Merlin - "The Dragon's Call"
Wow, okay... so it took me a few hours, but I finally got to watch all of the first episode of Merlin.
Turns out the version I originally downloaded was something defective, so I only had the first couple minutes of video, followed by about 40 minutes of sound, but no visuals. Needless to say I was a bit put out, and I had to find another way to watch it.
Luckily, I discovered this website where they look as if they are going to have the whole series at some point or another. I hope so, because it's certainly faster than waiting for it to download. ^_^
Possible spoilers to follow!
Anyway, overall opinions include: it's cute, humourous and a bit silly at times, but in a good "oh that's right, this is a family-friendly-kind-of-like-lighthearted-Doctor-Who time slot" sort of way. I really love how what a sarcastic twit Merlin is, and the fact that Arthur Pendragon is an absolute arse (but again, in a cute-ish sort of way) appeals to me for some reason. Maybe it's because they are just like ordinary people. Not all hyped up in myth, like in a lot of the ways their characters have been portrayed over the years.
Merlin is going to be an arrogant twat. He's quite obviously the most powerful wizard of all time, so yeah, he's gonna have a big head about it, even while he's protesting against praise and attempting to appear modest. (Plus, Colin Morgan is absolutely adorable. It's hard not to smile when he does, even if you're thinking "oh somebody slap the impudent little thing!")
Arthur, on the other hand, is the King's son, and the future king himself. That's a lot of responsibility to have on someone's shoulders, and of course, since he's the prince, he's going to be full of himself. All those people bowing and scraping and kowtowing to him his whole life... you would be too! ^_^
I loved Morgana though... I always have been enthralled with her character, but this is a fabulous take on her. Even though you only see her maybe five minutes out of the entire episode, I can easily see how her character will play well with the others that we've been given so far. (Not that I think that Morgana is really one to play nicely with others, but she will enjoy playing with them, if that makes any sense at all.) And it's quite easy to see how her current amount of compassion and the few thoughts that she puts to voice in this episode will eventually turn her into a cold-hearted, power-hungry witch bent on destroying the lives of Arthur and Merlin. (Granted, that's a fair bit farther in the future, and no one really knows how far into that future they're going to take this series, but it's easy to see those traits buried within her already.)
An interesting turn is the fact that Guinevere (or "Gwen" as she's called) is cast in the role of Lady Morgana's handmaid. I thought that it was a very interesting choice to make, since she would be the future queen, but she is clearly the more kind-hearted and sweet of the two women. She is also a very modest woman, and clearly loves a good joke. She has a bit of her own sarcasm, but it's thinly veiled in a sweet smile, and while she may say otherwise, I think that there is a very good chance that she has a teensy little crush on Merlin. She mentioned at one point that she has hopes for Morgana to be the queen when Arthur takes the throne, and this makes me wonder where they'll have her change her mind... of course, her own reticence to ascend to the throne (regardless of her current station in life) does make it much easier for me to understand why she might have had her illicit affair with Sir Lancelot in the first place. Especially if she did not want to be queen, and she was somehow put into that position. And, as she herself said in the episode, "Who'd want to be married to Arthur?" (See above "Arthur is a prat" paragraph)
Eve Myles was absolutely brilliant and of course, as beautiful as ever! Her role as Mary Collins was expertly played out, and you can see the "compassionate evil" under her plot. And yes, I do know that that is a bit of an oxymoron, but there's just something so moving about the fact that she would go to great lengths to avenge the life of one she loved. I don't think she even really sees it as evil, or wrong, just as evening the playing field. Plus, her one-off role gave us a fabulous opportunity to see her as something other than the sometimes too-caring Gwen Cooper. (Not that I dislike Gwen, I do actually love her character, but I do sometimes wish that Rhys would just bop her one or something, since she treats him worse than the Weevils! Sorry, Torchwood rant over! ^_^) It did make me curious though... was that really Eve's voice? The soprano quality does seem a bit too good to be hers, but then, who's to say that Eve doesn't have a lovely voice in reality? Plus, with technology these days, they could easily remix her to perfection!
The plot seems a bit young, a bit too transparent, and almost as if you can see it coming, but on the other hand, I sort of like that. It gives me the chance to really enjoy the show and the characters without having to force my brain around some complex story line that will leave me hanging in suspense and endless frustration trying to sort out time lines! *cough*Doctor Who*cough*Torchwood*cough* The dialogue is good though, and made me giggle heartily!
My favorite line this week:
Arthur: I've been training to kill since I was born.
Merlin: How long were you training to be a prat?
Arthur: (slightly incredulous) You can't address me like that.
Merlin: (with a tiny, mocking bow) I'm sorry. How long were you training to be a prat, my lord?
Although I did have a tiny squee moment when I watched one scene where Arthur and Merlin end up in a bit of a scuffle. At the end of it, Arthur comments on how Merlin is 'an idiot, but a brave idiot' and then he looks at him skeptically for a moment, standing right in front of Merlin and says "There's something about you Merlin... I just can't quite put my finger on it." I did a silly little happy dance at the subtle gay moment of it all.
Of course, it's things like that that make me love British telly all the more. You wouldn't get something so obviously subtly flirtatious in the US, as they'd be afraid of 'offending the audience'. I could seriously hear the slash writers sharpening their quills! (At least, I know I was! ^_^)
All in all, I will happily wait out the week for next week's episode, and I will more than happily watch it again. I'm interested in the progression of the characters, and it's got just enough humour that I can stand to watch it three times in a row without being bored. Also, it's got a very fine underlining of almost-bawdiness that I adore.
In short, BBC1's production of Merlin gets a four jewel rating!
Turns out the version I originally downloaded was something defective, so I only had the first couple minutes of video, followed by about 40 minutes of sound, but no visuals. Needless to say I was a bit put out, and I had to find another way to watch it.
Luckily, I discovered this website where they look as if they are going to have the whole series at some point or another. I hope so, because it's certainly faster than waiting for it to download. ^_^
Possible spoilers to follow!
Anyway, overall opinions include: it's cute, humourous and a bit silly at times, but in a good "oh that's right, this is a family-friendly-kind-of-like-lighthearted-Doctor-Who time slot" sort of way. I really love how what a sarcastic twit Merlin is, and the fact that Arthur Pendragon is an absolute arse (but again, in a cute-ish sort of way) appeals to me for some reason. Maybe it's because they are just like ordinary people. Not all hyped up in myth, like in a lot of the ways their characters have been portrayed over the years.
Merlin is going to be an arrogant twat. He's quite obviously the most powerful wizard of all time, so yeah, he's gonna have a big head about it, even while he's protesting against praise and attempting to appear modest. (Plus, Colin Morgan is absolutely adorable. It's hard not to smile when he does, even if you're thinking "oh somebody slap the impudent little thing!")
Arthur, on the other hand, is the King's son, and the future king himself. That's a lot of responsibility to have on someone's shoulders, and of course, since he's the prince, he's going to be full of himself. All those people bowing and scraping and kowtowing to him his whole life... you would be too! ^_^
I loved Morgana though... I always have been enthralled with her character, but this is a fabulous take on her. Even though you only see her maybe five minutes out of the entire episode, I can easily see how her character will play well with the others that we've been given so far. (Not that I think that Morgana is really one to play nicely with others, but she will enjoy playing with them, if that makes any sense at all.) And it's quite easy to see how her current amount of compassion and the few thoughts that she puts to voice in this episode will eventually turn her into a cold-hearted, power-hungry witch bent on destroying the lives of Arthur and Merlin. (Granted, that's a fair bit farther in the future, and no one really knows how far into that future they're going to take this series, but it's easy to see those traits buried within her already.)
An interesting turn is the fact that Guinevere (or "Gwen" as she's called) is cast in the role of Lady Morgana's handmaid. I thought that it was a very interesting choice to make, since she would be the future queen, but she is clearly the more kind-hearted and sweet of the two women. She is also a very modest woman, and clearly loves a good joke. She has a bit of her own sarcasm, but it's thinly veiled in a sweet smile, and while she may say otherwise, I think that there is a very good chance that she has a teensy little crush on Merlin. She mentioned at one point that she has hopes for Morgana to be the queen when Arthur takes the throne, and this makes me wonder where they'll have her change her mind... of course, her own reticence to ascend to the throne (regardless of her current station in life) does make it much easier for me to understand why she might have had her illicit affair with Sir Lancelot in the first place. Especially if she did not want to be queen, and she was somehow put into that position. And, as she herself said in the episode, "Who'd want to be married to Arthur?" (See above "Arthur is a prat" paragraph)
Eve Myles was absolutely brilliant and of course, as beautiful as ever! Her role as Mary Collins was expertly played out, and you can see the "compassionate evil" under her plot. And yes, I do know that that is a bit of an oxymoron, but there's just something so moving about the fact that she would go to great lengths to avenge the life of one she loved. I don't think she even really sees it as evil, or wrong, just as evening the playing field. Plus, her one-off role gave us a fabulous opportunity to see her as something other than the sometimes too-caring Gwen Cooper. (Not that I dislike Gwen, I do actually love her character, but I do sometimes wish that Rhys would just bop her one or something, since she treats him worse than the Weevils! Sorry, Torchwood rant over! ^_^) It did make me curious though... was that really Eve's voice? The soprano quality does seem a bit too good to be hers, but then, who's to say that Eve doesn't have a lovely voice in reality? Plus, with technology these days, they could easily remix her to perfection!
The plot seems a bit young, a bit too transparent, and almost as if you can see it coming, but on the other hand, I sort of like that. It gives me the chance to really enjoy the show and the characters without having to force my brain around some complex story line that will leave me hanging in suspense and endless frustration trying to sort out time lines! *cough*Doctor Who*cough*Torchwood*cough* The dialogue is good though, and made me giggle heartily!
My favorite line this week:
Arthur: I've been training to kill since I was born.
Merlin: How long were you training to be a prat?
Arthur: (slightly incredulous) You can't address me like that.
Merlin: (with a tiny, mocking bow) I'm sorry. How long were you training to be a prat, my lord?
Although I did have a tiny squee moment when I watched one scene where Arthur and Merlin end up in a bit of a scuffle. At the end of it, Arthur comments on how Merlin is 'an idiot, but a brave idiot' and then he looks at him skeptically for a moment, standing right in front of Merlin and says "There's something about you Merlin... I just can't quite put my finger on it." I did a silly little happy dance at the subtle gay moment of it all.
Of course, it's things like that that make me love British telly all the more. You wouldn't get something so obviously subtly flirtatious in the US, as they'd be afraid of 'offending the audience'. I could seriously hear the slash writers sharpening their quills! (At least, I know I was! ^_^)
All in all, I will happily wait out the week for next week's episode, and I will more than happily watch it again. I'm interested in the progression of the characters, and it's got just enough humour that I can stand to watch it three times in a row without being bored. Also, it's got a very fine underlining of almost-bawdiness that I adore.
In short, BBC1's production of Merlin gets a four jewel rating!