New Merlin on BBC

[Iasius]

Quite enjoyed episode 4, they played the love triangle well, and Arthur/Merlin interaction was fun and actually pretty amusing. The giant rat things were pretty cool idea for a beast-of-the-week too, hope we see them again.
I was less impressed with the Lancelot/Gwen interaction, clichéd and OTT, imho. I guess I'm becoming a Gwen/Arthur shipper

I'm liking this series so far. It's not thought-provoking or anything, but it's good fun.

Regarding the giant rat things, am I the only one who thought they (their look) were inspired by the mole rats in Fallout 3?

 

[KB24]

I liked it, though I wish they hadn't killed off James Cosmo. Maybe he could come back mutilated and looking for vengeance!

I do think the Lancelot/Gwen was quick, but was it true or just rebound from Arthur? Here's Lancelot, in the same situation and station as she is, someone she could be with-unlike Arthur. I liked the irony then that Lancelot leaves thinking Arthur's feelings come first. Again I think there can be enough angst at court that they wouldn't even need a villain of the week to make things interesting.

Maybe now Arthur will have a little fling with Morgana? Merlin had the quips of course, even if some don't like the romancey bits-I'm not a super shipper myslef-I think the other relationships and wit are done well. Looks like its an Uther ep next! But didn't we already have a pretty lady at court with ugly motives?

 

[Starkers]

I really enjoyed this week's. The Gwen Lancelot stuff was a touch sickly, but it was worth it for the Arthur/Merlin interplay, those two work so well off each other.

"Distract them"
"How?"
Arthur shoves Merlin out in front of the guards. Classic.

Love that Arthur tried to do the noble thing and was out nobled by Lancelot. Is he just gonna turn up once a season then?

V annoyed that we have to wait 2 weeks for the next one.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

V annoyed that we have to wait 2 weeks for the next one.

Me too. Is it really necessary to pre-empt stuff in this day and age with so many other channels to show it on?
Then again, I guess Robin Hood's finale showed people don't necessarily follow it when it moves to another channel.

 

[Starkers]

Ah well like I used to say when they did this with Who, least the series will seem to last a bit longer!

 

[KB24]

Darn I didn't know they were having a week off. I'm not in love with Lancelot, but I do wish he was about more than once a year. They've given us the rush of Gwen romance, but what about the friendship between Arthur and Lancelot? The seeds are there thus far. I like the idea of them both being the heroic and charming but conflicting types. When's Lancelot going to return to Camelot and get official respect from Uther? How about a big finale two parter battle where Lancelot rescues a mortally wounded Uther in battle and is raised up by the King?

Heh, giant small rats this week instead of the dragon!

 

[wamdue]

yes I thought it was odd Lancelot didnt stick around the end, might have been worth while keeping him around for another 3-4 episodes.

 

[cultcross]

V annoyed that we have to wait 2 weeks for the next one.

Me too. Is it really necessary to pre-empt stuff in this day and age with so many other channels to show it on?
Then again, I guess Robin Hood's finale showed people don't necessarily follow it when it moves to another channel.

The trouble is people tend to just glance at listings for the expected channel - if they don't see it, they assume it's not on. Even changing timeslot can throw people.

Because I tend to watch Merlin on iPlayer I don't even notice what channel or time it's 'really' on.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

V annoyed that we have to wait 2 weeks for the next one.

Me too. Is it really necessary to pre-empt stuff in this day and age with so many other channels to show it on?
Then again, I guess Robin Hood's finale showed people don't necessarily follow it when it moves to another channel.

The trouble is people tend to just glance at listings for the expected channel - if they don't see it, they assume it's not on. Even changing timeslot can throw people.

Because I tend to watch Merlin on iPlayer I don't even notice what channel or time it's 'really' on.

I just series link everything I watch, so I never notice the time it's on either.

 

[KB24]

Oh yes, preemptions, changing slots and time shifts can really screw a series stateside. I'm amazed you guys can follow a line up that doesn't start on the hour '6:10 or 7:20'. Americans are too impatient for that.

I said it before and I'll say it again. Lancelot should have been a regular. If you have a strong core, you don't need special villains or creatures. I wish there was a level of semi regular or recurring players! Outside of finances, is there a reason they keep the cast so tight on Merlin?

An ugly stepmother evil woman after Uther type could certainly be spread over an entire season. Merlin knows her secrets, incidents happen or are averted. People think the romance is rushed, sometimes I think the whole show is rushed. I imagine they think they have to be uick to keep younger viewers, but you can have something heavy and mature over several episodes, too.

 

[KB24]

Was there really no new episode this weekend?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Was there really no new episode this weekend?

Nope, was preempted for F1.

 

[Deckerd]

Jennnnnnssssssseeeeeeennnnnnn!

 

[cultcross]

Jennnnnnssssssseeeeeeennnnnnn!

Is almost as boring as snooker, along with the rest of car (and for that matter, horse) racing. Why are these things shown on primetime terrestrial TV?

 

[Deckerd]

I thought it was really exciting up until the last pit stops. I especially liked the gamesmanship of setting one of your opponents on fire.

 

[captcalhoun]

^

yeah, F1 qualifying that ran more than 15 fucking minutes over despite fuck-all happening cuz it was PISSING DOWN!

 

[KB24]

I'm not a racing fan at all. There's lots of American comedians who make hick jokes like, 'They're making a left turn!'

Anywho at least the next eps are a two parter. At last maybe we'll get a little more depth and no recent. On the IMDd board, there was some sort of podcast interview with the cast, and they said the Arthur and Merlin friendship was reset to attract new viewers, and they went with the Arthur/Gwen storyline so quickly because they realized they had nothing else for Gwen to do. This then, made them return to a brother/sister relationship with Morgana, because she'll have her own storyline anyway.

Kind of weird, but I didn't listen to the real thing.

 

[captcalhoun]

F1 doesn't use oval tracks like NASCAR. look at Silverstone Nurburgring or Interlagos and their layouts.

 

[KB24]

Eh, still not my cup of tea. ARe people as obsessive about this stuff across the pond as Nascar is here? Wasn't Merlin racking up 5 million viewers?

 

[captcalhoun]

HEY! Starkers! whathername Fox's episode is on November 14. She's playing a sorceress called Morgause.