This story begins about August of 2008. We finally got cable just as I went off to college, naturally. When else would we get it? Anyway, while I'm away, my mom discovers the British show, Primeval. And she fell in love with the story as well as the characters.

She tried to show me it, but I didn't get to see much. I only saw about five or ten minutes of the first episode, and after that, I always seemed to catch the same one episode. Needless to say, I couldn't really form an opinion on it because I didn't see that much.

For Christmas, I bought her the first two seasons on DVD, which was something she was not expecting at all. She was very happy.

Summer rolls around, and I'm home. I have a bunch of things on my list of shows I want to watch. The list (in no particular order) goes something like this:

Primeval
Life on Mars
Ashes to Ashes (since it is the sequel series to Life on Mars)
Death Note
Blackpool
Casanova
Heroes
Fullmetal Alchemist - Brotherhood
Kyle XY

There are a few others, but I have seen most of them. I have seen an episode or two of Life on Mars, so I know I will like that. I'm almost through what is subbed of FMA Brotherhood. It's good, by the way. I've seen pieces of Kyle XY and Heroes, so I wanted to watch something brand new to me.

I needed something to keep me occupied until Torchwood's Children of the Earth. I'm really, really excited for that, by the way.

I picked up Primeval first. I decided to watch my mom's DVDs even though I had it on my external harddrive. DVDs look better anyway.

I must say, I'm hooked!

Primeval is about a group of people who study anomalies and deal with the things that come through. Anomalies are basically gateways through time. They can go either into the past or the future. So far, I've only seen the past, but the next episode for me will be dealing with something from the future.

I was never a huge dinosaur kid. I liked them and all (I really liked Sabertooth tigers, which is, ironically, the episode I continue to catch on the TV of this show), but they weren't as big of a deal for me. So I can safely say that is not why I like Primeval, though they are cool.

I like Primeval because of the characters! I know I've said things like this before, but it's true. In my personal opinion, the characters are what really makes a show. The viewers are far more likely to remember the characters years later than the story or any specific incidents. A testament to this theory is Special Unit 2. For those who have seen it, even years after it's been off the air, they tend to remember who Carl and Nick were and what they were like rather than specific episodes. They also usually rememeber the basic story, but the characters stick even more.

Nick Cutter (yes, I know. Funny name) is the main character. He's kind of the head of a small group of people. The unofficial head anyway. He was a professor of...something. I can't recall exactly, and it's not important. It was really only important in the first episode so he could meet one of the other characters. Nick is clever, sharp, and passionate. He enjoys what he does, but not always who he has to work with. He takes risks when he feels he must and loves it when things pull through for him. Lester and Nick frequently butt heads and Nick would rather be on his own. He was married to Helen, but she went missing seven years ago. No one knew what happened, and he spent years searching for her. He also seems to be like a father to the younger members of the group.

Stephen Hart is Nick's long-time partner. It appears that they have a long history working together. Stephen is the practical survivalist of the pair. He can track and hunt. He knows about everything from tracking animals to things dung can tell you. He can be harsh and callous, but it's obvious he really values Nick as a friend. Stephen knows about Nick's former wife and the search he did for her. Stephen is akward outside of the field though. He he has a hard time confessing his feelings to people he likes.

Connor Temple is one of my favorite characters on the show, next to Nick. Connor is a nerd short and simple. He plays video games (not that there's anything wrong with that!), he'll discuss and argue over sci-fi things, and when he's with his friends, they use sci-fi examples for everything. Still, he's kind and sweet, and can be socially akward as well, but not in the same way as Stephen. He's the encyclopedia. He knows the facts but lacks in practice. He fancies Abby, who fancies Stephen. Still, he doesn't give up and keeps trying to get her attention.

Abby Maitland is small, but spunky. She's a specialist in reptiles and loves them all. She has no problems with snakes or lizards of any size unless they are attempting to eat her. She has weird habits, like hanging out in her flat in her underwear even when Connor or Stephen are around, but it doesn't effect her work. She has a dinosaur living with her, though it's tiny. Rex is her pet from the past, coming through the anomaly and returning to Abby even after she sent him back through.

Claudia Brown and James Lester work for the government and work with Nick and his group closely. Claudia is the reason Nick is still around, trusting him and maybe even liking him a little. Lester is the head of it all, frequently trying to get Nick to conform and do what he says.

Lastly, there's one person who does need a mention, even though I won't/can't say very much. Helen Cutter is, obviously, Nick's wife. She is believed to be dead, but even in the first episode, she is taunting him. Gone for seven years, she appears just briefly to him after he encounters his first anomaly.

I highly recommend Primeval for anyone wanting to see a new show. It's a great show and I'm looking forward to the rest. I'm almost through the first season, which sounds like a lot, but it's not really. It only has six episodes.

It's amazing how many British shows I like. They actually outweigh the American ones.