User Reviews

This episode sees the arrival of a giant crocodilian dinosaur in a London swimming pool! There were only two people present at the time; a man, who was swallowed whole as he dived in and his girlfriend who is accused of murdering him to keep the existence of the anomalies secret. By the time Cutter and his team get to the site there is no sign of the creature or the anomaly. That isn't the end of the story though; it becomes apparent that this anomaly has a fixed location in the past but moves in the present. It next appears in a reservoir when the remains of the dead man are found. Cutter and a team of divers investigate but one of the divers is lost when the anomaly moves again. It next appears in a basement; the diver is found here with a handkerchief that suggests that he had come into contact with Helen Cutter. Nick Cutter is ordered to go through the anomaly and bring his wife back… by force if necessary. Away from the main story Connor is still trying to get Abby to see him as a potential boyfriend and Stephen thinks Connor is hitting on him!

Previous episodes have been distinctly centred on the monsters but things change a bit now with Helen becoming more important to the story; this made it more interesting that the 'monster of the week'. That isn't to say that the dinosaur wasn't important to the story. Having a waterborne dinosaur was a good change and it was suitably frightening; even the scenes where Cutter was threatened by it were pretty intense even though few viewers would seriously think he might die. The questions of how Helen has survived for eight years and what she has learnt provide a nice mystery that will no doubt be answered at some point in the future. The romantic subplot provided some decent laughs without getting in the way of the main story. The cast continue to do a solid job; it was good to see Juliet Aubrey get more screen time as Helen; she is proving to be one of the series more intriguing characters.

Primeval #1.3 starts at a London swimming pool where a life guard is eaten by a huge crocodile type reptilian Dinosaur that came through an anomaly in time, Home Office official Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown) is alerted & calls in Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) along with the rest of the team. They quickly learn of the guys digested remains being found at a inner city reservoir where another anomaly has opened, can the team make the waters of London safe once more?

Episode 3 from season 1 of this made-for-British TV sci-fi adventure series was directed by Cilla Ward & is probably the weakest episode so far in my opinion. The script by Adrain Hodges like the previous episode basically steals it's central premise from a Hollywood horror film this time obviously being Jaws (1975) with nasty things that lurk below the surface, OK it's not a shark but the basic principal of a man eating threat underwater is there for all to see. I also must admit the character's are really starting to get on my nerves here, I'm really tired of the whole Professor Cutter's wife sub plot which takes up an annoying amount of this episode as the fun stuff like the huge man eating crocodiles take a back seat & seem almost inconsequential. Some of the film geek dialogue is quite amusing at times I suppose & at only 45 minutes it doesn't last that long, it's worth a watch if your following the series but as a stand alone episode this isn't great by any stretch of the imagination.

Again there are some very impressive CGI special effects on show here, the giant crocodile things really do look the business & that opening scene when the life guard jumps off a diving board straight into the mouth & down the throat of one is probably my single favourite scene from the series so far, it's a shame they don't really get to do much else after. The other monster in this episode is a bird which looks like a stupid cross between a chicken, duck & pelican if you can picture that. This one doesn't even try to be scary or exciting, or so it seemed to me anyway. It's well made I suppose & the acting is OK although I think Lucy brown who plays the Home Office whatever she's supposed to be is absolutely awful.

Primeval episode 3 isn't anything special, if your a fan of the show then it's a must obviously but if your not then your not missing much if you haven't seen it apart from some cool giant crocodiles.