Prince Arthur is a huge dick

[broberfett]

Did anyone watch that new Merlin show on NBC? I saw the first two episodes. I'm not crazy about the teenage Merlin thing though I found the actor playing Merlin to be okay. Prince Arthur was an asshole. I was rooting for the guy with the snakes. They screwed up everything else about the legend so maybe Arthur can get killed off. I also noticed that the ladies were not hot. They were way below par for tv standards.

 

[wamdue]

Arthur does improve during the series, as for the girls sure by US TV standards they are unattractive, but by UK standards they are at least cute.

I hate to use the word "real woman" but its true, people can be ugly on British TV.

If we only had attractive women who dressed in designer clothes we would never get people like this on TV.

 

[captcalhoun]

you don't think Morgana's hot?!

*looks around for Excalibur*

RIGHT! you're starting now!

 

[wamdue]

you don't think Morgana's hot?!

*looks around for Excalibur*

RIGHT! you're starting now!

Morgana isnt in the early episodes all that much, she is quite underused for most of the series

 

[TGTheodore]

I HATE reworks of the Arthurian legend. In one, Merlin is the VILLAIN. In another Arthur is so dispassionate that it makes Guenevere almost look justified in cheating with Lancelot.

Stick with the Tennyson and T.H. White versions and stop "youthening" and "angsting" the legend of Arthur.

--Ted

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Stick with the Tennyson and T.H. White versions and stop "youthening" and "angsting" the legend of Arthur.

The Tennyson and White versions are reworks of the Arthurian legend. No reason why dead authors should have all the fun.

 

[Australis]

I think the whole Merlin series sucks big. The guy playing Merlin is as bland as a bowl of very bland custard, the Arthur is a stuck up ponce, Uther is completely wasted and the girls are just dull. The stories are pretty crap too.

 

[Hermiod]

Arthur does improve during the series, as for the girls sure by US TV standards they are unattractive, but by UK standards they are at least cute.

I hate to use the word "real woman" but its true, people can be ugly on British TV.

If we only had attractive women who dressed in designer clothes we would never get people like this on TV.

No Bianca is a bad thing why ?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I HATE reworks of the Arthurian legend. In one, Merlin is the VILLAIN. In another Arthur is so dispassionate that it makes Guenevere almost look justified in cheating with Lancelot.

Stick with the Tennyson and T.H. White versions and stop "youthening" and "angsting" the legend of Arthur.

--Ted

Ah, that's just stupid. Legends are legends exactly because they get retold.

 

[Tulin]

I don't know about his character but, man, is he fucking UGLY!!!

 

[Starkers]

Arthur's the best thing about Merlin!

 

[Trippy]

This is the best source material for the Arthurian legend Le Morte de Arthur

I had to translate a section of it in university

Haven't seen the show yet, but it doesn't sound promising.

 

[Australis]

Uther is the best thing about Merlin, not Arthur, the mighty Anthony Head.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

I hate to use the word "real woman" but its true, people can be ugly on British TV.

If we only had attractive women who dressed in designer clothes we would never get people like this on TV.

You are so right; I mostly watch BBC but man, are there a lot of ugly people on there, unbelievable.

 

[OmahaStar]

Well I'm disappointed in this thread. When I read the subject, I thought the word was "has" not "is".

 

[Greg Cox]

Actually, one of the neat things about British tv is that not everyone is obliged to look like a fashion model. But, yeah, my girlfriend and I sometimes joke that so-and-so has "a face for British tv."

As for MERLIN, it's worth noting that there's no such thing as Arthurian canon. People have been retelling and reworking and putting their own spin on the mythos for centuries. (Lancelot, for instance, was a relatively late addition to cycle, added, I believe, by the French!) So why expect the show to adhere religiously to Mallory or Tennyson or T.H. White or Monty Python for that matter . . . ?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I also noticed that the ladies were not hot. They were way below par for tv standards.

Did you see the same Morgana I saw? And next week, we get Michelle Ryan!

Okay, Gwen is a little plain. I tend to think that's actually the point. But did you see Morgana? Hello? Morgana?

 

[AviTrek]

Actually, one of the neat things about British tv is that not everyone is obliged to look like a fashion model. But, yeah, my girlfriend and I sometimes joke that so-and-so has "a face for British tv."

As for MERLIN, it's worth noting that there's no such thing as Arthurian canon. People have been retelling and reworking and putting their own spin on the mythos for centuries. (Lancelot, for instance, was a relatively late addition to cycle, added, I believe, by the French!) So why expect the show to adhere religiously to Mallory or Tennyson or T.H. White or Monty Python for that matter . . . ?

I don't have problems with tweaking some aspects of the legend, since it is legend and has hundreds of different variants. But I think they went to far with some of the changes. Merlin being older than Arthur is standard across pretty much every version. Also, in any version that includes Arthur's youth, it is pretty standard for Arthur to be raised away from the royal court.

 

[Greg Cox]

Maybe, but I dont think this is meant to be the definitive, authoritative version of the mythos. It's a fun, teen-friendly version like SMALLVILLE or YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES. Fretting about whether it adheres closely enough to the legends is like worrying about whether XENA accurately reflected Greek history and mythology . . . .

And given that past treatments have ranged in tone from Broadway musicals (CAMELOT), R-rated blood and guts (EXCALIBUR), and Disney cartoons (THE SWORD IN THE STONE), you've obviously got plenty of wiggle room where Arthurian adaptations are concerned!

 

[Jono]

I don't mind Arthur In MERLIN. He is a dick but he is the Prince of an entire Kingdom so I like that they made him so up himself as you would expect someone who has so much privilege would be. I think we're half way through here in Oz and you can see the Arthur of legend is in this Arthur and that it is coming more to the fore, partly thanks to the grounding he gets from Merlin.