With this review, SFScope welcomes our newest reviewer, Paul F. Cockburn, who’ll be reviewing British television for us. Welcome, Paul.
Merlin
Episode One: “The Dragon’s Call”
BBC One, Saturday 20 September 2008, 7.30PM
Written by Julian Jones
Directed by James Hawes
Created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps, and Julian Murphy
Warning: this review contains some spoilers. If you’d rather not know what the story is going to include, bookmark this page and read it after viewing.
Back in 2005, after years of media experts and industry professionals lamenting the rise of programmes targeting increasingly “niche” audiences, British television was reminded of a simple truth—that if you put well-made, family-friendly shows on at “prime time”, a surprisingly large audience is still willing to watch them. The first indicator of this was the successful debut, in 2004, of celebrity dance competition Strictly Come Dancing (exported to the US as Dancing with the Stars). However, the true ratings potential for “family friendly” television (and, more specifically, family-friendly drama) was only confirmed—and how!—by the ratings explosion that was (and continues to be) the revived Doctor Who.
Such was the unexpected success of the resurrected time traveller that it took a while for the rest of British television to catch up. The BBC’s main UK rival, ITV, wasn’t able to start broadcasting the monster-filled Primeval until 2007. Even the BBC initially floundered when it came to finding something to fill what was soon dubbed “the Doctor Who slot” during those annoying 38 weeks of the year the show wasn’t on. Following the logic that family audiences would most likely be attracted to a character with a similar iconic standing in British culture, the BBC opted for a Dominic Mingella and Foz Allan reimagining of traditional folk legend Robin Hood. Having now regenerated Sherwood Forest with reasonable success for a new generation, it’s hardly surprising that the BBC would then turn to Arthurian legend as the source for new magical adventure.
However, whereas Doctor Who needed little more than a reasonable budget and a deep oil bath to clear off the creative rust that had clogged things up over the decades, both Robin Hood and now Merlin apparently had to undergo far more serious refits in order to meet the expectations of a modern Saturday evening audience. Robin of Loxley, for example, became boy-band cute and much more reluctant to kill than any of his screen predecessors (with the possible exception of a certain black duck in the 1958 Warner Brothers cartoon “Robin Hood Daffy”). Now, there’s Merlin; forget long beards, swords pulled from stones, round tables, and all that lust-filled “fall of Camelot” malarkey—in fact, most of the familiar legend. This Merlin is a wide-eyed teenager with an engaging smile. Verging on the geeky, he’s uncertain how to deal with girls but has a clear sense of what’s right and wrong, allied with the innate cheek to stand up against the arrogant sports jocks (or Prince Arthurs) of the world—even if he ends up in the stocks getting pelted with rotten tomatoes. Hmm, not that long ago the BBC wanted to make a Young Doctor Who series. In some respects, they now have.
Of course, it’s equally difficult to view this new Merlin without thinking of a certain other highly lucrative young wizard. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter has laid down the ground rules for a generation, at least when it comes to wizards and the horrors of witchcraft. So perhaps it’s no surprise that this new family-friendly drama actually starts with a beheading and follows it up less than 10 minutes later with the voodoo-doll stabbing of a beautiful singer by a vengeful witch (played by Torchwood regular Eve Myles) who then assumes her form and is able to fool everyone unless there’s a mirror in the room. Is this really suitable for kids? Absolutely!
Although seldom in a rush, the debut episode, “The Dragon’s Call”, establishes the basics of the new series well enough—thankfully with a minimum of portentous voiceover by John Hurt. Like the original Star Wars film, there’s a cast of both older and younger characters. The reliable old hands in the cast do well: Anthony Head is rock-faced as King Uther Pendragon, while Richard Wilson brings a gentle grumpiness to his role as the perceptive court physician Gaius. And John Hurt, of course, brings a calm authority to proceedings as the voice of a beautifully realized CGI dragon, chained up within a massive cavern apparently located somewhere underneath the dungeons of Camelot.
Holding their own against these seasoned performers are several young, relatively new-to-TV actors who do well enough with the broad strokes used to outline their characters. Of course Colin Morgan (Merlin) and Bradley James (Arthur) have the most screen time—given that the series will undoubtedly focus on how their relationship develops from initial hatred and distrust to (at a guess) ultimate trust and friendship. Sadly, at least when it comes to this first episode, Angel Coubly (who plays the serving girl Gwen—full name, Guinevere!) is saddled with the role of young Merlin’s non-sexual “mate”; in contrast, at least Katie McGrath has potential as Morgana—a wannabe temptress if ever there was one!
Just as Doctor Who isn’t really science fiction, Merlin isn’t intended to be a historical drama. Yet, while I can accept glowing-eyed magic and majestic dragons, my suspension of disbelief wobbled on several occasions as these legendary characters spoke in what seemed far too modern an idiom. Given the effort the production team have put in to create their lavish, realistic medieval world, it just seems foolhardy to undercut it all by having Merlin at one point call Arthur a “prat”—yes, it’s a colloquial British terrm for a fool, but it was only officially recognised as part of the English language in the late 1960s!
That aside, this first episode of Merlin was enjoyable enough on first viewing. It’s well made; it’s colorful and loud enough to do well against all those other loud entertainment shows on Saturday evening—the BBC certainly got their money’s worth out of the orchestra, even though a more distinctive title theme could have helped. But will it be anything more than another OK show keeping the Doctor Who slot warm for Saturday night’s real magical Lord? Current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies—who is given a “thanks to…” credit on the end titles for his assistance in making the show “family friendly”—has been quoted as saying Merlin is the nearest rival the revived Doctor Who has had so far. But I’m not so sure. In reshaping Merlin so significantly for a modern audience, I can’t help but think that the BBC and production company Shine Television have actually thrown the unique mythological baby away while refilling the bath with some reheated water.