New Series: 'Camelot' on Starz

[Joolz]

Anyone else here watching this? It premiered Friday night (04/01/11) on Starz. It was actually MUCH better than I expected. If you don't have Starz and would like to check it out, the first (two-hour) episode is available at Starz' website for the series here: http://www.starz.com/Originals/Camelot/ScreeningRoom

In the PLUS column:

It's filmed in County Wicklow, Ireland, so the scenery is incredibly GORGEOUS.

The time period is more historically accurate than most Arthurian films. It seems to be set in the very early Middle Ages, not long after the fall of Rome, which is the period to which the earliest Arthur and Merlin legends date. Too often, Camelot is portrayed far too "courtly" (more in keeping with the time of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote about these legends in the mid-1100s).

Their version of Merlin seems to be going for a good composite of the two historical figures who form the basis of the Merlin legends - one was a political mastermind and brilliant battle strategist, and the other was a mystical madman poet said to have wandered in the woods. This Merlin seems, potentially, to be embracing both these aspects of Merlin.

Their Morgan is a strong woman who seems to feel the throne was rightfully hers, and this will, I think, be what fuels her anger and resentment. This is in keeping with the nature of ruling-class women of this time and place (think of Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni, who kicked Roman arses a few years prior to this). She's mean and vindictive, but maybe there's a reason for it.

Arthur is YOUNG, very young - boyish, naive, straight from the farm - and that seems realistic since they're starting out with Uther's death, and Merlin fetching the young Arthur to fill the void (pissing off Morgan, of course). I think/hope we will see both actor and character mature into the role of king as the series progresses.

In the MINUS column:

Joseph Fiennes, who plays Merlin, has a tendency to MUMBLE his lines in some sort of attempt at whispered intensity or something like that. I have to rewind and REALLY listen to catch half of what he says. This is really annoying, but I can live with it.

BOTTOM LINE:

This is, so far, a decent retelling of the Camelot legend, and I am pleasantly surprised.