Hit series MERLIN takes a hilarious turn in an all-new episode “Goblin’s Gold”
Comedy breaks through the dramatic overtones of the third season of MERLIN with a hilarious tale of goblins, possession and coin-licking in an episode entitled “Goblin’s Gold” premiering Friday, January 21 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy.
Hilarity ensues when Merlin accidentally lets loose a mischievous creature in the castle on an all-new episode. Entitled “Goblin’s Gold,” the episode finds a goblin taking possession of Merlin’s stately mentor Gaius, leading the once wise physician to develop a taste for gold, ale and magical jokes. The result is a suddenly bald King Uther, a scourge of flatulence sweeping the royal household, and Prince Arthur receiving a pair of donkey ears and a voice to match. Merlin must work banish the goblin back to where he came from before any real damage is done. The voice of the goblin is provided by Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley from the Harry Potter films).
For his performance as the donkey-afflicted Arthur, actor Bradley James invested some significant time researching his four-legged counterpart - and came away with a fairly realistic donkey bray to utilize in his role.
“I have YouTube to thank for that - you’d be amazed how many clips of donkeys braying you can find on there,” James admitted. “I sat there on YouTube watching and listening, and practiced while comparing myself to the computer screen. I’m sure I would’ve looked a bit crazy.”
James went so far into character as to refuse to speak - in human words - on or off set while filming his donkey-specific scenes.
“It was ridiculous enough as it was (in the performance), but I just wanted to keep that sound in my head, get it done, and then I would speak to people,” James adds. “I wanted to keep focused as I didn’t have too much experience with donkey work. So I basically just sort of tried to stay away from everybody until we were done shooting the scene.”
James’ method approach caused great amusement for his co-stars. Still, Angel Coulby, who as her character Gwen appears in a key scene with the donkey-fied version of Arthur, said everyone was supportive of James’ dedication and kept a straight face - at least while in his presence.
“It was kind of tricky because Bradley was taking it very seriously, so it would’ve been wrong to laugh at him,” Coulby recalls. “He was working so hard practicing the donkey sounds so he could do it authentically, and he chose to not talk so he could stay in that character. So every once in a while I had to go off on my own, have a giggle, then come back.”
Richard Wilson, regarded as a national treasure in the UK for his comedic performances, gets the opportunity to unleash his witty talents as Gaius in “Goblin’s Gold.” In the episode, Merlin stumbles across a secret chamber and accidentally releases a Goblin. The mischievous creature possesses Merlin’s mentor Gaius, leading the once wise physician to develop a taste for gold, ale and magical jokes.
With a suddenly bald King Uther and a scourge of flatulence sweeping the royal household, can Merlin work through the mystery and banish the Goblin back to where he came from before any real damage is done?
Anthony Head, who portrays King Uther in the series, found Wilson’s enthusiastic grasp of the possessed Gaius to be “slightly disturbing.” Moreover, Head’s character takes his share of the Goblin’s abuse, first going completely bald overnight and then receiving a bad case of flatulence. However, Head admits he enjoyed the episode’s scenes opposite Wilson, particularly when the role called for Gaius to comically slap Uther’s bald skull several times in a supposed remedy to return his hair.
“When you know somebody to be a trusted, respectable actor in a role as a dignified member of Camelot’s court, you don’t expect them to be sticking their tongue out with such enthusiasm,” Head explains. “I so enjoyed the scene that he was slapping my head that I completely blew the take. His hands were wet with the ointment and I was wearing a padded prosthetic, so he was really slapping away, and the sound and the smashing of it just gave me such a funny visual that I couldn’t help but laugh.”
Wilson, an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1994 for his contributions to the dramatic arts. The two-time BAFTA winner is best known for his iconic role as Victor Meldrew in the extremely popular UK television series One Foot in the Grave. Other TV appearances include roles in Only When I Laugh, Tutti Frutti, Born and Bred, Doctor Who and dozens of series, mini-series and TV movies.
(Information provided courtesy of Fremantle Media.)
LINK: Hilarity Ensues
Hilarity ensues when Merlin accidentally lets loose a mischievous creature in the castle on an all-new episode. Entitled “Goblin’s Gold,” the episode finds a goblin taking possession of Merlin’s stately mentor Gaius, leading the once wise physician to develop a taste for gold, ale and magical jokes. The result is a suddenly bald King Uther, a scourge of flatulence sweeping the royal household, and Prince Arthur receiving a pair of donkey ears and a voice to match. Merlin must work banish the goblin back to where he came from before any real damage is done. The voice of the goblin is provided by Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley from the Harry Potter films).
For his performance as the donkey-afflicted Arthur, actor Bradley James invested some significant time researching his four-legged counterpart - and came away with a fairly realistic donkey bray to utilize in his role.
“I have YouTube to thank for that - you’d be amazed how many clips of donkeys braying you can find on there,” James admitted. “I sat there on YouTube watching and listening, and practiced while comparing myself to the computer screen. I’m sure I would’ve looked a bit crazy.”
James went so far into character as to refuse to speak - in human words - on or off set while filming his donkey-specific scenes.
“It was ridiculous enough as it was (in the performance), but I just wanted to keep that sound in my head, get it done, and then I would speak to people,” James adds. “I wanted to keep focused as I didn’t have too much experience with donkey work. So I basically just sort of tried to stay away from everybody until we were done shooting the scene.”
James’ method approach caused great amusement for his co-stars. Still, Angel Coulby, who as her character Gwen appears in a key scene with the donkey-fied version of Arthur, said everyone was supportive of James’ dedication and kept a straight face - at least while in his presence.
“It was kind of tricky because Bradley was taking it very seriously, so it would’ve been wrong to laugh at him,” Coulby recalls. “He was working so hard practicing the donkey sounds so he could do it authentically, and he chose to not talk so he could stay in that character. So every once in a while I had to go off on my own, have a giggle, then come back.”
Richard Wilson, regarded as a national treasure in the UK for his comedic performances, gets the opportunity to unleash his witty talents as Gaius in “Goblin’s Gold.” In the episode, Merlin stumbles across a secret chamber and accidentally releases a Goblin. The mischievous creature possesses Merlin’s mentor Gaius, leading the once wise physician to develop a taste for gold, ale and magical jokes.
With a suddenly bald King Uther and a scourge of flatulence sweeping the royal household, can Merlin work through the mystery and banish the Goblin back to where he came from before any real damage is done?
Anthony Head, who portrays King Uther in the series, found Wilson’s enthusiastic grasp of the possessed Gaius to be “slightly disturbing.” Moreover, Head’s character takes his share of the Goblin’s abuse, first going completely bald overnight and then receiving a bad case of flatulence. However, Head admits he enjoyed the episode’s scenes opposite Wilson, particularly when the role called for Gaius to comically slap Uther’s bald skull several times in a supposed remedy to return his hair.
“When you know somebody to be a trusted, respectable actor in a role as a dignified member of Camelot’s court, you don’t expect them to be sticking their tongue out with such enthusiasm,” Head explains. “I so enjoyed the scene that he was slapping my head that I completely blew the take. His hands were wet with the ointment and I was wearing a padded prosthetic, so he was really slapping away, and the sound and the smashing of it just gave me such a funny visual that I couldn’t help but laugh.”
Wilson, an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1994 for his contributions to the dramatic arts. The two-time BAFTA winner is best known for his iconic role as Victor Meldrew in the extremely popular UK television series One Foot in the Grave. Other TV appearances include roles in Only When I Laugh, Tutti Frutti, Born and Bred, Doctor Who and dozens of series, mini-series and TV movies.
(Information provided courtesy of Fremantle Media.)
LINK: Hilarity Ensues