Don't mess with me!

Masterlist


Previously on Primeval.
Opening Titles.

THE SWIMMING POOL TAKE 1:
ANTHONY BARTON, a male lifeguard dives into the pool; he and DIANE JOHNSON, his girlfriend and co-worker, are using the pool after hours. The Diane gets out of the pool and goes to get changed. She dries her hair as Anthony goes to dive into the pool again. A MOSASAUR swims below him and leaps up as he dives in. Anthony screams as he is swallowed whole. Diane hears and goes to investigate.
Diane: Anthony?
She walks back toward the changing rooms, past a window that looks under the surface of the pool; the mosasaur rams the window, making her scream.

HOME OFFICE TAKE 1:
NICK CUTTER, CLAUDIA BROWN and JAMES LESTER are in a conference room with several other officials, watching and listening to CONNOR TEMPLE reporting on the status of the ANOMALY from the last episode via some sort of video link.
Connor: The magnetic field is remaining consistent at five tesla. At this point there is no sign of deterioration. Let me demonstrate. Huh?
On-screen, Connor holds up a metal flask.
Lester: Who’s that idiot?
Nick: Connor Temple. He looks like a half-wit, but he has a very good brain.
Connor lets go of the flask, and it flies into the anomaly.
Connor: Woah! Bulls-eye! That kills me every time.
Lester: We may stand on the brink of Armageddon, but at least we have an irritating student on our side. How reassuring.
Connor: Is this thing still on?
The video link is switched off.
Lester: The previous anomaly proved to be temporary. As you’ve just heard, this one shows no sign of weakening.
Nick: The anomalies may be intermittent, and they fade from time to time, but they never completely disappear.
Lester: Well, if that were true, creatures would have come through before.
Nick: Maybe they have. Ancient civilisations have spoken of monsters and dragons. Perhaps they weren’t as naïve as we assumed. The anomalies are conclusive proof that the past exists in a fourth dimension as real and solid as those we already know. Our job is to predict and contain them. We need to establish what…
Lester: Thank you, Professor. We’ll take his from here. The Professor is speaking in an independent capacity. Official policy is yet to be finalised.
A man walks in and hands Lester a note.
Lester: It appears we may have another one.

THE HOSPITAL:
STEPHEN HART is packing up the things he had with him in the hospital due to the events of last weeks episode. Connor is with him.
Connor: You really can’t remember a thing?
Stephen: Not a thing after I went into the tunnels. Probably for the best though, right? Still, they say it’s only short term, so, you know…
Connor: It’s all been pretty scary, hasn’t it? You know, it’s not until you got bitten that I though that one of us might actually die from doing this. Really upset me.
Stephen: You must have gone through hell.
Connor: Yep.
They both grin.
Connor: It did make me think about what’s important though, you know. Sorts out your priorities a bit. If you get killed, can I have your iPod?
ABBY MAITLAND walks in before Stephen can reply. She is wearing a skirt. The guys do a double take.
Connor: Is that perfume?
Abby: I can do the girl thing, you know.
Connor: Ooh.
Stephen: You look really good.
Abby: Thanks.
Stephen: It’s good of you both to come. Shouldn’t have bothered.
Connor: Don’t flatter yourself. Some of us just like hanging out with nurses.
Abby: Come on, I’ll give you a life home.
Stephen: Oh, there’s no need. My girlfriend’s picking me up.
Connor: Girlfriend?
Stephen: Allison. She’s been in the rainforest for two years researching infectious diseases.
Connor: Let’s hope she’s not one of those girls who brings her work home with her.
Abby: Hmm, you must have missed her.
Stephen: Yeah. I’d better go.
Connor: Bye.
Connor waves as Stephen leaves.
Connor: Two years. How much sex are they going to have over the next few days?
Abby throws a pillow at Connor.
Abby: Sorry.
Connor: It’s alright.
Abby: Well, so much for the girl thing.
Connor: I think you look great.

THE SWIMMING POOL TAKE 2:
Nick and Claudia are talking to a Police Inspector as the walk along the side of the pool.
Inspector: Pretty obvious she killed her boyfriend, but we don’t know what she did with the body. Just keeps babbling on about monsters and sea serpents.
Nick: Would you let me talk to her?
Inspector: What about? Monsters? I’m conducting a serious murder investigation here…
Nick: There was no murder. Anthony Barton was killed by an ancient marine predator, which then returned to its home, millions of years in the past.
The Inspector turns to Claudia as Nick walks away.
Inspector: Who are you people?
Claudia: I’m sorry. Thanks for you’re time Inspector. Cutter, wait.
Nick: The girl’s innocent.
Claudia: I know.
Nick: We can’t let her go to jail for something she didn’t do.
Claudia: Leave that with me, I’ll do what I can for her.

THE SWIMMING POOL TAKE 3:
Connor and Abby are sitting at the edge of the pool, Connor has taken off his shoes and socks and is dipping his feet in the water. Stephen, who is wet and is wearing the bottom part of a wet suit, joins them. He sits down and puts on flippers.
Connor: With all this chlorine in the pool, I’m surprised the creature came through. To a reptile it would have been like swimming in a bucket of acid.
Stephen: Yeah. It probably sensed the danger and got out fast before the anomaly closed.
Abby gets up and walks away carrying a sample case. Stephen has his flippers on now, and he cleans the lenses of his goggles before putting them on.
Connor: So, how’s Allison.
Stephen: Jet-lagged.
Connor: You see, it’s funny, because you always give the impression like you were single.
Stephen: That’s funny, I didn’t think I was giving any impression whatsoever.
Connor: You’d be surprised.
Stephen: Connor, I’m flattered, but you’re really not my type.
Stephen dives into the pool.

HOME OFFICE TAKE 2:
Claudia and Lester are walking through the building.
Claudia: The police have charged Diane Johnson.
Lester: I know.
Claudia: We have to intervene.
Lester: We’re not going to do that.
Claudia: Why not?
Lester: Because I won’t allow this story to become public property. At least in prison the newspapers can’t get hold of her.
Claudia: So you’re just going to let them lock up an innocent and traumatised girl?
Lester: Of course it’s undesirable, but it would be far worse to release her to cause panic and disorder. I’ll see that the charges are dropped when the immediate crisis is under control.
Claudia: That could take months.
Lester: And would you rather tell the police that an ancient sea monster is cruising our swimming pools consuming lifeguards? I know the injustice stings, but the correct decision is often painful. That’s the burden of government.

RESERVOIR TAKE 1:
The small harbour has a pier and a few boats moored up. Lots of people are around, walking along the waterfront, sailing, canoeing, visiting a café etc.

The mosasaur swims through the murky waters of the reservoir.

A large lump of meat floats to the surface in front of a set of canoeists. A woman screams and people start to run around.

HOME OFFICE TAKE 3:
Lester is sitting at his desk. Claudia and Nick are standing in front of him. Claudia has a set of photos. She gives them to Lester.
Claudia: Well, the DNA is conclusive. It’s the boy from the swimming pool. Or what’s left of him.
Nick: It’s a bolus. A regurgitated mass of flesh and bone. The beast swallowed him whole and then vomited up what it couldn’t digest.
Lester: And what kind of creature could have done this to him?
Nick: What you should be asking yourself, is how the remains of a boy who was attacked in a swimming pool, end up 20 miles away in a reservoir.
Lester: Maybe there never was an anomaly. Maybe the girl murdered her boyfriend in the swimming pool and dumped his body in the reservoir.
Nick: It’s very likely, provided you also believe she swallowed him whole and then drove 20 miles down the motorway to regurgitate his remains.
Lester: All right, then you explain it.
Nick: We know it was the same beast in the pool and the reservoir. Perhaps the anomaly has a fixed point of origin in the past, yet somehow it remains fluid in our time. They don’t just open, they move.

RESERVOIR TAKE 2:
Nick and some soldiers arrive at the pier. Claudia and CAPTAIN RYAN and his men are already there, along with Connor (who is marking water levels) and Abby and Stephen (who are testing water samples).
Nick: How are you?
Ryan: All right.
Claudia: We haven’t found anything yet. No creature, no anomaly, no nothing. We’re still searching the reservoir, but with any luck the anomaly’s closed again.
Nick: I need detailed local maps, lists of swimming pools, rivers, lakes, anything nearby. Can you get those for me?
Claudia: Should I be asking why?
Nick: It’s just an idea.
Claudia: Do you know what I miss? Those soul-crushingly dull civil service meetings, which made suicide look like an exciting career option. I used to sit there praying something would happen in my life
Nick: Careful what you wish for.
Connor: Professor! Professor!
Nick rushes around to the other side of the pier to where Connor is poking a stick into the water. The stick has a piece of red tape around it part way up. The water doesn’t reach it.
Connor: You’re really going to want to see this. The reservoir’s land locked, right?
Nick: Yes.
Connor: So, allowing for condensation and rainfall, the depth should be pretty consistent.
Nick: Yes.
Connor: Well, I made this mark at water level earlier
Connor shows Nick the tape, then puts the stick back in the water.
Connor: The water level’s fallen 40 centimetres since then.
Stephen runs up to them.
Connor: This isn’t a reservoir any more, it’s a tidal lake. The water’s literally pouring out of it.
Nick: It must be flowing out through the anomaly.
The three men turn and stare out across the reservoir.
Nick: Which means it’s still down there somewhere.

The mosasaur is still swimming around down there.

Nick is standing staring over the water. Claudia joins him and hands him a hot beverage.
Claudia: Here you are.
Nick: Thanks very much.
Claudia: Thinking about Helen?
Nick: How did you know that?
Claudia: Highly trained civil servant. We’re famous for our emotional empathy.
Nick: Whatever I’m doing, she’s always there. She never really goes away.
Claudia: Strange. Of all the people in the world to hallucinate, Stephen chose Helen.
Nick just stares across the water.
Nick: Steam. Don’t you see? The tide must be coming in, bringing in warmer water from the other side. The steam is telling us exactly where the anomaly is.

RESERVOIR TAKE 3:
Soldiers are running around making preparations. Nick and Stephen are in wet suits along with a couple of other guys; they get into inflatable boats to go out further into the reservoir.
Claudia: I suppose there’s no point in asking you not to go down with them.
Nick: You don’t have to worry about me.
Claudia: I’m not. I’m just thinking about all the paperwork I’ll have to do if you drown. No idea how many forms I’ll have to fill in. What if you’re right and the creature’s still down there?
Nick: We’ll find it. All right?
Nick and Stephen leave in the boat as Claudia and Ryan watch from the pier.

Connor and Abby watch Nick and Stephen leave, and then walk along a small beach by the pier. Abby is carrying a sample case.
Connor: Why does Stephen get all the fun stuff to do whilst we get stuck collecting water samples?
Abby: He looks better in a wetsuit.
Connor: That’s debateable. I could do the action stuff too as well, you know. I’m not just a massive intellect.

Nick and Stephen don scuba tanks and masks and dive into the water along with a couple of soldiers.

Connor: He doesn’t remember a thing, you know, Stephen.
Abby: That’s not the point. He knew what he was doing when he asked me out. He knew he had a girlfriend.
Connor: Yeah, and he’d also just been poisoned by a giant centipede. That might have affected his judgement just a little bit.

Nick and Stephen are under water, doing various checks. Nick gives the ‘OK’ sign.

Connor: What am I saying? You know, you’re right. He’s a two-timing weasel, and maybe you should put that down to experience and move on. You know, there’s plenty more fish in the sea.

There is also a mosasaur, which is still swimming around down in the reservoir. Nick and Stephen are also down there.

Connor and Abby are waist deep in the reservoir, collecting samples of the water. They are a little way away from each other, when something spooks a pair of swans nearby and they take off. Connor watches them suspiciously. He sees something else.
Connor: Abby? Um, what’s that?
The mosasaur surfaces nearby and swims towards them.

Nick and Stephen are still underwater. Suddenly, the soldier who was swimming in front of them disappears through the anomaly. They stop and stare.

The mosasaur starts to circle Abby, before going back under again.

The mosasaur is deep underwater. Nick and Stephen are at a similar depth, they swim to the surface and get back into the boat.

Connor and Abby are in the same positions. Connor shifts slightly.
Abby: Don’t move!

A shot of the mosasaur.

Stephen and Nick are back underwater recording the anomaly.

The mosasaur cannot be seen near Connor and Abby.
Connor: Go!
They both move as quickly as they can through the waist deep water.

The mosasaur moves quicker.

Connor: Quickly Abby!
They reach the edge of the water and scramble up a small bank before turning back to the water.
Connor: Jump! You okay?
The mosasaur leaps out of the water and tries to reach them, but it can’t climb up the bank. Connor and Abby move from side to side, trying to keep out of its reach, staying pressed against the fence. Connor pushes Abby out of the way.
Connor: Move now! No back!
He darts forwards and grabs an oar from one of the canoes left on the bank. He lunges forwards, trying to hit the mosasaur with it.
Abby: Connor, be careful!
Connor hits the mosasaur over the nose a couple of times before the oar breaks and somehow gets lodged in the roof of the mosasaur’s mouth. The creature shakes the oar loose and turns away, diving back into the water.

The mosasaur swims towards Nick, the only diver with the anomaly, shaking it’s head and roaring. It leaves a slight trail of blood behind. It swims past Nick, ignoring him completely, and enters the anomaly. The anomaly closes soon after.

RESERVOIR TAKE 4:
Connor is talking to Nick about what happened.
Connor: Some kind of mosasaur, maybe six or seven metres. Cretaceous, at a guess.
Abby is being checked out by Ryan’s medic, she is wrapped in a blanket.
Nick: Scary. And at that size, it couldn’t have been fully-grown.
Medic (to Abby): Take deep breaths.
Connor: Yeah.
Nick: Which is just as well for you.
Nick pats Connor on the back and rubs his shoulder as Claudia approaches. They turn to face a group of Ryan’s men who are standing a short distance away with Ryan and Stephen.
Claudia: They’re all really upset about losing the diver. Tell me exactly what happened.
Claudia and Nick walk towards the group, leaving Abby and Connor behind.
Nick: He swam through right in front of me. He should have been able to make it back through.
Claudia: Something must have stopped him. Are you absolutely certain the anomaly’s closed?
Nick: Straight after the mosasaur went back through. The water temperature’s already returned to normal.
Claudia: Then we’ve lost him.
Nick: Yeah.

Abby approaches Connor and grabs his hand.
Abby: You saved my life.
Connor: I did, didn’t I?
They hug.
Abby: Okay.
Connor: What?
Abby: You can let go now.
Connor: Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. I just…
Abby: Thanks.

HOME OFFICE TAKE 4:
Lester, Claudia, Nick and Stephen are in a meeting room, there are a load of maps on the table.
Nick: The anomalies are times equivalent of an earthquake. Strong enough to rip apart the boundaries between dimensions. My guess is that the fault line ruptured at the swimming pool, then ran to the reservoir. It could crash its way through into our time again anywhere along this line.
Lester: Earthquakes? Temporal fault lines? Are we trying a little too hard people? It’s random chance, that’s all. There’s no connection with any of it. Try to look on the bright side, Cutter. The anomaly’s gone, the crisis is over and I’d say we got off pretty lightly.
Claudia: Except that a good man in now permanently marooned in the past.
Nick: There could be another breach along the fault line at any given moment. You should be stationing troops at every significant body of water between the reservoir and the coast.
Lester: The press would be crawling all over us in seconds. How on Earth would we explain it? I mean, you admit that it’s all conjecture?
Nick: Yes, of course it is, but I’m right.
Lester: You people, you’re worse than the climate change mob. One cold day in July and suddenly it’s the new Ice Age.
Nick: You’re making a mistake. If and when the anomaly breaks through again, I guarantee you it will be somewhere along this line.


1x03 Part 2