Let me begin by saying that I am a fan not only of fantasy stories in general, but specifically a great admirer of John Boorman's film Excalibur(1981).
However, I warn you - do not expect the same things from "Merlin" as you would from a feature, or indeed many of the Arthurian dramas that have come before. The intention of "Merlin" is to deliver a mass-market fantasy drama serial aimed at a broad family audience.
It does this well. Many people on these forums are upset at the re-imagining of the classic Arthurian character roles (for example making Arthur and Merlin the same age, their relationship one of comradeship instead of pedagogy). This does not upset me: it excites me. In fact it is one of the show's strengths. I want to see where these characters go - what terrible tragedies and circumstances will lead them into the future I expect for them?
On the flipside, I have two serious concerns about the show: firstly that the action scenes that include monsters play poorly; and secondly that the character dilemmas are by and large contrived, then explained away in patent over-simplifications, draconic prophecy, and other slap-dash dialogs.
The latter point is the fault of the writers. There's no excuse. Character dilemma engineering is their job. They need to do it better. Characterization is also very typical.
The problem in the action department seems to be a production issue: clearly, monster fights were envisaged in a style that the budget could not properly realize. One solution is to be more imaginative in conception, both of what monsters are and how they can be filmed in action. Simply having a sword impact out of frame is not acceptable.
So... some issues. Enjoyable nonetheless. 7/10
However, I warn you - do not expect the same things from "Merlin" as you would from a feature, or indeed many of the Arthurian dramas that have come before. The intention of "Merlin" is to deliver a mass-market fantasy drama serial aimed at a broad family audience.
It does this well. Many people on these forums are upset at the re-imagining of the classic Arthurian character roles (for example making Arthur and Merlin the same age, their relationship one of comradeship instead of pedagogy). This does not upset me: it excites me. In fact it is one of the show's strengths. I want to see where these characters go - what terrible tragedies and circumstances will lead them into the future I expect for them?
On the flipside, I have two serious concerns about the show: firstly that the action scenes that include monsters play poorly; and secondly that the character dilemmas are by and large contrived, then explained away in patent over-simplifications, draconic prophecy, and other slap-dash dialogs.
The latter point is the fault of the writers. There's no excuse. Character dilemma engineering is their job. They need to do it better. Characterization is also very typical.
The problem in the action department seems to be a production issue: clearly, monster fights were envisaged in a style that the budget could not properly realize. One solution is to be more imaginative in conception, both of what monsters are and how they can be filmed in action. Simply having a sword impact out of frame is not acceptable.
So... some issues. Enjoyable nonetheless. 7/10
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