Although dogged by deciding it wants to be the most unnecessary sequel in history (what next, IMC are back? The Doctor returns to Dulkis to see how everyone's getting on?) the first half of "Primeval" is damn near perfect. Traken pays a high degree of respect to its realisation on television, the Fosters, Source and Consuls all returning, and yet there are intriguing differences in this earlier period; the reign of Kwundar most obviously, and the differing attitudes to the all-powerful energy source that protects Traken and provides the planet with its harmonious well-being. Perhaps because of the marauding nasty a small space-flight away, these Trakenites seem less isolated, and the origins of the Source as a machine, rather than a God, is more readily acknowledged. It's even tempting to suggest that the Consuls in "Primeval" are a more unified (albeit still thoroughly beurocratic) bunch than the hotchpotch of performances we got in "Keeper", a lot of adequately performing big names failing to gel together.

Fan criticisms of "Primeval" are almost entirely desperate and without merit. At first, the return to pre-destruction Traken (an event which my cheating memory told me was the cliffhanger to Part 1 of "Primeval"; in fact, much less is made of it than we remember) feels like a Bad Thing. And yet, as the Doctor points out, it's really no different to Tegan returning to an earlier point of Earth's history in "The Visitation". "Primeval" is also a lot less dull than "The Keeper of Traken" - okay, so that's like letting off a smelly old lump of Stilton for being a lot less cheesy than an even smellier bit of Brie. But where previously most of the action was confined to the cramped confines of the Grove and less-than-inspiring interiors of the consular chambers, here we at least get a villain worth his mettle, Steven Grief giving a restrained, sinister performance to rival the Borad in that other maligned old bit of tat "Timelash". So we reach the end of Part 2 of "Primeval" and we're happily sprinting; not even so much as a cold sweat has broken out, and the finishing line is even sparkling invitingly on the horizon.

And then we get to Part 3.

It's not that it's a bad episode in itself as much as it signals a mass unravelling of plot believability. There was an obvious ready-made reason for the Doctor to remain on Traken after making his deal with Kwundar - as I understood it, Nyssa was only being kept alive by the heightening of her "mental barriers" affected by Kwundar in order to allow the Doctor to complete his side of the bargain. Why she doesn't just fall sick again as soon as they leave (as per "Mawdryn Undead") I don't know. But given that she doesn't, what on Earth is going on here? It's not like the Doctor to simply leg it and leave an adventure half-cooked, and it seems even more forced and unbelievable when he pops back a few moments later, seemingly just to get a gander at the Source and see what all the fuss is about (even though he's seen it before). That the very chance of the Doctor doing this is what Kwundar is banking on for his plan to work strains credibility even further. So the revelation of how the Doctor has been tricked ends up like a neat party-trick the writer has jumped through strenuous hoops to be able to perform.

That we glimpse the iron cogs behind the plot machine occasionally shouldn't be an offence deserving of corporate punishment, though. Ultimately, like "Colditz", there is nothing specifically wrong with "Primeval", yet the story gamely sets itself up for a sequel that was never to arrive. At the time, I questioned my faith in Lance Parkin for this, but now my favourite of all his old tricks shine through it. And you know what "Primeval" most reminds me of? The ancient, hidden enemy from the dawn of the power that runs through all things? The journey back into the past of a previous triumph to re-invent its beginnings? The feeling that despite everything being technically better, nobody is ever going to say this holds a candle to the original? It's "The Phantom Menace" isn't it? Cursed by bad word-of-mouth and an ill-advised idea at its heart.

Yet still much better than you remember.

CD Facts

Part 1 - Tracks 1-10

Part 2 - Tracks 11-18

Part 3 - Tracks 1-7

Part 4 - Tracks 8-18