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Talk Back: NBC's "Merlin"

Talking dragons. Outlawed magic. Arrogant princes. Put-upon servants. Giles from Buffy. (Yes, I'm talking about Merlin.)

You've read my advance review of the first two episodes of Merlin, which aired last night on NBC, but I am curious to know, now that the initial installments have aired, what you thought of the fantasy drama series.

Were you drawn into the swords and sorcery world that Merlin sought to invoke while also imbuing with a hormone-laden teen drama? Did you think that the second episode was an improvement over the first? Did you find the alternately campy/cutesy tone too much to handle? Were you intrigued by the, uh, subtext in the relationship between Merlin and Arthur? Or put off by the vast changes to the well-known Arthurian legends?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week to watch again?

Talk back here.

Comments

Anonymous said…
It was soooooo bad. Yea, won't be watching on Sunday. NO WAY!
Anonymous said…
eh, it's summer... better than nothing (or another crap reality show).
Anonymous said…
I actually saw it when it aired in the UK and it improves with each episode. If you give it a chance, it turns out to be a satifying series.
Jim Ferris! said…
I've seen the entire first season of "Merlin". It may start off a bit weak but it gets better as it goes along. The last 4 episodes are great.

One important thing is disregard what is commonly held as Aurthurian Lore. It tends to pick and chose what elements are kept in place, and others are there but are different from what you expect. I consider it a telling of the Aurthurian legend sideways. For instance, in this telling Merlin and Arthur are the same age, but according to history Merlin was much older than Arthur. Lancelot, too, has only a glancing role in the first season, but according to lore played a much bigger part in Arthur's life. If you can get past those little idiosyncrasies you'll find some pretty good story telling. The second half of the season is markedly better than the first, as the actors and characters settle into their roles.
Eric said…
Watched 10 mins and then turned channel. Could be the gayest Arthur story ever. Thanks but no thanks.
Mazza said…
DIdn't watch the 1st 2 eps. Is it worth it to start watching next week???? Or will I be too lost?
Sue said…
I DVR'd it last night & haven't watched yet. I've read that it takes a few episodes to get into it. That kind of puts me off a bit, but I'm a British TV addict so I'll probably watch the entire season....or however many episode that air before it's yanked from the schedule.
Saoirse said…
I really enjoyed the first 4 episodes, after I moved past the fact that Arthurian legend is changed. It's a fun show to watch and i can't wait to see more.
Anonymous said…
Very entertaining. It is cutesy and the graphics are rather bad but the show has potential and I want to see it next week. Lots of room for character development.
Unknown said…
I think this is a great show. I admit, it started out weak but it keeps getting better and better!

I hope they pick it up for season 2 in the US- I want to see how it all plays out-

There are too many overly critical people out there! I hope they don't ruin it for the rest of us and cause NBC to drop not buy the show's season 2.
DmaGicElpi said…
A few of my friends, and I have all been obsessively watching Merlin from week to week! I hope they bring the second season of Merlin back to the US and I hope it is soon. If we had to wait until next summer that would really suck! Sure it would be better than never viewing it at all, but who wants to wait a whole year to find out what happens next in a series that you can hardly wait to find out what happens next from week to week! I hope people from the UK put up the episodes of season 2 online, so that the anxious fans here in the US can enjoy them sooner than later, or sadly, possibly ever! :(
kingtyler1992@yahoo.com said…
I LOVE THIS SHOW! I am a big credic of shows but i love this show! I hope it lasts a long time and the cast continues to do a fantastic job. MY FAVORITE SHOW!

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