[SPOILERS] After the gross disappointment of last week, things pick up a little for episode 8, although you have to struggle through the usual stupidity for the reward of a few decent action sequences...This week, another anomaly opens near a race track test track and releases flying ant-like creatures from Earth's future. The ARC team are dispatched and manage to contain the insects and seal the anomaly, but things are later complicated when Abby's idiot brother Jack (Robert Lowe) grows curious about his sister's work, steals her anomaly detector, and follows it to the race track. There, he discovers two ARC guards have been killed by a rogue insect left behind, that has used their bodies to incubate its young -- which hatch and attack Jack, who only manages to escape by driving away in a nearby sports car, straight through the anomaly into Earth's future...
From that point it's a straightforward case of the ARC team having to travel through the anomaly to rescue Jack, finding themselves in a barren wasteland where humanity has apparently been decimated by the giant insects and hordes of Future Predators. Meanwhile, Jack has fallen into an underground chamber, so needs rescuing before they're all eaten alive by the various predators...
Once this episode gets to the decaying urban future, this instalment was fairly enjoyable and occasionally tense. It's a shame the build-up was another textbook example of awkwardness and dumb scenes, however. It didn't help that Jack has been one of the worst additions to season 3, and the least sympathetic person needing rescue in living memory. I've also seen more life at Madam Tussaud's after closing time from the actor, too. Still, at least the script comments on Jack's odiousness, when the cretin reacts with a nonplussed shrug at being told someone sacrificed himself during his rescue. I had hoped his sister would slap him, instead of have a brief moan and give him a hug. Me? I'd have gladly fed him to the insects as a distraction, before making my escape...The acting still leaves much to be desired, although there was a romantic scene with Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Abby (Hannah Spearritt) that just about worked, despite the sickening doowap music to accompany their post-adventure kiss – likely because Potts and Spearritt are an item in real life. Everyone else had little to do, beyond run away from CGI and a few explosions. The effects were nicely handled this week, too – helped by the fact there appeared to be some physical animatronics used in some shots, and I remain impressed by the design of those Future Predators. They really are very nasty creations, so it's little wonder the show reuses them time after time (perhaps too much, really.)
And it made a change to have an episode play out in a future-world, even if the budget only stretched to a rundown industrial estate and some burnt-out cars. But I had to giggle at the inference that the planet being overrun by critters would somehow change the weather to a permanent rumbling thunderstorm -- only there to bludgeon the sense of doom. It was also a shame the episode didn't do more with the climactic appearance of the insect's "mother" (a creature of Godzilla-style proportions), as its arrival was sadly reduced to just one shot, before the team got back home and sealed the anomaly...
Overall, episode 8 was the usual mix of idiocy, clichés, silly stunts, bad dialogue, and decent effects. It only managed to sustain my interest because it took place in a unique environment with more interesting creatures to thwart. It's just a shame there are so many headslapping moments of silliness and laughable moments that arrive with great regularity to take the edge off whatever tension the show manages to build. And I wish to God they'd teach the actors how to handle guns and run around without looking like total novices.
Finally, the mytharc took a babystep forward, with Christine Johnson's (Belinda Stewart-Wilson) rival team having kidnapped a woman from the future, named Eve (Kate Magowan) in the credits, back to the present from that future-world. But one thing puzzled me: I thought Christine had been arrested and defeated when she took over ARC a few episodes ago! Was she released to be of further nuisance? I don't really buy that. But, hey, that's Primeval for you: none of it's logical or very inventive, but it's a decent excuse for some special effects...
16 May 2009
ITV1, 7.20pm
Writer: Cameron McAllister
Director: Richard Curson Smith
Cast: Jason Flemyng (Danny), Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor), Hannah Spearritt (Abby), Ben Miller (Lester), Ben Mansfield (Becker), Laila Rouass (Sarah), Robert Lowe (Jack), Belinda Stewart-Wilson (Christine Johnson), Kate Magowan (Eve) & Alex McSweeney (Captain Wilder)
