Magic and dragons and .... what?
Merlin looked so good on the trailer.
In reality, it was Robin Hood mk II, without the twangy dartboards; instead with a dragon and some other SFX. I think they may have even used the same castle sets to save money. Am disappointed.
They have also moved so far away from the actual legend it's not funny. Not funny, not legendary. 'Reimagining' apparently means 'make up whatever the hell you like.' Bonekickers was more accurate, honestly. (Actually, it was - it may have been crackers, but it was fairly well researched madness, imo). Merlin is more like a pretend medieval soap.
I cheered out loud when Gwen from Torchwood died, because she was grating on my nerves, but next the bint came back to life!!!! and then I was just irritated for the whole episode at being let down so badly by that 'magical' resurrection. 'Her' final death was, yeah, okay.
Anthony Head was great (as was Keith Allen in Robin Hood). I think that main actor who plays Merlin is doing a good job, as well. Very...understated. I look forward to seeing him in better roles in the future.
Also, I normally don't notice m/m slashy subtext, but Merlin and Arthur was just blatant. They hate each other, they fight, Merlin saves Arthur's life, then they're forced to spend their lives together blahblahblah. Merlin has to service Arthur's every need etc...In fact, I'm wondering if it might not be an actual storyline, given that there's 13 weeks of this dross to go...lots of time for a lovely romance. That last sentence was sarcastic. Sort of. But it could happen. Merlin/Guinevere clearly isn't an option - they're just, like, the bestest friends. See? There's nothing happening in the actual programme, so I'm making stuff up. Dragon-slash next, I swear. BBC - I need something to hold my interest, please.
I will give it 2 more weeks. At least I didn't misread '13' weeks as '3' like I did with Robin Hood. Then got cross because while a 3-part drama was nice and compact, the idea of 13 weeks of forest-and-castle-based nonsense was too long to tolerate.
Should I say again how disappointed I am?
In reality, it was Robin Hood mk II, without the twangy dartboards; instead with a dragon and some other SFX. I think they may have even used the same castle sets to save money. Am disappointed.
They have also moved so far away from the actual legend it's not funny. Not funny, not legendary. 'Reimagining' apparently means 'make up whatever the hell you like.' Bonekickers was more accurate, honestly. (Actually, it was - it may have been crackers, but it was fairly well researched madness, imo). Merlin is more like a pretend medieval soap.
I cheered out loud when Gwen from Torchwood died, because she was grating on my nerves, but next the bint came back to life!!!! and then I was just irritated for the whole episode at being let down so badly by that 'magical' resurrection. 'Her' final death was, yeah, okay.
Anthony Head was great (as was Keith Allen in Robin Hood). I think that main actor who plays Merlin is doing a good job, as well. Very...understated. I look forward to seeing him in better roles in the future.
Also, I normally don't notice m/m slashy subtext, but Merlin and Arthur was just blatant. They hate each other, they fight, Merlin saves Arthur's life, then they're forced to spend their lives together blahblahblah. Merlin has to service Arthur's every need etc...In fact, I'm wondering if it might not be an actual storyline, given that there's 13 weeks of this dross to go...lots of time for a lovely romance. That last sentence was sarcastic. Sort of. But it could happen. Merlin/Guinevere clearly isn't an option - they're just, like, the bestest friends. See? There's nothing happening in the actual programme, so I'm making stuff up. Dragon-slash next, I swear. BBC - I need something to hold my interest, please.
I will give it 2 more weeks. At least I didn't misread '13' weeks as '3' like I did with Robin Hood. Then got cross because while a 3-part drama was nice and compact, the idea of 13 weeks of forest-and-castle-based nonsense was too long to tolerate.
Should I say again how disappointed I am?