[BBC Series] “Merlin” (2008-Present)

The BBC series Merlin made its debut in 2008. I honestly heard nothing about this show until a visiting friend had and shared the first three episodes recorded off tele’. I have not been able to find a certain release date for the U.S. DVD or if the show is going to be on BBC America. Season two has recently kicked off and it appears, to me, that the series has legs.

The idea of Merlin may be cringe-inducing at first: A young Merlin (Colin Morgan), unaware of his destiny and nervous of his innate magical ability, is apprenticed to Gaius (Richard Wilson), the court physician at Camelot, where he runs afoul of bully-of-a-king’s son Arthur (Bradley James).

Before making any judgment regarding this premise, read on:

This Camelot is not quite the one of which we are familiar. Arthur’s father, King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head), is a hard ruler. On taking the throne decades before, King Uther outlawed the use of magic and made its use punishable by death. Upon his arrival in Camelot Merlin witnesses an execution. That fear limits his ability to practice the arcane arts and, under Gaius’ tutelage, must use his wits more so than his power.

Merlin eventually learns of his destiny where he is bestowed the task of helping Arthur grow as a young man, spur him on, and begin developing the legend in order for Prince Arthur to become the man who will one day be King Arthur, the king that unites all the lands.

Rounding out the cast is familiar names prevalent in Arthurian legends with idiosyncrasies original to this production: Gwyn (Angela Coulby), a friendly and cute daughter of a blacksmith and maidservant in the royal staff; Morgana (Katie McGrath), King Uther’s beautiful and seemingly aloof and idle ward; and the imprisoned Dragon given voice by the brilliant John Hurt.

The tone of Merlin suggests “family friendly fantasy,” but there is a certain darkness in the episodes I was able to watch. The series casts off adherence to any type of period language style and instead uses generic but recognizably modern vernacular. The set is well conceived but somewhat small in scope. The wide shots of the Camelot keep and castle look nice, but the interior settings seem claustrophobic and the city, when shown, feels more like a tribal headquarters than the gateway to a large kingdom.

The chemistry between Morgan and James builds throughout the run of the first series and cumulates with what feels like real friendship. Head’s King Uther fills out the stern and blindly judgmental character very well and allows the viewer to respect and detest him at the same time. Gwyn and Morgana flitter in an out of episodes sometimes to the point of being window-dressing to court scenes. That’s OK because when they are part of the main story, the roles are strong and robust for female characters that are usually much maligned in Arthurian legend.

Merlin is a fun series that I hope makes it to the U.S. on DVD or on BBC America. The actors are spunky and the plots posses both humor and tension at entertaining levels. Treat this little review as a primer so you are able to watch the series once it is available.

UPDATE

Since the original post, I’ve gone on to order the first season DVD from Amazon.uk and the series holds up and indeed gets better and better. Series two DVD is out February 8th and you can be damned sure that I’ve already pre-ordered it.

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