What do you get when you combine “Stargate” and “Jurassic Park”? Something resembling “Primeval” (8 p.m., today, BBC America), a thrilling dinosaur drama guaranteed to entertain the inner 13-year-old in every viewer.

Both audacious and simple, the plot involves a mysterious rip in the fabric of time and space. This portal allows prehistoric creatures to wander into a wooded British area and terrorize a local boy, attack him in his bedroom (frightening!) and wreak havoc on his school (cool!).

Meanwhile, grownup scientists of the brave, smart, geeky and sexy variety try to understand the phenomenon, while soulless bureaucrats from the British government try to keep it under wraps.

The digital special effects, from the folks who brought you “Walking with Dinosaurs,” make this a very polished production scaly heads and reptilian shoulders above many British imports.

I did find some of the accents, terminology and slang hard to understand at times. But “Primeval” is hardly a dialogue-driven drama.

¢ The only thing distinctive about the new series “Hope For Your Home” (7:30 p.m., today, TLC) is the fact that it exists at all. In the pilot, host and real-estate expert Kirsten Kemp Becker (“Property Ladder”) visits a couple who have seen their income slide along with the market value of their home. They face the double whammy of not being able to afford the payments on a home that is hemorrhaging equity. Becker offers them $10,000 and plenty of tips about improvements to improve “curb appeal,” such as enhancing the landscaping, tweaking the details inside and addressing major problems that may present a deal-breaker for potential buyers. In the end, the owners discover whether their home has been appraised for more value, enabling them to either sell or refinance at more agreeable terms.

But the title is a dead giveaway that the game has changed, for both homeowners and broadcasters like TLC. Gone are the days of mindlessly “flipping” homes (like Frisbees!) or “Trading Spaces” as if the whole shelter shebang were one long carefree game of musical chairs. The word “Hope” (and its implied absence) in the title rather accurately implies the dire straits of its subjects, and at least some of its viewers.

¢ The period piece “Mad Men” (9 p.m., Sunday, AMC) touches on real TV history when Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) tries to rise in the firm by finding sponsors for a controversial episode of the CBS legal drama “The Defenders” that other advertisers won’t touch.

Today’s highlights

¢ FX will air all 13 episodes of the first season of “Damages” (6 a.m. to 7 p.m., FX). The drama, starring Glenn Close, has been nominated for seven prime-time Emmy awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.

¢ Summer Olympics (7 p.m., NBC) coverage includes swimming, men’s gymnastics and volleyball.

¢ Eli takes a prison to court on “Eli Stone” (9 p.m., ABC).

Sunday’s highlights

¢ Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Israel’s air force; mental illness on death row; investor Carl Icahn.

¢ Summer Olympics (7 p.m., NBC) coverage includes women’s gymnastics, swimming and diving.

¢ “Eaten Alive” (9 p.m., Animal) showcases the creatures and cultures that live within the human body, including fly larvae, flatworms, viruses and bacteria.