Primeval

I recently started watching Primeval. I had never heard of it, but it's one that's available for instant viewing on Netflix, so I watched the first few minutes to see if I was interested. They hooked me right away and I've been speeding through episodes ever since.

The premise: After a report of a "monster," in a local British forest, three guys from the university, lead by Dr. Cutter, a professor of evolutionary zoology (a professor whose wife disappeared in that same forest after a similar report eight years earlier), go to investigate. On the way, they run into a gal from teh zoo who's in the forest for an unusual lizard. They find out that the monster is actually a dinosouar who's come through a bizarre magnetic field from its time to ours. From then on, the team goes around, catching creatures that come through these anomalies. There's also an over-arcing plot revolving around Dr. Cutter's wife.

Now I'd be the first to point out certain logical/logistical holes in the series. They're minor, and not vital to the overall story, but they're the nit-picky kinds of things that bother me sometimes. Also, there are times when they over-simplify things that would, in real life, be more complicated. However, I'm hooked on the Mrs. Cutter plotline, the characters are a lot of fun and the one thing that the show does really, really well, is mechanics. There's a definite horror element to the show - come on, it's all about people getting eaten by creatures - and they do a great job of building tension. It's not often that a show makes me jump, but this one does plenty.

I'm fascinated by the fact that it's not brilliant TV, but it's definitely got me hooked. The pacing/plotting is spot on and I love the fact that I'm not paying attention to the holes because I'm too busy paying attention to other things. That's good writing.