Primeval

I am forever being mocked by friends for my sad devotion to that most lamentable of entertainment genres, science fiction. I’m their lovable ‘Trekkie’, even though I’ve never attended a science fiction convention of any kind or shown the faintest interest in learning to speak Klingon. But I don’t mind, because as soon as the laughter dies, they return their attention to quizzing their ‘portable super-computers’. Then it is my turn to smile…

The beauty of science fiction is that it often acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy. People observe their futuristic counterparts using technology in a way that dramatically affects their lives. Their appreciation creates desire, and their imagination inspires innovation – in short, demand and supply. It’s no surprise that many of the tools we take for granted today are reflections of science fiction programs from the 60’s and 70’s. Captain Kirk was using a voice-activated, wireless personal communicator long before Nokia delivered its first 3G phone.

Lately, however, science fiction has been doing more than transforming our ideas of technology, it has been altering our impressions of scientists themselves. The scientist of the near future not only dresses and talks differently, he or she is motivated by goals quite unlike those of their white-coated counterparts from the not so distant past. The evolution of the scientist is particularly well displayed in Nine’s new Saturday night series, Primeval.

Part Jurassic Park, part X-files, this ITV production presents us with a team of British scientists confronted with undeniable evidence that long-extinct lizards and animals are beginning to emerge from a forest in the unlikely location of Gloucestershire. Heading the search into these strange occurrences is Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) who has the credentials and messy office required of a respected archaeologist, but his action-figure name should give a clue to his more modern character type. Cutter is the culmination of many ‘new scientists’ who have been emerging in the entertainment media. His knowledge is unquestionable but he differs from the Gil Grissoms of CSI fame in that he is much more comfortable dealing with ‘theories’ rather than ‘facts’. Scientific ‘laws’ are nowhere near as binding as they used to be and are just as likely to be revised when the next piece of evidence emerges. As he tells a government rep, he cannot ‘dismiss the evidence out of hand’ simply because it doesn’t fit accepted scientific viewpoints. He is the professor with the ‘open mind’ and evolution is only a theory after all: “Darwin provides most of the answers. It’s the pieces that don’t fit that interest me.”

Furthermore, Cutter’s character redefines the purpose of science. There was a time when your average TV lab-man was solely concerned with advancing the interests of the human race. But Cutter’s professional perspective includes a penchant for environmentalism and coexistence. He distinguishes himself from the bumbling white coats messing with a newly discovered dinosaur by pointing out that his involvement will come at the expense of recognising the beast’s rights as well as the country’s concerns. “I’m taking the lizard back. Creatures that don’t belong here should be returned to their natural habitat,” he tells a disgruntled civil servant.

Primeval’s brand of science provides plenty of things to giggle over – I’m still not sure how a standard issue classroom door managed to halt the advances of a raging five tonne carnivore – but its attraction goes well beyond the fast-pace story line and special effects. Producers, Impossible Pictures, are tapping into a growing scepticism among even the scientifically-minded viewer that we can really claim to understand it all. Postmodernism has received much warranted criticism for its attack on universal moral truths. But it shouldn’t be ignored that it has also helped to crack the foundations of that 20th century idol, scientific certainty. Many Christians have found themselves in quandaries over numerous Bible passages simply because Darwin’s descendants tell them they can’t be true. Similarly, the fact that no-one can empirically prove Jesus’ most amazing feats seems evidence enough that they could not have occurred. This, however, is not the perspective of the modern television watcher.

Post-postmoderns have stepped back from the abyss of ultimate uncertainty, but neither are they prepared to embrace the cold, rationality of scientific inquiry. They have come to the conclusion that it is not enough to simply understand the world, we need to know our place in it. Professor Cutter is occasionally confronted with points where he has to choose between a ‘rational’ truth and a relational one. Will he run for safety or risk all for the sake of his team, his wife? It is no surprise that the scriptwriters reward his decision to choose relationships, however improbable the outcome. Today’s heroes are not worried about the clamouring of lesser mortals who scream ‘Impossible!’ even as they are devoured by the dinosaur they refuse to acknowledge.

Thanks to the media, they have already experienced the limits of their own knowledge on too many occasions to exclude God from the universe simply because they can’t prove he is there. Instead, through this new perception of scientific inquiry, viewers are embracing a quest for truth where the Holy Grail is not simply information but meaning. It shouldn’t surprise us because God, as Paul puts it, has ordered things “…in the hope that [people] might feel their way toward him and find him.” (Acts 17:27). Knowing where and to who you belong is in fact a primeval yearning.

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