Depends on who you ask. I think the simplest way to put it is that if you enjoyed the Davies specials this wasn't for you but if, on the other hand, you are sane, it was.
With that settled, on to other business. Since last I posted I have watched lots of bits and pieces of things. A Forever Knight here, a V there, a The Event or two. You know the drill. No major finales, no huge format shattering episodes, no major character deaths or allegiance shifts. All fairly run of the mill stuff. So much so that I was almost lost for something to write about. Saved at the last moment though, because what should come galloping across the horizon, trumpets blaring and pistols firing wildly, to save the day and slaughter a few indigenous tribes? Er, that analogy kind of got away from me there but you get the gist.
PRIMEVAL! Yes, Primeval, the briefly defunct but now very much alive and kicking ITV time travel drama about big nasty dinosaurs eating inept soldiers before being brought down by a geek, his hot girlfriend and their stuffy but hilarious boss. Plus a few other interchangeable blandos.
The show returned this past weekend weekend with 2, count them, 2 episodes. The first suffered slightly from having to explain away the cast changes that have occurred offscreen between seasons but other than that it was vintage Primeval. Truth be told, in the shows relatively short life it has never had the most stable of casts (although departures have usually happened in-story and on-screen) so it's not to much of a leap to ask fans to accept the newcomers quite quickly.
From This
To This
And we're only on Season 4From there it's business as usual with creatures coming into our time from the past and the so called 'elite' military forces getting their arses handed to them before the civilians save the day. Often in ludicrous circumstances, although while I can accept that some people don't like that kind of self referential stuff I I have to admit that Abby distracting a creature with an S Club track had me grinning like an idiot.
The slightly ridiculous notion that Connor managed to get mixed up with a creature on his own time within hours of getting fired (5 minutes on the internet and a bit of a wander were all it took) would seem to make the huge multi-billion pound government department seem a tad superfluous but it didn't matter because all it really did was highlight the fact that despite the constant changes at the top of the bill it's he and Abby who have always been the core of the show.
I've heard tell that a number of ex regulars will be making return appearances this year. While this should serve to further undermine the lacklustre current crop I really don't care because one of the names mentioned has been Lucy Brown, playing Jenny (yes, here comes another embarrassing infatuation confession) who is really rather lovely and was very much my obligatory crush on the show (gotta have at least one on every show) before her rather abrupt departure during the revolving door S3.
I'm not sure when she's coming back or for how long but I'm just grateful for whatever they give us. I just hope they don't forget the lessons learned in S2 when they suddenly started making her up to look like a cheap hooker doing night classes at clown school. Less is more people.
We're pretty lucky to be getting this season at all of course, after cost cutting measures at ITV forced its cancellation and a hodge podge alliance of various broadcasters had to be pulled together to finance a revival. This kind of reprieve is rare in television and those involved are to be applauded for their perseverance but it would all be for naught if the end result were substandard. On the evidence of this opening weekend though(and the hope of more Jenny, who aside from what I said above about fancying her was actually a decent character as well) I for one am very happy with what we are getting. Sometimes good things really do come to those who wait.
