Merlin 

These are the brand new adventures of Merlin, the legendary sorcerer as a young man, when he was just a servant to young Prince Arthur on the royal court of Camelot, who has soon become his best friend, and turned Arthur into a great king and a legend.

Creators:

Johnny Capps, Julian Jones, Jake Michie

Stars:

John Hurt, Colin Morgan, Bradley James

4 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
John Hurt	...	The Dragon / ... 65 episodes, 2008-2012
Colin Morgan	...	Merlin 65 episodes, 2008-2012
Bradley James	...	Arthur 65 episodes, 2008-2012
Richard Wilson	...	Gaius 65 episodes, 2008-2012
Angel Coulby	...	Gwen 65 episodes, 2008-2012
Katie McGrath	...	Morgana 65 episodes, 2008-2012
Anthony Head	...	Uther Pendragon 43 episodes, 2008-2012
Rupert Young	...	Sir Leon 39 episodes, 2009-2012
Eoin Macken	...	Sir Gwaine / ... 30 episodes, 2010-2012

Storyline

Young Merlin (Colin Morgan) is a teenager, discovering and then learning to master his magical gift. Magister Gaius (Richard Wilson), King Uther Pendragon's (Anthony Head's) learned court physician to whom he's assigned as humble page, teaches him medicine, coaches his magical self-study, and warns him of Uther's strong aversion to magic. Merlin becomes squire to the noble but imprudent crown Prince, Arthur (Bradley James), whose fate is linked with Merlin.

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Plot Keywords:

magic | mentor protege relationship | medieval times | half brother half sister relationship | merlin | 

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Taglines:

You Can't Escape Destiny.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK] NBC

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Merlin

Filming Locations:

Puzzle Wood, Perrygrove Road, Coleford, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shine, BBC Wales

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (seasons 1-3) Dolby Digital (season 4-)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Emilia Fox was pregnant during the filming of season three.

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Goofs

Constantly throughout the show we see mail clad knights being injured or killed by slashes from a sword. It's nearly impossible for a sword to penetrate chain mail and cause anything more than a bruise or broken bone, especially when slashed with the swords they're using. Even a very hard thrust with a sword against mail would have minimal effect. They might be able to break a few links with a very hard slash, but would never get through it all the way to the body.

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Quotes

The Dragon: [voiceover] In a land of myth, and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name... Merlin.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Medieval-Themed TV Shows (2015)

User Reviews

Instant fantasy, just add dragon! ....and more

First of all, if you are a really big fan of the Arthurian legend, stay away from this one. Even I, with my superficial knowledge regarding those ancient stories, could tell that this show takes quite a few 'creative liberties'. This said, it is really a rather good show. The sets and costumes are nice (though way out of time for the historic era), the storyline is interesting with a good mixture of humor and suspense salted with some adequate special effects. After just three shows in the series it is hard to judge how much depth the main characters will be able to develop, but they are all so.....likable (My favorite being the young Arthur). There are probably better ways to spend your Saturday evenings, but if you're in front of the tube anyway, you can certainly pick worse.

EDIT:

I just finished watching the ninth episode. It is hard to believe, but what appeared to be another shallow if decently made series, turned into a respectable drama show. The humor from the first three shows is still there, but as the story unfolds so do the main characters, gaining depth and subtleties and opening interesting plot opportunities.

Die hard fans of the legends will still not like it, as much of the underlying mystery gets a complete work-over (and the presence of a dragon sure doesn't help there), but as a stand-alone show, it certainly got me hooked :)

If you haven't been able to see it, because you're not from the UK and have no access to internet sources: This is definitely worth waiting for!

EDIT2 (a few years later):

Five seasons and a couple of years later I can still say that it's been a good show. Even though it eventually fed off the chemistry between the main protagonists and was weakened by the sub-par acting of what was supposed to be the main villain and antagonist, it holds its own as a work of entertainment. Good quality family entertainment!