It's horrible! It's terrible! It's... hilarious!

[noneuklid]

Watched an episode of Merlin on Hulu with Jess. It's a truly awful show as far as the writing goes, butchering not only Arthurian legend but generally lacking quality even in the stage combat and attention to "historical" detail that this genre of bathtub televised LARP typically shines in. The acting is substantially better; the lines are

Comments

[mnerosav]

Oh yeah. Odd little things do creep in that makes one wonder exactly how much they've really researched it, though. For example, the court genealogist is Geoffrey of Monmouth... the man who basically created the Arthurian romance as we know it now. Little touches like that pretty much convinced me that they probably know what they're riffing off of, but really don't care to stay loyal to the sources whenever they decide to do it another way. Then again, the Arthurian romance is like the Hitchhiker's Guide series -- every incarnation is different, to the point where it's a tradition to make random crap up.

[mnerosav]

Also, if I recall correctly, some versions of the lore do have Lancelot not knowing a single damned thing about his history and origins. I may be wrong on this. But skimming around points to the Vulgate Cycle as establishing this idea, when he was raised by the Lady of the Lake (hence, "du Lac").

[noneuklid]

As amusing as I find their soap-opera take on Arthurian lore, that's really not what makes the show so hilariously awful. I mean, it's really just setting... once you get past Teen Merlin, nothing else is worth more than an occasional, snerk-inducing side note.

[mnerosav]

Definitely. It's bad, but it's so amusingly bad that it's hard not to enjoy on some level.

[gillan]

hahaha

I love the phrase "televised LARP." I'd never thought of it that way but it's perfect.

[noneuklid]

What I'm trying to figure out is if I liked Hercules more because I was just the right age at the time, or if it was actually better.

[gillan]

Only rewatching it will give you that answer.

[noneuklid]

It might be too glossed by fond memories. Well, worth a shot, anyway.