Back To Camelot: Merlin Series 1 discussion thread (beginning Saturday 5th January)

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  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    Always made me laugh that Gwen takes all those measurements from Lancelot yet doesn't write any of them down. And what exactly is she 'sewing' for him? The chainmail you see him wearing?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 67
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    Ahhh ..... I Love absolutely Love Lancelot & Gwen's first meeting ....... they can hear The Music too I can see it in their eyes
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    God Colin looks so young.

    Ah my favourite scene. Arthur v Lance.
  • SmintSmint Posts: 4,691
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    Am watching, but on DVD with the commentary (and keep having to pause it)

    So far, loving the music, the crew caught in shot, and howling at the extras waving in the background when Arthur fights his first potential knight

    The Knights of Camelot were NOTHING compared with the Knights of the Round Table, were they? :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 167
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    GBali wrote: »
    Back to the episodes, I won't be popular with my opinion, because 'The Poisoned Chalice' is a fan favourite, but I think it's still one of the weakest episodes of the show.
    I dare saying that Ben Vanstone is a bit overrated among fans. Really, his first script for the show doesn't make sense at some points. Why does Nimueh lure Arthur into a trap? What exactly is her plan with that? We never get the answer.
    Nimueh tells Arthur that she's lost in the forest, and half a minute later she says, she knows where the rare flower can be found, because... she knows this place so well. God, Nimueh is a terribly liar, isn't she! :D

    It is the first episode by director Ed Fraiman, who can't handle some of the scenes. Merlin on his deathbed - "Arthur! Faster! Move faster!" - is the most ridiculous scene in the whole show. What was the director thinking? Not the same as the viewers, I guess.
    Also Arthur vs the giant lizard is one of the worst action sequences ever.

    On the other hand, it is the first adventure outside Camelot, and it's nice to finally see some landscapes of Albion. The conflict between Uther and Arthur and the Uther-Arthur-Morgana dynamic is nicely done an well played by the actors.

    For me the highlight of the episode is the dungeon scene with the smuggled flower. It's well directed, well cut with suitable music, and very well acted. Cheeky Arthur and Gwen playing together is hilarious.

    I think we can found a homage in Rob Lane's music. When Arthur is on his mission to collect the flower, the music quite resembles to the holy grail theme from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
    Also 'The Poisoned Chalice' is the first episode shot by fantastic DOP Dale McCready.

    Next comes the introduction of Lancelot by writer Jake Michie. Not a great episode, but watch out for the music when Lancelot confronts the griffin. 'Lancelot's Heroism' is simply one of the most beautiful themes written for television.

    It's definitely a weak plot, no argument there, and though I hadn't thought about it, I would also agree that the directing wasn't the strongest. However, the way we get to know each of the characters better, the development of the relationships between them, the well-rounded use of all the main characters, quite makes up, in my opinion, for the feebleness of the plot. Also, for some reason, Merlin's globe of light is one of my favorite instances of magic in the entire show. Perhaps because I get tired of seeing him use magic as a weapon (even a defensive one) over and over again, whilst being told repeatedly that "magic can be a force for good." It's nice to see it used in an effective but non-violent way, creating something that is simply beautiful, and so obviously benefic that even Arthur trusts it in the end.

    As for Lancelot - I actually think this is a wonderful episode, and herewith warn all those naysayers that I intend to defend it and Selfless Heroism energetically! And yes, absolutely, the music is very beautiful.
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    Avi8 wrote: »
    Always made me laugh that Gwen takes all those measurements from Lancelot yet doesn't write any of them down. And what exactly is she 'sewing' for him? The chainmail you see him wearing?
    She's the best seamstress in Camelot, she can just remember them. ;) I guess she has to sew the orange bits? And get him the right size chain mail.

    Nice sword, um, I mean broom handle, swinging. :D Not to mention a good couple of low cut tops for you Arthur/Lancelot fans. ;)
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    Smint wrote: »
    Am watching, but on DVD with the commentary (and keep having to pause it)

    So far, loving the music, the crew caught in shot, and howling at the extras waving in the background when Arthur fights his first potential knight

    The Knights of Camelot were NOTHING compared with the Knights of the Round Table, were they? :D

    You are going to have to tell me where that is later so I can see it for myself. I have never noticed that before.

    Phwoar to Arthur and Lancelot fighting with sticks. I know Santiago is better looking, and I hate Bradley's haircut in this series, but omg, the sexual tension oozing from Arthur when he fights Lancelot. I know which one I would have in that moment. :o
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    And the 'honourable' Lancelot becomes a knight, not only by lying about his parentage, but by cheating in his fight against Arthur. How does that work then? :confused: Arthur must truly be desperate for new knights.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 67
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    Broomstick fight ...... brilliantly done - and no stuntmen were involved ..... it was total Bradley & Santiago :)


    Love the village names too Greens-wood and Willow-dale have such a "shireish" ring about them
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    Avi8 wrote: »
    And the 'honourable' Lancelot becomes a knight, not only by lying about his parentage, but by cheating in his fight against Arthur. How does that work then? :confused: Arthur must truly be desperate for new knights.
    Would you call it cheating? I'm not sure I would. :confused: It was a trick I guess, but you could argue that Arthur should have been more on guard when checking him. I'm sure that Arthur does a similar thing at some point in a future episode doesn't he?

    As for being desperate for knights, if they'll only take noble born sons they must be. Especially given the death rate of the job! ;)

    Ugh! There goes Lancelot being annoying. Bloody sap! :p
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    *Trust*
    *Smash! Splinter*

    Arthur: 'Oh, Shit!' :eek:
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    Oh wow the attraction between Arthur and Morgana :rolleyes:

    That is sarcasm btw. There is none! He stares at Morgana with no interest whatsoever. I would agree that she looks at him a bit differently...

    Love the bit where Merlin asks Gwen which of the two men (L or A) she would marry if she had to. :D

    Arthur in his thriller jacket for Keren....

    Crappy action scene against the creature. What is it again? Have I missed that? Slow motion does this scene no favours. We just see Arthur making silly expressions.

    LOL at a rather odd looking man who comes in with Uther after the griffin's attack (ah right, we do know what it is called). Why is Uther so intent on not believing Gaius that it is a creature of magic?
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    I don't get Uther. Last week he's all "you are my only son, you can't risk your life." This week he's basically saying "I don't care that you say your weapons are no good, and Gaius says it'll kill you. Go and fight this thing anyway." :confused:

    My favourite line: "I stuck it full square. I wondered how it endured." Lol! :D

    Merlin practising the spell is a bit repetitive from ep 2 isn't it? Also given that at this point they have under 2 hours I don't know what Gaius means by "plenty of time".
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    Oh lol, I love Merlin's little tantrum. I had forgotten that was coming!

    And I love the fact that Arthur acknowledges that Lancelot fights like a knight and Camelot needs men like him. And lets him go...

    Oh I see. Uther won't admit the griffin is magic because it would mean using magic to fight it? Yes?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 273
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    Natarhi wrote: »
    Here's the drinking list for anyone who wants it:

    The Merlin Rewatch Drinking Game! Take 3!
    Drink every time:
    *Someone mentions Merlin and/or Arthur's destiny
    *The guards fail at guarding
    *Uther blames magic/sorcery
    *Morgana tells Arthur to do something and he complains but does it anyway
    *Arthur and Morgana flirt inappropriately/bicker or tease each other
    *Gwen flirts with Merlin and he doesn't notice
    *Merlin uses magic to save Arthur
    *(Overly) dramatic music plays
    *Warning bells are sounded
    *Gaius says "Sossery"

    Anyone watching on BBC3? Bring on Lancelot! :D

    I'm here! But only briefly! Switched performances! That list will get us all drunk!
    Avi8 wrote: »
    Always made me laugh that Gwen takes all those measurements from Lancelot yet doesn't write any of them down. And what exactly is she 'sewing' for him? The chainmail you see him wearing?

    She's making the tunic, trousers and shirt!

    Those mushrooms look so fake!
    I enjoyed Lancelot saving a stranger (Merlin), treating Gwen like a princess (M'lady and kisses her hand), Lancelot covered in sh*t was fun! Nice hairy chest, burn the shirts! :D His nobleness in defending Arthur, protecting Merlin and then his noble exit as he brought strife between Arthur and Uther. Having re-watched this epi, I found myself more attracted to Arthur than Lancelot, I think it was the great theme music of Lancelot that knocks me over! I wonder how I'll feel in the later Lancelot episode. Still, I love his nobility without being "noble". Something for the philosophers.
    Oh, whiny Merlin is great! Not so much scarf, like it! They all had more wardrobe at the beginning, like that better!
    There also seems to be more stuff on set to look at than in later seasons.
    Oh, the 2 "you did it" scenes are great!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 67
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    The dungeon set - with that tracery window - was great. I think it was a copy of a real place, and it felt "real" more so than just a made up dungeon, but they seem to have stopped using it in the later series (perhaps it was too hard to escape from) :D

    Have just realised that Arthur fights the Griffin off with lance and then fire All On His Own, he is not dependant on Merlin's magic to oh so repetitively secretly help him. Arthur does it just through skill and courage ..... he was more of King at the start than later, just as Merlin had more varied and powerful magic at the start than later on. I think this maybe why I love the first series the best, certainly if I was to be banished to The Dark Tower of Darkness and could only take one DVD box set of Merlin with me, it would be this first series
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    Yay! It's about to be my favourite bit of the episode (possibly series): Lancelot on a rearing white horse in the mist! So hilarious, it's like they were trying to be as clichéd as possible. :D
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    Violamagic wrote: »
    She's making the tunic, trousers and shirt!

    he has those already! Not the tunic over the chainmail, but surely that is one size fits all. It looks it anyway. :p
    Violamagic wrote: »
    Having re-watched this epi, I found myself more attracted to Arthur than Lancelot, I think it was the great theme music of Lancelot that knocks me over!

    OMG Viola, I can't believe you said that! I mean, yes, I agree (I did so upthread when I said that Arthur was so much more fanciable than Lancelot when they are fighting with broomsticks) but I can't believe YOU think so too. You are the great Lancelot lover. :eek::D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 273
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    The dungeon set - with that tracery window - was great. I think it was a copy of a real place, and it felt "real" more so than just a made up dungeon, but they seem to have stopped using it in the later series (perhaps it was too hard to escape from) :D

    Have just realised that Arthur fights the Griffin off with lance and then fire All On His Own, he is not dependant on Merlin's magic to oh so repetitively secretly help him. Arthur does it just through skill and courage ..... he was more of King at the start than later, just as Merlin had more varied and powerful magic at the start than later on. I think this maybe why I love the first series the best, certainly if I was to be banished to The Dark Tower of Darkness and could only take one DVD box set of Merlin with me, it would be this first series

    Totally agree with this!
    Natarhi wrote: »
    Yay! It's about to be my favourite bit of the episode (possibly series): Lancelot on a rearing white horse in the mist! So hilarious, it's like they were trying to be as clichéd as possible. :D

    But the MUSIC is what makes it so great! Love it!
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    Violamagic wrote: »
    I'm here! But only briefly! Switched performances! That list will get us all drunk!
    Glad you could pop in! :D And so far only 7 drinks, so one of the lower episodes. Not drunk here. :(
    The dungeon set - with that tracery window - was great. I think it was a copy of a real place, and it felt "real" more so than just a made up dungeon, but they seem to have stopped using it in the later series (perhaps it was too hard to escape from) :D
    I think they said something about realising how many people they were going to be throwing in the dungeons, and deciding that they should just make a set. ;)


    Arthur is being a better king (both than Uther, and than he was in series 4/5) again. Maybe we should add that to the drinking list. :p

    Aaaand...here goes Lancelot being a sap once more...
  • SmintSmint Posts: 4,691
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    Commentary is v interesting regarding the technical aspects of filming . . . but they are being VERY overgenerous regarding the CGI :D
  • NatarhiNatarhi Posts: 4,098
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    Smint wrote: »
    Commentary is v interesting regarding the technical aspects of filming . . . but they are being VERY overgenerous regarding the CGI :D
    They always are. ;) Every time someone mentions the CGI they say how wonderful it is, when really it was very bad in the early series and only up to average by the end.
    Violamagic wrote: »
    But the MUSIC is what makes it so great! Love it!
    I literally cannot watch it without dissolving into fits of laughter. :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 167
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    The dungeon set - with that tracery window - was great. I think it was a copy of a real place, and it felt "real" more so than just a made up dungeon, but they seem to have stopped using it in the later series (perhaps it was too hard to escape from) :D

    Have just realised that Arthur fights the Griffin off with lance and then fire All On His Own, he is not dependant on Merlin's magic to oh so repetitively secretly help him. Arthur does it just through skill and courage ..... he was more of King at the start than later, just as Merlin had more varied and powerful magic at the start than later on. I think this maybe why I love the first series the best, certainly if I was to be banished to The Dark Tower of Darkness and could only take one DVD box set of Merlin with me, it would be this first series

    All good points. Another example would be Merlin's command of telepathy in the previous episode; compared to that, the dream-communication with Arthur in the finale is not really a new, unprecedented power as is implied. It seems like they ran out of magical imagination at a certain point.

    The Dark Tower of Darkness, eh? But, that would require first passing through the Impenetrable Forest which is, you know, impenetrable :)
  • Avi8Avi8 Posts: 3,077
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    Awww, I loved that episode. Really enjoyed watching it again. Lovely plot that MAKES SENSE and was largely without holes, fantastic music, noble Lancelot, sweet Merlin, noble, sweet and downright thermonuclear-hot Arthur. Even Uther somewhat listened to him when he was on fire.

    Great stuff.

    Next episode: oh gosh, if you have read The Student Prince, you can never look at Edwin again in the same light.
  • Keren-HappuchKeren-Happuch Posts: 2,171
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    Avi8 wrote: »
    Phwoar to Arthur and Lancelot fighting with sticks. I know Santiago is better looking, and I hate Bradley's haircut in this series, but omg, the sexual tension oozing from Arthur when he fights Lancelot. I know which one I would have in that moment. :o

    Santiago isn't better looking....I don't think so anyway. I'm sure Natarhi will back me up! I can't watch this episode until next week as I'm snowed under with work (yeah I know I'm on here but I need something to keep me going). I have seen the sticks scene on youtube and my god, Arthur is ridiculously sexy. I didn't even notice Lancelot, it was all about Arthur for me.
    Avi8 wrote: »
    Arthur in his thriller jacket for Keren

    What jacket is that? The dark blue one? As nice as his jackets are, I think the BRCoS will always be my first love.
    Natarhi wrote: »
    I don't get Uther. Last week he's all "you are my only son, you can't risk your life." This week he's basically saying "I don't care that you say your weapons are no good, and Gaius says it'll kill you. Go and fight this thing anyway." :confused:.

    Uther's going with the flow of course, duh! :p
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