Episode 1 (Primeval)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Episode One
Series = Primeval


Caption = Ben finds an anomaly in the Forest of Dean
Season = 1
Episode = 1
Airdate = 10 February, 2007
Production = 1
Writer = Adrian Hodges
Director = Cilla Ware
Guests = Jack Montgomery as Ben Trent
Episode list = List of episodes
Prev =
Next = Episode 2

Episode One was the first episode of ITV1 drama Primeval.

Plot

At nightfall, a Gorgonopsid emerges from the Forest of Dean adjacent to a parking lot. Dr. Helen Cutter, pursued by the creature she had come to investigate, seeks shelter in a closed supermarket to no avail. As the creature flips cars in search of her, she flees back into the forest. With no witnesses to her disappearance, she is presumed dead.

Eight years pass. At "Central Metropolitan University", graduate student Connor Temple approaches his tutor in evolutionary zoology, Professor Nick Cutter, who takes him into his lab and introduces his assistant, Stephen Hart. There, Connor turns in his thesis arguing that all life on Earth descended from organisms deposited by alien spacecraft. Disposing of the thesis in the nearest waste bin, Nick tells Connor that there are some mysteries evolution can't seem to solve, citing the discovery of a "Sarcopterygian" once thought long-extinct. On that note, Connor shows Nick a recent newspaper photograph of a Therapsid-like creature, claiming it to be a giant undiscovered predator. Nick initially dismisses it as a hoax, but decides to investigate it with Connor and Stephen upon learning that the sighting took place in the Forest of Dean, where his wife disappeared.

Meanwhile, a London zoo receives a request from a private home to turn in an exotic lizard named Rex. Upon arriving at the house to collect it, reptile specialist Abby Maitland recognizes that the gliding lizard is not a "Draco volans" as discoverer Ben Trent suspected, but that it may be a new species entirely.

Arriving at the scene of the monster sighting, Nick, Stephen, and Connor find an articulated lorry used for transporting livestock to have been torn open from the outside, with a rod-iron fence trampled to the ground nearby. Later at a nearby bar, Nick is approached by Claudia Brown, a junior-level agent from the Home Office sent to investigate the monster sighting. Claudia is surprised to find Nick giving credence to the reports, and Nick invites her to join the search.

Carrying Rex, Abby follows Ben into the Forest of Dean, where the boy claims to have found him. They are soon alarmed to find a dead cow lodged high in a tree. Blaming a leopard, Ben panics and runs away, abandoning Abby and Rex in the forest. Unable to keep up with Ben, Abby stumbles and releases Rex, who demonstrates his flying abilities before chirping in alarm and alerting her to the Gorgonopsid's presence. Abby sees its reflection in a stream, and remains hidden until it passes her by. At the same time, Ben encounters an anomaly in the forest through which he hears chirping sounds like Rex. Peering through it, he sees lava desert, conifer forest, volcanoes, and several "Coelurosauravus" flying about. Terrified, he then runs home, accidentally cutting himself on a fence on the way, and locking himself in his room. Smelling the blood, the Gorgonopsid follows Ben home and pushes its head into Ben's bedroom. In panic he throws various objects at it, including a plasma lamp, which explodes and drives the creature away.

Night falls. Still lost in the woods, Abby encounters Nick, Connor, Stephen, Claudia, and a full-grown "Scutosaurus". Nick identifies both Rex and the "Scutosaurus" to be animals thought extinct millions of years ago, and Claudia orders the findings to be declared official secrets in hopes of containing the situation. In hopes of determining where the creatures are coming from, the group question Ben who, despite his disbelieving mother, insists that he "saw the past." Returning to the forest, Nick intentionally frightens the "Scutosaurus", which leads them to the anomaly and vanishes through it.

The following morning, a Home Office team led by government official James Lester takes control of the investigation. At the cost of his front door key, Connor discovers that the anomaly emits a strong magnetic field. Nick proposes that the anomaly leads back to Earth during the late Permian period. Convinced that the anomaly was responsible for Helen's disappearance, he immediately finds himself at odds with Lester and insists that he will travel through the anomaly in order to find her. In the course of being examined at the Home Office by Lester's scientists, Rex once again demonstrates his flying capabilities and nearly escapes through an open window before being tempted back by Abby with food. Rex's DNA confirms that he is a living fossil, a discovery which convinces Lester to permit Nick's exploratory foray into the anomaly.

Stephen and Connor are tasked with finding the "Gorgonopsid". Ben, while in detention at his school, once again sees the creature skulking outside the window. He insists that there is a dinosaur outside, a claim which is quickly dismissed by his teacher; nonetheless the "Gorgonopsid" then attacks them, trying to break the door down. Stephen arrives, drawing the beast away, but his own exit is blocked by a stuck fire escape door. He dashes the creature with a fire extinguisher and, blinded, the "Gorgonopsid" breaks down the door and flees, leaving Stephen unconscious.

Accompanied by SAS Captain Tom Ryan at Claudia's insistence, Nick travels through the anomaly to the late Permian. Releasing Rex back in his home period, they soon discover the torn remains of a human encampment, a male human skeleton, and a camera engraved with Helen's initials. Nick insists on staying in the past to look for her, but Ryan, under orders to bring Nick back, pistol-whips the professor and begins carrying him back to the anomaly.

Cutter gradually comes round, and resists with a fist fight, which Ryan wins and says "Don't try that again" Cutter threatens to stay. Ryan says he will stay also to guard him. Cutter says "don't be stupid", not wanting another also to be stranded there, and the two go back through the anomaly less than a minute before it closes. Rex also came back through. The "Gorgonopsid" then attacks the group in the modern world. Ryan and the other armed men shoot the animal but it took many shots and several minutes before it finally goes down, including Stephen driving his sport utility vehicle into it.

Later, the film from the camera is developed, showing pictures of Helen in the ancient landscape. Lester seems satisified that the crisis is resolved, but Cutter retorts that with 'an unknown force ripping the boundaries of time and space', and the threat of more creatures emerging through further anomalies, the situation is far from over. After leaving and going back to his office, he notices a fossil coming to life - an ammonite - on his desk. He then catches sight of Helen, who smirks and walks off as he shouts after her. By the time he has reached where she was, Helen is gone. Cutter is left to muse on the fact his wife may not be dead as he believed.

Cast

* Nick Cutter — Douglas Henshall
* Abby Maitland — Hannah Spearritt
* Stephen Hart — James Murray
* Connor Temple — Andrew-Lee Potts
* Claudia Brown — Lucy Brown
* Helen Cutter — Juliet Aubrey
* Sir James Lester — Ben Miller
* Captain Tom Ryan — Mark Wakeling
* Ben Trent (young boy) — Jack Montgomery
* Mary Trent (Ben's mother) — Gail Kemp
* Ben's teacher — Jane Cameron
* Tim Parker (zoo administrator) — John Voce
* Dave Greene — Mike Goodenough

Reception

A commercial success, Episode 1 drew in 6.7 million viewers in the UK despite stiff competition from the feature film "Shrek", broadcast on BBC1 during the episode's 7.45pm time slot. [(Feb 2007). [http://www.dwscifi.com/news/150-primeval-a-roaring-success "Primeval" a roaring success] . Total Sci-Fi. Retrieved on 7-27-2008.] Paul Simpson of Dreamwatch, although noting some plot similarities to "Jurassic Park III", praised the cast's chemistry and the degree of character development. [Simpson, Paul (Feb 2007). [http://www.dwscifi.com/articles/143-primeval-episode-1 Primeval (episode 1) Review] . Total Sci-Fi. Retrieved on 7-27-2008.] Kathryn Flett of The Observer called the series "good fun, nostalgic, and modern at the same time," [Flett, Kathryn (Feb 2007). [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2010183,00.html Saturday night feast of big, big beasts] . The Observer. Retrieved on 7-27-2008.] and despite criticizing its special effects, Victoria Segal of The Sunday Times called the episode "widely entertaining" and predicted future audience growth. [Segal, Victoria (Feb 2007). [http://www.douglashenshall.com/PrimevalreviewSundayTimes.html Pick of the Day] . The Sunday Times. Retrieved on 7-27-2008.] Offering a more comprehensive review, Anthony Brown of TV Zone Magazine stated that despite sporting a number of science-fiction clichés, " [Primeval] works, brilliantly, and half the time it works precisely because of those things;" further praising the performance of the cast as a reason for the episode's success. [Brown, Anthony (March 2007). [http://www.douglashenshall.com/PrimevalreviewsTVZone.html Primeval A1] . TV Zone. Retrieved on 7-27-2008.]

References

External links

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