User reviews

Albert Lin is a charismatic explorer who does a great job at presenting the subject matter with enthusiasm and respect for the people and history he encounters. It's astounding to see the ways in which modern technology (particularly LiDAR) has revolutionized mesoamerican archaeology. It boggles the mind to realize just how much is still left to be discovered and how much we have to learn about the Maya. After watching this series, I've checked out every series Albert Lin has hosted, and would have to say he's one of the best presenters of this type of documentary in the field today. Highly recommended!

Yes, they do repeat and recap the lidar element many times, you see the same footage multiple times, but that is because this program was presumably created for public tv where channel surfers might stumble on this series at any episode and the recap brings anyone in. The content, footage, and excitement among the archeologists is plenty enjoyable enough to forgive the frequent recaps. Give it a chance but know that you're in for some repetitive recaps.

Literally half of every episode was repeating the exact same gushing rehash of the technology they used, which while revolutionary and absolutely deserving of mention, shouldn't have warranted the constant (and literally repeated word for word) coverage. Between that and constantly recapping what JUST happened almost entirely every time they switched location, there was only maybe 40-50% actual information/exploration and the rest felt like a tech commercial.

I really expected better from National Geographic. I watched all of the episodes, hoping it would get better, but it did not. It tries too hard to be dramatic, throwing in unnecessary suspenseful music and over-the-top narration. The subject matter is interesting enough-it does not need that kind of fakey embellishment! Unfortunately, it rarely has time to actually explore the archaeological findings and discuss how they fit into the historical context of the Mayan civilization. Most of the time is spent on repeating fake dramatic teasers (mainly in a vain attempt to keep viewers hooked around commercials-a technique that backfires spectacularly when viewers are streaming without commercials), excessive use of phrases like "now for the very first time!!!", and repetitive glorification of LIDAR technology and how none of the discoveries would ever have been found without it. It's more like a commercial than a documentary. If you're looking for substance, you'll have to look elsewhere. If you like vapid repetitions of "ever!", "incredible!", "new!", "never before!", and "exciting!", set to dramatic music, then this show is for you.

Seriously how many times are you going to say lidar and keep going back and forth to the map? We get it, you don't have to keep repeating yourself. This doco is just frustrating

There isn't much to see. An advert for Lidar disguised as a mostly boring documentary.

If I had £1 for every time we're shown a map and told about the most amazing lidar map technology, then I would be a very wealthy man.

Over 4 episodes they find next to nothing and the same footage is repeatedly used. This mini series is a total waste of time and I'm giving this a very fair 5 star rating.

Don't watch this and expect a great reveal or to learn much at all. With every episode I found myself getting more annoyed by the consistently re-used footage and constant mentioning of lidar.

I don't usually write reviews but I've got to warn people about this series. It's a total waste of time.

What a shambles, they somehow managed to make some of the most interesting discoveries and topics and turn them into some terrible reality TV show. Between the corny script that included lines like "let's check it out" and endless shots of guys waving their hands about in the air on front a screen like something out of an avengers movie I was genuinely wondering if they were gonna cut the red or the blue wire when the countdown for the jungle being blown up inevitably starts.

It was more of an action reel for the commentator guy than it was a documentary on the Mayan jungle and the people that lived there.

But hey at least I know everything there is to know about the latest and greatest, pioneering technology, the one and only LiDAR. What's the point in having such great tech if everytime you discover something with it you have to include a 20 minute advertisement along with it, because thats the only reasonable explanation I can think of as to why they did this in every episode.

Lidar scans are impressive, but you would think this series was more about selling the modern tech of lidars then an actual informative documentary with fascinating new discoveries of the Mayans. The last part is what I thought I would get, but the first episode is a constant repeat of the same. Exaggerating drama where there isn't much and building expectations of great revelations that never really get to the heart of matter. Just see the first episode and sum up what you learned about the Mayans...not much...

Disappointed.. Interesting subject, but it's very repetitive and therefore gets very boring.

This is enough material for 1 maybe 2 episodes. When is NG gonna stop doing this. Waste of time. No thanks.

It seems like it would be more interesting if they stuck to the content and findings. Instead, you get this dude repeating himself and showing the same cut scenes of maps with the same boring lidar speech. One episode felt like a teaser intro for like 20 mins. I had to fast forward to actually see them dig up 1 pot. Then the dude gave another dang lidar speech.

I've only watched the first part of this first episode. It sits somewhere between a hype commercial and a teaser for a reality show. I only managed about 20 minutes before I gave up. Very very disappointing and does injury to a fascinating subject rather than inform or taking the viewer through the discovery or on an adventure. There is very little information given and what is given is repeated ad nauseam as is the footage and script, repeated over and over, complete with revision summaries for commercial break inserts. There is a distinct failed attempt to style this as some kind of dramatic reality show.

It is not a documentary at least not for anyone with an IQ above say 50 and does not quite make the geez of wow category it tries to fabricate. The amount of facts in the whole episode can possibly be written on one page. It is totally unthinkable that National Geographic spend budget on this.

What could be an amazing series is actually very boring. Many repetitive scenes and sentences... Very badly written and has too little content. Could have been concentrated into 2 episodes easily.

After watching the 2 first episodes, I had to turn it off.

In those 2 episodes I saw the same shot of Lin in the chopper some 30 times and heard the word LiDAR woven in to almost every sentence. The premise was interesting, but the production destroyed any upsides the series had. It was like it was getting ready for an ad break every 3 minute, which doesn't help when it's being streamed with no breaks.

You can skip the first 15 mins of each episode after #1 as its just a recap of that episode. You can almost make a drinking game out of the series for each time the word "laidar" is said. Coming off the back of watching some amazing Egyptian documentarys i was hugely disappointed.

Repeating the same lines over again, have to skip through the episode to the actual archaeology which is only digging up a few pots and bones. Also - LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR LiDAR.

Really interesting subject but i got frustrated to hear and see the same stuff over and over again. So a great documentary but very poor editing / producing.

This could have been a great series. I am very interested in the archaeology of ancient cultures. I have NO IDEA why the narrator kept repeating before lidar/after lidar/the new lidar discovery and why they kept showing the SAME giant Lidar map with trees and then without trees, multiple times in multiple episodes. I actually thought I had sat on the remote and restarted the episode, more than once, because the scene and narration was identical. Watch the first show and skip the rest. This series is in dire need of an editor to get rid of the repetitive scenes and narration. The narrator also needs to speak faster because the average viewer has an IQ over 80. I do have concerns over deforesting the jungle to excavate this civilization.

You might find yourself waking up in a hospital due to an alcoholic coma.

Very little information about the Mayans (which is very disappointing), and a lot of talk about LiDAR.

After the first two episodes I found myself skipping forward every time I saw them standing in front of the big screen or when he pulled his iPad out of his bag.

The three stars that I give are for the historians, the actual archeologists and the workers.

Tons of repetition as stated. Another big thing for me was that a lot of the finds seemed like conclusions were drawn too fast. Many of the objects and remains were chalked up to "ritual sacrifice" with not a lot of evidence except for being in Mayan territory behind it. Seems very clickbait-y and would've liked a little more research into the objects found to see if that was actually the case instead of just a proposition.

Apparently 3D laser scanning that creates 3D-maps. There, I just summarized the series for you. Imagine watching a documentary about Titanic, but they spend more time talking about the submarine.

The infos are very interesting, i learned a bunch of new things! But the way the episodes are made is terribly annoying. If you take a shot every time someone says 'and now without the trees.... woooooooow' you'd have alcohol poisoning before the end of this 4 episode series.