Sexy side of that old white magic
Sexy side of that old white magic (A scanned version can be found here)
Bob Hart
691 words
5 May 2010
Daily Telegraph
Young Merlin's potions are bubbling again in Camelot for a new round of Arthurian tales, writes Bob Hart
YOUNG Merlin, played perfectly by Colin Morgan, practises his spells while, in the interest of staying alive, he keeps his emerging superpowers a deep, dark secret.
And the admirable Arthur (Bradley James) blunders around affably, confused by his growing interest in Guinevere (Angel Coulby) and fuelling a measure of healthy sexual tension.
Below stairs, a fearsome dragon that sounds, and looks, uncannily like John Hurt will give cryptic advice to Merlin and share the occasional prophecy.
Welcome to Camelot.
Or at least, pre-Arthurian Camelot where Arthur serves his apprenticeship under his heavy-handed, sorceryphobic dad, King Uther (Anthony Head), and Merlin is eased into his forbidden craft by the distinguished Gaius (Richard Wilson).
"It's great to be back in Camelot," says Morgan, who has slipped into his Merlin togs this week to start work on series three. "I've had four months off, and it all feels a bit surreal, being surrounded by all this again. Nice, though.
"We all have a blast making this series. I couldn't ask for a better acting job.
"Having great, fun people to work with every day means a lot in this business.
"So I can honestly say I'm really looking forward to this series, and any more that should come along."
Australian fans, of whom there are many, are seeing series two. And the fact that the series has been picked up by the Sci-Fi channel in the US ensures its viability for some years.
Perhaps the greatest strength of the high-spirited Merlin is that it's a British (BBC) production - beautifully written and conceived, and brought to life by fine actors.
Morgan, for example, is an accomplished stage performer who has also appeared in Doctor Who and who is in no sense a Hollywood matinee idol.
Even Angel Coulby, who has tremendous sex appeal, is hardly a conventional beauty.
It's the British knack of extracting top performances from believable people that drives this series. But on this front, Morgan had some alarming news to share.
"The Americans are planning another retelling of the Camelot legend quite soon," he says. "So I suppose we will discover, in time, just how badly it can be done. (Fei: Colin really said things lke this?)
"Our writers have certainly taken the Arthurian legends and reimagined them, and presented them in a completely new fantasy style and in a setting in which anything can happen.
They are not afraid to tell old stories in new ways.
"There may be people out there who believe it's a sin to do such a thing to a piece of our cultural heritage. But I think the series shows great respect for those legends."
The believability of the central characters - the absence of Hollywood gloss and impossibly straight teeth - extends throughout the cast, with Coulby's Guinevere Gwen for short - a delectable case in point.
Also speaking from Camelot as she comes to grips with the new series, she promises to fuel any amount of increased sexual tension.
"Be ready for some new developments in the relationship between Gwen and Arthur," she warns.
"Or perhaps that should be the start of developments, because we didn't see them together much in series one.
But now, the romance can start to evolve.
"Camelot has everything, really. And I think the way it has been realised by the BBC means that you can fall in love with the characters, a little bit.
"They have been written really well. And cast brilliantly.
"But seriously, having British actors playing these parts makes the unbelievable almost believable. Whereas if Americans were playing them, it would feel completely unreal.
"As an actress, my approach is to apply a naturalistic feel to a role like this.
"That's just my style.
"Obviously, the stories are not real: there are monsters and magic and all that stuff. But even under those conditions, our approach is to make things believable."
Bob Hart
691 words
5 May 2010
Daily Telegraph
Young Merlin's potions are bubbling again in Camelot for a new round of Arthurian tales, writes Bob Hart
YOUNG Merlin, played perfectly by Colin Morgan, practises his spells while, in the interest of staying alive, he keeps his emerging superpowers a deep, dark secret.
And the admirable Arthur (Bradley James) blunders around affably, confused by his growing interest in Guinevere (Angel Coulby) and fuelling a measure of healthy sexual tension.
Below stairs, a fearsome dragon that sounds, and looks, uncannily like John Hurt will give cryptic advice to Merlin and share the occasional prophecy.
Welcome to Camelot.
Or at least, pre-Arthurian Camelot where Arthur serves his apprenticeship under his heavy-handed, sorceryphobic dad, King Uther (Anthony Head), and Merlin is eased into his forbidden craft by the distinguished Gaius (Richard Wilson).
"It's great to be back in Camelot," says Morgan, who has slipped into his Merlin togs this week to start work on series three. "I've had four months off, and it all feels a bit surreal, being surrounded by all this again. Nice, though.
"We all have a blast making this series. I couldn't ask for a better acting job.
"Having great, fun people to work with every day means a lot in this business.
"So I can honestly say I'm really looking forward to this series, and any more that should come along."
Australian fans, of whom there are many, are seeing series two. And the fact that the series has been picked up by the Sci-Fi channel in the US ensures its viability for some years.
Perhaps the greatest strength of the high-spirited Merlin is that it's a British (BBC) production - beautifully written and conceived, and brought to life by fine actors.
Morgan, for example, is an accomplished stage performer who has also appeared in Doctor Who and who is in no sense a Hollywood matinee idol.
Even Angel Coulby, who has tremendous sex appeal, is hardly a conventional beauty.
It's the British knack of extracting top performances from believable people that drives this series. But on this front, Morgan had some alarming news to share.
"The Americans are planning another retelling of the Camelot legend quite soon," he says. "So I suppose we will discover, in time, just how badly it can be done. (Fei: Colin really said things lke this?)
"Our writers have certainly taken the Arthurian legends and reimagined them, and presented them in a completely new fantasy style and in a setting in which anything can happen.
They are not afraid to tell old stories in new ways.
"There may be people out there who believe it's a sin to do such a thing to a piece of our cultural heritage. But I think the series shows great respect for those legends."
The believability of the central characters - the absence of Hollywood gloss and impossibly straight teeth - extends throughout the cast, with Coulby's Guinevere Gwen for short - a delectable case in point.
Also speaking from Camelot as she comes to grips with the new series, she promises to fuel any amount of increased sexual tension.
"Be ready for some new developments in the relationship between Gwen and Arthur," she warns.
"Or perhaps that should be the start of developments, because we didn't see them together much in series one.
But now, the romance can start to evolve.
"Camelot has everything, really. And I think the way it has been realised by the BBC means that you can fall in love with the characters, a little bit.
"They have been written really well. And cast brilliantly.
"But seriously, having British actors playing these parts makes the unbelievable almost believable. Whereas if Americans were playing them, it would feel completely unreal.
"As an actress, my approach is to apply a naturalistic feel to a role like this.
"That's just my style.
"Obviously, the stories are not real: there are monsters and magic and all that stuff. But even under those conditions, our approach is to make things believable."