Merlin: Season 5

Three years into the reign of King Arthur Pendragon, Camelot is experiencing a golden age. The people are prospering and Arthur's attempts to forge a peace between the kingdoms of Albion appear to be bearing fruit. But Morgana is still at large, vowing to destroy the kingdom. When Mordred - whom Merlin has foreseen will kill Arthur - joins the Knights of the Round Table, the glory days of Camelot are doomed and Arthur's path is set on a road that will lead to Camlann and Avalon.

Over the course of its five seasons, Merlin has evolved from a simple kid's show to something more interesting. The show's early-evening timeslot still prevents much in the way of blood and gore from appearing, but the producers have shown a willingness over the last two seasons to embrace the Arthurian legends (even the darker elements) more wholeheartedly. They've dropped the tiresome 'comedy' episodes (which rarely raised a smile) in favour of pursuing the more dramatic parts of the storyline more intently and this has paid off.

The final season of Merlin is the show at its best. The actors have matured to the point where they can handle more dramatic storylines convincingly. In particular, the perennially under-used Angel Colby gets more to do this year as Guinevere with a disturbing multi-episode arc which tests the show's limits on what constitutes childrens' entertainment. Also well-served is newcomer Alexander Vlahos as the adult Mordred (he previously appeared in the first two seasons as a child played by Hugo's Asa Butterfield), who gets a highly satisfying storyline which avoids cliche and puts Merlin in a very difficult - and unlikable - position, which Colin Morgan rises to with skill.

Of course, the show has not lost all of its foibles. The same few patches of woodland are used to represent widely varying locales across dozens of miles. Camelot's security still has enormous holes in it. The geography of Albion still defies logic (especially when it is confirmed in the final episode that Albion - even with its Alp-like mountain ranges and vast canyons - is indeed supposed to be the island of Britain). Despite being proven right dozens of times, Merlin's suggestions and warnings are often ignored (even by those who know the true extent of his abilities). Morgana continues to be defeated every other week, leaving her as a rather toothless villain by season's end. The show also continues to have its young male cast strip to the waist at every possible opportunity, to the point of self-parody (note: may not be counted a fault by some). Some might also question the wisdom of leaving 'the big reveal' to the final episode, although it does provide Morgan and Bradley James with several of their best scenes together in the entire series. And, even though the show is more willing to push the boundaries of its audience and timeslot more freely than before, it still pulls its punches more often than might be wished.

For all of that, the show remains entertaining. The cast do good work and the writers clearly relish the fact they have a final ending to work towards. As the last few episodes tick down and several supporting cast are killed off (rather unpleasantly in some cases) the stakes are raised for a final episode that is surprisingly emotionally powerful (and truer to the legends than could have been expected a few seasons back). The ending isn't exactly wrapped up with a neat bow, although most of the questions that the series has raised are finally answered.

Merlin's final season (****) is a satisfying ending to the show. Whilst Merlin will never be counted as one of the all-time classic SFF series (and Game of Thrones has definitely stolen some of its thunder by tackling similar themes in a much more uncompromising way), it was still a fun show that evolved and matured away from its inauspicious start to become something much more interesting at the end. The season is available on two DVD box sets now, with a full-season set to follow.

MERLIN to conclude after Season 5

The currently-airing fifth season of Merlin will be the last, according to the BBC and the producers.

This news came as a bit of a surprise. When the show started in 2008 the producers claimed to have a 'five-year-plan' for the show which they would follow until its end. However, last year the producers also claimed to have ditched this plan in favour of the letting the show continue as long as it was popular, and were actively planning a sixth season and beyond.

The reasons for this about-face are unclear, but the BBC, actors and producers are all claiming that the show has come to a natural conclusion and it hasn't been cancelled. In fact, the show is still pulling in seven million viewers a week, which compares favourably to what Doctor Who does in the same timeslot.

The current favourite theory is that since the show was originally planned to last five years, the actors were only contracted for five years. When the producers decided to continue the show beyond that point, they entered contract re-negotiations with the actors. Since most of the actors (Tony Head and Richard Wilson aside) were complete unknowns when the show started, their resulting boom in profile has likely meant that they would be entitled to far more money for additional seasons, which may have made the series too expensive to produce.

Whatever, the situation, apparently the two-part season finale can effectively pull double-duty as a series closer as well. Here's hoping they knew about the end early enough to effectively close down the major storylines.

The production company are considering early ideas for a potential spin-off series, whilst the BBC are developing new dramatic projects to serve as a potential replacement next year.

Merlin: Season 4

Camelot is in crisis. King Uther is a shell of his former self, traumatised by Morgana's betrayal. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are trying to defend the kingdom from myriad threats, but they are overstretched and unable to prevent Morgana from unleashing her vengeance. It falls, once again, to Merlin to save the kingdom. But to keep his true nature secret, he must again adopt the guise of the old sorcerer Emrys, a deception that will have far-reaching and devastating consequences...


Merlin reaches its fourth and penultimate season by embracing something of a new format. The regular cast has been swollen by the addition of the Knights of the Round Table, former guest characters like Lancelot (Santiago Cabrera) and Gwaine (Eoin Macken) who are now series regulars. Uther, played as always with steely resolve by Anthony Stewart Head, has a much-diminished role as Arthur (an increasingly accomplished Bradley James) rises to the fore, now advised by his uncle, Agravaine (Nathaniel Parker, who veers unpredictably from nuanced to hammy, sometimes in the same scene). Whilst the new format is effective, there is a cynical feeling (engendered by three previous seasons of the series pulling its punches on a regular basis) that we'll be back to the 'farting monster of the week' set-up by episode four at the latest. It's therefore something of a shock when the series undergoes some massive developments in just the first few episodes, and the manner in which these developments are carried out is unexpectedly brutal.

Obviously Merlin - a show which is aimed at a audience 'from eight to eighty' as the BBC puts it - isn't going to go all Game of Thrones and start dropping beheadings and incest on us. But still, compared to the show's good-natured, lightweight approach in the first three seasons, this year gives the series teeth. Some recurring characters are killed off and there are multiple big shake-ups to the series format. The show is more serialised, with less stand-alone episodes than previously. Best of all, there are no tedious comedy episodes this year, with humour instead allowed to develop alongside more dramatic, darker storylines simultaneously. There's also more effective use of computer effects, with the producers realising that 'less is more' and making a few big, well-rendered CGI army shots is better than making lots of middling-quality ones.

There's still a few problems, however. Morgana's new secret hideout seems to be a hut about three miles from Camelot. How this has evaded detection is unclear, especially since Morgana's agent in the royal court frequently rides out (in an over-dramatic gallop) to give her detailed reports on what's going on, again with no-one noticing. There are also long-established problems that reappear, such as the same recognisable patches of forest being used for multiple scenes supposedly set in widely-separated locations. The additional issue of Camelot only appearing to have about 200 men under arms whilst all of the surrounding kingdoms can apparently muster armies in the tens of thousands in hours also recurs frequently, straining credulity.

If you can overcome these issues, Merlin's fourth season (****) emerges as the strongest year of the show yet, by a considerable margin. It is available on DVD in the UK in two volumes. A fifth and final season will air in 2012.

Merlin: Season 3

Following the events surrounding the Great Dragon's escape and aborted attack on Camelot, Morgana has disappeared and Uther has committed a great deal of his resources to finding her. Unbeknown to Uther, Morgana has joined forces with her half-sister Morgause and King Cenred, Uther's sworn enemy, and plots to return home and undermine Camelot from within. It falls to Merlin to protect the castle from this new enemy within.


Merlin's third year marks several slight changes to the established formulae from the first two seasons. The Great Dragon has escaped, although Merlin is still able to communicate with it and get its advice (although not as often as previous years; maybe John Hurt was charging too much money for his voiceover), but more notably, Morgana is now firmly in Camp Evil and is attempting to bring Camelot down from the inside. With only Merlin and Gaius aware of Morgana's evil status, much of the tension comes from the fact that Merlin cannot expose her without definitive proof, meaning circuitous plans must be enacted to save Camelot from her plans without endangering his own secrets.

This new paradigm gives rise to a larger number of better-quality episodes than the first two seasons of the series, with more tension and more of the feeling of an arc plot to events. However, this set-up is not exploited to the hilt, and Morgana's evil smirking every time something bad happens (sometimes in public, which on at least one occasion actually drives part of the plot forward) gets a little ridiculous, as does her pouty, "Curses!" moments at the end of the episode when Merlin inevitably thwarts her latest scheme. I remember Katie McGrath being one of the more promising young actors on the show in the first season, but this year she is mostly reduced to a pantomime performance that rapidly becomes tedious. It isn't helpful that she is acted off the screen by Emilia Fox as her half-sister Morgause whenever she appears (which is satisfyingly often; Fox does scene-chewing 'evil' with relish and is hugely entertaining).

A welcome new addition to the series is Gwaine, charismatically portrayed by Eoin Macken. At first he appears to be a stand-in for the missing Lancelot, but is less angst-ridden and more proactive in the story. Macken gives a great performance and adds some energy and humour to the series which it has been lacking as the main story becomes (relatively) grimmer. A less-accomplished newcomer is Tom Ellis, who does his best in the limited role of King Cenred but can't really overcome the fact that his character is a one-dimensional villain with no motivation.

The relationship between Arthur and Merlin remains core to the series, although oddly the producers seem to have retreated this year from providing fanservice (the 'bromance' scenes from Seasons 1 and 2 seem to be limited this year). This is a shame as the two actors spark off one another very well and some exchanges between them are excellent, with an added touch of dramatic gravitas added as Arthur begins to value Merlin's counsel. There is also a nod by the producers to the original legends when Merlin has to take an aging potion to pose as an evil wizard and has to toddle around with a long beard and wrinkles (and a truly ridiculous line in evil banter). Angel Courby also shows real improvement in the role of Guinevere this year. She doesn't have as much to do as previous seasons, but when she does it's usually a more substantial role as her relationship with Arthur moves more into centre-stage.

Effects-wise, Season 3 is more impressive than previous seasons. The producers were able to use MASSIVE (the computer programme developed by Weta Digital for use on the Lord of the Rings movies) to generate armies and have several pitched field battles and sieges. Whilst limited in scope (the actual CGI is nowhere near the level of that of a film, of course), these show an impressive increase in the ambition and scope of the series. There's also some great CGI creatures, particularly a hideous manticore that is more than a bit disturbing. Unfortunately, the two-year-old Great Dragon CG model is now looking a bit ropey outside of its dark cavern, especially in daylight, and could do with an overhaul.

On the minus side, Season 3 does have a tiresome number of 'comedy' episodes (though one, involving Gaius being possessed, makes good use of Richard Wilson's comic skills) and there is a fair bit of wheel-spinning mid-season. But at the end of the season, when the Knights of the Round Table begin to form and Morgana's treachery becomes more blatant, events build up to a dramatic finale and another gamechanging moment which hints at a different (although not too different) show next year.

Merlin: Season 3 (***½) is a more ambitious, more dramatic season than previous years, but its laudable greater ambition is undercut by some dodgy comedy episodes and staid performances. Overall, the show continues to fall far short of its full potential, but is still entertaining. It is available in the UK on DVD in two volumes. A ten-episode fourth season will air at the end of 2011.

Racial profiling in Middle-earth?

A casting director working on the two Hobbit movies has been fired after placing an advert in the local newspaper specifying the need for 'lighter-skinned' people and turning away a woman of Pakistani descent, saying she had the wrong skin colour to play a Hobbit. When the casting director was fired by Peter Jackson, who states there are no restrictions on race when applying for the role of an extra in the film.

This has triggered an interesting debate online, with some crying "Political correctness gone mad!" against others pointing out that a 2010 movie should reflect modern multicultural sensibilities against a few frothing that "Tolkien was a racist!" (Tolkien, of course, once turning down a German publisher in the 1930s asking for the reprint rights to The Hobbit, finding his questions about his racial heritage and whether he had any Jewish blood to be insulting, Tolkien going as far to say that he was sorry to not be related to that gifted people). As it turns out, though, this is a bit of a non-issue. Tolkien himself said that the Harfoots (one of the three different ethnic groups of Hobbits) had darker skin than their compatriots, as did inhabitants of southern Gondor (which had a Mediterranean climate), whilst it is likely that the men of Dale and Laketown (being in the equivalent of Eastern Europe) could also have a more multicultural feel to them as well, so even within the context of the original stories there is no reason why non-white characters could not be present.

This issue has also raised its head with regards to other recent TV projects. The BBC series Merlin was initially derided by some commentators for having a black actress playing Guenivere and not providing any accurate historical explanation for it. Later episodes have revealed that rather than being set in historical post-Roman Britain, Merlin is in fact set in an ill-defined fantasyland called 'Albion' which has a different cultural mix to the historical source of the legends (not to mention a massive mountain range dwarfing anything in the real Britain), and thus the incongruity is not particularly relevant. More to the point, Merlin is a family show aimed partially at young children, and as such showing positive female and minority role models is laudable.

We are also likely to see this issue raised again when Game of Thrones airs next year. In the books Westeros does not have an indigenous black population, although the people of Dorne have Spanish and Moorish features. The Summer Islands to the south of the continent do provide a number of black characters, however, such as King's Landing brothel-owner Chataya and her daughter (we have no word if they are in the TV series, however), the crew of a Summer Islander 'swan ship', and exiled prince Jalabher Xho, who despite being frequently mentioned hasn't even had a line of dialogue in the books so far. In Daenerys's storyline set on the eastern continent there is a much greater racial mix going on, but some fans have expressed disappointment that HBO didn't take advantage of some characters' vague descriptions and origins in the books to cast actors of colour in a higher-profile role. For example, there was a strong, 'Idris Elba for Bronn' movement for a while (Idris Elba being the excellent British actor who played Stringer Bell in The Wire and Vaughn in Ultraviolet).

An interesting debate, and one that is likely to run and run.

Merlin: Season 2

Following the defeat of the sorceress Nimueh, life in Camelot has returned to normal for young Merlin, manservant to Prince Arthur. Meanwhile, King Uther's ward, Morgana, is suffering from nightmarish dreams and visions. When it appears that only outlawed magic can give her the peace she seeks, Morgana is forced to rethink her allegiances. The Great Dragon, imprisoned beneath Camelot for twenty years, now demands that Merlin fulfil his oath to free him from his chains, but Merlin is no longer sure if he can trust the creature as he once did. The arrival of a skilled female warrior signals a transformation at Camelot as treason is unleashed and the castle is threatened with destruction from within and without.


Merlin's first season was a fairly likable show, if quite lightweight. As a family show airing at 6pm on a Saturday night and aimed squarely at the Doctor Who audience (and thus having to be suitable for all ages), it was never going to really depict the darkness and mythical power of the Arthurian legends in full force, annoying historical and legendarium 'purists', whilst other viewers felt that even given the show's limitations it wasn't really being as original and interesting as it could be (the show repeatedly pulling punches that, for example, Doctor Who wouldn't hesitate to follow to their end).

This problem is both alleviated and exasperated by the second season. The producers long ago claimed to have a planned five-season story arc, and if this is true the second season should be when more of this grand plan comes into view. In a traditional five-act story, the second is the 'rising action' following the first season's introduction of the characters and premise. To some extent this is true of the second season of Merlin. More of the show's backstory is explored, and by the end of the season it does feel like the premise has been shaken up somewhat and more of the overall shape of the series is becoming clear. At the same time, the show repeatedly continues to pull its punches and not follow through on much-needed story and character developments. By this point Merlin should be a much more proactive force in the story instead of continuing to just react to things happening around him, and the introduction of a new villainess to replace Nimueh from the first season is initially impressive but rapidly becomes slightly tedious when it turns out she's simply Nimueh Mk. II, looking magnificently evil whilst staring into scrying devices and carrying out magical plots to destroy Camelot only to be defeated and walk away muttering darkly. Fortunately, Emilia Fox is a vastly superior actress to Michelle Ryan and the writers take her story at the end of the season in a very different direction, meaning it isn't quite as dull as it could have been.

The season's biggest problem is that it once again falls too easily back on cliche. Uther is bewitched by a beautiful woman for nefarious purposes. Arthur is bewitched by a beautiful woman for nefarious purposes. Various magical creatures get loose and attack the castle and defeat Arthur and all his knights only for Merlin to dispatch them with magic. Arthur spends a surprisingly convenient amount of time unconscious or asleep whenever Merlin needs to unleash some magic, usually arriving or waking up just after Merlin's done his stuff.

Angel Courby as Guinevere has a bit more to do this season as she is given her own storyline as the Arthur/Guinevere relationship starts to get going. Surprisingly, Katie McGrath has significantly less screen-time than last year. When she is the focus of the episode, she does good work and Morgana's character does develop a lot, but she's also not in several episodes at all and in several more has nothing to do except complain about headaches. Given that she was one of the best actors in Season 1, it's surprising that she falls so much into the background in Season 2, despite her increased importance to the overall storyline.

On the plus side, the series picks up a lot in its second half (similarly to last year, actually) with a powerful confrontation between Morgana and Uther and another between Arthur and his father showing how these young actors have developed, with both McGrath and Bradley James going toe-to-toe with Anthony Stewart Head in a convincing manner. Colin Morgan is also more accomplished as Merlin this year, and handles the dramatic scenes better than last. Richard Wilson continues to give able support, and Head's depiction of an Uther slightly losing his composure and conviction in the latter part of the series is superb. John Hurt as the voice of the dragon also delivers an excellent vocal performance as the dragon's mentor-like relationship to Merlin disintegrates and they become increasingly suspicious and manipulative of one another.

After some ropey episodes including one where a shape-changed troll snogs Uther (as bad as it sounds), the season comes to a genuinely exciting three-part conclusion. Joseph Mawle (soon to be seen as Benjen Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones) joins the cast as a charismatic warlock and leader of a band of sorcerers (including Mordred, returning after his appearance in Season 1) opposed to Uther's rule who wins over Morgana to his cause. Morgause (Emilia Fox) then unleashes a plot that comes close to destroying Camelot. In order to defeat the plot Merlin has to carry out a number of heinous and morally dubious acts which saves the castle but results in the deaths of many innocents. In the final, unexpectedly epic (and CGI-laden) episode Merlin tries to make amends, only to suffer a personal tragedy in the process.

This last run of episodes isn't quite as much of a game-changer as it initially appears to be (I foresee some falling back on the established format next season), it does get the pieces moving towards their traditional places in the legend. The actors and writers up their game significantly, and an undercurrent of darkness and moral ambiguity not really seen before becomes more apparent. Whilst the second season isn't as much of a step forward as might be desired, it is nevertheless an improvement over the first season.

Merlin: Season 2 (***½) is available on DVD in the UK in two volumes. A third season has been commissioned and will start airing at the end of 2010.

Merlin: Season 1

Merlin is the BBC's latest Saturday dinner-time family drama programme, occupying the same slot as the popular Doctor Who and the somewhat less popular Robin Hood. The idea behind this new series can be seen as being somewhat the same as Robin Hood: taking an old legend and updating it for modern audiences whilst ensuring it is capable of entertaining an entire family.

This makes it sound like that Merlin would be a heavily sanitised, squeaky-clean and inoffensive programme, boring at best and a travesty at worst. To some extent those fears are realised: this isn't the Camelot of Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles, which is bloody, realistic and brutal, or the mystical exotic fantasy of John Boorman's movie Excalibur. Camelot in Merlin is very clean and everyone has great teeth. That said, it isn't quite as bland as it might first appear.

In this revamp of the traditional legend, Merlin and Arthur are both young men. Twenty years ago King Uther Pendragon united the realm under his rule, but in the process fell out with the sorcerers and witches who initially he seems to have been on good terms with. As a result sorcery is now outlawed in Camelot and anyone who uses magic is tried and executed. Uther is fanatical on this point and neither his son and heir, Arthur, nor his ward Morgana can convince him otherwise. The young Merlin, who has innate powers of magic, has left his own village due to his mother's fears that word of his abilities will get out in the small community. Gaius, Camelot's physician and an old family friend, takes Merlin under his wing. After some initially hostile confrontations with the arrogant Prince Arthur, Merlin saves his life and ends up as his manservant. He also discovers a powerful dragon chained under the castle, who informs Merlin that his destiny is to help Arthur grow into a great king and restore magic to the realm. Merlin also befriends the daughter of the castle's blacksmith, Guenivere.

The series adopts a formula that it follows throughout the first half or so of the season: a threat arises to Camelot that mundane means are unable to eliminate and Merlin must secretly use magic to deal with it without exposing himself to Uther's wrath. Often, he must ask the dragon for advice, and Gaius' internal conflict over wanting Merlin to achieve his potential and restore magic to the kingdom but also wanting him to avoid execution is usually brought into play. Whilst this rapidly becomes formulaic, it is not offensively so: the actors are all pretty decent, although not always serviced well by the scripts (Angel Courby as Gwen in particular gets a raw deal throughout) and the effects range from the impressive to the corny. For watchable hokum fun, especially for viewers with children, it's decent enough and Colin Morgan brings tremendous enthusiasm to the role of Merlin, although he does need to work a bit on the more dramatic moments.

Things get more intriguing in the second half of the season. At this point the series' backstory assumes a larger role in proceedings, and we learn more about the 'Great Purge' that saw magic outlawed from the kingdom. Anthony Stewart Head, previously best known for his role as Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had been saddle with a rather unsympathetic role as Uther earlier in the season, but he comes into his own at this point as we learn why the Purge was carried out and the reasons for the death of his wife. These revelations also throw some extra depth on the characters of Gaius (accomplished TV actor Richard Wilson) and the sorceress-priestess Nimueh (former Bionic Woman, and EastEnders star Michelle Ryan) whose previously rather random villainy is now given a convincing rationale. In another interesting move, newcomer Katie McGrath is given the chance to shine as Morgana, who begins to suffer from terrifying visions and she really delivers after having only a minor role in the first few episodes. I suspect McGrath is going to be the 'big find' of the show. Anyway, these events feed into the last few episodes of the season, as various plots by outlawed sorcerers to kill Uther and Nimueh's attempts to bring the kingdom down culminate in a major showdown between her and Merlin. The end of the season also has a clever (if not exactly unforseen) scene which places the relationship between Merlin and his dragon ex machina in a totally different light, and bodes for bad things to come in Season 2.

At its heart, Merlin is a watchable and entertaining programme which has an unfortunate tendency to dodge any moments or storylines that would entail changes to the show's format. As a result, it is hard to take any scenes of jeopardy seriously. This is not to mention the fact that, although the show plays extremely fast and loose with the Arthurian legend, we can probably guess that Arthur, Merlin, Morgana and Gwen are going to survive for some considerable time. The writers do seem to realise this and develop a habit of putting Uther in considerable danger several times, since we know that inevitably he will die at some point, but after the first couple of occasions this happens this also becomes a bit of a cheap storytelling trick.

According to the writers, they have a five-season arc for Merlin that will eventually lead it to more familiar territory, and as such we can hopefully expect the drama to darken and get more interesting next season. For now, Merlin Season 1 (***) remains awash with great potential but doesn't realise that potential in any more than a few episodes. The rest of the time it is watchable but somewhat forgettable.

The show is available on DVD in the UK in two volumes. Season 1 will begin airing on NBC in the USA in early 2009.