Primeval: Volume 1 (Series 1 and 2)

Primeval was created by Britain's ITV as a big-budget primetime Saturday rival to the success of the BBC's Doctor Who. But unlike some efforts to buy big ratings, there's actually a lot of entertainment throughout the series. The crux of the show surrounds a series of strange creatures from both the future and the past who appear to be roaming around in the present day. So what's going on? And what can be done about the dinosaur-esque creatures, big insects, and assorted parasitic life forms that are suddenly roaming the Earth? That's where professor Nick Cutter and his team come in, and the fun really begins.

A surprisingly human action-drama, Primeval clearly draws influence from Doctor Who, and while it never really threatens to rival it, it is nonetheless a good show in its own right. The special effects are suitably smart, but, more importantly, there's also a half-decent script at the heart of things, and that really does help lift the show.

The second season finds Cutter and his team once again dealing with creatures quite literally out of their time. But this time, Primeval has a few more tricks up its sleeve. Because while the convention for much of season 1 was that the creatures that faced Cutter and his crew were arriving from the past, this time round there are monsters from the future to worry about too. Cue the likes of a woolly mammoth on the motorway, and a raptor-esque chase around a shopping center. The show then blends in some twisty narratives surrounding the characters themselves, which--while not particularly intricate or surprising--do keep up the fun, and it does its best to throw as much at the screen as it can. Primeval is very good fun, worth rewatching, and suitable for family viewing too. --Jon Foster

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/04/2008

My son recently loaned me "Primeval: Volume 1 (Series 1 and 2)," an amazingly written, directed, acted, and (CGI) visual effects filled British television series. After watching all the episodes, I went on-line to find out if more episodes were available. Much to my surprise, the thirteen episodes (on the four disc DVD set) are actually the first two seasons, and that Season Three will not even air until "Spring 2009" in England. I found no indication of when it will air in the US! (Since I don't have access to cable, I guess I will be waiting a very long time to watch the next (ten) episodes--if they release Season Three separately).

While reading about the DVD set, I also read the "Customer Reviews" and was interested in how many people commented on the lack of information available about the DVDs; that is, there is no separate disc/episode guide or description of the regular and bonus features.

Knowing that I would want to know more about what is on the DVDs, if I did not already have access to them, I decided to write this review to provide some of this information. Therefore, I have listed here, for each of the four discs in the set, the picture on the disc itself, the trailers before the Main Menu, the information on the menu page, the information on the sub-menus for the "Episode Selection" and "Scene Selection" options, and a short description of the bonus materials--including who does the episode commentaries.

Disc 1: Claudia Brown (Actress Lucy Brown) seen through creature's teeth
Trailer for "Planet Earth" DVDs, HDVDs, and Blue Ray
Animated Advertisement for BBC America
PRIMEVAL
DISC 1
PLAY ALL
EPISODE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
MAIN MENU
SCENE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 1, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU
Episode 2, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU BACK
Episode 3, Scene 1-6, MAIN MENU BACK
SUBTITLES ON/OFF (English only; in black bar and picture on my set)

Disc 2: Abby Maitland (Actress Hannah Spearritt) reaching up to Rex
Trailer for "Robin Hood - Season Two" DVD set
PRIMEVAL
DISC 2
PLAY ALL
EPISODE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
MAIN MENU
SCENE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 4, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU
Episode 5, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU BACK
Episode 6, Scene 1-6, MAIN MENU BACK
BEHIND THE SCENES--45:46 minutes
(FEATURE SUMMARY: Aired 17 March, 2007, narrated by James Murray. Discussions about: creating the show; casting the actors; filming the show; doing blue screen and stunt work; and creating the creatures. Also discussions and personal comments with the cast and crew.)
SUBTITLES ON/OFF (English only; in black bar and picture on my set)

Disc 3: Connor Temple (Actor Andrew-Lee Potts) beating back a Mosasaur
Trailer for "Dr Who" DVDs
Main Menu:
PRIMEVAL
DISC 3
PLAY ALL
EPISODE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 7 Audio Commentary--with Creator Adrian Hodges, Co-Creator
and episode writer Tim Haines, and Director Jamie Payne
MAIN MENU
SCENE SELECTION
Menu Options
Episode 7, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU
Episode 8, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU BACK
Episode 9, Scene 1-6, MAIN MENU BACK
THROUGH THE ANOMALY with Andrew-Lee Potts--39:35 minutes
(FEATURE SUMMARY: Aired 23 February 2008, narrated by Andrew-Lee Potts. Andrew-Lee Q & A's the cast and crew, and makes sneak up shots of people. This is interwoven with discussions about: the new stage, A.R.C. (Anomalies Research Centre); actor's comments about their characters, costumes, actions, etc.; crews comments; new characters; how CGI work is accomplished; filming at Port of Ventura; use of steady cam; still pictures and their uses; cast antics on set; re-voicing; and the making of toy figures. Ends with a cast and crew set photograph session.)
SUBTITLES ON/OFF (English only; in black bar and picture on my set)

Disc 4: A Pteranodon chasing Prof Nick Cutter (Actor Douglas Henshall)
Trailer for "Walking With Dinosaurs" DVD
Trailer for " Allosaurus"
Main Menu:
PRIMEVAL
DISC 4
PLAY ALL
EPISODE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 10 Audio Commentary--with Executive Producer and Co-Creator
Tim Haines, Co-creator and Head Writer Adrian Hodges, and
Director Jamie Payne
MAIN MENU
SCENE SELECTION
Menu Options:
Episode 10, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU
Episode 11, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU BACK
Episode 12, Scene 1-6, NEXT MAIN MENU BACK
Episode 13, Scene 1-6, MAIN MENU BACK
SUBTITLES ON/OFF (English only; in black bar and picture on my set)

One aspect I found interesting about the show from the commentary is that in the first season the two directors each had 9 weeks to film and 9 weeks post production for three episodes (in comparison to American and Canadian shows that get 7-10 days total for one episode). Given this extraordinary amount of time, I find it hard to believe the number of production errors in the episodes. For example in one shot Stephen Hart (played by James Murray) has a rifle, then he doesn't, then he does, etc. These problems are even pointed out in the commentaries--especially Episode 7. One other aspect I had a problem with was the unnecessary "unrealistic" scenes. For example, there is a scene where Connor Temple (played by Andrew-Lee Potts) is attempting to pull Abby Maitland (played by Hannah Spearritt) up a ledge, the camera zooms in on their hands as they slowly slide apart. With only their thumbs still grasped, Nick Cutter (played by Douglas Henshall) grabs onto Conner's arm and they quickly pull Abby up! (Again, this is laughed about by the commentators of Episode 10 as being ridiculous).

Having said that, I want to reiterate that "Primeval" is a five star television show with amazing visual effects, strong interpersonal relationships, intriguing plot lines, and wonderful editing that keeps you wanting more.

This show is a great SCI FI show it has all the elements that make for good entertainment. The Plot lines are good, the interaction between the characters is good and the way they develop them is great. The SCI FI action and premise are both entertaining and fun.

This is a unique concept series that is really quite fascinating. I discovered the series on TV and my son asked for the DVD collection as a gift as he enjoyed it so much. I found that after awhile, the script was the same - just the creature changed each week - but the character development is good and I enjoyed the series nonetheless.

Five stars for the show; one star for the video quality. The video on this DVD set is blurry and of very poor quality. Compared to my other TV show DVDs I own or have seen (Jericho, Firefly, and The Office), I literally feel like I'm watching a VHS tape version of Primeval, which is a shame because the show is really good. I've been watching recorded episodes of Primeval on my (non-HD) Dish Network DVR and didn't like how the video was blurry and lacked detail, so I ordered the Primeval DVD set on Netflix. I excitedly put the first DVD in my nice Sony upscaling Blu-ray/DVD player and was very disappointed to find the exact same awful video quality as my recorded shows. Both the DVDs from the first season were the same. I haven't yet received the second season, but I don't have much hope for that one either.

The show is still very good and worth watching, but its not worth the 40 bucks it costs in the store, or even the 35 bucks they want want for it here, unless you don't mind watching VHS quality video.

I was hoping to find this series on Blu-ray, but apparently the video master is so poor I doubt they will ever be able to produce a 1080p or even a 1080i transfer.

If you're looking for a great series, then this one is for you! It's not that the dinosaurs are all that great, although they are good, but it's the sideline stories going on between the characters that makes this a terrific series, you can't help but fall in love with these characters....