BBC One is bringing its newest fantasy series to BBCA and, eventually, Netflix. There are a few other ways to watch it, depending on what computer you have, so here is an overview of the new greek mythology–centric show, Atlantis.

Atlantis begins with a young man named Jason, who is deep-sea diving in a one-man submarine to find pieces from the shipwreck that killed his father.  While diving, he is sucked via magical whirlpool across the threshold into the ancient Greek city of Atlantis-before it sinks. He finds out he has a destiny, but he has absolutely no idea what it is.

Part of the charm of the show is when characters from actually history and Greek mythology pop up in the show. His roommates that go on quests with him and get in trouble with him are Pythagoras and Hercules. Along that same vein in the ongoing gag about the fact that Jason was raised in the 21st century, so his faces are priceless when he meets someone he has heard of. For example, when he meets Pythagoras, Jason backs up and little and exclaims, “You’re the triangle guy!”

The characters themselves have a lot of promise. While Jason is a typical Greek hero (Jason and the Argonauts, anyone?) Pythagoras kind of looks out for everyone and is pretty smart. You just kind of want to hug him. Hercules is fat and drunk, but pretty funny, and as the series goes on, you see his character develop into something more complex. Medusa (before she is cursed) is awesome in her own right, and regularly helps out the boys in dangerous situations. The villains act like they are from Game of Thrones. It’s very political behind the castle walls and all sorts of poisoning and horrible deaths go on among the royal family of Atlantis, especially with its queen, Pasiphae.

So far, it is only five episodes in, so they are still ironing out some wrinkles, such as the pacing of each episode.  In my opinion the show would be a lot better if they focused on more of the minor characters and starting spreading problems out over episodes. Normally, I would be a lot harsher about this, but I tend to be more lenient when it is a new series.

Overall the effects are excellent and they have a lot to work with, and you can already see that they are setting the stage and laying down multiple plotlines to follow later. It is also interesting to see how they tone it down for families, since it is geared toward families. Some characters they just make them babies so older watchers can freak out because they know who that baby will be one day. A good example of this is the baby they rescue, whom Pythagoras names Oedipus at the end of the episode, much to Jason’s horror. The developing love storylines are sweet and light, and they don’t have angst seeping out of the screen. The actors are good, so I would give this show a shot when it hits either BBCA or Netflix.

Trailer

Clip From The Show: Operation Cot

Sneak Peak from the episode “The Furies”