"There must be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot."

[daibhidc]

Just seen the first episode of BBC 1's Merlin, clearly written with the same care and attention to historic detail as Robin Hood...

Actually, it wasn't bad (but then, I liked Robin Hood). I already knew that Arthur and Merlin were going to be about the same age, but I was a bit thrown by Arthur's first appearance. Obviously, he's the kid (still unaware of his true destiny) being forced to carry a shield about, who Merlin leaps to the defence of, and the swaggering bully throwing knives at it must be Kay. Nope, Prince Arthur's the knife-thrower, the medieval equivilent of a Jerk Jock.

Uther Pendragon is still alive (no kingless decades, but then, no missing heir either), has banned magic on pain of death, and is clearly hoping to match Arthur up with his ward, Morgan. Morgan's maidservent Guenevere, on the other hand, seems to be getting set up for a "will-they won't-they" with Merlin. Morgan isn't interested in Arthur, and so far hasn't met Merlin at all.

And Merlin is getting advice from both the castle herbalist, Gaius (possibly based on Blaise), and a dragon Uther has imprisoned beneath Camelot (almost certainly a twist on the dragons of Dinas Emrys).

I enjoyed it. I've read enough Arthurian literature to know that just about everything is fluid (and if I hadn't, I'm sure scarfman would remind me). The storytelling seems fairly solid, the acting's pretty good (Tony Head's Uther and Richard Wilson's Gaius are a delight, obviously, but the younger main cast isn't bad either) and the difference between the setup here and the standard version mean that I have absolutely no idea where it's going next.

Comments

[scarfman]

no kingless decades

That varies from version to version. In Malory, Uther dies within two years of Arthur's fostering, after naming Arthur his heir in front of Merlin and all the nobles. "THEN stood the realm in great jeopardy long while" till Arthur's old enough for Merlin to tell the Archbishop of Canterbury to convene the tournament of the sword in the stone. But in White (and in Gadzikowski), Uther doesn't die till Arthur's fifteen and old enough to assume the throne. In Bradley and Stewart, Arthur is even acknowledged by Uther and gets to spend a little time with him before he dies.

I knew Smallville in Logres Merlin was coming but I didn't know it was debuting so soon. I suppose I'll have to wait till it shows up on BBCAmerica to see it. Or ... maybe if I tell qtrhorserider that Tony Head's in it, she'll find downloads for it - same as she downloads Doctor Who because David Tennant's in it ...

[sabremeister]

the acting's pretty good (Tony Head's Uther and Richard Wilson's Gaius are a delight, obviously, but the younger main cast isn't bad either)

I helped teach Angel Coulby (who plays Guenevere) to fence, during which time I saw her act (both for college productions, and for her stage fight exam). She was rather good - fluid, and with a good range of expressions.

[donbert.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Sounds awful. I'm all for another version of Arthurian myth, but does it have to be another reboot where everyone's an angsty teenager and all the major characters already know each other? (And are panting to get into each others pants... err, hose?)

I was reading that Spooks has gone down that road as well for some reason. Are we infantalising (OK, teenagerising) all of drama?

What next in teen reboots?
The Teeny Sweeney?

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

I can assure you, the first episode at least seems pretty angst-free. Merlin frets a bit about being killed if he uses magic, but there's none of Smallville's constant whining that amazin power and the desire to do what's right is some kind of curse. Well, not much.

As far as them being teens go, well as scarfman says, the standard version has Arthur taking the throne at 15. This version strikes me as a bit older than that (the actor is 24, and Merlin's only a couple of years younger, not that that proves anything (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DawsonCasting)).

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

I knew some versions did that, but I'd forgotten Sword In The Stone was one of them (must reread).

I'm not sure I ever had a clear idea of how long Uther had been dead in the baseline arc of KAITOS. In the contemporary arc, I assumed he'd died shortly after Arthur was born and that's why Arthur was fostered. And in the space arc, of course, he died shortly after Arthur's birth, but Arthur was 15 thanks to time travel.

In Merlin though, there's no fostering. Arthur is the king's son and everybody knows it. Especially Arthur.

[scarfman]

Actually in AKOTAS Uther dies just before Arthur is of age to ascend to the throne, but before Arthur can get to know him, in the baseline and and space arcs. Start here and read for about a week's worth.

Usually Arthur is fostered less because Uther has died than because his birth is too soon to be quite proper and/or to keep the heir away from the dangers of court.

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

Ah, right. Space-arc Merlin goes back in time to get the infant Arthur, and then puts him back in the time period he found him. I must have misunderstood that bit first time round.

[merryhouse.livejournal.com]

I like the way Arthur is a bit of a git but we still like him.

Ok, that's probably partly because he's Cute, but it's by no means an easy thing to do.

I wonder how much fighting Head and Wilson did over which got the With and which the And? You can imagine the scene, can't you: "ok, we've got 4 beautiful people. Now we need two Famous Actors"

I think it's very much in keeping with the spirit of the mythology - by which I mean abounding in anachronism ;-)

And so very very clean.