Atlantis (BBC) - Episode 1 Review

Atlantis is from the people who brought us Merlin, and even from the man behind the BBC Four series of Dirk Gently between 2010 and 2012. So, is it actually any good? The series opens with a young man called Jason going to find his father in a submarine vehicle under the ocean. However, we do not know his surname, his father’s name, where in the ocean he is, whether he is rich or poor, where he comes from, how old he is, what exactly his father was doing when he went missing, is his father presumed dead and a lot more. Then, none of this is even mentioned.
I’ll make this review quite short, because the plot holes are pretty big. The episode seems to rush into a rushed story that rushes into an ending leaving Atlantis, which looks as Atlantis-esque as a squirrel. But when Pythagoras shows up, it gets so complex that you have no idea where you are, how Jason got there, when he is in history and what the heck happened to Jason’s submarine vehicle and his clothes. This episode sets up mysteries that could be plot holes and plot holes that could be mysteries, but the fact there is so many and the tagline for this series is ‘the legend begins’ beckons the idea of not many of these questions will be tied up. At least Merlin gave us mysteries as each series came, and tied up every single one and built up each mystery well, instead of placing them all in Episode One.
Considering this is the most expensive BBC series ever made, the only impressive visuals are the locations. The CGI Minotaur makes the Doctor Who one look like a living, breathing creature. Oh, and the use of the Minotaur – a classic Ancient Greek monster and its labyrinth, is utterly wasted. Not even ten minutes is donated to it. The story is rushed and nothing really impressed, although the CGI Lions look quite cool. The acting is nothing impressive, or the sets, or costumes or props. There is nothing that engages the audience in this opening episode, and it is a boring fifty minutes of television. The opening episode for Agents of SHIELD had one story told in forty-five minutes as well as setting up interesting questions. Atlantis’ questions are clichéd and can be found in many other popular (and much better) ongoing series’, so it has nothing special to it. Even Jason, our only link to the real world, has less character that a bit of mud. (3/10)

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