RÜCKKEHR DER URZEITMONSTER

[21.20 - French Time] Primeval - Series Five, Episode One. Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig) has doubts about Matt (Ciarán McMenamin) and introduces Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) to Project New Dawn and to his new assistant, April (Janice Byrne). Philip is not alone to be intrigued by Matt, as Abby (Hannah Spearitt) has doubts too. But a there's no time for questions as creatures from the underground decide to visit the city the same day Lester (Ben Miller) must tour the ARC with a lady from the Cabinet office for a possible Knighthood.

When ITV axed Primeval after its third series, a 2009 deal resurrected the sci-fi/adventure drama from Impossible Pictures for 13 new episodes filmed in Dublin and split into Series four and Five. German private channel ProSieben, historic co-producer, stayed aboard and UKTV's digital channel Watch entered as a first-time investor with a first run of the fifth series. And BBC America, which airs Primeval in the US, arrived as a co-producer of the show distributed by BBC Worldwide since its start.

In the United Kingdom, ITV1 aired the fourth series (actually a 7-episode block) from January to February 2011. And Series Five is aired by Watch since a couple of weeks and ahead of ITV. In Germany the two new "series" are aired in one block by ProSieben since April 11 and the channel aired the fifth series's premiere tonight.

A spectacular return written by Chris Lang and directed by Mark Everest. Philip plots to use anomalies for his mysterious project, New Dawn, managed in the Prospero Facility. Is Connor signing a pact with the devil as the industrialist may be behind a global disaster in the future? And who is really April Leonard, Connor's new lab aide? Time will tell but for now the young man has other preoccupations, huge worries of the mean kind. Fortunately Matt will share them with him.

The really impressive giant bugs look like they didn't eat only that guy right out an ad for Primeval's ITV1 sponsor, but also a wide part of the budget as the locations seem to shout cost control. Perfect series start with a truly riveting and scary episode whose welcome comic relief is provided by Ben Miller, as the script plays delightfully with James Lester's "knighthood".