Time anomaly

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Time anomalies are fictional phenomena which occur in the science fiction television series Primeval and are a specific type of time portal. The anomaly is shown as an area of fractured reflective or refractive triangles in the air. A character said that he could see a (Permian) desert through it. These time anomalies act as a plot generator for the series, as they are what allow the extinct species that make up the basic plots of the show to travel through them for the team to investigate, in a manner similar to the Rift in Torchwood, or the Hellmouth in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Contents 1 Occurrences 2 Attributes and effects 3 Control of the anomalies 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Occurrences

It has not yet been established how many time anomalies have occurred nor where they originate from. Although the capture of an extinct form of Sarcopterygian suggests that their have been others before the Forest of Dean anomaly seen in Episode One.^[1] In the first Episode an anomaly is discovered in the Forest of Dean, linked to the Permian period. However, it is not know whether this is the same anomaly that Helen Cutter and her associate travelled through or if they travelled through another.^[1]

In the Second Episode the team discovers animals which come through a second anomaly, in a section of the London Underground, date from the Carboniferous period due to appearance of Giant Arthropods.^[1] Interestingly this anomaly didn't close for reasons that have yet to be explained.

In the Third Episode it is revealed that an anomaly can move along a fault line,^[2] and Nick Cutter describes them being somewhat like an earthquake in time.^[2]

In the Fourth Episode the anomaly is located in the Matchroom football stadium's catering storeroom. On the otherside of this anomaly it is shown that their can be dozens of anomalies open at once.^[3] In Episode Five the anomaly is located in the sky, showing that they are not only limited to appearing on ground level.^[4]

In Episode Six the anomaly from Episode One reopens - still to the Permian period, but to a time five years previous. In this period, there is also a time anomaly open to an unspecified point in the far future (i.e. some point after the relative present that much of Primeval takes place in). This episode also demonstrates that interference with the past can alter the future in unspecified ways.^[5]

[edit] Attributes and effects

The anomalies are highly magnetic, they can draw ferrous objects — for example keys, and pens — into them, they also render compasses useless near them.^[1] However it is shown in Episode Four that the magnetic field is not strong enough to penetrate through the metal of a stainless steal fridge door.^[3]

They resemble glowing shattered pieces of glass floating in midair, through which people, animals and objects can travel. It is also stated in Episode Two and Three that atmospheric gasses and liquid can also pass through.^[6][2] It is also possible to enter only partway into an anomaly without being sucked in, for example a person can take a look through an anomaly simply by poking their face through without travelling all the way through.^[1] They can cut across distance as well as time, as creatures which were never native to Great Britain, nor the area which became Britain have passed in its geological past, have passed through the anomalies into modern Britain. For example the Dodo was only found on tropical islands around Mauritius,^[7] and Scutosaurus were located in Russia and parts of Europe.^[8]

An anomaly can either have a fixed location at both "ends" of the anomaly or one end may be unstable and thus move location, for example the present end of an anomaly moves in the Third Episode while the past location of the anomaly is fixed.^[2]

The team encountered Dodos at one anomaly^[1] a bird which did not evolve until well after the time of the Dinosaurs ended (the Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of Cretaceous period 65 million years ago^[9] whereas the Dodo had not separated from its common ancestor with the Rodrigues Solitaire until around 25 million years ago).^[7] This would indicate that the anomalies can be linked to any period in the past.

In Episode Four it is shown that dozens of anomalies can be open at the same time and all lead to different eras and locations.^[3] The strength of the anomalies weaken over time. They slowly lose their magnetic power, shrink in size, and eventually collapse in on themselves.^[1]

[edit] Control of the anomalies

At the end of the First Episode, Helen Cutter — who is presumed to be trapped in Permian era after having passed through an anomaly — is seen from a distance and leaves Nick Cutter a living specimen of an Ammonite,^[1] and in the Second Episode she is encountered by Stephen Hart.^[6] It is revealed in the Third Episode after she is tracked down by Nick that she was staying away because she did not want to reveal the secret of the anomalies to the world, something she knew Nick would be compelled to do.^[2] In the same episode she tells Nick she is offering him "the key to time" which would indicate that she has at least gained some amount of control over the anomalies.^[2] She later tells Lester that she knows where the anomalies will open before that actually do.^[3] She then appears and dissapears in Episode Five, presumably through another anomaly,^[4] although this may imply that she can create them as well as she clearly couldn't have come through the sky anomaly.^[4]

[edit] See also

• Time portal
• Cardiff Rift
• Hellmouth (Buffyverse)
• Nexus (Charmed)

[edit] References

v • d • e Primeval
Primeval main pages
Impossible Pictures Productions | Time anomaly
Main characters
Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) | Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) | Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) Stephen Hart (James Murray) | Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown) | James Lester (Ben Miller) | Tom Ryan (Mark Wakeling)
Primeval lists
Episodes | Creatures | Minor characters