Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television series developed by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began its broadcast on the channel BBC One on 20 September 2008. The series is based on the Arthurian legends of the mythical wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur, but differs from traditional versions of the legend in many ways, especially the characters. It is produced by independent production company Shine Limited. After a successful first season, American broadcaster NBC began airing the programme on 21 June 2009, but after a decline in viewership, was moved to the cable network Syfy, where it began broadcast of the second season on 2 April 2010. The second season began airing on 19 September 2009 on BBC One.[2] On 5 September 2010, BFI Southbank in London previewed the first two episodes of the third season for its September Film Funday programme.[3]
The concept for Merlin was influenced by the American show Smallville, about the early years of Superman.[4] After many failed attempts to bring the programme to life,[4][5] development of the current Merlin began in late 2006,[5] with physical production beginning in March 2008.[6] The series received generally mixed reception when it began its broadcast. Critics were upset with the flat dialogue[7] and the modern look to the series.[8] One critic, in particular, called the whole concept "bland".[9] The series première drew an overnight average of 6.65 million viewers in the 19:00 slot, a final consolidated figure of 7.15 million, despite being scheduled against popular ITV series The X Factor.[10] The first series as a whole had an average of 6.32 million viewers,[11] which is fewer than Doctor Who attracted during its first series, and slightly more than those received by Robin Hood.[12] Merlin was also the fifth most watched programme on BBC iPlayer in 2008.[13] The third series of Merlin began on 11 September 2010,[14][15] with a fourth season confirmed on 25 October 2010.[16]
Merlin is a young sorceror who arrives at the city of Camelot, after his mother arranges for him to stay with Gaius, the court physician. He discovers that the king, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic and has imprisoned the last great dragon deep under the city. The dragon informs Merlin that he has an important destiny to protect Uther's son, Arthur, who will bring forth a great Kingdom. When he meets Arthur for the first time he believes that he is arrogant and Arthur views Merlin as subservient, as Merlin has to keep his magic a secret or face execution at the hands of Uther.
Morgana is Uther's ward and daughter with the power of prophetic foresight, which frightens her and which she keeps secret. Guinevere, whom she calls "Gwen", is her maid servant and close friend. The first series focused on the development of Merlin and his friendship with Arthur. The second series focuses more on development of the other cast members. Some of the central themes of the series are the budding romance between Arthur and Gwen and Morgana's struggle to control her powers, the latter eventually being corrupted by evil due to Uther's actions.
Other characters from Arthurian legend have also appeared. Lancelot longed to become a knight but was unable to do so because of his birth as a commoner. Mordred has appeared as a Druid boy who formed a bond with Morgana (in the legend he is her nephew), and it has been predicted by the dragon that Mordred will be the cause of death of Arthur (in the legend this occurred at the Battle of Camlann). Mordred and occasionally the Great Dragon refer to Merlin by his Druidic name, Emrys (the Welsh form of Ambrosius); Ambrosius Aurelianus was a historical figure that Geoffrey of Monmouth partially merged with Merlin[citation needed]. Excalibur is an ordinary sword that becomes enchanted by the Great Dragon and is later thrown into a lake (in the legends, this was the sword Nimueh gave to Arthur).
Penulis : menonton sirinya s1-s2... membuatkan aku dapat ilham untuk novel terbaru... watak Merlin sangat aku suka...kerana wajahnya yang weird and sesuai jadi young warlock yang mata bersinar apabila melancarkan sihirnya... heheheheh aku membayangkan apabila aku melancarkan kuasa semulajadi aku, iris mata aku bersinar hijau pula... hehehehehe!- sekarang aku masih menonton season 2...season 1 dah katam!
