So I finally have gotten around to watching "Merlin", now that it's canceled (figures!). It ran for 5 seasons from 2008-2012. Each season was 13 episodes, so it won't take long to get through it.
I'm a little past the half-way mark in season 1. So far my impression is that it's a bit campy, and doesn't take itself too seriously. The visual effects are cheesy. And yet, the show does all of this in a way that gives it some charm, and makes it a fun family-oriented show.
The costuming is amusing. Most of the mail is obviously aluminum, and it looks like they used MRL (or something similar) as a source for a lot of their costuming and props.
The show has an interesting premise. It's using a young cast, telling stories of the Arthurian characters earlier in their lives, before most of the stories we know of them. It rewrites some of it to make the show structure work, while setting up for most of the main stories in the future. For instance, in the show, Uther is still alive, and is the king of Camelot. Arthur is being raised as his prince, with Morgana being Uther's ward. Uther has outlawed all use of magic, and puts magic-users to death when found, so Merlin has to keep his abilities secret. He's taken up a job as Arthur's servant, and gradually they're learning to like each other and work together, after completely disliking each other at first. Gwenivere is the blacksmith's daughter. They're all 20-somethings, not yet realizing their destinies.
It's an interesting take on the stories, which like I said gets cheesy and campy, in a fun sort of way.
