It’s mid- March, and a significant time for the maker’s of ITV’S forthcoming Science Fiction series Primaeval. Outside in he sub-zero temperature conditions of the British winter, he cast and crew have finished heir first full week of shooting on the epic £6 million show, which is produced by Cameron McAllister, written by Adrian Hodges (Rome) and executive produced by Tim Haines (Walking with Dinosaurs).
“We had a baptism of fire, straight in at the deep end,” McAllister tells Starburst. “We’ve shot some of the most ambitious stuff in the woods, and so far so good. It was highly pressurised and we had terrible weather, but in a funny way it’s actually enhanced the shoot – it’s made the woods very moody and atmospheric.
“It’s good actually: we’ve done a lot of preparation and talking for this and I think it was time to step up to the plate and do it. There’s only so much planning you can do”.
The show stars Douglas Henshall as Professor Nick Cutter and former S Club 7 member Hannah Spearitt as Abby Lister, who are assigned to investigate when dinosaurs begin appearing through rips in time. The mission is personal for Cutter – his own wife vanished through such a rip eight years earlier and he still dreams of finding her.
“This is such an ambitious project, and you can see why people probably haven’t tackled it before,” offers McAllister. “But I think technology has moved forward so much tat he time has come to raise he bar a bit in terms of what you ca achieve on television.
“Shows like Walking With Dinosaurs, which Tim Haines made, have shown what’s achievable now. CG graphics are becoming a little more in the reach of television budgets. It is still very expensive and we have to spend a quarter of a million pounds per one- hour episode, which is unheard of in TV terms. But for that you get very realistic creatures.”
The series promises to put the creatures from Earth’s past smack into the middle of our safe technological world.
“Each episode is defined by what comes through that wormhole from the past,” reveals the producer, “so we’ve got massive arachnids and massive flesh-eating centipedes… We have about four big action set pieces per episode, so there is a lot of stuff there.
“The beauty of the series is that it’s not far fetched. We’ve made it as plausible as possible, taking in identifiable characters and suburban places and saying ‘What if something happened in your local swimming pool?’ Or in the underground station or at the bus stop or at school, or even in one case, it’s in your basement utility room? These creatures can come through anywhere at anytime, so it’s set in your own living room, rather being set on alien planets. It’s quite down to Earth.”
So if McAllister was charged with describing the show in a quick soundbite , what would he say?
“Obviously it has overtones of Jurassic Park”, he concedes, “but I also think it has a lot of a feel of a show like Lost as well. We’re hoping it’s quite hip and sexy and has a bit of attitude to it, and it’s got intrigue. There’s also a flavour of Buffy, and it’s in the ball park of shows like Dr Who as well – it’s that kind of tone”.
Primaeval promises to be an adult series that children will adore. Or maybe a children’s series that adults will be hooked on. These days the boundaries are hard to set, and McAllister prefers to set his net as far as possible.
“Do you know what? That’s a really tricky one. Spielberg use to say that his films were for the child in every adult. The best way to describe the show is it’s absolutely classic family entertainment – something tat he kids can watch with their parents, but also something that teenagers and twentysomethings will enjoy. I think it’s one of those things that just brings people together.
“It’s something the Americans have been doing for ages, and the Brits are only just starting to wake up to. I suppose shows like Doctor Who have shown that there is a huge market out there for family viewing – you can sit down on a Saturday or Sunday teatime and watch it together.”
The six part series will remain in production for some months, and even the show’s producer is unsure when it will emerge on our screens.
“It might not be this year,” he says, “Realistically it might be next year, but that’s in the balance and they keep that close to their chests as it’s a very competitive market place.”
One week of filming down, many more left to go. It’s very early days, but has McAllister even considered the possibility of Primaeval’s long term future? A year from now, could they be back shooting Season Two?
“Oh God yes!” he beams “Totally. The beauty in the show is that it’s quite a good franchise for a ‘creature of the week’.”
“There are so many ideas. And this is just the starting point.”
Up Against the Doctor
Even before a single frame of film had been shot, the press were comparing Primaeval to Doctor Who. One might think the fact might be a little wearing for its producer, but McAllister admits he’s flattered.
“I don’t mind that personally, because Doctor Who was a huge success. It’s a very different show; although there’s an element of time travel in it. I think that’s where he comparisons end.
“I’m a big fan of Doctor Who and don’t get me wrong, I want their audience. They made a brilliant show and quite rightly it rated massively, and if we can do the same we’re very lucky. It’s great fun to be compared to a huge hit like that, and certainly ITV will be hoping very much we can emulate their success.
“But there’s room in this world for more than one show like that. So long as we’re not pitched together in the same timeslot, hopefully the audience get twice as much for their money. But who knows – maybe they will be pitched against each other.”
Prime Time Casting
A lot of time was spent on the casting of Primaeval, McAllister explains “When we came to casting Cutter it wasn’t just a case for going after someone who could bring in the ratings in terms of being a famous name. We really wanted to find someone who was right for the part.
“We went for Dougie Henshall because he was the most suitable. He brings an intelligence and credibility to the role; he really grounds the show. It was quite tough to cast as we wanted the show to be very good looking and we wanted a lot of character.”
For the supporting characters, McAllister has assembled a number of rising stars and established names.
“For example the character of Connor, who’s a geek, we still wanted him to be attractive, and a lot of the humour comes through him. So you need someone with very good comic ability, and we scored well with Andrew – Lee Potts.
“We got a great name in James Murray as Steven, as he’s started to play romantic leads in his own right now. So have Juliet Aubrey as Helen and Ben Miller who plays Leicester. I think they were attracted by doing something different and exciting. Plus Adrian is an acclaimed writer, and his scripts are really strong.”
Interview by David Richardson