MovieChat Forums > Atlantis (2013) Discussion > What really went wrong

What really went wrong

posted 10 years ago by dbcad
14 replies | jump to latest

Ok.. they started this story about a modern day 20th century person thrust into this mythological world. That's an interesting idea, and you can do so much with it.. They could have had Jason do something with his technological knowledge.. or they could have explored the connection between the two so different worlds (is magic real there or part of some other technology ?).. Instead all they did was have Jason act as if he was always a citizen of Atlantis.. I can only imagine that someone had a good idea for a show, and someone else changed it into what it became.

[–] ToHelenBackAgain 10 years ago

Jason belongs in Atlantis, and he felt that right away. He never should've been taken away in the first place, but it had to be done to keep him alive.

Magic is real there. That isn't in question.

Jason has no particular technical knowledge. I can flip a light switch; doesn't mean I know how to harness current or make a light bulb. Neither does he.

"You gotta hand it to pervs, man. They don't accept mediocrity."

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cia212 10 years ago

Wouldn't his dad have mentioned our world if he was trying to convince Jason of his identity? Like, "Yes, Jason, I'm from the modern world too. I know about Xboxes, the Interwebs and HDTV!"

It's like the writers completely abandoned the whole "from another world" concept and tried to turn him into a War Wizard like Richard in "Legend of the Seeker".

[–] nightc1 10 years ago

It has always bothered me that he's never shown to ever have any knowledge of his past in our world let alone any past at all. The only thing I could figure is that Jason got amnesia when he washed up on the beach. It's the only thing that makes this make any sense. Then again he is a gifted fighter from the start too so that didn't make much sense anyway either since there is no way he was trained while working as a deep sea researcher (That's what he was, right?). It's all these little things coupled with the way the story unfolds that makes me feel like this is a very mediocre show. Sure I watch it... but I want to see where it ends. Still they keep doing stuff and maybe I'm not watching close enough but where in the world did Medusa's head go after Jason used it to free Ariande? It's just completely forgotten. Not even Hercules seems to care. Maybe part of why this feels so much like low budget show is the acting is just bad and I can't see it? Maybe better actors could have brought this to life in a more believable way (coupled with some better writing).

[–] gb901 10 years ago

The whole thing has been bollocks from the start. The "seeking my father" and "I'm Jason from 21st century UK lost in mythological Atlantis" was ditched incredibly early.

[–] cia212 10 years ago

Medusa's head - the most powerful weapon in the series - just forgotten. Horrible writers have gotten even lazier in the final shows.

[–] barkbarkwoof 10 years ago

Yes.

[–] jmschlierman 10 years ago

I agree, that was a weakness of the show (a lot of season two not withstanding). They ditched the fact that he was from the 21st Century way to soon. I don't understand why they abandoned an important hook the show had from the very start???

[–] wildnfreespirit 10 years ago

Well I think a few facts are missing starting with he does not have a laptop and wifi to dial into the internet. He does use his knowledge from the future in the storyline. He has been cast back into a peroid of somewhat medival times where they havent even invented guns and the modern weaponary they have are similiar to king arthur's time with swords and knives. He used his knowledge of what Medusa was to become to save Hercules from turning to stone and he was using his knowledge of pythagorus theories to tell him how he would end up boring school children for years to come. To him he is having to learn to live in an archic society rules by a king and queen who believe in multiple gods and goddesses with beliefs of brazen bulls for punishment. It is not like he can design the telephone and call everyone. I am not sure what peoples' expectations of him are to be when they dont even have gun powder yet because that was said to be discovered by the chinese. He is on a huge learning curve and having to find his path to be his own man while finding the courage to take care of himself and those he has come to care about there. What I have found interesting is the way Hercules has been portrayed but I kinda think they changed up things so everything would not be so preditable and boring. Other than what Aristotle wrote about Atlantis nobody has any account of what it would have been like as a society which has given people liberties for writing.

[–] Neoblackdragon 10 years ago

If you missed the first 10 minutes for the first episode, you'd have never known Jason came from the modern world. You'd have never know why he was there in the first place.

I'm betting they story got pitched and changed right when they were filming the first episode.

Doctor Who has characters from different times and they find a way to use that future knowledge in the past, even if they don't have too much access to advanced tech.

[–] Hippolytos70 10 years ago

Right! The 21st century thing is mostly irrelevant. Just a way to introduce us in the story. It could be totally skipped and the show wouldn't miss something. I liked very much the show just as it is; it hasn't something to do with time travels and such sci fi, and it shouldn't have at all in the first place.

[–] Angelater 10 years ago

The whole modern beginning has always bugged me. I was surprised we didn't even get a cheesy joke like: 'This would've gone faster with a car,' or something like that. They should've left it on the cutting table. All it does is confuse people. I'm happy I'm not the only one who has kept thinking about this since 2013.

Some motherfvckers are always tryin' to ice-skate uphill

[–] Left_back 9 years ago

Indeed, not all of Jason's knowledge of ancient history (as much as he knew of it from the 21st century) went to waste. Certainly his knowledge of what would befall Medusa was used. But certainly the creative writing team could have thrown some of Jason's 21st C knowhow into the mix instead of just pushing a plain swords-and-sandals show. It felt much like 'Hercules - the Legendary Journeys' light (a show almost 20 years older), as opposed to something more dramatic like 'Gladiator'. Perhaps they wanted to differentiate his knowhow from the smarts of Pythagoras, but even he didn't really show much 'smarts' in the series - and it is a historical fact that Pythagoras became not just a mathematician but also a philosopher and teacher much like Aristotle (although not contemporaries).

Until season 2 I think the show kept its PG rating, but with the darker dramatic episodes this disappeared quickly.

Also much of the tools and weaponry seemed made of iron rather than bronze as this was the age before the fall of Troy. And the Hellenic dress at the time was certainly togas and kilts and sandals rather than pants and shoes. These are very small anachronisms and very minor to the nature of the show.

All in all, not a bad show, a new take on Ancient Greece and there are always plenty of ancient narratives to play on; but certainly this particular idea had a very limited scope and was lucky to last 2 seasons.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6545) 5 years ago

Yes, but even worse, they had a wonderful opportunity to tell original stories of Atlantis, but instead just re-used all the names and storylines from Greek mythology. Was that their original intention and they could only sell this to the BBC by calling it Atlantis or were they just so lame that they couldn't come up with original ideas on their own.