Dangers of past roar into present in Primeval

Juliet Aubrey in Primeval.

Dinosaurs, knights errant and other entities from the past pass into the modern world through time anomalies in “Primeval,” a British action series now available on DVD.

Volume 2 of “Primeval,” which features the third series, came to DVD last month, and a marathon of episodes is airing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today on BBC America (Cox 176, Dish 135 and DirecTV 264).

Juliet Aubrey stars as Helen Cutter, the wife of Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall). Nick is the scientist responsible for investigating these time anomalies. Nick begins his investigation into the anomalies while searching for Helen, who disappeared eight years ago, but discovers his wife has her own agenda.

Aubrey describes Helen as a driven and ambitious woman who becomes a “time-traveling eco-warrior.”

“Helen … becomes slightly bored with her life and finds out about these rips in time and decides to go and explore,” Aubrey said in a recent phone interview.

“She prefers living with dinosaurs, really, to her husband, so she stays there. … To her, time is a river, and you should be able to dive into it at any point in the past or present or future.”

The series was created by “Walking With the Dinosaurs” creator Tim Haines and Adrian Hodges. As such, the dinosaurs that escape into the world of “Primeval” are particularly well-designed. Aubrey said the appeal of ancient eras added to her enjoyment of the research for “Primeval.”

“I studied archaeology myself, so I’m really interested in those kinds of things, in the past and all of that,” Aubrey said.

Aubrey said the future becomes Helen’s obsession, and trying to prevent an apocalyptic future puts her in conflict with Nick’s team, tasked with stopping the creatures that come through the anomalies. Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) are other members of the team. While Helen’s respect for the environment may be admirable, her methods become extreme.

“(She) believes that humanity has completely destroyed the planet and we don’t really deserve to live here,” Aubrey said. “She’s … definitely dangerous to know.”

- Matt Price
From Monday’s The Oklahoman

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