Primeval is one of those clever British shows that imagines a modern world where portals or “temporal anomalies” open randomly through which all manner of creatures, ancient, and futuristic can come wandering through and create havoc.
And create havoc they do, their unchecked rampaging only stopped by the fearless members of ARC, a crack team from within the UK Home Office which naturally end up dealing not just with creatures out of place and time, but a conspiracy that could spell the end of the world.
It began in 2007, a spin off from the BBC’s innovative documentary Walking With Dinosaurs which used CGI imagery to recreate the world of T-Rex and Brontosaurus in a successful attempt to jazz up the staid world of documentaries, and has so far run to 5 short seasons with the latest airing in May 2011.
But then all fell silent with the show’s production company Impossible Pictures not commenting on the possibility of any more instalments in the series till September 2011 when they announced a Canadian-produced spinoff Primeval: New World, which would showcase a “younger, sexier cast, gorier special effects, and storylines that will delve deeper into the characters’ relationships.”
Impossible Pictures’ Jonathan Drake further commented:
“This will be a bigger, better, badder re-imagining of the show, rather than a continuation.
“We are really looking forward to working with Omni to help make a series that can exceed even the huge success of the original Primeval in international markets and with viewers across the world.”
The announcement, while cheering up fans who had grown fearful that Primeval had gone to televisual heaven, did generate some concern about whether the show would retain its distinctive edge and personality, and which, if any, of the original cast would make the transition. After all while some shows have thrived in their North American incarnations, such as The Office, others have disappointed – Torchwood anyone? No really, anyone at all? – so it was an even way bet whether the show would succeed on its new home on Canada’s Space channel or slink off into the muddy waters of mediocrity never to be seen again.
Now while we can’t be sure of how the show will act and feel till we have an entire episode in our hot little hands, the trailer is promising, even if the action quotient has been jacked up a level or 300. It is heartening too to see Andrew Lee Potts who played Connor Temple in all 36 of the British episodes making an appearance or two.
But a more detailed assessment of the show and its chances of successfully keeping the series alive will have to wait a while longer.
While the series was originally intended for screening in the North American fall TV season, filing delays of some kind mean there’s now a possibility the debut of the “bigger, better” version of Primeval may not happen till sometime in 2013.
Till then, if you see a “shiny hole” appear next to you any time soon … RUN!