Primeval New World: “Babes In The Woods” A Confession about Bikinis in Dan Payne’s Interview!

Welcome back to the Primeval New World!

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR NON CANADIANS:

“Babes in the Woods” features great guest stars including the talented Tora Hylands and Dan Payne. The episode was written by the talented Katherine Collins and directed by industry veteran Andy Mikita.

Well known for his wonderful work on many Stargate episodes, the work by Mr. Mikita brings pleasant memories to the minds of his many admirers, including my own.

Update February 06, 2013:

We include below an exclusive interview with delightful Dan Payne who portrays Major Douglas in Primeval New World in one of two known appearances in this outstanding science fiction series. The other released episode is The Great Escape, which we recently reviewed here at WormholeRiders.

Dan discusses the fun he had working with all the series celebrities including the high jinx he had with Chuck Campbell of Stargate Atlantis. Chuck works as the “dinosaur” in a silver suit with a silver ball affixed to his head to provide focus during shooting for the visual effects produced by VFX guru Mark Savela!

Click PLAY above to enjoy the interview. Many thanks Dan Payne for taking the time away from your busy schedule to share with all the fans of Primeval New World!

Also included below is a fun Primeval New World video featurette where the gifted and gorgeous actress Miranda Frigon introduces talented Director Andy Mikita about working Behind The Scenes (BTS). The video feature is in a forested area location areas for the outstanding “Babes in the Woods” episode.

The enjoyable BTS video feature is courtesy of the great team who produce Primeval New World at Omni Film Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia. I think you will enjoy the video as much as we do here at WormholeRiders News Agency!

Babes in the Woods:

This episode opens with a group of models in a photo shoot in a cabin in the woods. The photographer, a real dork, heads outside for a cigarette. We know what that means. The dork is toast. Since he is a photographer, he has a spare camera that he is carrying with him. He is able to snap a photo of the creature before it attacks him.

Back at Cross Photonics, Evan (Niall Matter) is conferring with Toby (Crystal Lowe). They want to predict when the anomalies will appear. This seems like a great idea, if they can make it work. Toby admits this will not be easy. Evan, clever with the cryptic answers, replies, “I never promised you easy”, as he heads back to his office. Just as he leaves, Toby’s dino sensor goes off.

It is bad news. The anomaly has opened very close to a location that Toby does not want her colleagues to know about. Mac (Danny Rahim) arrives at the office just in time to be accosted by Toby, “I need you to come with me to the anomaly, and I was thinking that just you and I could go this time”. Mac’s response, “What have you been smoking?”

Toby realizes that she needs to come clean with Mac and admits that she used to be part of another kind of group. Naturally, the testosterone in Mac jumps into high gear. However, he does insist that there is no way they are going to the cabin in the woods alone.

Evan is in his office ruminating as he plays with the wedding ring he removed in the last episode. Is he having second thoughts about his feelings for Ange (Miranda Frigon)? As he does so, guess who walks in…correct, Ange. Fortunately, she cannot see from her angle that he is holding his ring. Off screen Mac yells, “Evan, anomaly alert”.

Evan uses the opportunity to exchange his ring for the dinosaur detector. Again, Ange does not see this. I wonder, at this point, if Evan is saying goodbye to his dead wife through the symbolism of his wedding ring, or whether he is still very much attached to her and has simply taken off his ring to keep Ange with the company.

In Toby’s lab, Toby gives Evan the coordinates of the anomaly, but also admits to Evan that she had a past she was not listing on her resume. Evan confesses to Toby that he already knew about her being a Fatal Babe. Since Evan is a high tech computer geek, this really is not surprising and he is okay with it.

Outside, Evan tells Mac and Toby to go to the cabin and evacuate Toby’s friends, Dylan (Sara Canning) and he will go look for the anomaly and anything that might have come through. That is when Ange shows up.

Ange intends to find out just what it is that keeps Evan so distracted from the company. Dylan tells Ange, “these things can be really dangerous”. Ange responds by show, not tell. She narrowly avoids kicking Evan in the face. She has had a few years of martial arts. Getting in Evan’s jeep, Ange gets shotgun.

Mac and Toby arrive at the cabin, but not before Mac has some fun pulling up photos of Toby on his smart phone and teasing her about it. With the ease that Mac found the photos, I would suspect that a simple Google search would have easily located the same images, so, Evan has seen them too. Mac and Toby inform the models at the cabin that a cougar is nearby, so the ladies are quite willing to depart.

Personally, I would be asking Mac and Toby, just how they were aware that anything was amiss in the first place, especially when they are told that the photographer has only been gone 45 minutes. They are quicker to arrive than the cops. Stargate fans will recognize the cabin in this episode as the one used as “Jack’s cabin” in “Uninvited” and ”Moebius Part 2”.

As the other leave, they discover where the dino is – right behind Toby. Toby’s friend, Natalie runs for a white van and drives away. Toby and Mac barely manage to get inside as the van picks up speed and the creature begins chasing them.

Racing along a narrow forest road, Toby determines the only way to stop Nat’s panicked lead foot, is to stun her. This sends the van out of control and into the trees, and finally stopped as it gets hung up on a log. Mac climbs out of the vehicle to discover that they are alone, five kilometers from the cabin, with a radio and a taser and no other weapons.

Back at the cabin, Evan Dylan and Ange have just arrived. They notice that Mac’s jeep is there, but no sign of him or Toby. So, they use the radio, and discover that Mac and Toby did not find the anomaly, but they found the dinosaur… “very fast, very scary”.  The big problem is they have a civilian with them.

Now, this is another part of the episode that confuses me. Why did Evan not send Ange to get Mac, Toby and guest? Why did Mac not tell Evan that he had five kilometers of dense forest between them and the cabin and no transportation?

Heading into the woods, Ange spots the dead photographer first. It is easy to see by her reaction that a corpse missing part of an arm affects her. Evan, wake up and show some support, man. Instead, he discovers the camera that the photographer dropped while he was being lunch. Dylan is the one that provides the encouragement to Ange by telling her, “he was unarmed. We’re not”.

At the van, Mac keeps a lookout for the dino as Toby stays close to Nat, apologizing profusely, “I’m sorry, but you were acting crazy.” Nat responds, “you didn’t tase me the last thousand times I acted crazy”.

Toby’s reply really gets Mac’s attention, “that’s because the make-up sex was too good”.  Well, there is absolutely no doubt now. This show just became full fledged adult in nature, unlike its U.K predecessor, Primeval.

Once Nat is on her feet and her head is beginning to clear, she wants to know what that creature was that was chasing them and what does Toby do for a living. Yes, I’d want to know too. Toby explains, “It was a dinosaur and Mac and I, we hunt dinosaurs”.

At first, Nat, despite what she saw, thinks Toby is joking. Which leads Toby and Mac to discuss that they do not know how many dinosaurs are between them and the anomaly. Now, Nat needs an explanation about the anomaly. Mac has the best answer, “Big shiny hole in the universe. Spits out dinosaurs”.

Walking further into the woods, Evan and Toby discuss the size of the dino. Evan finds what looks like a very large porcupine quill. As they proceed, Ange has the privilege of spotting the real thing and its attention is focused solely on her. She runs with the creature in close pursuit.

Ange turns around and runs back toward Evan and Dylan. Evan tackles Ange and gets her out of the dino’s path in time for Dylan to shoot it with a tranquilizer gun. Once the creature is immobilized, Ange thanks Dylan for saving her. Dylan’s reply, “hey, you sign my pay check, can’t let you get eaten”.

Now that the dino is down and unconscious, the trio have to decide what to do with it. Ange suggests that Ken Leeds could help. Evan replies that there is no cell service and he does not what Ken’s group around every time he chooses to do something. So, what to do – Ange asks, carry it?” Yep.

As Mac, Toby and Nat walk along a path in the forest, we learn a bit more about Toby. She asks Mac if he has met the preacher father yet?

Toby continues to behave as if she does not want all her personal details shared with the world. Toby distinctly feels uncomfortable with all this secret sharing. That is when they hear a noise. There is nothing visible, so they keep moving.

Dylan and Ange indulge in some friendly banter with Evan. They determine that the dino went after Ange because she is the smallest, “it probably thought you were a juvenile”. Then they too, hear a noise in the forest. Evan drops the line connected to the dino and aims his weapon.

Moments later, Toby, Mac and Nat hear a noise again. They are now sure that they have company. Mac radios Evan to report it, Evan admits that they are not alone either. Dylan has good advice, “move slowly and keep the smallest person in the middle”.

Mac finds himself in the middle and has to make a remark about it, of course, “this isn’t quite the fantasy I imagined this moment to be”. Toby’s response is equally precious, “just keep your taser up, please”.

Well, it is not exactly a dinosaur, exactly…but it is equally dangerous. Mac’s group has located a bear. Toby tells Mac and Nat to put their hands up. She then yells out, “shoo, go!” Actually, the proper procedure in a similar case is to try to make yourself appear as big as possible. That means, holding on to the bottom of your jacket and then opening it as wide as possible so you look bigger.  What they did, in this episode, worked. The bear left.

Taking a break from dragging their tranquilized dinosaur away, Ange and Dylan walk a little further ahead into the forest. As they begin to chat together, the creature that had been stalking them makes its appearance. Dylan tries to shoot it, but unfortunately he misses.

Evan is a little luckier and makes the shot hit home. As the target gets hit, the creature falls backward down a cliff into an extremely deep ravine. They cannot see it, but Evan thinks that it may be a good thing that it is stalking them. It is moving under its own power.

Better to lead it to the anomaly than have to drag the danged creature into one!

Naturally, things cannot possibly go right for very long. Dylan loses her footing on a particularly steep hillside and tumbles backward, dislocating her shoulder. Evan tells her, “you have two choices, agony or more agony”. He then fixes her shoulder. The group now encounters a new problem. They cannot pull the dino to the anomaly with only two people. Evan agrees and calls Mac.

Mac heads back to Evan’s location, at a run, to help him with the sleeping dinosaur. Once he is gone, Nat focuses on Toby. If Mac had any designs on her, and it seemed like he was moving in that direction, he may have just lost his chance. That window appears to have closed based on the kiss between Toby and Nat.

Dylan attempts to convince Evan and Ange that there is no way they will be able to get the dinosaur to the anomaly with just two people, so again, they revise the plan. Dylan’s argument, “I think it just wants to go home. It’s been heading in the same direction this whole time.

Maybe it is like a homing pigeon and we just have to give it a nudge in the right direction”. As they all agree,to focus on the other one, the other dino makes another attempt on Ange. She kicks it in the face while Dylan fires the taser at it. It shakes off the taser and runs off. Dylan comments, “that’s the plan, we make it want to go.”

The trio chase after the fleeing dino, as Mac comes running from the other direction. He gets out of the way fast as it charges past. Poor Mac, it seems he was not needed after all. All that running for nothing.

Despite my less than perfect ability to edit images from the web video with my computer, the “Babes in the Woods” CGI visual effects are absolutely amazingly real with this dinosaur as you can see below in another short Primeval New World video feature from their YouTube channel.

Once again we say well done to Mr. Mark Savela and VFX team. Bravo!

The dinosaur keeps on running along the path and straight toward Toby and Nat. There is a quick glance between them before they both leap over the wood railing to hang on to the outside of the bridge.

The dinosaur quickly runs past both of them and into the anomaly. Mac, Evan and everyone else arrives on the bridge. Toby and Nat are pulled back up and everyone is safe.

Ange arrives and is amazed by the anomaly. She is the only one who has not seen it. She asks if she should contact Ken Leeds so his crew can get the other dino. At first, Evan says no, then he changes his mind. He is willing to make a compromise.

Evan also volunteers to remain on the bridge and keep an eye on the anomaly in case it opens again. You have to like a boss who is willing to do the same work as his subordinates. Ange adds that she will contact Ken as soon as she is back in cell phone range.

Mac volunteers to drive her to her destination since he has some important downloading to do, he says, teasing Toby yet again!

I realize that Primeval and Primeval New World are about the creature of the week, but what are the odds that all the dinosaurs and other creatures that come out of the anomaly are carnivores?

It would be nice is we could have something appear from an anomaly a bit less predatory that causes lots of trouble in Vancouver some other way?

And, is it just creatures that come through? What about earlier versions of humankind? Or, maybe a pirate ship from the past glides into one of the many coves and bays along the sea shore.

Will Evan and his team ever get to venture into an anomaly for an extended period to really look around? This series has a lot of potential. I think will be interesting to see where it takes us in the months ahead.

Thanks to Kenn for final staging of the audio and video embeds in this news article and thanks to you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency!!

We look forward to seeing more of you here at our review site dedicated to our wonderful science fiction series Primeval New World!

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Regards,

Thank you.

ArcticGoddess1 (Patricia)