Second series of British "Primeval" now filming

I'm not sure if the British realize how good they have it TV-wise. They have Doctor Who, while we Americans are stuck with the dull-yet-bizarrely-popular Lost. They have the excellent BBC documentaries while we have the Discovery Channel, which is rapidly dumbing down. And they have a show about a team of scientists battling prehistoric creatures.

In truth, the first series of ITV's Primeval left me with mixed feelings when it aired earlier this year. The special effects were excellent, but the writing was rather amateurish and the paleontological aspects were often downplayed. Still, it showed a lot of promise, and after its short six-episode run, I was left wanting more. Now it appears that filming for Series Two is already underway, with seven episodes to air in 2008.

The series hasn't aired in the U.S. yet, so for any Americans who don't know what I'm talking about, here's the plot description from Wikipedia:

The series follows a team of scientists who investigate anomalies in time and deal with the ancient creatures that come through, although they are not always prehistoric. The team of five is led by Professor Nick Cutter, a palaeontologist determined to find his wife who disappeared while investigating an anomaly in the Forest of Dean, England, eight years previously.

One decision the producers made in Series One was not to feature any dinosaurs or really any recognizable creatures other than a pterodactyl and a few dodos. I thought it was an interesting decision, given there are plenty of other prehistoric animals that are rarely featured in television or movies, but probably not the wisest one since the majority of the viewing public wants to see dinosaurs. Anyway, we now know that an episode in the upcoming series will feature velociraptors.

You can check out Primeval on the official web site. There also is a web site for the lead actor that is updated pretty regularly with news about the show.