Merlin [UK-Now US-Jan]

[2099net]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a92992 ... in-us.html

I'm staggered. As far as I know, the last UK series to air on US network TV at all was The Avengers in the 60's.

That said, I think this Merlin will be a bit rubbish really - Robin Hood was underwhelming (but apparently the BBC America audience do like it).

So many good BBC TV shows to choose from, and it looks like NBC picked an sight-unseen potential clunker.

I see NBC are reportedly showing more imported shows. I wonder if this is still run-off from the writers' strike?

[Escapay]

Found a positive (more or less) review of the series, which premiered in the UK on September 20:

Suite101's Review of "Merlin"

I watched the first episode already (thank you, torrents), was especially glad to see Eve Myles (Gwen in "Torchwood"). And Colin Morgan seems very capable in the lead role of Merlin, it'll likely be a role that he'll be identified with in later years (though I'll probably always associate him in his role as emo teenager Jethro Cane in "Doctor Who"'s claustrophobic horror known as "Midnight"). The CGI dragon looks cheaper than it should, but it's John Hurt so it's forgiveable. I look forward to seeing the rest of the season, especially the third episode (with "Bionic Woman"'s Michelle Ryan as Nimueh). I'll probably watch it again when it's on NBC, if only to show that there is an audience for it here and to ensure future seasons airing in the US.

Here's hoping it becomes as popular as "Doctor Who" and "Robin Hood" and lasts just as long!

albert

[2099net]

Well I've now seen two episodes of this and I can confidently say... its more than you'll be seeing in the US come January.

It isn't very good.

Still, who knows? Apparently Robin Hood goes down a treat on BBC America. Perhaps the presence of castles will enthral the us audience for an extra week or two. Before cancellation. Because mark my words, it will be cancelled.

[Escapay]

Well I've now seen two episodes of this and I can confidently say... its more than you'll be seeing in the US come January.

It isn't very good.

Still, who knows? Apparently Robin Hood goes down a treat on BBC America. Perhaps the presence of castles will enthral the us audience for an extra week or two. Before cancellation. Because mark my words, it will be cancelled.

Aw, don't be too harsh to it, netty! I like it a lot! It's no "Doctor Who" but it is quite an enjoyable show to watch.

It's strange, though, that I'm not a fan of "Smallville", which youthefies the Superman story and has a horrible lead actor. And yet "Merlin" is exactly the same thing, but I think Colin Morgan is a more capable actor than "Smallville"'s Tom Welling.

I just hope that it does find an audience in both the UK and the US. But if "Merlin" does end up tanking (which I hope it doesn't), maybe Steve Moffat can re-introduce emo Jethro as a companion. And bring Angel Coulby over as well. They could be the next Ben & Polly, except of course, they'll actually do stuff besides scream!

I'm still puzzled as to why NBC picked it up, though I'm glad a major network did (but I would have guessed ABC or CBS). NBC is too notorious for having little patience with new shows. Perhaps if NBC "cancels" it, they'll shift it over to BBC America where it'll find a bigger audience.

albert



P.S.- Merge?

Merlin BBC show to air Prime Time on NBC!

[2099net]

Perhaps I am being a little hard of Merlin, but it's missing that certain "thing" that certain "spark" that marks good family entertainment. It all seems a bit one-dimensional. There's not really anything to keep older viewers interested. No deep emotions, no knowing humour and no metaphors for modern day problems, concerns or politics...

It's basically Hercules or Xena without any of the self-awareness that made them interesting (although to be fair, both - expecially Xena - could, if they wanted to be deeply emotional or shocking)

But then, it looks from the "Next Time" trailer from this past weeks, that we may be getting some form of metaphor (for terrorism?) as the King's men search the kingdom for sources of magic.

I hope it has a little meat to the episode, because even the "keep the magic secret" plot thread isn't paying off so far. Even if they do have a huge pay off planned, I'm concerned (especially in the competitive US market) that is moving too slowly.

Also, and this only shows how hypocritical I am, but the castle just isn't a castle. It looks cheap and fake. Now, I know I always say I can look past production values, but I find it hard with Merlin as I'm finding the actual content of Merlin to be somewhat weak.

Finally Escapay, how do you think Merlin will go down with a US audience?

P.S.

Merged.

[Escapay]

Perhaps I am being a little hard of Merlin, but it's missing that certain "thing" that certain "spark" that marks good family entertainment. It all seems a bit one-dimensional. There's not really anything to keep older viewers interested. No deep emotions, no knowing humour and no metaphors for modern day problems, concerns or politics...

Maybe that has to do more with the fact that it's early episodes, which are still trying to establish its footing and and trying to find the proper "formula" for their stories. Unfortunately, if subsequent episodes aren't any more engaging and follow the pattern of the early episodes, I can see the show being canceled (or perhaps heavily re-tooled for Season 2?).

But then, it looks from the "Next Time" trailer from this past weeks, that we may be getting some form of metaphor (for terrorism?) as the King's men search the kingdom for sources of magic.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the third episode based on the Next Time trailer. "Valiant" was a bit of a disappointment for me.

Finally Escapay, how do you think Merlin will go down with a US audience?

I think that the majority of the US audience (well, those that regularly watch network television) won't embrace the show as quickly/easily/heartedly as those who are already interested in it (and watching episodes online, like me). Network dramas today are cluttered with forensics, procedural, action, or complicated shows than lighthearted or supernatural shows. And "Merlin" is much too period for a US audience. Last time there was a successful network show that didn't take place in the present time was "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman". And that ended about 10 years ago and there really hasn't been a period drama that has been as successful. Unfortunately, I don't think that "Merlin" will be the next successful period drama for the US. At least not on broadcast television. Had it been on BBCAmerica (where it would already have an established anglophile-ish audience) it could easily have been as successful as "Robin Hood".

albert

[BelleGirl]

I've seen one episode of Merlin on BBC and wasn't to impressed. Maybe because I've seen other, better produced retellings of the Arthurian legend. I don't understand the changes they have made with regard to the original legend - sure there are many different versions of the story, but I know of none where Merlin and Arthur are about the same age - Merlin as teenage pal of Arthur instead of his wise older tutor?
Looks to me as a teenage soap opera trying to dress up as medieval mystical magic.
Escapay, I'm not sure if you can classify the story of Arthur as period drama, by the way. Yes, it takes place in the middle ages, but it's also so full of mystery and magic that you can almost call it fantasy/supernatural. And presently 'supernatural' is quite the thing isn't it?

I know that there is a mini-series about Merlin with Sam Neill. Maybe good to check this out on DVD.
-Are you telling me that British period-dramas based on books of classical authors are never broadcasted in the USA?

[Escapay]

I don't understand the changes they have made with regard to the original legend - sure there are many different versions of the story, but I know of none where Merlin and Arthur are about the same age - Merlin as teenage pal of Arthur instead of his wise older tutor?
Looks to me as a teenage soap opera trying to dress up as medieval mystical magic.

I welcome the changes, probably because it can provide a different perspective and way to tell the story, even if at first it seems like Medieval England 90210. Changing the original legend/source rarely works, but one notable example I can think about is "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman". It totally reworked several established elements of the Superman mythos to make it a more contemporary series that better reflected the 90s. There's no Fortress of Solitude, Clark doesn't know about Krypton until he's an adult, Lois is a career woman, Lex is a suave and sophisticated businessman with hair, and Clark is just a guy who happens to have superpowers (in one episode, he tells Lois, "Superman is what I do, Clark is who I am"). Plus, Jonathan Kent is alive and well, and Martha Kent is the one who designed the Supes costume. They even had a recurring storyline featuring H.G. Wells and future villain Tempus; the first story in it involved Lois & Clark making sure that the Kents found baby Clark. Plus, there's the somewhat controversial "New Krypton" story (which I wasn't too keen on, but it did bring more of Clark's people and gave Justine Bateman a great guest character).

Escapay, I'm not sure if you can classify the story of Arthur as period drama, by the way. Yes, it takes place in the middle ages, but it's also so full of mystery and magic that you can almost call it fantasy/supernatural.

I know, I just use the term "period" for anything that's not in a contemporary setting. "That '70s Show" for example, I'd probably say is a period comedy. Or "Life on Mars" is a period cop show. "Period" for me basically is just used as "past time". Perhaps a more accurate way to describe "Merlin" is with "fantasy/supernatural" preceding period drama.

And presently 'supernatural' is quite the thing isn't it?

It's slowly regaining its post-Buffy popularity, but is still getting outnumbered and overshadowed by many of the cop/procedural/legal/etc. dramas and the glut of reality shows. I'm still annoyed at CBS for canceling "Moonlight" (vampire detectives! Somewhat like "Angel" but not.), "Joan of Arcadia" (girl talks to God), and "Wolf Lake" (werewolves in a small town).

I know that there is a mini-series about Merlin with Sam Neill. Maybe good to check this out on DVD.

I've seen the "Merlin" miniseries before and always wanted to pick it up on DVD, but never get around to it. I haven't yet seen the sequel ("Merlin's Apprentice"), but I heard it's not as good, and doesn't exactly follow the first but presents an alternate "what if" timeline.

Are you telling me that British period-dramas based on books of classical authors are never broadcasted in the USA?

Usually they're relegated to PBS, A&E (well, before they went reality-crazy), and BBC America. Network television (CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW) stick with their own shows, so news of NBC picking up "Merlin" is both surprising and rare. I think one of the news articles mentioned that the last time a network picked up a UK show for first-run broadcast was CBS with "The Avengers".

Of course, we try and adapt many British shows, but it's mostly just the comedies, game, or reality shows. And most of them are adapted badly and don't last long.

albert

[2099net]

Well, this week's episode (the third) was a huge improvement on the first two. However, I feel it may be too late for the US audience when the time comes.

[BelleGirl]

Of course, we try and adapt many British shows, but it's mostly just the comedies, game, or reality shows. And most of them are adapted badly and don't last long.

albert

I've seen an Americanised adaptation of the British comedy "One foot in the Grave", called "Cosby"and starring Bill Cosby of course. Much as I like Bill Cosby, he couldn't compete with the actor in the original British series in portraying the cynical and sour pensioner (Oh, I don't believe it!), he still looked to much like Dr. Huxtable to me. I have a similar problem with the new "Merlin"series, in which the British actor from OFITG plays Merlin's tutor.
In Hollands sometimes Dutch adaptations are made of British shows, including OFITG - and that show did not last long on TV.
I wonder, wouldn't it be cheaper and better to just buy these original British comedies instead of adapting them? Or is there some language problem?

[Escapay]

Well, this week's episode (the third) was a huge improvement on the first two.

I agree.

However, I feel it may be too late for the US audience when the time comes.

Knowing NBC, that will likely be the case.

I've seen an Americanised adaptation of the British comedy "One foot in the Grave", called "Cosby"and starring Bill Cosby of course. Much as I like Bill Cosby, he couldn't compete with the actor in the original British series in portraying the cynical and sour pensioner (Oh, I don't believe it!), he still looked to much like Dr. Huxtable to me.

When I was younger, I actually thought that "Cosby" was a continuation of "The Cosby Show!" I've only seen "One Foot in the Grave" a few times on PBS, but "Cosby" just can't compare.

I have a similar problem with the new "Merlin"series, in which the British actor from OFITG plays Merlin's tutor.

I wouldn't want to fault the show for that, though. We have to be able to separate an actor from his roles, no matter how identifiable they become in it. Of course, some are too invested in the role that they carry it with them the rest of their life (Woody Allen as Woody Allen, for example). But there are many versatile actors who can take on various roles without always being stuck in the audiences' eyes as one role. I was not a big fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", but that doesn't keep me from enjoying Anthony Head's (Giles) portrayal of Uther Pendragon.

I wonder, wouldn't it be cheaper and better to just buy these original British comedies instead of adapting them?

It probably would be, but Americans often have some insane need to American-ize something.

Or is there some language problem?

Actually, on BBC America some programs are preceded by a text card that says that due to the accents, some words may not be easily understood and so they urge viewers to turn on the closed-captions. Or in some cases, they actually put subtitles for us. I was watching "Skins" the other day and they subtitled half of a conversation between Tony and Maxxie even though it could easily be understood.

albert

[2099net]

Skins will warp your fragile mind Escapay!

I think there's three reasons for the US prefering to remake British stuff.

1] Most important, Britain generally has small runs of a series. Most comedies are 6-8 half-hour episodes and some dramas can even be only two or three episodes (quaintly called mini-series in the US). We don't go in for 13-26 episode seasons generally, unless its a soap. Britain also is more lazy too - we'll give even a successful series a year or two off. I believe One Foot in the Grave had several "gap years")

2] Secondly is content. Even One Foot In the Grave would have been unsuitable for Network TV in the US at the time Cosby was made. Perhaps now it's slightly different... some new stuff sounds more daring these days.

3] Star Names. This is true in the UK too now - sadly, more and more - but part of the sell of any new series is the star name. Which is a bit silly really. Where do all these "star names" come from? From TV. So while something like the US "The Office" has several new or newish to TV actors in the cast, it needed Steve Carell. There's no way NBC could have promoted the UK Office with an entire cast of unknowns. Incidently, The Office in the UK was more or less a cast of unknowns. Only Gervais had any name value, but the shows he was in before (The 11 O'Clock Show and his own chat show on Channel 4) basically were ratings flops.

[Escapay]

Skins will warp your fragile mind Escapay!

My mind hasn't been fragile since high school.

I think there's three reasons for the US prefering to remake British stuff.

I agree with all three reasons. Especially reason 1. On BBC America, they waited until there were two seasons of ITV's Primeval before they aired it here, so that it would be a 13-week run instead of a 6-week run, a break of several months, then a 7-week run.

Sometimes I wish US shows adopted the "small run" approach for their shows (which is what some of our cable shows do), if only to allow for more shows to be developed and not rushed.

albert

[2099net]

I didn't know where else to put this, but being as we are talking about American remakes and NBC in this thread...

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2008/10/0 ... th_%26_kim

US Coupling V2?

[BelleGirl]

Escapay noted before that the last succesfull period-drama on US tv was Dr. Quinn, medicine Woman. I think that part of it's succes also had to do with the fact that it was an American series reflecting on a part of American history. Probably such a thing simply appeals more to Americans than a TV-drama set in Victorian England...

[Escapay]

Escapay noted before that the last succesfull period-drama on US tv was Dr. Quinn, medicine Woman. I think that part of it's succes also had to do with the fact that it was an American series reflecting on a part of American history.

True. But also, "Dr. Quinn" was big with women. The Mike/Sully relationship was a huge factor in its popularity.

Anyway, over at BBFC, some extras for DVD releases have been passed. A pair of video diaries and a making-of documentary. Sounds pretty solid so far.

MERLIN DVD EXTRAS - VIDEO DIARIES: CAST
Video Feature
Classified 17 October, 2008 .
Run Time 18m 57s

MERLIN - DVD EXTRAS - VIDEO DIARIES: COLIN & BRADLEY
Video Feature
Classified 17 October, 2008 .
Run Time 10m 36s

MERLIN - ... BEHIND THE MAGIC!
Video Feature
Classified 17 October, 2008 .
Run Time 31m 50s

albert

[2099net]

They're splitting the Merlin release into two sets - presumably 7 and 6 episodes each, so probably 3 disc sets. The first set will be out while the series is still on air (I think, I haven't quite done the maths)

[Escapay]

Interesting (releasing the first half of the series while it's still on the air). I wouldn't mind if some US shows did that (just so I can get my fix without waiting for the complete season set), but I'd still rather just buy the complete season in one go.

According to BBCShop, Volume 1 is episodes 1-6 (as noted on the cover art) and comes out November 24 (which comes out a few days before Episode 11, if they don't pre-empt any episodes)



So it likely is arranged like this...

Volume One:
Disc One: Episodes 1-2
Disc Two: Episodes 3-4
Disc Three: Episodes 5-6

Making Volume two this?

Volume Two:
Disc One: Episodes 7-9
Disc Two: Episodes 10-11
Disc Three: Episodes 12-13

There's no listing of special features, though since the video diaries and documentaries were classified, they will be included. But they didn't classify any audio commentaries, would be a pity if none were recorded.

Unfortunately, I doubt we'll get this States-side until after its NBC airing (however long or short it is). And when it comes, I have a feeling it'll likely be the volume discs - encoded for R1 - combined into one package.

I'd rather they re-author the discs like this for a complete series:

Disc One: Episodes 1-3
Disc Two: Episodes 4-7
Disc Three: Episodes 8-10
Disc Four: Episodes 11-13
Disc Five: Special Features

It gets more episodes per disc and is one less disc than the volume sets.

albert

[2099net]

The BBC often releases DVDs while a series is still on air or just finished - I got my Life in Cold Blood DVD the week before the last episode aired. And Love Soup S2 2 weeks before the series ended on TV (though to be fair, the TV showing was delayed a few weeks at the last minute so the original plan was probably to have the DVD set released just after the series ended on TV). And of course the vanilla Doctor Who's are out as the season keeps airing.

I read somewhere that this was a deliberate strategy by the BBC to combat pirate releases - in theory TV programmes are easier to obtain in high quality and duplicate than films, so TV sets (which always have been a large part of the sell-through market here - our VHS TV sell through market was huge going back 10 years or so).

As for Merlin, I'm sure the US release will be a single boxset. I'm also sure the UK will get a single boxset too. However in both cases, I expect the episode and disc allocations to remain the same (that's why Torchwood "complete and with more extras" still got 7 discs - and incredibly is still 6 discs on Blu-ray and HD DVD - My guess is the BBC don't want to sell a "complete" package on less discs than the inferior releases so people may think the more expensive release offers poorer value for money.

Escapay, I thought the presence of multiple video dairies would have upset you, give Who's shortcomings this year.

[Escapay]

I read somewhere that this was a deliberate strategy by the BBC to combat pirate releases - in theory TV programmes are easier to obtain in high quality and duplicate than films

Ah, that makes sense. I wonder if the US will ever adopt that policy. The only caveat of that is that people who buy the volume DVDs will feel rather cheated when a complete season release comes out, even if they knew it would. Just like people who buy season sets and get annoyed when a Complete Series boxset comes out with additional features. A part of me is like, "Well, you knew it was coming, so it's your fault" but then the other part is like, "Well, piss on the studio for taking your money again!"

Still, I wouldn't mind having volume releases, especially for some TV shows where I probably won't care to buy a complete season, or would rather just have the episodes without any extras. For example, "NCIS" is a US show I watch every so often (it's on against "House") but I'm not devoted enough to want to buy the season sets and don't really care for the extras on its DVDs, which is why I've never bought them. But if they ever did volume sets, or single-disc vanillas of 4-episodes, I'd probably buy a vanilla or two that had episodes I enjoyed greatly, or that I know I'd want to rewatch again.

As for Merlin, I'm sure the US release will be a single boxset. I'm also sure the UK will get a single boxset too. However in both cases, I expect the episode and disc allocations to remain the same

Damn. So it'll be a six-disc set when at most all they need is four. If there are additional extras on Volume 2 (more video diaries and a few featurettes about stuff like set design or costumes?), then five would be good (to put all the extras on one disc).

Escapay, I thought the presence of multiple video dairies would have upset you, give Who's shortcomings this year.

I'm still upset at "Doctor Who" not getting them, but I'm really enjoying "Merlin" so I'm glad that they have video diaries, as those are a fun type of extra that serves several purposes that a sit-down interview wouldn't do justice to. It's raw (well, sometimes), so you experience what they do as if you're "in the moment". And when they sit and talk to the camera on their own, it's not rehearsed or prompted by questions (at least I hope not), so it can sometimes be more honest and candid than a sit-down interview. Also, it's just a general goofiness of "Hey, I've got a video camera, look over here guys!".

albert