"Ah that would be a resumption. You know what happens when you make a resumption. You make a fool out of res and umption!"
Just a bit of an odd week last week. I guess I had no time. I was having too much fun with Guess Her Muff (which has links that are Not Safe For Work, but the main content is OK), if ever there was a blog that deserved to be turned in to a book... It's probably not that one, but it sure is hypnotic, after a couple of entries it becomes less about nekkid ladies and more about how good your guesses are.
I got a whole bunch of cool things for my B'Day and absolutely nothing that was in anyway uncool. Great stuff. Steve asked me what I thought of Merlin so I guess putting it here is as good a place as any.
Well, the obvious thing to say is that it's totally solid post-New-Who family entertainment. It has a talented charismatic young cast anchored by a few older types (Richard Wilson, Anthony Head and, blimey, John Hurt) who look to be having some fun with it all. The dialogue is occassionally a little stodgy with a lot of "destiny" talk, but is the main sets a nice tone that manages to be modern without being knowing or campy and is often witty. It actually helps that this is a young Merlin and Arthur as it means they can make mistakes and, you know, grow. Their youthful wrong-headedness, arrogance, etc. slowly being stripped away while more honorable qualities get revealed, meaning that it doesn't feel as static as something like Robin of Sherwood (this week: heroic Robin heroicly saves the day with his band of heroes).
As it's the BBC, the budget can't quite match the ambition and, though the CG isn't exactly embarrassing, the creatures never actually seem actually interact with the humans.
One thing that surprised me is that Merlin, the program, is not too afraid of death. It starts with a beheading and any number of minor characters pop their clogs before the end of the season in sometimes gruesome ways.
If I had to sum it up I'd probably say it was like a very British Xena and I'd mean it in a good way.
2 comments:
Glad you enjoyed Merlin. I was particularly impressed by Tony Head's portrayal of Uther. What could have been a two demensional charcter was given a certain depth. Sometimes the concerned father, occasionally the tyrant, but always the king.
I did enjoy Head. He can be very charming so that you understand why people follow him, but also he has that "Ripper" side to him which he uses very well.
I think the writers were quite clever about certain other aspects of him, too. I felt that the fight he had in Excalibur was faster and more brutal than any of the previous ones, and there were glimpses of old scars that suggested he was a real warrior-king without the need of extensive flash-backs.
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