Customer Reviews
tired and past it's prime (contains spoilers) - By: Kraftwerker, 23 Aug 2010 
Primeval 3 - what's there to like about it? Well, for one thing at least half the episodes are great stand-alone features. The CGI is better, some of the scenarios well-scripted & there's an interesting mix of new future aliens & rampaging prehistoric beasts. At it's best, Primeval delivers great Saturday-night entertainment to rival Dr Who or Merlin on the other side. Pity about the one with the knight & the dragon, & the one with Nigel Marvin & the kid brother. What Primeval has revealed itself to lack though since Series 2 is the internal coherence that characterises a good sci-fi series like Dr Who or Star Trek DS9, & this showed a lotin this series. They'd already had a wobblein Series 2, abandoning the Claudia-Cutter cliffhanger from Series 1 & pitching Cutter into an only slightly-altered alternative reality. And all too clearly, casting problems led to big changes early onin Series 3, principally the loss of Nick Cutter & Jenny/Claudia, & the ned to recruit a new male "star". This created the additional problem of throwing too much on the young shoulders of the remaining members of Cutter's team, who are required to perform this time around more as personality-free action heroes more than interesting, quirky characters, while new characters bedin with the audience. (Which stylist by the way decided that Conor & Abby should always be wearing "trendy" retro punk T-shirts? The Clash one minute, Iggy Pop the next?). Danny Quinn is a good recruit to the team, but he's no Cutter. Other new members such as Capn Becker & Sarah Page ended up as little more than window-dressing. Dr Pagein particular was a complete loss - an egyptologist hired to the anomaly-hunting team, just as Cutter starts to question whether mythical beasts down history werein fact creatures coming through anomalies hundreds of years ago, was a smart move, even if it did lead to the "George & the Dragon" episode. But half the time she was given little to do, & the episode where she was required to be scared of creepy crawlies at a crucial moment was little better than a 50s B-movie where the heroine's only required to scream & get rescued by the hero. What an advance for female emancipation! Thank God then for Helen Cutter, proving to be a splendid pantomime villainess as usual (and up against a clone of her own) .... until she gets killed off at the end! As for the linking "plot", poor old Doug Henshall spent most of his (brief) timein this series on his back, fiddling with string & luggage labels, making some 3D-representation of when & where anomalies have occured. And what a surprise to find this was EXACTLY the same as the holographic representation contained within the future artefact that all & sundry were scrabbling to possess throughout the series. A 6 year old would have seen through this & been disappointed. I'm torn between looking forward to the planned feature-length episodes which I read might star Alex Siddig from DS9, & dreading them, based on this disappointing outing.
Utterly disappointed - By: Karsten Rohweder, 09 Aug 2010 
I bought this series based on a recommendation from a friend, & couldn't have been more disappointed. The plot is extremely far-fetched & implausiblein conception (not that much of a problemin & of itself), & devoid of joy or characterin execution (which is dooming).
The characters themselves couldn't be more wooden & unsympathetic if they actively tried, & the special effects are by far not good enough to save the show. My recommendation: stay clear of this if you like intelligent, well-executed sci-fi.
Fab series - By: Ms. K. Crawford, 14 Jun 2010 
I'm always slightly nervous when a really good series is followed up, but both series 2 & 3 have been far from disappointing. Only down side to series 3 is no Douglas Henshall
Primeval - Series 3 - By: S. Farley, 17 May 2010 Although we experience a changein the cast, this series maintains all the excitement of the previous two series, & actually having the changes alongside the regular cast adds to the enjoyment.
This has to be one of the best British Sci-Fi series alongside BBC's Doctor Who, so why the production of this was originally scrapped after series 3 amazed me. I am relieved to learn it now has a reprive, thanks to new investors, & a further two series arein the pipeline, although not until 2011. Still, purchase this DVD of series 3, & it will keep you going until we see more on TV next year.
I am pleased with my purchase, so if you have enjoyed the previous two series', then this is a must to add to your collection.
Writtenin May, 2010.
All Change - By: Scifi Fan, 15 May 2010 
Killing off & retiring half the cast was rather disturbing. I rather liked the characters & some of the new ones will take time to grow on me. That said it was good to see the nutty Helen hoist by her own petard & I imagine the new line up appeals to a younger audience. It is really good that a fourth season isin the offing given that at least two of the characters are stuckin time & there are a number loose ends to tie up.
The ARC is still under threat from MI5 but Helen sees to thatin her own inimitable way, before deciding that the existence of man on earth is a bad thing. As the plot unwinds so does her mind. The "romance" between Hanah Spearitt's character & her would-be suitor does develop but one way adn onother other relationships split up. Not quite a Dr Who beater but well worth watching & far less predictable.
