I was a bit disappointed when I watched this show, being a fan of the game and all. The way they elaborated the survivors being from different timelines and parts of the globe offered a really cool and interesting addition to the lore of that world, allowing an ample opportunity to showcase different cultures in one setting without it feeling forced or contrived. However, the show does not stick the landing very well.
First problem is: the characters. If you can not write decent or believable characters your show is already done for, and Ark: The Animated Series is no exception. Instead of all of these characters, who are coming from entirely different timelines, acting like they are from said timelines they instead seem like they were born and raised in the present day. Their mannerisms, the way they interact with others, even the fact that the majority of them are able to speak fluent English, all makes it feel like this whole concept was just an afterthought in the writing process. And when you have a character that seems like they might be interesting to learn about, the show thinks it is a good idea to kill them off seconds later before they can unfold. One example of this being the first person the main character sees on the island being a soldier from WW2 who attempts to save her. He boasts a gruff exterior as he explains how he has been trying to survive in this harsh environment for a while, only to loose it for a moment when he learns that the Allies had won the war. And then he dies a minute later after he tries to help her save a dinosaur.
This brings me to the second issue: the writing. The main character is shown to be someone who suffers from clinical anxiety and even has a moment in one (among very many) of her flashbacks where she is breaking down multiple times in front of an audience while she presents her thesis and life's work to other professors. Only to have her reacting extremely calm, and even excited, to the idea that she is on an island full of dangerous dinosaurs. This is almost made laughable when we find out that, only seconds before she was teleported to the island, she was trying to kill herself via overdose because of her loosing her wife. Her whole character itself seems very naive as well. She sees a wounded dinosaur laying on the floor unable to move. Instead of ending its suffering (since it seems to be in a lot of pain) she opts to save it and hope it would not see it as a sign of aggression from a potential predator. But of course it sees it as saving her life and even follows her around the entire story. If this was a kid's show it would be more forgiving. But we find out quickly that this show is trying to be very mature and even try talking about topics on morality and equality. And unfortunately, this main character makes it hard to like her when all she does is make stupid decisions, only for her to come out on top anyway without any consequences. And please do not get me started on the plethora of cringy dialogue that gets showcased by every character.
And finally this brings me to the third issue: the pacing. The first episode, despite it being only 45 minutes long, felt like it was at least an hour because there would be flashbacks to show the main character's backstory. Which normally would be fine in most instances. But when you are in a setting where the action is creating fast tension, only to have it vault so you can see a long and slow-paced flashback before cutting back to the excitement again, it creates a jarring experience.
Overall, I can not say I would recommend this show. It doesn't hold the attention well enough to engage action fans, is does a horrible job trying to properly show the weight of racism and political issues very long, and it feels like it was made by people who just heard of the game but did not actually play it. Plus, as an animator, the actual animation itself was very choppy. The show itself feels like most of the money went to hiring big name actors instead of hiring proper writers. Unfortunately, I feel that is just present day Hollywood in a nutshell now.
First problem is: the characters. If you can not write decent or believable characters your show is already done for, and Ark: The Animated Series is no exception. Instead of all of these characters, who are coming from entirely different timelines, acting like they are from said timelines they instead seem like they were born and raised in the present day. Their mannerisms, the way they interact with others, even the fact that the majority of them are able to speak fluent English, all makes it feel like this whole concept was just an afterthought in the writing process. And when you have a character that seems like they might be interesting to learn about, the show thinks it is a good idea to kill them off seconds later before they can unfold. One example of this being the first person the main character sees on the island being a soldier from WW2 who attempts to save her. He boasts a gruff exterior as he explains how he has been trying to survive in this harsh environment for a while, only to loose it for a moment when he learns that the Allies had won the war. And then he dies a minute later after he tries to help her save a dinosaur.
This brings me to the second issue: the writing. The main character is shown to be someone who suffers from clinical anxiety and even has a moment in one (among very many) of her flashbacks where she is breaking down multiple times in front of an audience while she presents her thesis and life's work to other professors. Only to have her reacting extremely calm, and even excited, to the idea that she is on an island full of dangerous dinosaurs. This is almost made laughable when we find out that, only seconds before she was teleported to the island, she was trying to kill herself via overdose because of her loosing her wife. Her whole character itself seems very naive as well. She sees a wounded dinosaur laying on the floor unable to move. Instead of ending its suffering (since it seems to be in a lot of pain) she opts to save it and hope it would not see it as a sign of aggression from a potential predator. But of course it sees it as saving her life and even follows her around the entire story. If this was a kid's show it would be more forgiving. But we find out quickly that this show is trying to be very mature and even try talking about topics on morality and equality. And unfortunately, this main character makes it hard to like her when all she does is make stupid decisions, only for her to come out on top anyway without any consequences. And please do not get me started on the plethora of cringy dialogue that gets showcased by every character.
And finally this brings me to the third issue: the pacing. The first episode, despite it being only 45 minutes long, felt like it was at least an hour because there would be flashbacks to show the main character's backstory. Which normally would be fine in most instances. But when you are in a setting where the action is creating fast tension, only to have it vault so you can see a long and slow-paced flashback before cutting back to the excitement again, it creates a jarring experience.
Overall, I can not say I would recommend this show. It doesn't hold the attention well enough to engage action fans, is does a horrible job trying to properly show the weight of racism and political issues very long, and it feels like it was made by people who just heard of the game but did not actually play it. Plus, as an animator, the actual animation itself was very choppy. The show itself feels like most of the money went to hiring big name actors instead of hiring proper writers. Unfortunately, I feel that is just present day Hollywood in a nutshell now.