Review: Primeval Series 5 Ep 3

Watch, June 7 2011

Chasing a raptor through an anomaly, Matt is reunited with an old friend…

Primeval has usually avoided time travel episodes in the commonly accepted use of the idea in TV sci-fi terms – as much as anything else, one suspects, because of the comparisons with Doctor Who which will inevitably be made. This one-off excursion to Victorian England plays into as many clichés of the time as the Doctor Who Christmas Special, “The Next Doctor”, from a couple of years ago – there’s cheeky chappies, people chasing through the fog, villainous husbands, plucky young ladies. Oh, and a raptor, all done on a restricted budget, but not feeling totally studio-bound.

There’s plenty of movement on the contemporary scene as well, as Philip’s plans start to come to fruition, continuing the serial feel in this series that was rather lacking in the fourth batch of episodes. The creators have always promised that we’ll learn more about the genesis of the anomalies some day, and perhaps through this manmade version, the truth will come out. Andrew-Lee Potts seems almost too unquestioning as Connor at the moment, with the rift between him and Abby seeming a little artificial.

But with the return of Emily to the ranks, it’ll be interesting to see how the final three episodes play out.

Verdict: A change of pace and location maintains the standard of this season of Primeval. 7/10

Paul Simpson

Click here for our review of episode 2

Have you caught our interviews with Ben Mansfield and Alexander Siddig ?

Come back tomorrow for the first part of our exclusive interview with series creator Adrian Hodges.