Primeval, week two. Arachnophobes beware...

I can't make up my mind about this Primeval thing on ITV1. On the one hand it's enjoyable and daft, but on the other, it has the potential to get very annoying. There's a nice central idea. Portals opening up, and things wandering in from other timezones, is a good basic beginning to build a plot upon, and I'm always happy when there's prehistoric beasties in the offing. So in that way it's good. But then they bring in all this "missing wife" backstory for the main character, and I wind up bored into a coma. And that really annoying geeky student character... Geeky student characters should be good. A fair proportion of the viewers of a science fantasy show are going to be geeks. So why present him as so annoying? Not to mention so stupidly "quirky"? And his friends this week were appalling. They were so bad they weren't even stereotypes. They were stereotypes of stereotypes. And they were badly acted stereotypes of stereotypes. Plus I don't know everybody's names yet. Shouldn't I know what they're all called after two hour-long episodes?! Granted this may in part be due to me not paying full attention, particularly when it's a geeky student bit or a missing wife bit, but if the characters are introduced properly, I should know who they are. Currently the only names I know are the geeky student, which I only know as the others were arguing about him; the professor, which is mainly because people keep yelling his name at him, perhaps in case he forgets it; and the fabulously super-powered, magically-endowed-with-tracking-skills lab assistant. Whose name I was always going to know, 'cause frankly one does tend to notice a fabulously super-powered, magically-endowed-with-tracking-skills lab-assistant. Especially when he's building a flame thrower out of abandoned bits of railway.

So a mixed bag, really. Could be better, yet still enjoyable. I still want to watch the show - and next week's got a mososaur in it, so just try to keep me away. But something's holding me back from being too enthusiastic. Maybe it's just that this week's episode didn't grab me as much as last week's. Carboniferous pseudo-spiders are always going to be a draw, but giant reptiles were my first love, and they're always going to come before arachnids. And last week there was a gorgonopsid. Next week there's a mososaur. Giant spiders in the middle just pale in comparison for me, I'm afraid. Did love that they were living in the London Underground, though. Things living in the tunnels under London is always a good idea. Don't know why - just is.


Giant Carboniferous pseudo-spider.
Just not as good as a giant reptile. Sorry.