Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

In its second season, BBC’s Merlin continues to give us a descent entry in the Sword and Sorcery genre and looks to usurp Legend of the Seeker as TV’s Number 1 Fantasy series.

Syfy, Fridays, 10 PM EST

By John J. Joex

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars (after 4 episodes)

This BBC produced series follows the adventure of the infamous sorcerer Merlin, though at a younger age in his life. The magician (played by Colin Morgan) comes to the city of Camelot to study under Gaius (Richard Wilson), the court physician and adviser to King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head, ex of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Merlin also finds himself as the manservant to Prince Arthur (Bradley James) who treats him with disdain, but who also shows him a sense of friendship and loyalty. Merlin learns early after arriving at Camelot that he has a destiny to assure that Arthur one day ascends to the throne, but he is hampered in this in that he must conceal his powers of sorcery because Uther has banned magic in the kingdom. Those who have not seen this show may be thinking Smallville meets King Arthur upon reading the description above, but while Merlin may borrow a few elements, it definitely is not a medieval clone of that superhero show as it eschews the teen angst angle and focuses primarily on the fantasy aspects of its premise. In fact, during its first season, the show managed to deliver some decent Sword and Sorcery tales while also establishing an ongoing story arc that should eventually culminate with Arthur’s ascension to the throne.

The second season of the series, which now airs on Syfy (NBC ran the first season last Summer), picks up pretty much right where the first season left off. Merlin is still studying under Gaius in secret and attending to Arthur’s needs the rest of the time. The episodes are mostly self-contained, though they typically advance the overall story arc just a bit each week as well, i.e., we see the budding relationship between Arthur and Guinevere as well as Morgana’s burgeoning powers. They have tended to be more formulaic this season, following the trend that the show settled into about midway through its first year, but still the series has managed to steer clear of many of the worst fantasy clichés so far. And the immaculate cast, headed by Morgan as Merlin and James as Arthur, continues to deliver spot on performances as each of the leads have become quite comfortable with their characters. In fact, with Legend of the Seeker experiencing a significant drop-off in quality during its second season, Merlin has stepped up to fill the void and should appeal to fans who may have grown weary of LotS. It may not be an excellent show, but it is very good and a decent hour’s diversion into a well developed fantasy world. Note that those who may have studied Arthurian legends or read the classic works in that vein will find little familiar here. The series takes plenty of liberties with the original tales and basically crafts its own mythology with only vague similarities to the source material. This is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you are a King Arthur purist, because the show has thus far followed a fairly organic path in establishing its lore and has managed to skirt contrivance more often than not.

The series has done well so far in its Friday night slot on Syfy and has actually averaged close to the same numbers it had during its Summer run on NBC last year. Thus, what was considered a subpar performance for the broadcast network translates into decent stats for the cable channel. In either case, since it is a BBC production, its fate is not dictated by the American networks (though decent performance Stateside definitely helps). The BBC has already picked up this one for a third season which will likely air on Syfy sometime next year. And that’s a good thing because with so few Sword and Sorcery shows on the small screen (and with Legend of the Seeker on its way out), and Merlin provides a decent entry for this genre.

Watch Full Episodes of the Merlin Online at Hulu.com

Go to TV.com for more info on the Merlin including Episode guides and Cast bios

Buy Merlin Season 1 on DVD from Amazon.com: