the end though, his humorousness (if that's a word) couldn't be contained. I'd love to see this series come to the SciFi Channel in the US, but I doubt it. Geeks like me are forced to find good stuff like this on the Net. I own a DVD Player that converts PAL to NTSC, but I'm forced to buy my DVDs from Amazon.co.uk and pay a hefty conversion since the dollar is in the crapper! Anyway, awesome show! Don't take it for granted. I wish shows like this would run here in the States. I'm glad this one was renewed. I LOVED 'Ultraviolet' with Jack Davenport, and that show just vaporized after one (very awesome) series. Fox in the US tried to reprise it and balls it up big time!

Does exactly what it says on the tin
I didn't expect a great deal from Primeval which is perhaps one of the reasons why I now find myself pleasantly surprised by it. The casting is excellent and storylines, although sometimes far-fetched, are enjoyable. For those who are keen to compare it to Doctor Who and Torchwood, I must say I personally don't think it's similar to either of them. At the end of the day, Primeval was never going to be groundbreaking - and, to its credit, I don't think it sets out to be anything of the sort - but it is a great piece of telly fluff that'll certainly keep me tuned for series two.