Anomaly (Primeval)

A time anomaly as depicted in Primeval

Anomalies are fictional phenomena which occur in the science fiction television series Primeval and are a type of time portal. The anomaly is shown as an orb of fractured reflective or refractive triangles in the air, much like shards of broken glass. One character stated that he could see a Permian desert through it. These time anomalies act as a plot generator for the series, as they are what allow the extinct species that make up the basic plots of the show to travel through them for the show's team to investigate, in a manner similar to the Rift in Torchwood, or the Hellmouth in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They allow past and future creatures to come to the present. The characters on Primeval do not know what causes the anomalies or why they are there.

Occurrences

• Indian Ocean anomaly. Linked to the Cretaceous (70 million years ago). This anomaly is only alluded to in the first episode and was not seen. It's also the only evidence for anomalies occurring outside of Great Britain besides the Peru Anomaly. (Episode 1)
• Forest of Dean anomaly. Linked to the Permian (250 million years ago). This anomaly first opened eight years before the main events of the series and then closed. It re-opened twice eight years later and may re-open again in the third series. (Episode 1, 6)
• Parsons Green Station anomaly. Linked to the Carboniferous (300 million years ago). This is the only anomaly that didn't close for reasons that have yet to be explained. It will re-open in Series 3 and a swarm of Megeura will come through. (Episode 2)
• Lambeth Baths anomaly. Linked to the Cretaceous (75 million years ago). This anomaly was unstable and moved along a "faultline" from Lambeth Baths to Queen Mary Reservoir and then finally to the basement of a house on Wakefield road. (Episode 3)
• Jurassic anomaly. This anomaly is only alluded to in the fourth episode and was not seen.
• New Den Stadium anomaly. Linked to Spaghetti Junction, a Wood between the Worlds like location, with at least 10 anomalies in one area. (Episode 4)
• Mauritius anomaly. Opened to the Spaghetti Junction and linked to 17th century Mauritius.
• Golf course anomaly. Linked to the Cretaceous (70 million years ago). (Episode 4)
• Future anomaly. Opened in Permian and linked to an unspecified point millions of years in the future (i.e. some point after the relative present that much of Primeval takes place in). (Episode 6)
• Shopping center anomaly. Linked to the Cretaceous (70 million years ago). (Episode 7)
• Canals anomaly. Linked to an unspecified point millions of years in the future. (Episode 10)
• Blue Sky Park anomaly. Linked to the late Pleistocene, North America. This anomaly opened before the events of both serises, the Smilodon that came through having come as a cub and adopted by a park ranger. (Episode 9)
• M25 motorway anomaly. Linked to the Pleistocene epoch. (Episode 12)
• Building site anomaly. Linked to the Silurian (400 million years ago). (Episode 11)
• Skyscraper anomaly. Linked to the Precambrian era at the time of the oxygen catastrophe (2700 million years ago). (Episode 8)
• Peru anomaly. This led to the Plio-Pleistocene, and is the only one (known of) that existed outside the UK besides the Indian Ocean Anomaly. (Episode )
• Unknown Anomaly. This Anomaly opened at the end of Episode 9. This is not the same anomaly as the Future one because Episode 10 had a different alarm. This may have been because it was unimportant with no creatures coming through. (Episode 9)

Attributes and effects

Nick Cutter describes them being somewhat like an earthquake in time which occur along temporal fault lines. They resemble glowing shattered pieces of glass floating in mid-air, through which people, animals and objects can travel. It is also stated in Episode 2, 3 and 8 that atmospheric gases and liquid can also pass through.

The anomalies are highly magnetic, they can draw ferrous objects — for example keys, and pens — into them, they also render compasses useless near them. Connor proved this multiple times by throwing metal objects into the anomalies (once accidentally throwing his front door key into the first one that was found). However it is shown in Episode Four that the magnetic field is not strong enough to penetrate through the metal of a stainless steel fridge door. The anomalies also produce radio interference on the frequency 87.6FM as demonstrated by the shopping center anomaly.

An anomaly can either have a fixed location at both "ends" of the anomaly or one end may be unstable and thus move location, for example the present end of an anomaly moves in the 3^rd while the past location of the anomaly was fixed.

It is also possible to enter only partway into an anomaly without being sucked in, for example a person can take a look through an anomaly simply by poking their face through without travelling all the way through. In Episode Four it is shown that dozens of anomalies can be open at the same time and all lead to different eras and locations.

They can cut across distance as well as time, as creatures which were never native to Great Britain, nor the area which Britain has passed through in its geological past, have passed through the anomalies into modern Britain. For example the dodo was only found on tropical islands around Mauritius, and Scutosaurus were located in Russia and parts of Europe.

Also the team encountered dodos at one anomaly a bird which did not evolve until well after the time of the dinosaurs ended (the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of Cretaceous period 65 million years ago whereas the dodo had not separated from its common ancestor with the Rodrigues Solitaire until around 25 million years ago). This would indicate that the anomalies can be linked to any period in the earth's history.

In Episode 6 it's demonstrated that interference with the past can alter the future in unspecified ways. Also, the ending of the sixth episode ended with a cliffhanger where the anomaly appeared to start to expand for reasons unknown, although Episode 7 showed this was just the anomaly closing. It has not yet been established how many time anomalies have occurred nor where they originate from, though the capture of an extinct form of Sarcopterygian suggests that there have been others before the Forest of Dean anomaly seen in Episode 1.

The strength of the anomalies weaken over time. They slowly lose their magnetic power, shrink in size, and eventually collapse in on themselves. Although they can be re-opened such as the Permian anomaly, which has closed and reopened at least three times, and the Carboniferous anomaly which never closed at all.

In the spin-off novel "Shadow of the Jaguar", an anomaly opens in the Peruvian Jungle, proving that anomalies exist outside the UK. However, the canonicity of the book has yet to be determined.

Spaghetti Junction

Main article: Primeverse § Spaghetti Junction

In episode Four the viewer gets a brief glimpse of an anomaly network in a strange world, named a Spaghetti Junction by Connor Temple.

This world appears to act as like an 'airport terminal' linking the different worlds and allowing travel between them. The exact nature of this "network" or how it relates to the temporal fault lines is unknown as all of the other anomalies gave straight access to the other worlds without the need to go through this terminal. Helen Cutter appears to know the details about this network as she was able to travel through without getting lost.

Co-creator Adrian Hodges stated that "Calling this network a 'major factor' would be inaccurate, but it’s certainly part of the way we’re developing the anomaly mythology". The anomaly to this world appeared in the Matchroom Football Stadium's fridge and later closed, whether the other anomalies in the network closed as well is unknown.

Prediction and Control

Helen Cutter has claimed she knows the locations of the anomalies before they open and has hinted that she can control them. Yet the evidence she's provided for her claims has proved contradictory.

At the end of the first episode, Helen — who is presumed to be trapped in Permian era after having passed through an anomaly — is seen from a distance and leaves Nick Cutter a living specimen of an ammonite, while in the second she is encountered by Stephen Hart.

This implies that she can create them as there is no other explanation as to how she can get from period to period. This is underlined in the fifth episode, where she appears and disappears, presumably through another anomaly, as she clearly couldn't have come through the sky anomaly.

It is revealed in the third episode after she is tracked down by Nick that she was staying away because she did not want to reveal the secret of the anomalies to the world, something she knew Nick would be compelled to do. In the same episode she claims that she has the "the key to time". She later tells Lester that she is aware of where the anomalies will open before they actually do.

However, in Episode 6, she 'used' the team to find the Permian anomaly that leads to the future, suggesting that she can't control them or locate them after all (although it is stated later in season 2 that she was eventually able to reach the future via an anomaly). In the opening scene of Episode 8, one can briefly see a device in her bag that resembles the handheld anomaly trackers later made by Connor Temple. And at the end of season 2, she is shown in command of multiple versions of the same man, perhaps hinting that she has gained sufficient control of the anomalies to use time travel to create multiples of people. It is also hinted that she resurrected this same man on at least two occasions (and may be considering doing the same thing to Stephen Hart), probably via time-travel tricks using the anomalies.

In Episode 7, Nick Cutter correctly theorized that the anomalies cause radio interference on the 87.6FM wavelength. He passed this knowledge on to Connor Temple, who creates the Anomaly Detection Device sometime before the beginning of Episode 9. This new equipment allows the home agency to track any new anomalies within seconds of them opening. Connor also created handheld anomaly trackers to be used by the team in the field. He also mentions he is working on making them more compact. Both these devices show great accuracy; allowing the ARC to track the anomalies much more efficiently.

See also

• Primeverse