Anomaly Research Centre
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Anomaly Research Centre


Episode 3.7 is the seventh episode of the third series of Primeval. It was broadcast as Dragon Tales in North America, as Der Drachenjäger (The Dragonhunter) in Germany and as Le Dracorex (The Dracorex)[1] in France.

Full synopsis[]

In a church in medieval England, the local villagers hide in fear, as a loud roaring echoes from outside. The priest blesses a knight, Sir William de Mornay and a lady gives him her favour in preparation for his slaying of the 'beast'. Outside, Mornay sees a dragon-like creature drinking from a small stream. He lowers his lance and kicks his horse onto the charge...

Back in the present day, Abby is furious to discover that her brother has loaned Rex to a friend (in truth he lost him in a poker game). At the Anomaly Research Centre, Sarah spots a web page advertising Rex for sale. While Connor assures her it means nothing, in private, he orders Jack to get Rex back or face the consequences. Meanwhile, at a nearby junkyard, a worker is surprised to discover an anomaly in the middle of the junkyard. As he investigates, a startled Dracorex bursts through and charges him. After outrunning the dinosaur, the worker gets to a nearby crane and tries to fend the dinosaur off: fortunately, the team arrive and stop him before he can do much damage. The Dracorex is frightened and wounded: a long wooden spar is protruding from its shoulder. Unable to remove it, the team tries to get it back through the anomaly, but the dinosaur refuses to go back. Suddenly, a knight on horseback, clad in medieval armour, rides through the anomaly, speaks a Latin quotation: I am in Hell. I ride on to glory, at the team and exits from the junkyard. Danny deduces that the anomaly is linked not to the Late Cretaceous but to Medieval England: he orders Captain Becker and Abby to catch the Dracorex, while he and Connor give chase after the knight. Sarah, meanwhile, does some research and comes up with a plan....

After a short chase, Abby and Becker corner the dinosaur in a strawberry farm. Before it can hurt them, its infected wound overcomes it and it collapses: the pair then transport it back to the anomaly site. Danny and Connor pursue the knight into London: unfortunately, the presence of a large carnival cause them to lose him several times. When they finally catch up with him, the pair try to convince him to come with them, but the knight, under the belief he is in Hell, refuses and smashes them aside. Meanwhile, Sarah, who has kitted herself in medieval garb, goes through the anomaly. She comes to a small village (the same that the knight left), where she encounters a village boy. After bribing him with a piece of chocolate, he tells her the knight's story: his name is Sir William de Mornay, and he is a mercenary who is seeking redemption for his soul for the many warriors he has killed in battle by slaying 'the dragon', in the hope doing so will earn him the right to get to Heaven. Back in the present day, Sir William wreaks havoc in a modern-day pub (on the site of a medieval tavern he frequented in the village), beating several members of a biker gang and Danny in a fistfight before escaping into the countryside. He eventually comes to the church from which he set forth on his quest, only to find it in ruins and his grave within its walls. Now utterly convinced he has died and gone to Hell, a despondent William re-encounters Danny who offers to help him get home: however, William says his only way home is to kill the dragon and, believing Danny is a demon sent to torment him, attacks, and the pair engage in a fast and vicious sword fight. William defeats Danny, but before he can kill him, Sarah (who has come back through the anomaly and reached the church) begs him to stop. She has something to show him...

Sarah tells William that he is not dead and in Hell, but he is still alive: she points out that the grave beside his own is that of his wife, Lady Elizabeth Langley (the lady who gave him her favour before he set off on the quest). William, who is at present unmarried, is confused, but Sarah explains that he has a long life of peace and happiness with a family, free of war and death, still to come if he gives up his quest and goes back home. William, still determined to complete his quest and realising Sarah knows where the Dracorex is, abducts her and orders her to take him to it. Back at the anomaly site, Abby removes the spar of wood from the Dracorex's shoulder (which turns out to be the end of William's lance), but William arrives and orders her aside. She refuses and fights him off: as he is about to kill her, the team arrive and Becker takes aim. While Connor and Becker are ready to shoot, Sarah holds them back, warning them that if they kill William, history could be rewritten for the worse. Turning to William, Sarah begs him to give up his quest, promising him that the Dracorex will never again harm the village and the peace he wants can still be his if he gives up trying to slay the dinosaur. Confused, upset and overwhelmed, William finally throws aside his sword and breaks down in tears. The team console him and convince him all is not lost.

Once William has recovered himself, the team lead him back to the anomaly. Heartened that he is in neither Heaven nor Hell, he thanks the team for all they have done for him, and after giving Sarah a medieval gold coin and a farewell message in Latin (I depart in peace), goes back through the Anomaly. With Willliam returned home and the Dracorex safe, Connor leaves with Becker and a number of soldiers and recovers Rex from Jack's unscrupulous friend.

Back in medieval England, William returns to the church and proclaims the dragon to be vanquished. The villagers hail him as a hero and he receives a kiss from his wife-to-be. Meanwhile, in the present, Connor goes to retrieve Rex from one of Jack's friends. At first, the man is reluctant to give him up without Connor paying, but Connor threatens him with Captain Becker and two soldiers, all of which are armed. The man then gladly hands him over.

Cast and crew[]

This episode's cast and crew:


Appearance[]

Characters[]

Creatures[]

Animals[]

Locations[]

Objects and technology[]

Organisations[]

Trivia[]

  • This marks the first time Sarah Page goes through an Anomaly.
  • This the first episode to feature a period in history which is a part of human history (Medieval times).
  • This is the first episode to feature a non-theropod dinosaur (Dracorex is a Pachycephalosaur).
  • Even through Rex plays a big part in this episode, he does not appear.
  • Episode 3.7 is the second and last episode in Series 3 to not feature a future creature.
    • Also, this is the only episode in Series 3 not to feature an element from the future. Episodes 1-5, 8-10 all feature futuristic creatures and Episode 3.6 features the Artifact, which is an object from the Future.
  • Juliet Aubrey and Ben Miller are credited despite Helen Cutter and James Lester not actually appearing in this episode.

Errors[]

  • Towards the end of the episode, when Sir William is pointing his sword at Abby, he says the line 'You're willing to risk your life, for this savage beast?', it then jumps to a shot of the Dracorex's head, with Abby in the corner of the shot healing it's wound, but Abby wasn't standing there any more, she's standing on the other side of the trailer.

Story connections[]

  • The Anomaly Locking device appears for the first time since Episode 3.4.
  • In reference to Episode 3.6, Rex is still in the possession of Tony after Jack lost him in a poker game.
  • In Episode 3.8, Jack tells Abby how Connor got Rex back for him.
  • The Dracorex returns in Episode 4.1.

Gallery[]

Template:Gallery

User Reviews[]

See the user reviews page.

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