Merlin

CaoPaux

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Huh. I recall hearing about it during production, but of course missed the the start of it. How is it? The vids on the site are UK only, alas. http://www.bbc.co.uk/merlin/#
 

jvc

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Huh. I recall hearing about it during production, but of course missed the the start of it. How is it? The vids on the site are UK only, alas. http://www.bbc.co.uk/merlin/#
I am not finding too enjoyable at the moment, although I keep watching to see if it improves. The story is totally different to what I know of the myth of Merlin it isn't even funny. The episodes are slow to get going, slow to end and the scripts aren't 'fleshy' enough IMHO. It all seems like a pretty basic childrens show that hasn't lived up to the hype surrounding it and doesn't really appeal to older peeps that were looking forward to something when Doctor Who isn't on. Plus, it is filmed in France. Sheesh.
 

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I'm interested in the Merlin myth* so I tried my best to like this but its terrible. The Sam Neill film is much better. Honestly, we Brits should be ashamed.


*Did you know Merlin was supposed to be the son of an incubus and was thought to have created stonehenge? I'm sure lots of people know this but I just found out.
 

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Oh I thought it was ok (I admit the sequel sucked though). Excalibur is the best in my opinion.
 

jvc

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I'm trying to remember which one is which, but one of the films I thought was good, just can't remember if it was the Sam Neil one or not. (sidetrack - SN was good in the Tudors).
 

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Bleah. I can forgive a lot if it's otherwise entertaining (like Robin Hood :rolleyes:). I'll give it a shot this weekend, just so I can say I did.
 

mab

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I know a lot of people didn't like the SN Merlin 'cos of the innacuracies, but I thought Miranda Richardson was excellent in it. The more recent King Arthur with Keira Knightley in it looked too dreadful, but maybe i should give it a chance...

its got to be better than this BBC thing- bland and boring as well as innaccurate, (the episode I watched anyway) I guess its for kids but I wouldn't have liked it.

and as for Robin Hood- the recent one wasn't a patch on the old series from the 80s, it still gets repeated on digital sometimes.
 
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jvc

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Yea, this one isn't good. I thought (and I could be wrong) that Valiant was meant to be a good guy, but this series has him as a baddie, plus Gwen (of ear) is a servant not a lady and the Prince Arthur is a spoilt brat. Plus mab is right, the acting is a bit bland and the stories boring. And CauPaux, I can't believe you liked Robin Hood!!!
 

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*snerk* What can I say. Once I accepted they weren't even trying for accuracy, I could stop throwing things at the TV and just lust after Sir Guy. Simple pleasures, and all that. :e2brows:
 

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Oh, yeah. Fortunately, we watch it with closed-captioning to understand the dialogue (accents, eh what?), so we can turn the volume down to a tolerable level. :D
 

LOG

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I like the first season of The Adventures of Merlin, but it certainly has flaws. I think it's main problem was the ever-changing writers, which resulted in uncertain characters and frequent plot-holes.
That, and the series as a whole is-I think-meant to be more a fun series than a truly serious one. It's something made to amuse and keep people entertained, but not necessarily to tell a story well.

The second season was somewhat better, partly because it finally seemed to get the character development moving along.
I just saw the Fires of Idirsholas. That was the best episode yet.
Fighting scenes, humor, drama! The only plot-hole I noticed was where the seven knights managed to find horses...
 
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kristin724

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I like this show a lot. You have to swallow a lot of the Smallville esque changes to the legend, but its a nice little wholesome show with nice writing and fine performances. Frankly, I don't know why they waste time doing gimmicky episodes and reseting character development early in the season and they get seriously good in the latter half. People tune out early and don't go back!

I'm going to try this new Camelot show on Starz, but I hope it isn't like Spartacus. We are seriously in need of an Arthurian film. I don't know why everyone is trying to do their own different spin when we haven't had a darn good straight tell in some time, if ever.

Here's a few reviews I've done of the Merlins. I'm waiting for Season 2 to finish airing in the US before I post that one!

http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/2010/06/merlin-1998.html

http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/2009/09/merlin-season-1.html
 

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Kristin, when I read your Merlin review, I was surprised and hurt by a particular paragraph. I've been thinking about it all day, and while I know (assume) that your comments were not intentionally hurtful, I want to explain* why your review upset me.

Here goes.

I didn’t really think of it in my initial viewing, but online, most of the talk about Merlin is on homosexual subtext between Merlin and Arthur. Although gay aspects in Arthurian tales aren’t unheard of- see or read Mists of Avalon- I think it’s a little strange that people are looking for this in a program touted as wholesome and family oriented. In a few years, if Merlin strengthens and survives into a mature drama like Buffy The Vampire Slayer; then sure, let’s have one of the characters be gay. As for right now, however, the creators don’t seem to be playing into any subtext ala Xena. Yes, there is some dialogue about how much one boy loves the other or has secrets and latent lifestyles, but it seems more like Shaggy and Scooby having the munchies or He-Man’s subtext. Adults will see what they want to see, there’s nothing heavy that might offend youth and family audiences.

In short, you're saying that LGBT romance is unsuitable for "wholesome" programs targeted at "family audiences".

On the surface, this seems a little strange to me, because Merlin is absolutely loaded with romance. There are canonical romances among the lead characters, such as Arthur and Gwen. Every other episode seems to be about a character falling for the attractive guest star of the week: Arthur for Sophia, Merlin for Freya, Gwen for Lancelot, Uther for Catrina, etc. There have been on-screen kisses, among other portrayals of physical, sexual and romantic love. You don't seem to object to any of the above. The implication is that on-screen romance itself is not offensive to family audiences - only the prospect of LGBT people being involved. Somehow, a kiss that would be entirely wholesome if it was opposite-sex becomes unwholesome if it's same-sex. A child is safe watching Arthur's feelings for Gwen, but not Arthur's feelings for Merlin. The message I'm hearing is that LGBT people should stay where they belong - offscreen or in the closet. Not on-screen, shoving their unwholesome romances in the faces of family viewers. And that makes me sad and hurt.

* The reason I'm posting here rather than as a comment on the blog post is that I know AbsoluteWrite is a safe space to discuss LGBT issues.

I like this show a lot. You have to swallow a lot of the Smallville esque changes to the legend, but its a nice little wholesome show with nice writing and fine performances. Frankly, I don't know why they waste time doing gimmicky episodes and reseting character development early in the season and they get seriously good in the latter half. People tune out early and don't go back!

I'm going to try this new Camelot show on Starz, but I hope it isn't like Spartacus. We are seriously in need of an Arthurian film. I don't know why everyone is trying to do their own different spin when we haven't had a darn good straight tell in some time, if ever.

Here's a few reviews I've done of the Merlins. I'm waiting for Season 2 to finish airing in the US before I post that one!

http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/2010/06/merlin-1998.html

http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/2009/09/merlin-season-1.html
 

thothguard51

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Is this the same Merlin that is now running on the SyFy channel? I hope not because the one on the SyFy channel is dreadful...
 

plaidearthworm

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I watched most of series 1 when it ran on NBC last year, and I'm watching series 2 now on BBC America. I like it because it's a fun take on the Merlin myth, and I enjoy the thought of these classic characters being dorky and learning lessons like the rest of us when they're young. The ep with Uther romancing the troll had me laughing out loud! I've read and seen so many versions that take themselves so seriously. This is just a neat show that I can relax with on Friday nights.
 

LOG

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I like it because it's a fun take on the Merlin myth, and I enjoy the thought of these classic characters being dorky and learning lessons like the rest of us when they're young. The ep with Uther romancing the troll had me laughing out loud! I've read and seen so many versions that take themselves so seriously. This is just a neat show that I can relax with on Friday nights.

This.
 

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I think Merlin is so bad that it's funny.

It has nothing to do with the medieval Arthurian corpus.

From my dim recollections of various versions of Prince Valiant, it does seem to have some ties there, but that was a very very long time ago.

As a passing reference, the homoerotic stuff in the medieval texts is all over the place.

And my very favorite modern version of Arthuriana is Mary Stewart's. Loathed Mists of Avalon. Rather like the alternate Arthrurian stuff by Jo Walton.
 

jennontheisland

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I went into this with no expectations of actual Arthurian legend.

Even with that it's a really bad show. I forced myself to watch 3 or 4 episodes just to be sure. It's cheese on toast. So bad. I'm not sure it makes it in to the 'so bad it's good' category though.
 

Mariekeme

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I'm in the 'cheesy fun' category. I've watched all of series 1, and a good part of series 2. Sure it has nothing to do with real Arthurian legends, and the writing isn't brill either, but it's a fun take on an old story.

And unlike certain other modern versions *glowers at King Arthur* at least it didn't start with "Historians agree..." :D

Besides, I like my Arthuriana to be different. I used to adore Prince Valiant (except the film, which to be honest was pretty horrendous), and my current favourite version is Sarah Zettel's Camelot series. (And T.H. White. I still love T.H. White.)