Merlin (1998– )

The legendary wizard tells his story of his war against Queen Mab of the Sidhe and his creation of Camelot.

Stars:

Sam Neill, Helena Bonham Carter, John Gielgud

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Sam Neill	...	Merlin (3 episodes, 1998)
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Morgan Le Fey (3 episodes, 1998)
John Gielgud	...	King Constant (3 episodes, 1998)
Rutger Hauer	...	King Vortigern (3 episodes, 1998)
James Earl Jones	...	Mountain King (3 episodes, 1998)
Miranda Richardson	...	Lady of the Lake (3 episodes, 1998)

Storyline

The legend of King Arthur, this time, from the perspective of the King's Wizard, Merlin. Merlin is a creature born of pagan magic, living in a world converting to Christianity. Merlin is beside Arthur as he gains Excalibur, builds Camelot and is betrayed by his wife, Guinevere. Merlin and Arthur are both menaced by the plots of Morgan Le Fey, her son by Arthur, Mordred, and their cohorts. Through it all, Merlin tries to keep Arthur from the destructive path set by fate.

---

Plot Keywords:

merlin | camelot | magic | mordred | king | 

---

Taglines:

Imagine a world where dreams come true...and magic is real.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Action | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Merlin, o magos

Filming Locations:

Anglesey, Wales, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Entertainment, NBC Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

182 min 90 min (2 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Isabella Rossellini's voice was dubbed over Agnieszka Koson's for young Nimue.

---

Goofs

Every actor playing Merlin at different life stages has a different eye color. Baby Merlin has dark brown eyes; teen Merlin has unnaturally bright blue ones; adult Merlin has normal blue; and elderly Merlin has brown again.

---

Quotes

Merlin: Thank you my old friend, for everything.
Frik: Oh, no need to thank me. I just love happy endings.

---

Connections

References Forrest Gump (1994)

User Reviews

Geoffrey of Monmouth Shire

"I really enjoy this tale of King Arthur from Merlin's point of view. Much of this at times is based upon who invented King Arthur in his History of the kings of Britain Geoffrey of Monmouth Shire. His work was considered the definitive of Britain's history for over 600 years, even though when he found gaps in the information on that history he added what he wanted and derived King Arthur from an amalgamation of different Celtic kings that staved off the Saxon invasion for many years. Sam Neil is very effective as Merlin and Miranda Richardson gives an outstanding performance as well. King Vortigern is wonderfully played by Rutger Hauer an actor I really like and steals any scene he is in. Every character is wonderfully played and although the effects in the film are cheesy by today's standard remember this came out on TV 1998 and CG was in its infancy and cost way more then than now. Never the less this tale is one of the better drawing from all sources including Geoffrey's, and worth the watch. The scenery is splendid and the battles are effective and fairly bloody at times. I haven't watched the sequel but I have been told not to. Merlin himself as played by Sam Neil shows range of emotion and charm and a subtle sense of power that he both uses and possibly fears. Queen Mab as played by Miranda Richardson is both beautiful and dangerous and has some subtle underlying humor to her performance. Martin Short is remarkable as Frik. I also love the scene where Queen Mab visits King Vortigern and he brings her onto his lap in a almost romantic sense and her reaction on her face is both perplexing and she seems almost powerless in his hands. Rutger Hauer again here stealing the scene from an award winning actress. The complexity between the coming one God of Christianity versus the pagan ways of old as an theme here is well done, because that is what happened and played well by all on screen. I think this is a great movie filled with some humor, love, betrayal, battles won and lost of both the physical and mental including the spiritual. There is not many TV movies with kind of heart and soul and is worth the price of admission."