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"Given the strong talent attached to BBC One&amp;#039;s new fantasy drama Atlantis - a dream team of Misfits creator Howard Overman and Merlin&amp;#039;s Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy - it&amp;#039;s understandable that fantasy fans, in particular Merlin aficionados, have been chomping at the bit for this one. But now that the show&amp;#039;s finally hit the airwaves, does it meet and even surpass our expectations? Or is that wealth of anticipation as much a curse as a blessing (no pun intended?).  The positives are that Atlantis boasts both a strong cast and terrific visuals. &amp;#039;The Earth Bull&amp;#039; looks fantastic, and across the episode&amp;#039;s 47-minute run time we&amp;#039;re treated to some wonderfully epic visuals, with the magic of television transforming a chilly set in Wales into what feels like a vibrant, living and breathing city. Set, costume and the realisation of the show&amp;#039;s fantasy elements all impress - the Minotaur, lurking in the shadows, looks particularly great.  As with Merlin, talented young newcomers have wisely been paired with some more recognisable fans, including some with serious cult credentials - the addition of Alexander Siddig, here playing the King of Atlantis, to any programme is a definite boon. Jack Donnelly is an attractive, likeable lead - those shirtless scenes will go down well with the Tumblr crowd - and Mark Addy plays to his strengths as a rather unconventional Hercules, essentially Robert Baratheon played for laughs. Addy&amp;#039;s blustering strongman shares a fun dynamic with Donnelly&amp;#039;s Jason and Robert Emms&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;triangle guy&amp;quot; Pythagoras, while Sarah Parish is as brilliant as you&amp;#039;d expect as you&amp;#039;d expect in the &amp;#039;Evil Queen&amp;#039; role.  The problems with the Atlantis premiere do not lie in its cast or its on-screen realisation, but in its script. A certain amount of &amp;#039;pilot-itis&amp;#039; - heavy-handed establishing of characters and premise - is to be expected from most series openers, but there&amp;#039;s other issues here. While it&amp;#039;s obviously important in a show like this to keep the pace up, for fear of boring younger viewers, Jason acclimatises to his surprising new situation far too rapidly, and while it&amp;#039;s a bold move for Atlantis to tackle the Minotaur in its first episode, the ploy ultimately backfires. With the legendary beast vanquished so quickly, you&amp;#039;re left wondering &amp;#039;Is that it?&amp;#039;  The biggest problem though - one that Merlin fans will no doubt pick up on - is that, with its square-jawed hero, his intellectual friend with hidden strengths, the beautiful and gentle love interest, a tyrannical ruler and - to come next week - a trustworthy companion doomed to a monstrous fate, Atlantis is sticking far too rigidly to a tried-and-tested format. To his credit, writer Overman does successfully set up a rather intriguing story arc to play out in future episodes: what is Jason&amp;#039;s destiny? Is his father really dead? Who is the Oracle (Juliet Stevenson)? Is she - as we suspect - actually Jason&amp;#039;s mother? Merlin came on in leaps and bounds following its uneven first episode, so fingers crossed that Atlantis will grow and flourish in similar fashion. Right now the show is far from perfect, but it is good, solid fun and, with a few tweaks, absolutely has the potential to become the next big family-friendly hit.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/atlantis/news/a518907/atlantis-review-is-bbc-ones-new-series-a-gift-from-the-gods/>