Primeval: Dinosaur Fact and Fiction

I just read the news that in August BBC America will begin broadcasting the science fiction series Primeval. According to previews, it's a mixture of science fiction with a healthy dose of science fact:

The series stars Douglas Henshall as "Professor Nick Cutter," an "evolutionary zoologist" who leads a team attempting to control prehistoric creatures that come through a rift in time and space. Cutter is also searching for his wife, who he believed was dead but actually may have traveled through a time and space "anomaly." But don't expect the off the wall sci fi of Davies' Doctor Who. Haines says that the rifts in space and time are really the only element of the series that is science fiction. The science in the rest of the show is quite real, whether it's the biology of the creatures themselves, or the absence of any "all purpose fix-it" devices like The Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

If you don't mind spoilers (the series is already entering its third season in the UK), check out the official Primeval web site for information about the real life dinosaurs the show's creatures were based on. It looks like the BBC America site will have the same information once the series starts showing.

I'm definitely going to watch it when it premiers here on August 9.

Image: Coelurosauravus (aka Rex) "based on a smaller reptile (about half Rex’s size) called Coelurosaravus jaeckeil found in Germany. His wings were formed by extensions of his ribs but he could not fly only glide. He is, however, the first known vertebrate flyer because he predates the pterosaurs."

Tags:science fiction, paleontology, dinosaurs