Episode 2.4
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| Series | 2 |
| Episode | 4 |
| Broadcast | 2nd February 2008 |
| Preceded by | The Lost Island |
| Followed by | Episode 2.5 |
- "So to some up then, we're looking for a deadly skin-sheding aquatic predator with a neat line in Charlotte Church impressions. "
- ―James Lester
Contents |
Plot
Edit
When an anomaly opens underwater, a teenage boy, Lucien Hope is dragged into a flooded drain. Cutter and the team launch a frantic search that leads them from the drain to a nearby canal. The team begin to scour the canal for evidence of a creature, where Jenny narrowly escapes a grisly end when the boat she is in comes under attack by a shark; however, Cutter and Stephen arrive in the nick of time to save her and kill the shark. Back at the ARC, a strange discovery during the creature's post-mortem suggests it may not have come from the past. The creature's secret weapon is a giant proboscis that shoots from its jaws to trap its prey, evidence of an unusual evolutionary development; it is clearly an animal from the future.
When their work is done, Connor and Abby return to her flat, to find Caroline asleep on the sofa and Rex trapped in the fridge barely alive. Abby blames Caroline for the incident, who claims it was an accident before she swiftly departs the scene. As a result, Connor and Abby's friendship swiftly begins to deteriorate.
Stephen is convinced that there must be a second shark in the water and that is what killed the teenage boy, but Cutter isn't convinced. He thinks there is a different creature- a marine mammal- out there and he feels certain they are looking for it in the wrong place. Despite orders from Lester to the contrary, Cutter decides to follow his hunch. With the help of Connor and Abby (who, much to Cutter's annoyance, are still at each other's throats), he records some strange ‘singing' sounds, like whale song coming from below the water. He also gets into a fight with the mysterious 'Cleaner' who appears to have been following them: however, the man escapes before they can question him. Cutter, with Connor and Abby's help then play the recordings back, hoping to lure the creature to them. The plan works a little too well when an aquatic mammalian creature jumps out of the water and grabs Abby, dragging her beneath the water. The team desperately search the canal looking for Abby but they can find no trace of either her or the creature. Stephen and Cutter presume she must be dead and reluctantly call off the search. Connor is beside himself with anger and worry when Lester arrives, who promptly has Jenny take the distraught Connor home, fires Cutter for disobeying orders and indirectly causing Abby's death, and puts Stephen in charge of the operation: however, Cutter remains in the area, watching the search. In secret, Jenny provides Cutter with information about a flooded warehouse, which Cutter deduces could be the lair of the creatures. Cutter contacts Connor and convinces him to help find the creature rather than let Abby's death be in vain: Connor does so, explaining to Cutter he is only helping in regret for the cruel and spiteful things he and Abby said to each other before her death. Cutter consoles him with the thought Abby knew he cared for her. They search the warehouse that has apparently flooded and Connor is overjoyed to find Abby and Lucien are still alive: the creatures were storing them for food. This excitement is short lived when Abby is taken by one of the creatures, dubbed 'the Mer': Connor goes off to search for her, while Lucien and Cutter are left to fight the remaining Mer on their own. Fortunately, Stephen, who has been scanning the drains with a remote control submarine, sees what is happening and arrives just in time to swing the battle in Cutter's favour, using a machine gun to cut down the Mer without mercy.
Connor finds Abby just as she is dragged through the anomaly by a gargantuan red-skinned Mer, called the MerQueen. He gives chase to find himself on an apocalyptic shoreline millions of years in the future: the sky is dark and lightning strikes frequently. On the rocks below, the creatures gather, fighting among themselves for food. Connor finds Abby below a cliff ledge beneath him, being menaced by one of the Mer; he slays the creature by hurling a rock at its head. Abby tries to climb up but she loses her footing on the ascent, leaving her dangling with Connor holding her by one hand, her weight threatening to drag them both to their deaths. The Mer, seeing their prey is escaping, launch an attack, including the huge red-skinned MerQueen that took Abby. She begs Connor to let her go, saying there is no point in getting them both killed, but Connor refuses, simply saying, "I love you." As all seems lost and Connor is about to lose his grip, he throws his hand out...and Cutter grabs it, having followed through the anomaly with Stephen. Cutter and Connor pull Abby to safety, seconds before the MerQueen can get her, and then Stephen and Cutter, who have brought guns with them, open fire on the red-skinned Mer below, killing the beast.
Back in the present day, Lucien is sent home to his family, thanking Abby and Connor for their help, referring to him as 'her boyfriend', a claim Abby denies. Lester arrives with Leek; Lester orders the anomaly site to be sealed in concrete, grudgingly thanks Cutter for returning to their aid, and criticises Stephen for failing to expand the search. In private, Abby asks Cutter if what they saw through the anomaly is their future, but Cutter explains humanity will be extinct long before then, or perhaps mankind will simply return to the waters from where they came: the Mer could potentially be descended from humans. Back at her flat, Abby and Connor discuss what was said back in the anomaly: before they can admit their feelings for each other, an interruption in the form of Caroline intervenes.
Meanwhile, in a secluded car park, Oliver Leek is in a meeting in his car with 'the Cleaner', who is speaking via videolink, and a shadowy figure on the back seat. Leek warns the Cleaner mistakes like letting Cutter see him are jeopardising 'the operation' and warns him to stay out of sight in future. Once the Cleaner has cut communication, Leek promises the figure in the back of his car such mistakes will not happen again. The figure leans forward - revealing herself to be Helen Cutter - and warns Leek that similar failures will not be tolerated, and coldly comments she may have made a mistake in choosing Leek to aid her. Leek promises that it won't happen again, as he 'has a lot riding on this', and then Helen vanishes from the car, leaving Leek visibly shaken.
CastEdit
- Nick Cutter — Douglas Henshall
- Abby Maitland — Hannah Spearritt
- Stephen Hart — James Murray
- Connor Temple — Andrew-Lee Potts
- Helen Cutter — Juliet Aubrey
- James Lester — Ben Miller
- Oliver Leek — Karl Theobald
- Jenny Lewis - Lucy Brown
- Caroline Steel — Naomi Bentley
- The Cleaner - Tim Faraday
TriviaEdit
- Although official episode titles aren't given for Primeval episodes. In America this episode is called Underwater Menace while in Germany this episode is called Der Kanal, which can be translated to The Channel, The Sewer, The Passage, The Pipe or The Canal.
- This is the 2nd time Abby and Connor travel through an anomaly as the first was in The Lost Island.
- This was the 1st time a future world was shown on Primeval.
- This episode reveals the name of the Cleaner first seen in Episode 2.1, it is Sciswell.
Errors Edit
- The team know that Lucien couldn't have been digested by the the time they open the shark. The team were right in the fact that shark didn't kill the boy, but if the shark was from the future, it may have evolved a system that made it digest quicker.
- Its possible but not likely, as a result of a generally cold blooded metabolism sharks and other fish require a long time to digest their food. Its unlikely that the metabolism of the shark changed much as the transition from cold to warm blooded takes hundreds of millions of years.
- In addition, no bones were found in the stomach contents; however the shoe and basketball were.
ContinuityEdit
- This time the Wilhelm Scream is heard from a main character and not a random victim. Connor screams it when the MerQueen swipes him into the water.
- The Mer return in episodes 2.6 and 2.7
GalleryEdit
External linkEdit
- Episode Guide on itv.com [1]
| Series 2 |
|---|
| Episode 2.1 • Episode 2.2 • Episode 2.3 • Episode 2.4 • Episode 2.5 • Episode 2.6 • Episode 2.7 |
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