MovieChat Forums > Primeval (2008) Discussion > Who butchered the final ep?

Who butchered the final ep?

posted 13 years ago by boatsafety
22 replies | jump to latest

THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, SO DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN EP 5.6!!!
I have never been tempted to start a topic on these boards before, but after watching the massacre that was the final ep of season 5 I really have to ask: what the hell happened there? People randomly getting captured, getting trapped, getting into fights all over the place and without any coherence (or sometimes reason)? A major 'possible death' happening off-screen? Abby developing telepathy - she knew what was happening in the Arc without anyone having any contact with each other!? Becker developing the even more impressive ability to be in two places at once: shooting predators in one part of the building and within seconds beaming into another to stand in the background and do .. well ... nothing really? And Ciarán McMenamin loosing all ability to act - sorry, that's nothing to do with the ep, of course, but he REALLY can't do emotion and him screaming at Philip sounded like a little boy pleading with the playground bully! Assuming that neither script writers nor directors of the series suddenly took leave of their senses I have to guess that some producer somewhere decided to hack what should - and COULD - have been a brilliant finale into small pieces with a very blunt pair of scissors. I couldn't shake the feeling all the way through that this should have been two episodes, but someone decided to hammer them into one, probably while blindfolded. I just hope the person responsible watched this mess go out and is currently hanging their head in shame!

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] boatsafety 13 years ago

I am glad the Lester thing worked for you on a tension level - for me it just looked like they cut out something that might have been quite good to watch.
And yes, mentioning that Abby et al knew about the predators would have been really good, because while I agree, Lester and Becker had been speaking, the last time we saw Lester he was kind of suggesting to Jess that they mustn't make any sounds if they wanted to avoid being detected by the predator, so you kind of don't think he then goes and has a chat with Becker about what is happening to them at the Arc. I don't have a problem with choppy, providing it's the right bits that get chopped together.
Which brings me to the 'seconds in our perspective' point, which again, I agree, screen time does by no means have to equal real time, else we'd all be watching some exceedingly boring teli most of the time, but as the entire bit in the Arc was kind of built around a 'help, we are running out of time, we all have to be in different places at the same time in order to make this happen' theme, Becker really seemed to jump! And it wasn't necessary because he added absolutely nothing to the Matt + Connor scene.
I didn't actually know there was an anti-Ciaran acting school of thought, and I never had a problem with his performance throughout the series - up until this ep. I agree, his subtlety works 90% of the time, especially around Emily, in fact, given that he is a 'man out of time' and on a mission, it makes perfect sense that his character is 'holding back' - but there were some scenes in this ep that really required something more than a look, even from someone as restrained as Matt, and it really jarred with me that he didn't step it up even just a tiny bit!
All in all the ep felt lovelessly bolted together to me, and I am just annoyed because I really LIKE Primeval - after a brief dip in the middle these last 2 series have really worked well again. I felt it deserved better than it got there. Maybe making the ep 2 hours long would have been the answer, there certainly was enough going on to justify it!
Still, I hope the majority of viewers agree with you rather than me and keep badgering the channels for a series 6 - and then I hope they will give the guys enough time to tell their story properly in that next season!

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] martunia21 13 years ago

How does it sound?
1. no sound = a mobile + silence mode + a message?
2. a very short episode = easter eggs with additional scenes or a special version of a disc?

Not sure, should Matt show emotions? It's like: he prepares for the great event and sees the future, true. But he isn't sure if he's in the proper time, he mentions something like 'some people went to different centuries as we had no idea when it had happened' so when 'it' really, really happens, it's like a brick wall falling on his head. He's in shock.
M.

[–] crispy_comments 13 years ago

I agree with you, boatsafety, especially when you say:

"I am glad the Lester thing worked for you on a tension level - for me it just looked like they cut out something that might have been quite good to watch."

I often felt that way, watching the last 2 eps. There seemed to be many abrupt cuts, with missing scenes that would've explained how a character got from point A to C, and although I understand they had to compress certain things for time... the bits that were cut often seemed like they would've been more interesting than, say, wasting time watching Matt try to find water for Connor, for instance. :P No amount of shaky cam is gonna make that sort of thing exciting.

Meanwhile we *don't* see how Becker got out of his perilous situation from the previous ep... he's just fine when the finale starts. What was the point of trying to create suspense, putting him in danger as a cliffhanger, and then deflating all tension that way? They did the same thing with Emily's Surprise-I'm-unconscious-on-the-ground-possibly-dead! Oh-now-I'm-up-and-about-like-nothing-happened! scenes in the second last ep.

We don't see exactly what happens when Lester's attacked - I mean, was Jess totally useless or what? As usual, despite Lester's kind speech giving her credit, I continue to find Jess pretty incompetent. We don't learn more about April's motivations before she dies. We don't see how/why Connor can't just go back through the anomaly himself without needing to be rescued... why was he so far away from it anyhow? It seemed to take Abby and Matt forever to get to him and in fact we don't see them all go back through it...if I remember correctly, it just cuts to them on the other side.

The direction's lazy or the editing is a mess or something... Will there be tons of deleted/extended scenes on the dvds? Seems like there ought to be. I'd like to see some sort of flow and coherence restored.

I'm glad there was a basically happy ending, but it felt rushed and unearned, and should've been a lot more satisfying.

[–] Harrysalt 11 years ago

Dude watch the episode again, Jess clearly tells Lester that she is 'texting' Becker, he will come for us!

[–] danrawlings 13 years ago

If the future was changed, wouldn't Matt of 'disappeared' and everything he did not have happened?

[–] gb901 13 years ago

Have to agree totally as I wondered exactly the same how those in the field knew about predators back at the arc? Suggestions of mobile phone communication seem wide of the mark as I cant recall them being used in the episode up until that point? Also very shortly after an adverts break the oirish fella asks the omnipresent becker along the lines of "is it secure/will it hold?" which left me thinking whats secure/what will hold?.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] clue91 13 years ago

I completely agree with you about it feeling choppy. Its not like I couldn't figure out what was going on, but it just felt weird. Not so much Lester being attacked off-screen (I didn't mind that), but the fact that the gang at Prospero knew what was going on at the ARC was pretty bad. I kept thinking that the broadcast had messed up and was skipping or something. In my opinion, it can all be blamed on bad editing.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] sean69ro 13 years ago

Butchered? Yes, to some certain extent, and at times even disturbingly so. They should have given it more time, one more episode to develop it completely. Interestingly, it was not the major storyline part that I felt had holes in it, but little things, like we take the second anomaly and oopsie, we are already there at the site of the big one, with characters present who weren't even in the previous scene - one of the things I found disturbing. I hated the end though - too cliche in the present trend of horror and sci-fi flicks, opening the way in a more then obvious style for the sequel. I don't think, given the ending that anything stands in the way of season 6.

[–] Zimmy-Z 13 years ago

Boatsafety you are completely right. There is pretty much no hint at all that they know about what is happening in the arc and she just mentions it. It was just out of the blue. The Lester thing was just out of no where. I mean we see a predator in I guess maybe the same room? Then next we see Jes and Lester in an utterly different place and Lester is hurt.... so Jes carried him there? Or they for some reason ran there? Then he was injured? And Jes took care of 4 or 5 predators by herself?

The worst thing for me though was that Primeval has always been pretty bad with fights and scale. The world is in danger but it's always just around 4 people handling it with poor equipment. Or constantly dropping their guns etc. Usually it's just about okay to handle because the situations are smaller; in a school, small seaside village etc. But the last episode just took it too far.

T-rex in the middle of the city, likely tens of people dying. Do the military or police react? NOOOOO!!!!! Leave it to 5 people in 4x4s. Every single scene in New Dawn was just awful. Seriously where do they hire security? People just escaped around 10 times, the arc people failed to use their guns about a million times. How many times did one of the arc people get captured and then escape? Matt at least twice, emily at least three times, abby twice maybe? It's always been a problem in the series but the last episode just took the cake.

Plus so many things just ignored. Danny and his brother?! ''You have to go back'' BACK WHERE? To a place? In Time? What part of time? And do what exactly?

[–] potionofmayhem 13 years ago

Let's not forget that at the end of Series 3, when Abby, Connor and Danny went to the future, they discovered themselves in the ruins of the ARC. And, Helen told them at some point I think, that it all began in the ARC. I'd say when Abby mentioned 'that's how the Predators got into the ARC' she was talking about how in the future that happened, and how they must have come through Connor's anomaly. Therefore, they gotta get their butts back there ASAP. That's how I saw it, anyway.

[–] patrickblind2 12 years ago

Need a little help here because I don't understand the confusion with how Abby knew about the predators in the ARC. I was wondering if the BBC cut a commercial over part of the episode because they clearly show Jes texting Becker and telling Lester that she is letting him know what is going on in the ARC. Becker then walks up to the field group and says "I just got a text from Jes and there are predators in the ARC". Abby then questions how they got there....

Was that part cut from the British viewing? It seems that alot of people are wondering how she knew what was going on and it was pretty well explained how she got her information. That being said, I did think the episode was too short and should have been expanded upon.

"You get alot for your dollar with Video Aces" - Tapeheads

[–] sonicingandentering 13 years ago

Well its possibly the end of the show altogether. So you'll just have to make do with it.

[–] TheOpinionGuy 13 years ago

the whole season 5 was butchered and bad very bad. its like they want the show out the door and end it fast. there should be 7 episodes in season 5 so we at least could get a proper finale of the show. now after i have read little here and there on other sites, this is and was the end of primeval show...