PNW Marathon Today

So after taking a couple of weeks off, SyFy is now finishing off the second half of Primeval: New World today--all in one long draw, rather than one episode at a time. At first I saw disappointed that they're just getting the show over with instead of giving it time. But then, I suppose if most people these days have DVR's, it's easier to record all the episodes in one day than to watch them one by one week after week. They were also playing the first half of the season this morning, which means it's around episode six right now, right? The new episodes start at two o'clock my time.

I did find it odd that SyFy put the season break one episode early when it is the next episode (the one that'll be playing at two) that starts quickening the pace. I would have preferred, right now, to talk about  how much the show improves right around mid-season. But since only the first few episodes have aired, I will stick to those and what I think could be better about them.

As many people have pointed out, the original British series didn't start off flawless. I think it started off good enough to get your attention and the start is very endearing to look back on, but it had rough edges. Most shows do when they're starting out. So if PNW has been a little odd at times, I don't think that that means it has no potential. What is it that I find odd? Two episodes in particular, "Angry Birds" (Ep. 4) and "Babes in the Woods" (Ep. 7), included plot threads I found unnecessary. It has to do with the darker, edgier tone PNW was supposed to have, which is also what results in a tad more blood than the original series had. I can sort of care less about the blood, but random drug and sex references, well, if they're random, what's the point? (Though I could do without them in the first place.) They're often barely related to characterization or main plot elements. And, no matter what it is, anything that feels fabricated doesn't win an audience over.

And while the original series introduced a mix of creatures, from traditional dinosaurs to much older animals to simple ones, this one has been falling into the vicious dinosaur side a little much. Albertosaurus, raptors, critters that look like raptors. Most of the cooler animals they use, even, are too reminiscent of the original series, like the beetles in "Fear of Flying" (although I did like that episode) and the terror birds (although I do really like the terror birds).

But these are only my complaints, not what I like. Character-wise, I start to like Ange mid-season but maybe not so much later; I also like Dylan and Lieutenant Leeds. She is straightforward and he is more complex. I'll leave further comments for later, once I've gone back through the second half of the season.