Remember those old Hammer films from the 1960's. One Million Years BC and When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth. How we used to laugh at them and their idea that man and dinosaur roamed the earth at the same time. "Balderdash" we cried as we mocked the awful effects and pretended not to stare at Raquel Welch in her fur bikini. Little did we nkow that years later we'd be gawping in awe at a cartoon that uses that same aul plotline. Primal, the new show from Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack is mindblowingly good.
Spear is a caveman who's just witnessed his entire family being eaten by a family of horned red Tyrannosaurs. He's angry, he's lonely and then he's suicidal. After a dark night of the soul on the edge of a cliff he decides to live another day and it's then he comes across Fang, a small gray Tyrannosaur guarding her young. Spear is angry at the world and sees Fang as the enemy. Just as they are about to face off the reds come back and tragedy strikes Fang's family. All the horror Spear witnessed floods back and him, along with Fang attack the reds.
It's the start of a very special relationship.
If you're one of those people who can't get past the silliness of man & dinosaur being buddies just stop now. (yes i realise how silly that sentence is thank you) But if you want to watch something very special then proceed. Each episode is 20 minutes of beauty and brutality. 20 glorious dialogue free minutes set in a time before language. Yet the lack of language doesn't hold it back or make it shallow. Nope there's depth here in spades. Emotion doesn't need any words, a flicker of an eye, a grimace, a glance, watching this will make you realise how much our hands are held by what we watch, how we let shows and films spoonfeed us instead of them letting us use our brains. It doesn't mollycoddle us either. Prehistory was tough. Things died. Blood was spilled. Veganism did not exist.
Primal is excellent. 5 episodes in and I've a new favourite TV show. It's not one bit realistic but honestly, who cares when it's this good.
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