Merlin Series 1-5 (2008-2012) - Review
Starring: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Anthony Head & Richard Wilson
Written By: Julian Jones (Head Writer)
Directed By: (Various)
Certificate: 12
Back
in 2008 (one of the best years ever, if you ask me), Saturday evening
family dramas were in demand for the BBC. They were often a source of
high viewing figures, with families able to sit and enjoy dramas such
as Doctor Who in the Spring, and others such as Robin
Hood in the Autumn. But with the latter of these shows
drawing towards an end, the BBC were in need of something to fill the
gap in the schedule. Having covered sci-fi and historical dramas, it
was time to add a little bit of fantasy drama with Merlin.
Young
warlock Merlin arrives in the kingdom of Camelot, with arrangements
to stay with the court physician, Gaius. Under the reign of King
Uther, magic and sorcery has been outlawed in Camelot for twenty
years, meaning that Merlin, who was born with magic, has to keep his
powers a secret. However, when Merlin ends up saving the life of
Uther's son, Prince Arthur, he is rewarded by being granted the
position of Arthur's servant. When Merlin learns that it is his
destiny to protect Arthur from Camelot's many enemies, he must use
his powers to do so, whilst also having to keep them a secret.
Merlin
uses its first series to quickly set up the groundwork for the show,
spending time establishing a fun, family-friendly tone. At the time of
writing this review, other fantasy series' such as Game
Of Thrones are
the ones riding a wave of popularity, and that's probably how I'd
best go about describing Merlin:
a more family-oriented Game Of Thrones.
It has the magic, the medieval setting and battles, the mythical
creatures and dragons, rivalling kingdoms … but without the sex,
violence incest etc. Along the way, the first series also establishes
a respectable ensemble cast and recurring villains. As you can gather
from the name of the show, Colin Morgan leads the cast as young
servant boy, Merlin, and brings enough youth and innocent charm to
the role to instantly make him likeable to the audience. Following in
his footsteps is Bradley James as a younger and more arrogant Prince
Arthur, and while at first we have little reason to like him, given
his poor treatment of people around him and his jock-like behaviour,
he eventually proves himself to be something more than that. We also
have Anthony Head giving a to-be-expected great performance as
Arthur's father, King Uther, and while it's easy to see him as a
bullying, oppressive king, the moments he shares with his son reveal
a deeper layer to his character, that hint he may be more misguided
than cruel.
You
can tell that the casting director for Merlin
did a simply excellent job, as there's so many actors that fit so
perfectly with their individual roles. Take, for example, Angel
Coulby as Gwen – she's perfectly cast as a beautiful, kind and
elegant figure, whilst also helping hugely in creating a sweet
romance story between her and Arthur. You've also got the fantastic
Richard Wilson as Camelot's physician, and a father/grandfatherly
figure to Merlin, and looking back, I can't think of anyone who could
have done a better job in the role. If you're still not convinced …
John Hurt voices a dragon. If that's not the best casting decision
ever, and doesn't automatically make the series worth at least a
brief watch, then I don't know what is. (Spoiler
Warning!) In
fact, John Hurt doesn't just voice any old dragon – he voices a
dragon that launches an all-out attack on Camelot in the Series 2
finale. But one of the things I find most admirable about Merlin
is
how it's able to grow up tonally with its main audience. Similar to
how the Harry Potter films
gradually grew darker as they went on and their audience grew up,
Merlin does
the same and finishes as a very different show compared to what it
started out as. (Spoiler
Warning!) The
same applies to the characters: Merlin finally becomes the legendary
and figurative wizard, and likeable, kind servant girl Gwen ends up
as the Queen of Camelot. It's Morgana that embodies this change in
tone. At the start of Series 1, she was the weak link of the cast –
a pretty princess with not a great deal to do. But by the last two
series, she becomes the main antagonist, and is so much better for
it, as Katie McGrath suits the “Queen of Evil” role a lot more
and is clearly having so much more fun with it.
However,
this change in tone, whilst doing a lot of good for the show, also
highlights a couple of flaws that existed early on. After watching
through the fifth series, going back and viewing the first series
again can be a bit difficult, as you're suddenly more aware of just
how much awkward and cheesy dialogue was present back then.
Generally, the show does get its humour done right, particularly with
the two-part story Beauty & The Beast,
which see Uther unknowingly date a troll. But there are times where
it's clearly aimed more exclusively at the kids, leaving the adults
as not quite sure how to react or what to do. But that isn't to say
that we should totally discredit the first series, as there are some
genuinely great episodes to be found – my favourite being
Excalibur,
just because the Black Knight it features is one of the coolest
knights ever.
But
while we're on areas where the show can fall short, I do have a
couple of issues regarding its length. At five series long, each one
containing thirteen episodes, it doesn't quite justify being that
long, and it ends up having to rely on several filler episodes. These
can include The Moment Of Truth,
The Once & Future Queen,
The Changeling,
Lamia
and Another's Sorrow.
I would argue that the show could have told the story it wanted to
and be done in maybe just four series. After all, the show stalls a
little during its fourth series, and it shows as the finale for that
year is pretty much just a copy and pasted version of the Series 3
finale. I can see why that happened, as the finale for Series 3 is
easily the show's strongest one, but it's still something that bugs
me.
That
being said, something I do admire the show for doing, is providing
its own unique spin on Arthurian legend. Let's face it: the story of
King Arthur and his legendary wizard, Merlin, is something we're all
very familiar with and have seen adapted for film and TV time and
time again. Rather than sticking to every exact detail of the
legends, Merlin takes
the names and events that we all know, and spins them into something
that sets it apart. In this respect, it reminds me a bit of
Smallville,
especially given how we spend time with Arthur before he becomes
King, and Merlin before he becomes a bearded God-like wizard. And by
the time the show draws to a close, everything begins to slot into
place and more or less everyone finishes up as we famously know them.
Unlike
many shows which can have a tendency to dip in quality as time
passes, Merlin
goes against this, and I'd personally argue that it peaks during its
third series. There's just so much that goes right in this series,
and so much to enjoy. It's the series that reaches an optimum balance
between light-heartedness and maturity, whilst also getting major
plot threads moving, such as Gwen and Arthur's romance, the Knights
of the Round Table etc. It's also the series where Morgana finally
gets something to do, and begins her transition to evil. Katie McGrath
also gets to work with the brilliant Emilia Fox as Morgause, sharing
a believable sisterly relationship, before finishing on what is the
show's strongest finale.
The
last thing worth mentioning is the show's production values – an
area of Merlin that
appears to have come under a bit of criticism. Given how much work
Merlin
requires to make it such a visual spectacle, with medieval sets,
costumes, and CGI mythical monsters, I find the production design is
decent and gets the job done, especially for a TV budget. It may not
be anything that's about to win an Oscar anytime soon, but it
achieves what it sets out for. The practical stuff, such as the
prosthetics work is really good, while the French castle that doubles
as Camelot, and the rural location work is utterly convincing. The
CGI used to bring the monsters to life is solid enough, and it
generally stays quite restrained with it, in order to improve on
what's absolutely necessary (which explains why so many people are
simply thrown against walls when attacked with magic, as opposed to
needing more CGI work).
Overall,
Merlin
is a very enjoyable fantasy series, and while it may be other shows
in this genre such as Game Of Thrones that
get all the love and attention, I'll always have a bit of a soft spot
for this show instead. Growing up with it, it provided a lot of fun
and adventure, and looking back, it's clear to see how it proved
itself to be more than just schedule filler for the BBC, but
something created with love, care and was special in its own right.
It may not be perfect, and it won't be to everyone's tastes, but even
if you're just mildly interested, then it may be very well worth
giving it a go.
Merlin
8/10