Lost Treasures of the Maya (2018– ) User Reviews

Groundbreaking, yet somehow regressive

[sj_jaguar_33 · 6/10 · 6 March 2021]

For anyone interested in mythology, history or archaeology, the content of this series is a 10. WATCH IT! The undeniably awesome reveal allowed by the lidar tech is, redundantly, AWESOME! Unfortunately, that's a microcosm of this series. VERY repetitive. This is done, I think, on the premise that television requires a constant hook of excitement to reel the viewers in. Unfortunately, Nat Geo did not realize that their viewers would be watching this series in a streaming format, which means that most of us searched this series out by name. Instead of giving the host duties to a native expert or an archaeologist with two decades of experience like Francisco Estrada-Belli (who is the most compelling character in this series by far), they handed the job to the computer engineer, who watched national treasure and a few seasons of survivor in preparation to come to Guatemala. This sounds like a personal attack on the host; it is not. His contributions should be recognized and passed by. Instead, they are constantly harped on and, as other reviewers have said, sold as if this is an ad for lidar. The incredible discoveries made speak for themselves. There is absolutely no need for dramatic, sensational coverage.

Awesome content among forgivable repetitiveness

[alexscothern-25708 · 8/10 · 6 January 2020]

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.

Exciting and interesting.

[jchampany · 8/10 · 24 October 2022]

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!

What documentary there was, was great, but it felt more like a less than subtle commercial for the tech

[celticrose888 · 5/10 · 8 January 2020]

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.

Could have been so much better

[g_la_hunt · 2/10 · 27 November 2019]

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.

Repetitive

[jritter83 · 3/10 · 30 November 2019]

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

Repetitive & Anticlimactic.

[ryan-eden-1994 · 5/10 · 13 June 2020]

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.

It is nothing more than a Lidar commercial

[emsafic · 1/10 · 22 July 2020]

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

CSI Mayan jungle?

[callumballantine · 1/10 · 3 July 2020]

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.

Commercial for Lidar?

[siljeeg · 2/10 · 25 September 2020]

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...

What a shame

[simonhedbergavelind · 2/10 · 18 September 2020]

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

Repetitive

[gabrielbalko · 3/10 · 25 March 2020]

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

Frustrating

[gangrym · 2/10 · 5 August 2021]

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.

Positively the worst documentary ever

[hugop-362-503160 · 1/10 · 9 July 2019]

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.

Unwatchable due to repetitiveness

[gilbertmunch112 · 1/10 · 19 July 2021]

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.

Repetition repetition repetition

[wesiphone · 2/10 · 10 January 2021]

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.

Seems like I wasn't the only one who noticed the repetitiveness

[sphen · 3/10 · 2 January 2021]

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.

So repetitive

[swood-61706 · 2/10 · 12 April 2022]

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.

The downward spiral of Nation Geographic

[bodil1970 · 1/10 · 11 January 2022]

Am not really sure what this series is, but it's certainly not a documentary. The amount of actual content on Mayan archaeology could have been covered in just 1 episode, and a short one at that. The rest of the time is wasted with the same footage (including Lin in a helicopter, boffins waving their arms with 'Oohs..' standing in front of a large display panel and people walking through the jungle) repeated ad nausea. The producer also seemed to think the audience needed constant reminding of what LIDAR is (just in case they forget every 2 minutes). Speaking of Lin, am not sure what his role was. Is trekking out to an archaeology site that has been worked on for several seasons really 'exploring'? Not in my books. And how can you 'discover' a pyramid that has already been discovered with LIDAR? Maybe the whole exercise was to advertise for extra funding for Lin's LIDAR research. As others have pointed out, the pathetic attempt to impart suspense in the show was cringe worthy. The scene with altar stone deserves special mention. Lifting a large stone block on a supposedly dodgy timber frame with the light fading. Really? I suspect the short shot of the frame moving was filmed while building it, not when lifting the stone. Also, why the urgency to lift the stone with the light failing? The team has been there all season and the stone wasn't going anywhere so why not wait until the following morning? Maybe they would have been better replacing Lin with a civil engineer who can time manage.

I gave up on the History Channel years ago and now National Geographic seems to have dropped it's standard to suit lobotomized viewers. At least they haven't introduced conspiracy theories and aliens into archaeology like the History Channel, but I'm sure that's not too far away.

I'm honestly puzzled how this pile of tosh gets a rating 6.6.

A Gigantic Lidar Commercial

[katiesewed · 1/10 · 13 September 2022]

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.

Why make it so boring?

[info-24839 · 4/10 · 12 January 2022]

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.

Interesting but annoying

[muehlebachsarah · 5/10 · 12 June 2022]

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.

Drink every time your hear the word LiDAR

[jwamanda · 3/10 · 20 February 2022]

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.

It's Ok

[averylowhorn · 4/10 · 2 January 2022]

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.

Lidar

[friendlyPrime · 2/10 · 6 March 2022]

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.