Review: Primeval Series 2 Ep 5

When a little girl and her dog are lost, Cutter and Stephen discover that someone else is also travelling through the anomalies…

The serial element of this season of Primeval comes to the fore this week, as the various plotlines regarding the anomalies and the conspiracy involving Leek and Helen start to merge. Cutter and Stephen have a major confrontation with the special operative who’s been working for Leek, while Caroline acts on her dislike of Rex.

That doesn’t mean that the monster element is ignored, with some nasty beasties lurking in the Silurian sands. The way the episode is shot tips the hat to both Aliens and Starship Troopers, although thankfully no spaceships have been added to the mix.

Ben Miller gets to be rather more than just the comic boss, and the final meeting between him and Cutter works well, particularly given Cutter’s suspicions of him by this stage. The byplay between Cutter, Stephen and Taylor, the little girl, is also enjoyable. In fact, the only characters not well served by the episode are Connor and Abby, but after last week’s story, that could as easily be for practical filming reasons.

Verdict: Another fun installment.  8/10

Paul Simpson