The Ark

Yes, it is a cheaply produced show, but all the culture snobs who write reviews after 15 minutes watching the pilot are simply that: unreliable snobs who have no clue about anything and you shouldn't listen to.

The show's characters are loveble enough to keep watching the first few episodes.

At latest in the 5th episode it starts getting interesting and at the 7th episode the mytery is pretty exciting to wait eagerly for the next episode.

This show at least doesn't try to pretend being an oscar winning drama by getting into politics and intrigues "in medias res", making you just turning your head around, wondering who is with whom. You also don't need 3 seasons to watch for finally learning to distinguish the two asian women from eachother, like so many shows do nowadays, like Star Trek Discovery or Star Wars Andor, just to name a few from the sci-fi genre.

This is a show for relaxing. It doesn't want to change the world nor tries to win anything, it just wants to entertain you and it does the job well.

As it now stands, this series is underrated. Since I am very tough when I rate something, I sincerely do not understand all the hate it has been getting. While it's certainly not a high budget endeavor, they clearly make the most of it. Next, there are plenty of mysteries to keep one's interest while attempting to figure them out. The characters are both likable and unlikeable, simultaneously, which is another interesting draw; the investment leading one to find out which side they ultimately land.

Frankly, I'll stick with an average show basically because there's so little out there that's any good nowadays. But this is something I'm not just watching to kill time. I'm guessing those giving a rock bottom low rating watched the first episode and bailed before giving it the time it deserves. Definitely not a "10" but much better than the current rating [4.0] indicates.

In the end, I believe I already know what the big twist will be. I won't spoil it, but I'm never wrong when it comes to these things. For those who keep watching you'll see that I'm right.

The premise is interesting, though I've seen this idea before. The first episode wasn't very good because of poor acting. But we've continued to watch it (finished 4 episodes so far) and I have say it's both growing on me and the acting is better - most of the actors are growing into their characters and becoming more believable, and evoking my own emotions such as finding some likeable, some irritating. I was glued to my seat during episode 3 and worried about what was going to happen next. The crew seems to be in one crisis after another, which can be tiresome as a continuous plot device. I am being entertained now, though I can't give it more than a 6 at this point.

Is it reinventing the wheel? No. Is it deep thinking or brilliant? No not really.

As someone who watched BSG and the expense, but fully enjoyed the likes of the 100, it's worth a shot.

Easy downtime tv series that generates enough intrigue and interest to watch. But also isn't so in depth that it requires 100% of your attention.

Easy watch, low budget, and the show runners clearly see that. The show knows its audience, writing isn't the A** of previous sifi shows, but it is such a chill fun watch. I'd compare it to SNOWPIECER standard.

Overall a fun easy watch and I'd recommend it to any sifi geek who's looking for a fun binge.

Like a lot of reviews listed here, I was not impressed with the first couple of episodes (bad acting, bad plot, bad f/x, etc.), but I stuck it out, and am glad I did. The characters have developed nicely, not every episode is "disaster of the week," and subplots are intriguing. I've begun to care about the characters, which is a 180 flip from when I first started watching.

It's always tough to figure out how good/bad a show is going to be after the first episode; especially with a large cast. But the writers have done a good job with creating depth, and some surprises along the way.

As a sci-fi show, the f/x are minimal and middle of the road CG; just enough to let you know it's a show in space.

The Ark is not great, but is getting better with each episode.