Written By: Ken HulseySource: BBC News
The high costs of producing a sci fi television show has claimed yet another victim. ITV has cancelled the popular series "Primeval" after just three seasons. Though no official reason was given for the cancellation, sources have stated that it was the shows expensive, high end, computer generated special effects that were the shows killer.
The series may be new to American fans, who have just begun coming on board, thanks to it's airing on the Sci Fi Channel, but it has been very popular in the UK since it's debut in 2007.
"Primeval" follows the adventures of an unlikely group of zoologists as they try to stop prehistoric creatures from invading the modern day through an anomaly in time, a strange, unexplained natural phenomena that no one seems to know anything about.
ITV announced earlier this year that it intended to downsize it's staff and cut production budgets.
ITV said this in a statement to the BBC, "High quality drama remains a key part of the ITV schedule, although our current focus is on post-watershed production."
Reportedly the cast and crew of "Primevel" were "devastated" by the surprise cancellation.
This is not the first time that expensive special effects have forced the cancellation of a hugely popular sci fi TV series. The most notable example of this is the original "Battlestar Galactica." When the series was cancelled after just one season, it was the most watched sci fi series in the history of television and ranked close to the top of all prime-time series according to the Nielson Ratings. ABC, the network that aired "Galactica", just couldn't justify paying $1 million per episode, no matter how many people tuned in.
The makers of "Primeval" intend to try to keep the series alive, seeking other venues for production and distribution.
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