If nothing else — and fortunately there is much more — you can't fault "Primeval: New World" for a lack of Sci-Fi-Fantasy bona fides. A spin-off from Britain's popular "Primeval" series, this ambitious Canadian project is produced by Sci-Fi diva Amanda Tapping, fresh from her signature role as Helen Magnus in "Sanctuary". Niall Matter, who played the brash but brilliant Zane Donovan in "Eureka", heads the talented ensemble cast as the brash but brilliant Evan Cross, full-time CEO of 'Cross Photonics' and part-time hunter of dinosaurs and temporal anomalies. Or maybe it's the other way around.
After witnessing his wife die in a freak Tyrannosaurus Rex accident years earlier, Cross became obsessed with discovering the origins of the strange magnetic anomalies which appear out of nowhere and seem to be portals to Jurassic Park. With his faithful CFO Ange Finch (Miranda Frigon -- "Heartland", "Sanctuary", "Supernatural") keeping his business solvent and his agenda clear, Cross dedicates his time and considerable resources to solving the mystery, unaware that across the pond in the mother country, savvy secret agents have been spanking the same lizards for years.
Accompanying Cross on his Quixotic quest are faithful employees and fellow loose cannons Toby Nance (Crystal Lowe -- "Smallville") and Mac Rendell (Danny Rahim -- "Young James Herriot"). Rounding out the team is new recruit Dylan Weir (Sara Canning -- "The Vampire Diaries", "Supernatural") a Vancouver Predator Control Officer whose boss, and Cross' best friend, just became dinner for a wayward Raptor. It falls to the ever so competent Ange to keep the loose cannons tied down and the team's activities under wraps since the sudden appearance of Pterodactyls and Raptors in Vancouver's Stanley Park is likely to cause some concern amongst the general public, even if they are technically native species.
Unable to find The Ministry of Prehistoric Terror in the blue pages, Ange stumbles instead upon an "above top secret" and heretofore comatose government agency, Project Magnet, whose single employee, Lieutenant Ken Leeds (Geoff Gustafson — "Eureka", "Once Upon A Time") works out of a basement office like something out of "Hoarders" that hasn't seen action since the 1950's. Nonetheless, the flustered Lieutenant assures the dubious Ange that he has the political clout to give Cross secret government support and semi-official status; to cut red tape and create cover-ups. And he's just chomping at the bit to "kick some alien ass".
"Prehistoric ass," Ange reminds him.
"Even better," he says.
While Ange and Ken are dusting off cold war alien invasion contingency plans, Cross and his team are investigating the latest in a string of dino deaths, the first being a "base jumper" snatched from mid-air and skewered by a Pterodactyl's beak. Amongst the bystanders is Connor Temple (Andrew Lee Potts — "Primeval" Great Britain) one of the aforementioned savvy secret agents from England, who warns Cross cryptically to cease and desist. Cross goes like "yeah, whatever" while admiring Temple's cool uniform with the cryptic Team Britain patch on the shoulder which Cross vaguely remembers from the tragic T-Rex episode that started this whole thing. And then Temple slips cryptically away into the crowd leaving Cross, and the viewer, to wonder why he would travel so far to share so little, and so cryptically. It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off crossover with PGB or if we can expect a few more guest appearances and entanglements.
Space, the Canadian cable TV company which has co-produced several projects with its US counterpart SyFy, has taken things up a notch with its first big solo effort. Promising a series that will be a bit "darker and scarier" while staying true to the British original, they've thrown caution to the wind, along with the typical Canadian reserve, and made a real financial and creative commitment to PNW. If the first episode is any indication, fans of PGB should be delighted with the high production values, great CGI, competent writing, and the talented cast and likable characters. The Vancouver scenery, as always, is gorgeous, and the production crew plays around with some creative cinematography and editing. Producer Tapping directs the first episode with a steady hand and even takes a few risks (e.g., some atypical flashback cuts) which is a promising sign that the series won't go stale quickly.
Having seen only one episode of PGB, I'm not qualified to opine on PNW's relative "darkness" although I can report that it certainly is not as unrelentingly grim and gruesome as some other Sci-Fi-Fantasy fare like "The Fades", "Fringe", or "The Walking Dead" to name three. PNW sprinkles plenty of wit in with the gore and tops it off with a few action sequences to tickle the adrenals. Based on what I've seen so far, I'd give it a "Safe For Parents" rating.
On a major (or American) network, PNW would likely be a success. It's head and shoulders above recent Sci-Fi drek like "Falling Skies" (renewed for season 3) or "Revolution" (renewed for a 2nd season) and there is a modest, but loyal, audience for the genre. Much will depend upon how it plays on SyFy in the U.S. and Watch in Great Britain. With a little luck, PNW could be running alongside Showcase's "Continuum" next season giving Vancouver bragging rights as the time travel capitol of North America.
John Peterson
After witnessing his wife die in a freak Tyrannosaurus Rex accident years earlier, Cross became obsessed with discovering the origins of the strange magnetic anomalies which appear out of nowhere and seem to be portals to Jurassic Park. With his faithful CFO Ange Finch (Miranda Frigon -- "Heartland", "Sanctuary", "Supernatural") keeping his business solvent and his agenda clear, Cross dedicates his time and considerable resources to solving the mystery, unaware that across the pond in the mother country, savvy secret agents have been spanking the same lizards for years.
Accompanying Cross on his Quixotic quest are faithful employees and fellow loose cannons Toby Nance (Crystal Lowe -- "Smallville") and Mac Rendell (Danny Rahim -- "Young James Herriot"). Rounding out the team is new recruit Dylan Weir (Sara Canning -- "The Vampire Diaries", "Supernatural") a Vancouver Predator Control Officer whose boss, and Cross' best friend, just became dinner for a wayward Raptor. It falls to the ever so competent Ange to keep the loose cannons tied down and the team's activities under wraps since the sudden appearance of Pterodactyls and Raptors in Vancouver's Stanley Park is likely to cause some concern amongst the general public, even if they are technically native species.
Unable to find The Ministry of Prehistoric Terror in the blue pages, Ange stumbles instead upon an "above top secret" and heretofore comatose government agency, Project Magnet, whose single employee, Lieutenant Ken Leeds (Geoff Gustafson — "Eureka", "Once Upon A Time") works out of a basement office like something out of "Hoarders" that hasn't seen action since the 1950's. Nonetheless, the flustered Lieutenant assures the dubious Ange that he has the political clout to give Cross secret government support and semi-official status; to cut red tape and create cover-ups. And he's just chomping at the bit to "kick some alien ass".
"Prehistoric ass," Ange reminds him.
"Even better," he says.
While Ange and Ken are dusting off cold war alien invasion contingency plans, Cross and his team are investigating the latest in a string of dino deaths, the first being a "base jumper" snatched from mid-air and skewered by a Pterodactyl's beak. Amongst the bystanders is Connor Temple (Andrew Lee Potts — "Primeval" Great Britain) one of the aforementioned savvy secret agents from England, who warns Cross cryptically to cease and desist. Cross goes like "yeah, whatever" while admiring Temple's cool uniform with the cryptic Team Britain patch on the shoulder which Cross vaguely remembers from the tragic T-Rex episode that started this whole thing. And then Temple slips cryptically away into the crowd leaving Cross, and the viewer, to wonder why he would travel so far to share so little, and so cryptically. It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off crossover with PGB or if we can expect a few more guest appearances and entanglements.
Space, the Canadian cable TV company which has co-produced several projects with its US counterpart SyFy, has taken things up a notch with its first big solo effort. Promising a series that will be a bit "darker and scarier" while staying true to the British original, they've thrown caution to the wind, along with the typical Canadian reserve, and made a real financial and creative commitment to PNW. If the first episode is any indication, fans of PGB should be delighted with the high production values, great CGI, competent writing, and the talented cast and likable characters. The Vancouver scenery, as always, is gorgeous, and the production crew plays around with some creative cinematography and editing. Producer Tapping directs the first episode with a steady hand and even takes a few risks (e.g., some atypical flashback cuts) which is a promising sign that the series won't go stale quickly.
Having seen only one episode of PGB, I'm not qualified to opine on PNW's relative "darkness" although I can report that it certainly is not as unrelentingly grim and gruesome as some other Sci-Fi-Fantasy fare like "The Fades", "Fringe", or "The Walking Dead" to name three. PNW sprinkles plenty of wit in with the gore and tops it off with a few action sequences to tickle the adrenals. Based on what I've seen so far, I'd give it a "Safe For Parents" rating.
On a major (or American) network, PNW would likely be a success. It's head and shoulders above recent Sci-Fi drek like "Falling Skies" (renewed for season 3) or "Revolution" (renewed for a 2nd season) and there is a modest, but loyal, audience for the genre. Much will depend upon how it plays on SyFy in the U.S. and Watch in Great Britain. With a little luck, PNW could be running alongside Showcase's "Continuum" next season giving Vancouver bragging rights as the time travel capitol of North America.
John Peterson