Nick Cutter
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| Nick Cutter | |
|---|---|
 Cutter with dodos (Episode 4) |
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| First appearance | Episode 1 |
| Portrayed by | Douglas Henshall |
| Episode count | 13 |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Professor of Palaeontology at Central Metropolitan University Anomaly team member |
| Title | Professor |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Cutter (estranged wife) Claudia Brown (love, non-existent in new world) |
Professor Nick Cutter is a fictional character in the ITV science fiction television series Primeval. He is played by Douglas Henshall. He is one of the main characters, a Professor of Palaeontology at the fictional Central Metropolitan University. He is one of a group of people who discover that prehistoric and extinct animals are passing through anomalies in time and space. Due to his expertise in prehistoric creatures, he is assigned to tackling the problems these creatures cause for the present civilization by the Home Office.
[edit] Characterisation
Not only is Cutter an expert in Palaeontology and the identification of extinct species, comments made by him in several episodes seem to indicate he may be somewhat familiar with physics; for example his theories about the time anomalies in "Episode Three" seem to be proven true at the end of the episode,[1] describing them as being somewhat like an earthquake in time.[1]
Cutter started out as a somewhat aloof individual; for example he initially rather briskly brushes off Connor Temple who comes to him with suspicions of a prehistoric creature being loose in modern times, telling him to go and get a girlfriend instead. He also keeps his encounter with his long lost wife, Helen to himself. He can be quite spiteful at times as his last words to Stephen before heading through the anomaly in episode six are to push Lester through the nastiest anomaly he can find if he doesn't make it back.
He also seems to have a mild case of egomania and an overestimated view of his own importance. He withholds information from his friends and team mates and Connor notes in Episode One that he never turns up for his own seminars. He also tries to make demands of Lester in "Episode Three"[2] when asked to bring Helen back only to be shocked when Lester overrules his decision and brings his wife back by force.
Cutter's attitude towards the Home Office involvement was at first one of mild contempt, at least for the more bureaucratic members such as James Lester. He dislikes hiding things from the public, Helen says she thinks he wants to share the time anomalies with the rest of the world in "Episode Three".
However Nick is not incompassionate, and he has mellowed out over time. He's developed a grudging respect for Lester, despite his claims to the contrary, and his caring side is shown when he reassures Connor on several occasions, most notably when Connor's friend is killed by a parasite, and when Helen's apparent disregard for human life horrifies him in "Episode Three".[1]
He was also very trusting of Helen, despite her comments and the others' suspicions that she may have intentionally set the parasitic Dodos on mankind in "Episode Four",[3] although he was angry to discover Helen's real reason for returning the baby Future Predators to their own time. After that, it's safe to assume whatever feelings he had left for her are now over.
His relationship with Claudia Brown was beginning to turn to romantic, as demonstrated when he rushes to her rescue and later kisses her in "Episode Five" and she herself begs him not to leave her.[4] Before heading into the anomaly, the two share a passionate kiss - much to Helen's anger. A series of Primeval Action Figures have been released with a Mini-Biography on the side of the box. At the end of Cutter's it says that he believes there is intelligent life somewhere else in the Universe, but not in the Government.
[edit] Character history
While little is known about his early life, the Official site states that he was born in Edinburgh and graduated from his year at University College London with First Class Honours. At some point he met and quickly married his wife Helen. Their marriage proved to be a failure, however, as according to Douglas Henshall's web site, the relationship between them became as stormy as it was passionate. They were estranged at the time of her disappearance, and this added to Cutter's sense of guilt when she vanished. When the series begins it is established that he had a wife, fellow palaeontologist Helen Cutter, who went missing eight years prior to his first encounter with a time anomaly. He tells the others that she went missing sometime after the two of them had a fight.
At first, his insistence that his wife Helen is alive in the first two and a half episodes is seen by some members of the time as initially somewhat foolish and unrealistic, most notably Claudia. He then keeps the details of her visitations to himself, out of hurt pride that his wife could have left him alone for so long.[5] This has terrible consequences later when the government found out.
When the truth is known, not only does he lose the respect of Claudia but also brings the wrath of Lester down on himself. After being tricked into leading Lester's troops to his wife the relationship between the two of them hit a new low as she is adamant that he had set her up and he finally lost patience with her evasions and riddles. She later escapes, and his motives for trying to follow her through the Anomaly are open to question.[3]
Lester later lost patience and faith in him during the hunt for the Pteranodon when he prevents Captain Ryan from shooting it, claiming that Cutter causes "more problems than he solves"[4]a claim which Stephen Hart, and Cutter himself, secretly agreed with in the end analysis. By the end of Series One, however, he was prepared to go to Lester for help in the effort to find the Future Predator and the anomaly from which it came.[6]
Due to alterations in the timeline, the cause of which is unknown, Cutter remains one of two of the only currently identified characters (The second being Helen) to remain unaffected for reasons that are unknown. Cutter himself is confused as to how this happened.[6]. Cutter also immediately calls new P.R. guru Jennifer Lewis Claudia Brown after her doppelgänger. This confuses the team a lot, and while Connor and Abby both show some sort of support, Stephen and Nick are both quietly cautious of one another. Cutter is shown to be very caring at the end of the second series, as he is willing to sacrifice himself to save others (on two different occasions) but on the second time, he is punched by Stephen, who takes his place inside the predator-filled room. Stephen asks Cutter to tell Connor and Abby to stay out of trouble, and is then killed. Cutter shreds the picture of Claudia Brown at the end of the episode, showing that he no longer thinks that she will return and she no longer seems to matter to him[citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Episode Three". Primeval. ITV. ITV1. 2007-02-24. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ "Episode Three". Primeval. ITV. ITV1. 2007-02-24. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ a b "Episode Four". Primeval. ITV. ITV1. 2007-03-03. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ a b "Episode Five". Primeval. ITV. ITV1. 2007-03-03. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ "Episode Two". Primeval. ITV. ITV1. 2007-02-10. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ a b "Episode Six". Primeval. ITV. ITV1. 2007-03-03. No. 6, season 1.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series | Series 1 | Series 2 | Series 3 | |||
| Episodes | 1 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 23 |
| Team members | Nick Cutter | |||||
| Stephen Hart | Sarah Page | |||||
| Abby Maitland | ||||||
| Connor Temple | ||||||
| James Lester | ||||||
| Claudia Brown | Jenny Lewis | |||||
| Captain Tom Ryan | Oliver Leek | Captain Becker | ||||
| Danny Quinn | ||||||
