My thoughts on the 2 hour MERLIN premiere: “The Dragon’s Call” and “Valiant”
Warning: Some spoilers for the Merlin premiere, aired 6/21/09!
Verdict: I love Merlin! The actor who plays the title character is not as creepy as he seemed in the preview clip. Arthur is very cute, albeit a spoiled brat. ASH (Giles) plays a great severe ruler. Morgana (i.e. Morgan le Fay, my favorite character from the Arthurian legends) is gorgeous, and well-cast. The whole "magic is forbidden" plot is a great starting point for the story of the young wizard. All around, it was not as cheesy or predictable as I thought it might be. Plus, at the commercial break there was a sneak peak of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We got to see the entire memory of Dumbledore’s first meeting with the young Tom Riddle! You all everybody should definitely watch: Sundays at 8:00 pm on NBC! Instead of spacing the episodes out, NBC is showing two back-to-back next week, as it did for tonight’s premiere. After that, beginning the week of July 5th, only one episode will air, at 8pm. I will try to find a link to the premiere, once the video is posted, so that those who missed it can catch up. Update 6/22/09: Here is a link to catch up on the first two episodes. This looks to be a fun Summer adventure! FYI, it’s a 13 episode series, so don’t mistakenly think that it is merely a miniseries.
From left to right: King Uther (Anthony Stewart Head), Prince Arthur (Bradley James), Merlin (Colin Morgan), Gaius the physician (Richard Wilson), Morgana (Katie McGrath), Guinevere/ Gwen (Angel Coulby). Far right: Katie McGrath as Morgana.
