The day following the season 1 finale of scifi adventure Primeval: New World, it was announced that it’s network would not be renewing. Essentially, the dinosaur romp was cancelled. The blow hit the fans hard- especially considering how the original UK series had been cancelled and saved by the fans. But here we are, on the tails of a fantastic 2-part finale- cliffhanger galore!- sitting on the precipice of a world with no employed dinosaurs.
Keep the dinosaurs employed! (art by Dee2)
Oh, and I really want to know what other stories the characters have to say!
Do me a huge favor and go hit up the campaign pages… help save this show!
The previous post about this show was an introduction to it- I tried very hard to avoid giving things away (especially since it hasn’t aired in the US yet), but the first season has completed and if you continue to read on SPOILERS ABOUND.
The first, and possibly only, season of Primeval: New World ran for 13 episodes wherein the universe was established, characters were created and connected to the audience, and dinosaurs apparently ran amok. Though the show was a spinoff of a long running series in the UK, within the first and second episodes, all important information had been presented in order to establish the universe. You didn’t need to watch the original series- but if you didn’t, you missed out on the awesomeness of Connor, Abby, and Becker. So… the rest of the season focused on this new crew, how they handled themselves and the situation, and the new world’s view of having dinosaurs… appear.
The characters were introduced in my previous post, so let’s just recap and expand. Evan Cross, owns a company wherein he uses his technical creations to track anomalies- which he first discovered five years prior when he and his wife stumbled upon a property for sale (the current home of Cross Photonics) and were attacked by… well… a dinosaur. Evan was traumatized by his wife’s death but took solace in trying to solve the problem of how/why it was possible for a dinosaur to have been in the here and now.
see? the twinkle worked!
His CFO, Ange Finch, is also his best friend- and though it’s clear they have quite the history, it isn’t clear how long or what the early history is. From moment one, the audience knows she is the mother hen who keeps Evan in line. But the twinkle in her eye makes it clear she wouldn’t mind changing their relationship- but he’s still wearing his ring, still trapped in his memories of his wife. Of course, CFO isn’t a great skillset for dinosaur hunting so Dylan Weir, a former predator control officer, enters the picture to help. Which means we need a strong support team too- Evan has a team hand-picked to do this work. Tobey Nance, is the computer whiz who puts Evan’s own skills to shame. While Mac Rendell gets transferred from the standard security team to this specialized crew. The last crew member is as outside of the team as he is in- Lt. Leeds.
This team- when together or apart- takes on the responsibility to protect a city, a province, and a country from a situation that didn’t fully understand when they stepped up to the plate.
So let’s review the events of the season- SERIOUSLY… SPOILERS AHEAD (though, honestly, I’m gonna try and be non-specific)
- first hand discovery of anomaly
- discovery that anomalies are portals through time
- introduction of the ARC
- um… Connor, Connor, Connor! Squee!
- there’s a secret… frozen in time
- lots of theoretical thinking… right between the morality & ethical pondering
- big snake. big big big big snake.
- development of attractions… but which way will it go?
- every factory in Canada apparently looks exactly the same
- rescue attempt through a portal. fail. omg… bugs! and an introduction that there is life outside of dinosaur hunting.
- Terrorbirds. that is all.
- oh… and anyone else got the munchies? 😉
- hope there’s no innocent young’ens getting ideas
- oh… someone isn’t being honest with us
- I’d say I missed out by never attending a college with a RUSH week (or at least never participating in one) but based on the outcome of the evening… I’m glad.
- also… so much pee!
- chaos theory equals lizard people
- it may actually not be possible to have a life outside of dinosaur hunting…
- hockey sticks have multiple uses- use what you’ve got on hand when there’s a dinosaur a foot!
- don’t forget that birds are the closest thing to dinosaurs- this is science people!
- if you ignore your CFO long enough (and your business, as a whole) you will end up having to make some changes or risk losing your CFO
- Chinese food can be very informative
- even fantasy worlds realize that sexy doesn’t have to be mainstream
- FYI… don’t fuck with Ange- 9 yrs of martial arts.
- don’t taze your friends. it’s just rude.
- the fly sound effects just add something special to a scene
- I’d like to take a moment to discuss Niall Matter’s eyelashes. Gawddamnit.
- just so you know… any positive growth in your personal life can be crushed if you swallow or inhale
- I’m gonna be honest… episode 8 (“Truth”) is a game changer…
- Howard Kanan. that is all.
- or not… it amuses me that it took this long for the internet, cell phone videos, etc to actually become a problem.
- the return of the awesomest cardigan sweater ever
- don’t trust what you find on the internet
- science talk is hot
- triceratops will always be my favorite dinosaur. always.
- secrets spilled… badness abounds
- gotta love being in Canada- more HOCKEY!
- attraction develops… or alters… or causes fans to wonder wtf
- and so much more happens in this episode… so many issues arise.
- I might have to finally change my opinion on Leeds… maybe.
- I’m just gonna say it… episodes 11-13… epic shit happens.
- orange is not a good color for Leeds
- this is the beginning of understanding the secrets- do not turn away!
- gotta love Evan admitting he can’t do something and needs Tobey’s skills
- there are things that you can’t unsee
- secret government facilities in Canada are very bright, sunny, and open
- finally a time reference- two weeks since the shit hit the fan due to dinosaur barf!
- so remember how we wanted answers? what we get is not what we wanted to know. and oh boy! it’s a bad idea
- law of unintended consequences. booyah! that’s science, bitches.
- oh, Ange, you break my heart!
- here there be scorpions
- how many genre series begin their season finales with slow-mo volleyball games? and who do I thank for this concept?
- ya know, using feminine wiles to manipulate is kinda cold…
- I’m just gonna say… ouch
- oh it’s not a good time when you have to call the enemy
- good things do not happen when we get suited up in full assault gear
- finally! we have to deal with the repercussions of time travel…
- (it’s fun watching so many shows filmed in Canada… especially genre shows- there’s a lot of casting crossover. fun times!)
- seriously? again with the bugs? damn you! *shudder*
- a tiger blood reference? that’s a little dated…
- gotta say… excellent use of hand to hand fighting skills.
- and… cliffhanger #1!
- hmmm… pretty sure we’ve seen that guy before. let’s call him Stumpy.
- alright, I’m just gonna say it- Connor, Connor, Connor!
- just exactly how many shots can those tasers do?
- I’m thinking the “Official Secrets Act” becomes less critical when in prehistoric times
- ya know, when Evan says not to tell anyone about something, it’s probably a good idea not to tell anyone… I don’t think this is gonna end well
- whose bright idea was it to dress Evan and Dylan as twinsies?
- crazy military men need to be tazed and not allowed to have power. they’re very scary.
- Ange! you’re killing me!
- oh! it’s been 6 months since the first day…
- we’re supposed to learn from the past- not mess with it. remember that.
- Stumpy! FTW!
- paradox!
- and CLIFFHANGER (#2)
There ya go… the entire series in bullet points. I warned you about the SPOILERS though…
This series was originally billed as a darker version of the UK series. Darker, to me, means more violence, more sex, more language, more situations I wouldn’t let my teenage nieces watch… Think Torchwood to Doctor Who– DW was meant for families, there’s no blood, no sex, no language. But in Torchwood there’s gore and sexual situations all over the place. And that’s fine! In fact, it’s a lot of fun. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Primeval: New World was darker than the original. However, it certainly has potential to get there. There’s language, sure- but honestly, I brought home worse words from pre-school (true story, ask my mother). And there’s blood and guts- if someone is dead, you see the body. And they have fun with the bodies! And they have fun with the gross pieces- egg sack down the guys throat for one. OMG!
naughty fun!
But the sexual situations… there’s a shower scene, and certainly implications of more, but nothing worse than things you can find in basically any TV show or movie around. So… the potential to go further is there- I believe that if the series gets a second season, as the relationships and characters grow and develop this part of the show could certainly get fleshed out. Pun intended.
I feel like I ought to say something more about the characters and their growth- but it’s tough to fully realize a character in 13 episodes when you spend 2 introducing the universe, and have 6 main characters to develop. As a note, it’s not clear how much time happens over the course of the season, which does add another issue to the growth patterns (the six months reference is in the last 10 minutes of the final ep!). When something happens- alright, death- that effects someone profoundly, they are emotional for an episode and then seemingly OK. Also, I’ve read a few posts that went on about how one or two characters had fully developed throughout, but I don’t agree with who they praised. Sigh. I do think that more growth and development needed to happen- as example, Evan spends 5 years mourning his wife and once he finds proof of the anomalies and dinosaurs, he’s fine to take off his ring and start moving on with new ladies? As a psychologist, I want to smack him that it doesn’t work like that. That he needs to process the grief etc… But TV is not real life and sometimes I have to remind myself of that. If we somehow can get a second season, I know that the characters will continue to develop and I’ll be a happy camper.
Ya know what? I also need to give some love to Howard Kanan, a guest
Colin & Niall, together again
character who appeared in ep 9, “Breakthrough”, and shone light on Evan and his history. It’s just a bonus for geek fans that Howard was played- wonderfully, if I may say so- by genre fav Colin Ferguson. This is actually the instance that sparked my twitter conversation with Colin that created a recent post– my curiosity was piqued. Howard was broken. Too much pressure, too many changes, just too much- this is a man who was famous and rich because he was just as skilled in technology (a genius, if you will) as Evan, but due to circumstance his world had crumbled to a point where he essentially lived in his kitchen on rations. I mean… he had crazy eyes! Yeah, yeah, not a diagnosis (and there wasn’t enough to truly diagnose him). In any case, the outcome of the episode left it open for a return of Howard- and I want that. I want to know how his decision changed him. I want to see Evan and Howard face off again.
I want a season 2.
dee2henry
intellichick
ladydethpool
magnitudev1
natashanerdlush
nerdlushguests
elizabeth ann
Billy
stewartmoncure
thetwoohsix
NerdLush 
I want a series 2 too! Its unfair!
Being a brit, I avidly followed the Original Primeval from the first ep, Always being sat on the sofa at 4.45pm EVERY sunday afternoon watching it. And was upset when Series 5 was the last. Its hardly great for the fans to be treated like this by the networks.
I mean look at how Being Human UK was cancelled after 5 succesful series’, being BBC 3’s longest running show with the highest amount of viewers over 5 years, then still cancelled…
It truly is unfortunate. There are so many shows that are fan favorites or are critically acclaimed for their brilliant writing/acting/etc but because their ratings aren’t perfectly what the studio wants, or they aren’t bringing in the viewers that support the advertising… boom! cancelled. Ugh. It’s so hard to be a genre fan.
Welcome to NerdLush. Thanks for the support, the follow, and the comment. Means a lot to us. Please take a wander- we’ve got a lot of great posts (not that I’m biased).
this network cancelled a great show and keep crappy shows about ghost and stuff. Can’t understand that logic. Hope Syfy picks it up for season 2
I’m frequently confused by the logic networks use. It’s probably, at least partially, why I don’t pay for cable. Not worth it if they continue to cancel shows I want to watch. sigh.
Cancelling PNW after one season was stupid, on a cliffhanger even more so. And what did they cancel it for? Reruns of Castle (which makes no sense whatsoever as Space is a SF-centric channel & the only SF related thing in Castle is Nathan Fillion).
Someone seriously screwed up on this one.
I had no idea they replaced with Castle- love Castle, but it doesn’t fit there (like WWE being on Syfy, wtf??) Sigh. Well, I still have hope! Someone might develop a brain… *fingers crossed*
How come all the good shows always get cancelled? And he horrible one just keep going?
My theory is… money. Also, blind monkeys with fish heads as hands and trapped in a room full of Legos make the decisions. Though I may be reaching with that last one…
The show was slow to start and if you seen Primeval then it was even slower. There was not much in the way of dinosaurs as well. This will of put a lot of people off. After a number of slow show to set the series it got moving and I liked it. As long as they do not have a character Like Helen Cutter in the show it will be good. It is a it is looking like it is been Cancelled. What networks do not get it people want fast paced shows, not shows that spend lot of time setting then show up. It killed off SGU and now by the look of it. Primeval new world. I like too see it come back.
I also think it is unfair that one of the best shows ever is being cancelled, they should get more money for the good programs, not the crappy ones. also they have brawn instead of brain.