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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story that starts out simple, but grows deeper and bigger!, December 25, 2008
I absolutely enjoyed this show. The first episode hit on that the relationship between Merlin, the young magician, and Arthur, the prince of Camelot is essential and very important. As they meet, they both sort of hate each other, but destiny brings them together, like two sides of one coin for a reason. The first episode also made it clear that Magic is forbidden in this land, so it is intriguing to see how everything would turn out. If you give this show a chance, you will be surprised by twists and turns of the events. Unexpected story, like suspense, that's what come to my mind. Everything in the story is important as things will come together and make more sense.
The things I like the best are:
1. Great setting. The castle in this TV show is real and it's astonishing! It is one of the best castles in France. Some scenes also take place in Wales and the woods are so magical. I donno how they do it, but the whole setting, the nature, the castles are very mystical, fantastic and beautiful!
2. New actors. I hate big name actors. When I watch someone act, I don't want to think about the actor, I want to focus on the character, and that's what you get in this TV Show. The acting is brilliant. It is never overacted, so to keep you focused on the story. Because episodes tell the story in a fast paced manner, as there is so much to tell, the actors keep things smooth, clear and real. There are no awkward situations and the production is made to make you feel like you're there. I found myself worrying when the actors worried, even though I knew things would turn out fine. So the emotions are definitely pass on to the viewers from the skilled actors.
3. Characters and the friendship plot. The friendship is as complicating as it is deep and also very good. We learn about the relations of Merlin and Arthur that there is love, there are difficulties, mysteries, secrets, but we also learn about friendships among the rest of the many characters in this story. They are all interconnected and deepen as the story progresses. I don't want to spoil anything, so I wont tell you who is friend and who is a foe. One thing I will mention is that every character has demons as they also have angels in them. Things may turn out for or against their relationships towards each other, you just never know how. That's what kept me watching this show. No one is too perfect or too evil. Everyone has flaws here, and they all react to them differently. So the show is very focused on the development of characters while keeping the whole thing fast paced and action packed. I am amazed at their abilities to do that. There must be real good writers at this show. Each character has a whole lot to reveal through their past, present and even the future. I was surprised over and over by what I could learn about certain characters with each episode.
4. The magic. The magic in this story is essential, but we also know that it is forbidden in Camelot. At first I didn't like the idea as I was too afraid that we wont see much magic happen. I was wrong. There is plenty of magic in this show. It all comes from unexpected chain of events. Also, magic is not all great. There are many who want to use it for evil, so perhaps there is a reason it is forbidden in Camelot.....
5. Special effects. Some say the dragon in this show looks bad. I agree that it could have looked more realistic, but it is not horrible at all. In fact, it looks realistic to me. I mean, it doesn't look like an animal on geographic channel, but it does look like a mystical creature we've never really seen in life. It looks like it is done on the computer, but not to the extent that it is too obvious. You can still enjoy the dragon if you are not holding a magnifying glass in your hand trying to study its scales. The rest of the creatures and magical special effects in my opinion are great. They are just about the same as in Harry Potter movies.
6. Message on morality. Over and over I catch myself noticing good moral lessons in this show. For young people to watch this show, is not only to enjoy the story and catchy special effects, but also to learn lessons between choosing what is right in one's life. Characters are constantly tested and at crossroads. Each decision we make matters a lot for our own future and the people we love. Morals on friendships, respect, patience, good will, forgiveness. I still remember the episode called "to kill the king". It was the most amazing lesson on forgiveness I've ever seen done on TV.
Right now the show ended with the 13th episode, the last one of the first season and I can tell you, it is at its climax. The show has climbed up high in just 13 episodes. We now have more answers. We know the characters to heart, but we are also puzzled with new information given about them, as nothing is too certain and there are hidden skeletons on the closets. So that only makes things even more exciting. We also went through the pain, struggles, losses as well as joy, great friendships and miracles with these characters.
As far as some complaints you may face about this show... I've heard people expressing lots of hateful messages, like the show looks cheap, actors are horrible, etc, etc... I don't know if those people are blind, or if they even saw any of "Merlin", or are they just negative trolls who know nothing but spread negativity online. Some say that the show is not as true to the original legend. But If you don't like this interpretation of the legend, there are millions of other interpretations out there, and NO ONE really knows which one is the right one. I googles the legends of king Arthur and Merlin for weeks now and have found that no one really knows what happened. No one knows who was who's son, wife, friend, foe... No one knows who killed who and so forth... There are tales and songs from everywhere saying different things. Apart from that, people also complain about the acting, and the special effects. As I am a theater actor myself, I gotta say the actors are amazing. I have yet to see anyone in this show underact or overact. And the dragon effects don't bother me a bit, as I am too focused on paying attention to what's going on. BBC cannot put more money into this as they already have. As much as they put into this show, they did an amazing job. They keep the writing entertaining, deep and mysterious, and they keep the directing smooth, fast paces and beautiful. I have only one complaint, I want to see more!!!!!
So in the end of my review, I just hope that I was able to convince some of you to watch this show, and excite you somewhat as deep as I am excited about it. I hope I helped you lose some of you concerns and questions answered. Enjoy this TV serious with a simplistic heart and it will take you on a great journey! Cheers!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
entertainment for young adults or opportunity lost?, June 23, 2009
All in all I enjoyed this first season quite a lot.
Professionally scripted, filmed and acted, it heavily relies on the charm of the Arthurian myth and on the free use of magic so fashionable these years providing the viewer with hours of easy entertainment. A little TOO easy at times.
Said viewer could be even a child of about 10 if a parent is there to do some explaining.
It was only halfway through it that I began to wonder and doubts are now rooted and disturbing.
That the main purpose of this series be entertainment is perfectly legitimate, but I am convinced things could and should have been done better even within this limited scope.
First and foremost there are heavy qualitative differences in the 13 episodes: scripted and directed by different people they are remarkably different in achievements. Take for instance the episode before the last: throughout there is great attention paid to lighting, to framing and composition. The result is that this episode is vastly superior from every point of view. And it shows, it really does. Why was this attention not paid to all of them?
Another irritating problem is the actors' diction: in the first episode it is very theatrical, cristal clear, perfect. Elsewhere, but not everywhere, the same actors slur whole sentences forcing me to use subtitles. Why? Have the creators not established guidelines?
They should have. The series is full of inconsistencies (and sketchy plots/characterization/ethics). For example at the start Merlin is said to be capable of making spells with no mouthed incantation. Elsewhere he has to pronounce it just to open a closed door. Sorry, but these mistakes irritate me a lot.
To talk about some inconsistencies forces me to introduce others that may be less relevant if one accepts this series were originally meant for entertainment only. I can see that it might as well be only me who wishes more attention paid to details, even in entertainment.
The Arthurian myth is extraordinarily confused and I would love the support of an expert before stating my doubts, but I have no expert handy and will have to rely on my knowledge only.
If I am not wrong the life of Arthur is supposed to be set in the first centuries A.D. when the Roman army was retiring from Britain and the Latin-Celtic world was collapsing into small states, often at war with each other and facing the first waves of the Anglo-Saxon invasion.
I might be wrong but this series seems to be set much later, when Anglo-Saxons were already established and mixed with the rest: Arthur's father is called Uther, for instance, and there are runes -which are Germanic only- everywhere. I am under the impression that most incantations are pronounced in Old English instead of some kind of Celtic. Camelot itself is an enormous, full fledged castle, something I would expect in the X century or even later and several details in the scenes appear to be wrong.
Another point is the choice of black actors. Those playing Gwen and her father especially, but there were quite a lot of extras too.
Do NOT misunderstand me: they are fine professionals, I loved them, but I somehow doubt that in V century Britain there were so many people of colour, not to mention among the knights.
A further point is that the dialogues/gestures and even ethics sound too modern for the time. Was this really necessary for entertainment's sake? Was it not possible to fetch an historian and have him revise the production?
There are several other points I could make but I shall leave it to you to decide for yourself, but allow me to stress that a little more accuracy would have been welcomed.
Some less sketchy dialogues would have been too: all actors do a decent job and could surely afford better lines and deeper ethics/attitudes.
An interesting issue other reviewers have pointed out are the homosexual undertones in the series, especially -and understandably- in the relationship between Arthur and Merlin. Nothing for prudes to worry about though, there is nothing explicit as there is nothing sexual of any sort in any line of the script for any character in the whole first season. It is just a texture, a feeling. An interesting one.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly Written and Complacent, July 12, 2009
The characters never seem to go anywhere. The episodes do not make logical sense. The plot in every episode thus far has been the same. Merlin needs to use his magic to save the day, he gets conflicted about it, he uses the magic no one knows he does and then he talks with his guardian about it. Just when you think the plot will change it is quickly shown to have just been a barrier and the episode ends.
There are times when the show doesn't work. It is stated in one episode that only knights can engage in combat, yet there are soldiers who are not knights in a lot of scenes and I can not seem to find a reason for this if not to engage in combat.
I just expected more. I am done with this show for now.
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