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Future creatures of Primeval; Your opinion
Topic Started: May 17 2009, 08:06 AM (31,998 Views)
SSJRaptog
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Ín the British science fiction Drama series Primeval there are several creatures from the future and I wanted to discuss about if they are plausible future creatures.

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Future Predator

Future Predators (sometimes referred to as just 'Predators') are a carnivorous species from the far future. They stand at two metres tall and weigh half a ton. Nick and the other members of the crew believed that they entered the present day not from the past but from the future.

DNA analysis shows that the future predator seems to be descended from a sort of bat, which became big and flightless, (although retaining echolocation) similar to those in Dougal Dixon's After Man: A Zoology of the Future. Helen Cutter stated that human kind was likely to have met its end by becoming food for a more sucessful creature i.e the Future Predator.

Its elongated head houses a highly intelligent brain and a melon organ. The ears have moved to the centre of the face, giving the sonar a more directed and precise interpretation of the surrounding environment - an improvement on that used by the bats of today. Its eyes are small and weak, with an incredibly advanced sonar system, echolocation layered over low quality vision. The two ears have merged into one large hole in the middle of the face. Future predators also live together in life partnerships (a female and a male). When the couple have offspring the male guards the nest and the female does the hunting.

Appear in:
Series 1: Episode 6
Series 2: Episode 6 and 7
Series 3: Episode 1 (Flashback cameo), 3(Flashback cameo),4, 8, 9 and 10

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Mer creature

The Mer creatures were monsters from the future that resembled seal-like apes.

The Mer seemed intelligent, by locking up their human prisoners in a sewer, acting like a pantry. Mer seemed to have a society ruled by one large, red "MerQueen", with the other, much smaller animals her subordinates.

The Mer did not at any point kill any of their supposed victims, showing this may have been a way of keeping them fresh, to eat in harder times. Near the episode's end, the Merqueen took Abby Maitland through time to the future. When she was found, she was not near the Merqueen, and was unharmed. Only when the team tried to rescue her did the Merqueen react aggressively by charging at the team.

Some Mer ended up in a canal in the Isle of Dogs. They also made a base in an abandoned warhouse, which had partially flooded. Here they held the captured Abby Maitland and Lucien Hope.

Nick Cutter implied that humans could evolve into the Mer, and they do have a body shape similar in some ways to modern-day apes. By the look of their behavior and hostile attitude they were possibly evolved from Baboons which can sometimes be very aggressive, as the Mer were to Nick and the group.

A couple of Mer Creature were captured by Oliver Leek. They escaped along with the other creatures and tried to break out of the base. They returned to the main room when the sound for food was issued. All the other creatures did the same and killed each other.

Appear in:
Series 2: episode 4, 6 and 7

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Camoflage creature A.K.A. Gremlin

Camouflage Beasts are humanoid creatures that arrive through an anomaly, they resemble Aye Ayes. The team is sent to a house where Cutter believes an anomaly will open up. It turns out that one opened up fourteen years before and a creature came through and has remained hiding in the house ever since. This has led to the rumor that the house is haunted. What has helped it evade capture is its ability to instantly camouflage itself against any background. also, the creature is extremely agile and fast, and it seems to be able to speak a kind of primitive language, as it whispers things sometimes when it's alone. Only one comes through an anomaly, but once the anomaly closes it is trapped in the house for fourteen years. When the anomaly reappears the creature seems to return to the future through it, but then jumps out again and attempts to maul the team. It is shot by Danny Quinn, then falls back into the anomaly. It is unknown if it survived.

It is clearly a derived form of primate and its design is heavily based on the Madagascan aye-aye. So strange looking is this animal that native mythology holds it to be a symbol of death. The camouflage abilities that it is given do not exist in mammals (so far) but is similar to the skin color control that cuttlefish exhibit.

Appears in:
Series 3: episode 2

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Future Fungus / Fungus creature

The Fungus Creature is the name given to the host of a Future fungus. The fungus is parasitic, literally taking over any human who comes into contact with it. Victims are overwhelmed, becoming a hideous shell of their former selves intent only on spreading the fungus further. The Fungus Creature “eats” its victims, but retains a vaguely human shape, making it both sinister and frighteningly dangerous. This is a terrifying evolution from present day parasites that can alter a host’s behaviour to reproduce effectivelty. The team initially think the answer is to burn the organism but that proves to be the worst possible approach because it causes the fungus to reproduce or sporulate. Eventually they discover that cold is the answer and they succeed in trapping it in the ARC and freezing it to death.

Appears in:
Series 3: Episode 5

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Megoptera

This monster is a highly adapted predator, which has evolved from carnivorous beetles, such as the tiger beetle.

It grows to around six foot tall, and uses large compound eyes to detect prey. When it has found suitable prey, it will use the large mantis-like legs to catch it, whilst the razor sharp jaws make short work of the meal.
This monster is also a very fast runner, and uses its speed to hunt prey over large distances, although it can only use its wings to fly short distances. They appear to be one of the apex predators of the ecosystems of the future (the other of course being the Future Predator). It is implied these creatures do come into conflict with each other.

Appears in:
Series 3: Episode 8 and 10

I like to hear your opinion on these creatures.





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Carlos
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Future Predator: Crap
Mer: Okay
Gremlin/Camouflage Creature: Okay (needs to have a less incredible camouflage though)
Fungus: Total Eyebleed (aka so inaccurate I laugh my ass out)
Megopteran: Okay...if it were MUCH SMALLER!!!!!!!!! (and if it weren't a beetle)
Edited by Carlos, May 17 2009, 09:39 AM.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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Venatosaurus
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HAUS OF SPEC
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Future Predator:Okay, but I don't see bats becoming such voracious predators
Mer: I love it
Gremlin: ? I haven't seen it yet
Fungus: Sounds like an alien from a 50's scifi film
Beetles: Maybe in a Neo-Carboniferous



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irbaboon
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is the Camouflage creature the descendant of the Aye-Ayes? Aren't the pretty endangered and limited in geographic range and highly specialized right now? Is it likely that their line would survive into the future?
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SSJRaptog
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irbaboon
May 17 2009, 01:21 PM
is the Camouflage creature the descendant of the Aye-Ayes? Aren't the pretty endangered and limited in geographic range and highly specialized right now? Is it likely that their line would survive into the future?
It may look like the Aye-Aye, but the design of the camouflage beast is only based on it. For all we know it's ancestor is some lemur, baboon or macaque (sp?) that evolved a form that is similar to the Aye-Aye
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colddigger
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Future Predator is dumb, something like that developing and wiping out humanity is incredibly unrealistic. People would begin destroying these things the moment a killing would occur -just like tigers-. Also the design is silly.

Mer, it's stupid to think that humans would evolve into anything like that (if evolve at all), would you bang someone with webbed feet and green skin? Then have a dozen kids with that partner? I wouldn't...
If it was something like a seal descendant it might be more believable...

The Gremlin is funny, so it has the intelligence to mumble to itself in its own language, keep itself hidden for 14 years, and reenter the vortex thing when it appears... but then has a sudden retard attack and turns around to fight the humans? Also, all these humanoid designs are bothering me... If it wasn't an ape, them where is its tail?

I like the fungus simply because I like parasites. The idea of it taking over and slowly consuming its victim is fun, but it taking on the form of its host is dumb. It should be an internal parasite, that way the hosts can be around new victims without scaring them off.


The megoptera should definitely be smaller! that's about it for this one...a larger thorax to support wing muscles if it actually flies I guess...
Oh Fine.

Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP??

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Carlos
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AFAIK tarsiers are the best ancestors for gremlins. And mers might have evolved from other primates, not necessarily humans. Still, a primate taking the water?

The only future creature from Primeval absolutely plausible is the Shark, which sadly was forgotten.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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SSJRaptog
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JohnFaa
May 17 2009, 02:30 PM
AFAIK tarsiers are the best ancestors for gremlins. And mers might have evolved from other primates, not necessarily humans. Still, a primate taking the water?

The only future creature from Primeval absolutely plausible is the Shark, which sadly was forgotten.
Well there might be 1 primate that could become aquatic and that would be the crab-eating macaque. They already live near water and when food on land becomes scarce, it eventually might take refuge to the water.

I totally forgot about the future shark :") My bad. That was also one of my favourite creatures from the series
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rufus
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Why is the future predator crap, anymore than Dixon's Nightstalker? Aside form that bit about it wiping out humanity. That part IS crap, worse than that fungus monster. It would have to have evolved over millions of years, and all this time humans are around? or maybe it killed or outcompeted the very last members of our species who were devolved and disease-ridden by then?


The gremlin creature is WAY more sinister looking than the aye-aye, which are actully rather cute. I might try to invent something like them for a Pellucidar pastiche.
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Carlos
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Bats are already controversial on the subject of potential flightlessness, let alone "terror bird" bats
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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agatharights
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The only creatures I actually remember (I rarely watch the show, and mostly watch random episodes) are the shark, mermaids, and the future predator. I think the future predator is interesting, but I don't see it wiping out humanity. Or evolving specifically from bats, at least, not unless it's in a world where humanity is already long-gone. But it just seems a little...eh, I don't know. Kitshy.

I liked the shark. :D You can never go wrong with a shark. I maintain that they'll be around until they eventually develop spaceflight and leave the planet. Eating everything on land on their way to the stars. At least in my dreams. XD

As for the mermaids...hnngh. It's like a baboon and a seal or something, but I mean...an aquatic mermaid-based primate could have turned out so much better than that. Even if it was evolved from pinnapeds instead of primates. I don't like how they turned out, nor do I like the "THIS IS THE QUEEN" one. Although, my brother did have an odd theory about them being a bio-engineered race for underwater working and repairs, but...I dunno. Meh.

...I need to watch Primeval again. Fallen so far behind...
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Scrublord
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I actually wrote a story with creatures not unlike the Megopteran in it that I called Vespimancers. They were sapient descendants of wasps that lived on a "lost world" island in the pacific. I can give you the PDF of the story if you want. It's called The Insect God and it's almost 40 pages long.
By the way, JohnFaa, what's wrong with the fungus? There are fungi that do that today to insects, and it could easily evolve from them.
Edited by Scrublord, May 18 2009, 07:32 PM.
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rufus
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The fungus has a humanoid shape, and behaves too much like the monsters of sci-fi alien flicks to be credible.
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agatharights
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That is true. I think it'd work better if it just passively spread on the host, and while the host was still alive perhaps manipulated the living host to seek out other, fresh hosts. Like some weird funguszombie.
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Terrence of Chance
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The sci-fi film that everybody's referencing the fungus to would happen to be 'Matango', a japanese flick done by TOHO ltd. Same people who do Godzilla. It's interesting to see it brought up again either way...
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