BBC's Merlin gets second season

I agree with some of the other comments. It's corny, but it's fun corny, and as the season progresses some of the episodes even start making a bid to become some darn good television. As a longtime Arthurian geek, I was pretty wary of it to start with because of the inaccuracies, but I ended up enjoying it a lot (enough to start a forum about it, lol) and my kids love it unreservedly. :)

I agree that this show is VERY cliche, a little "too" childish, and is somewhat lacking in "great" special effects. The story plot was very repetitive and got me bored five episodes into the series.

**DESPITE** these very harsh criticisms, the show is nevertheless VERY funny and has great actors. Despite its "episodic" nature, Merlin, in my opinion, was meant to be somewhat "episodic" and was meant to show adventures during the course of Merlin's young life and feature separate adventures in each episodes. This show should be treated "episodically" like CIS or Charmed, to name a few.

Overall, I think this show is a fun show to watch, but DO watch out for some repetitiveness and cheesy materials.

The fir two people who made comments on this merlin would not know talent if it bit them in the, well you know!! It was well done. It will be great to bring out the second season.

Yes, it is very much like the Smallville theme of going back to when the main characters were younger. Also Like Smallville, adding a twist to a familiar story. On Smallville, the twist is everyone knows each other before Metropolis. On Merlin, the twist is that Merlin is about the same age as Arthur.
Also like Smallville, it's a show targeted towards a younger audience. So I don't expect it to be a serious drama. I enjoy it for what it is, I don't criticize it for not being exactly what I want from a show about the Merlin and Arthur legend.

Well said about it being a superhero/ (buffy,smallville, seeker ect) and for that type of show it is well done. You can see all 13 episodes of the season at ninjavideo.com.

I don´t like american films because the stories and actors are stupid.

I´m a big fan of Merlin´s story.

What a fantastic series. Congratulations to the producers and BBC to pick up the idea. It couldn't have been better.

I have to agree with Kate. It is more Sci-Fi channel material, it would stand a better chance there for longevity. It is good family fun, we have been enjoying it on Saturday nights. It is good to see Anthony Stewart Head back on television, even if he does play Uther Pendragon.

I've really been enjoying the show. It's just good fun and doesn't take itself too seriously. Although I'm not sure where it fits on NBC. It'd probably do a lot better on a network like the CW or the Sci Fi channel. A couple of people here have said they couldn't get through the first episode, and I must agree that one drags a bit. But around episode 4 or so, the show and actors seemed to really get their bearings and settle into the characters and story. It's really quite good I think.

I would compare Merlin with Smallville... taking a common story back to when the characters were all young. Like Smallville Merlin doesn't take itself too seriously and has soap opera-ish plots and dialogue. Merlin can't use his magical powers in public, like Clark Kent, which constrains the series from requiring a high special effects budget.

It's fluff. But enjoyable fluff, if you can tolerate the cornyness.

The show isn't too bad. In fact, around episode 5 it hits a good run of episodes. The problem is, people compare it to shows that are designed to be much more complex and aimed at adults. The BBC have positioned this as family-friendly stuff (akin to Doctor Who or Robin Hood in its vibe), and that kind of programming has a cultural history in the UK. Things are different in the US. People expecting something like the Sam Neill Merlin series on NBC, with British actors in all the roles, will be disappointed. Those who like BBC America and are fond of Who or Hood, they'll get it. The cleavages of Katie McGrath and Michelle Ryan make it worthwhile, anyway.