The Show
I realized shortly after my first viewing of Jurassic Park that the meeting of man and dinosaur in a modern setting speaks to the wide-eyed kid inside (almost) all of us. And so a show like BBC's Primeval treads ground similar to its cousin Doctor Who, combining the unapologetic folly of classic Who with a more generous budget as granted The Doctor in recent years.
Primeval began with the appearance of mysterious "anomalies," essentially rips in the space/time continuum, allowing the brave to travel to the days of prehistory, but sometimes unwelcome visitors would venture into our world as well. Usually these would be dinosaurs, which almost invariably seem to be hungry and in foul mood, and so the government established an organization to monitor and explore the anomalies and all that come with them.
Volume Three actually collects the short fourth and fifth seasons (or "series" in The Queen's English), as we catch up with young teammates Abby and Connor, who have been stranded in the Cretaceous period for a year. They succeed in their mission to stop a crazy woman from changing the course of evolution and wiping out humanity before it begins, and they even figure out a way home, but soon they face a new threat that could end our world in a very different way. A seemingly charming genius wants to exploit the anomalies and end the global energy crisis, but does he really understand the awesome--and dangerous--power he's dealing with?
The show benefits from the stark contrast between the sleek trappings of the present day and the rough conditions in the distant past, but be prepared for a lot of grown men and women with ray guns squaring off against various species of big, nasty monsters.
The Picture
The AVC bitrate ranges from the teens up to the high-30s (megabits per second) and in general the 1080p/60-frames-per-second, 16:9 image is exceptionally clean and colorful, and those colors are often pushed in stylized ways to convey a bit of underlying weirdness. Blacks don't show that ugly blotchiness of truly awful video masters, but neither are they especially nuanced. I noted some streaking in fast motion, but the frequent digital special effects are remarkably good, realistically bringing the dinosaurs back to life and blending them seamlessly with their human costars.
The Sound
The only audio option is Dolby Digital 2.0. There's only so much I can say about it--the separation is pleasing but it offers no real depth, quality is fine but lacking the additional punch of the high-resolution formats--so I'll comment on what might have been. The beasts wail mightily and their wordless voices echo, the strange environments call out with a myriad of noises, while activity in the background of a scene can be subtle and funny: If only it was all in 5.1. The dino skirmishes are first rate and demand more power and scope and directionality, while the music underscoring the more exciting bits is compelling, although it deserves a grander mix and more bass.
The Extras
Bonus materials are a bit sparse but definitely enjoyable for the fans. A quintet of brief webisodes have been archived, prequels for five Series Four episodes that really helped to whet viewers' appetite for what was in store. These are presented in a low-bitrate MPEG-2 at 1080p/60 quality.
Also included is a two-part "making of," 37 minutes total, that provides an upbeat look behind the scenes of what are likely the final two series. The video quality here is more akin to the show, again at 1080p/60.
Final Thoughts
The ample, thrilling dino-action is balanced by some nice character surprises and revelations, but despite another late twist in the finale and the promise of more adventures, reportedly Primeval might have witnessed its last anomaly, so let's enjoy the two seasons of Volume Three before it all disappears.
Product Details
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