Talk:Merlin (2008 TV series)

Merlin comes to Saturday nights on BBC one

I looks very likely that Merlin makes its premier on BBC one on Saturday 20th September. Possibly around the 7pm slot as Strickly Come Dancing also starts on that evening on BBC one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Onshore (talk • contribs) 21:23, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

I was wondering if it's gonna be double parter for each story, like Sarah Jane Adventures and not Doctor Who. I'm watching right now ( yes it's the 20th ) and I don't want it to end before we find out who the scary witch is!!!!!!!!!!!! She's taken the form of a lady who's played by Eve Myles. Eve Myles AND Anthony Head AND Julie Gardner. Any of this sound familiar? Also are there are only four episodes? OH NO!!!!!!!!!! BBBOOOOOOO HHHHHHHHHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.153.215.20 (talk) 19:16, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

What do you mean "only four episodes"? There are 13 episodes to be aired. magnius (talk) 19:59, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!! But there were only four episodes on the episode page here. I guess you guys are just waiting for information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.155.125.159 (talk) 19:26, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Character List

First of all, yes, they're all part of Doctor Who. Also, Colin Morgan was in Doctor Who too in the episode Midnight (Doctor Who). Anyway, tomorrow i plan to do a Character list, hopefully so i'm hoping nobody will do it until then. Thanks

Goku1st —Preceding unsigned comment added by Goku1st (talk • contribs) 22:15, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Disputed sentence

Thekoyaanisqatsi (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) has repeatedly added the following sentence

"The number of generations from one's grandparents down to one's children is four however."

My feeling is that, while the observation is true, picking at a minor error in a statement (made by BBC One Controller Peter Fincham) intended to get across that Merlin is a family show is not really the business of the article. We're here to write about the series, not digress into whether Peter Fincham can add up or not. However, rather than simply reverting Thekoyaanisqatsi's edit again, I thought I'd ask for other opinions on this matter. Cheers. H.G. 11:07, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

I fully agree with you, this is an article about a TV show called Merlin, it is not about picking apart the accuracy of a quote. magnius (talk) 11:27, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

I don't know where this is going, but is this to do with the inaccuracy of the show? If so, nothing has to be exact! Its just like Dragonball, people are complaining the film will suck: ITS JUST AN ADAPTION! Transformers was an adaption of the series and it rocked!! Its Arithian legend, meaning nobody knows what REALLY happened Goku1st (talk) 21:01, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

No, it's to do with something a BBC executive said, not the show itself. H.G. 21:12, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Now come on, that clearly was a "listing and", not a "logical and". So people can watch it with their grandparents, and OTHER people can watch it with their children. Then you'll get the usual 3 generations "grandparents", "parents" and "children". 85.216.118.31 (talk) 14:51, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Season Vs Series

This is one section that keeps being altered, but (as was correctly pointed out to me yesterday) this is a British TV show so the appropriate word to describe a run of this show is the term "series". "Season" is used to describe runs of American shows. magnius (talk) 13:41, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

Plot

This section contains a number of inaccuracies. The union of England did not occur in 1066 (that was the Norman Conquest) but first in the 920s - Athelstan was the first monarch to be known as the King of All Britain - and then permanently in 954. Uther's kingdom could be in Wales which a set of principalities until the 1200s and that would be more consistent with the traditional origins of Merlin and his first "historical" mentionings. The series as a whole also screws with the traditional Merlin story - for example, Merlin helped Uther bed his enemy's wife, Igraine, to father Arthur. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Logopandecteision (talk • contribs) 04:09, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Creatures

At the end of episode three, there was a preview for The Poison Chalice. It had a scene of Arthur fighting what looked like a Dimetrodon with two sails. Probably a dragon, except it didn't look like any i've ever heard of. Maybe we should include a creatures list, with the Great Dragon, the Ajanc, the Snake-Shield and the afore mentioned creature (when the episode airs). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.93.212 (talk) 18:40, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

You'll never guess WHAT! I just saw Episode 4 and it turns out that that pelycosaur-monster was a Cockatrice!!!!!!!! A blimmin' Cockatrice!!!!!!! Rowling's portrayal of this creature may have been way off the mark, but at least it resembled some sort of serpent. This so called "Cockatrice" is to much to bare!!!!!!!! Why doesn't anyone take at least the TINIEST bit of NOTICE at the original FOLKLORE????!!!!!!!!!!! That feller Ben Vanstone needs to get what he wanted right. He could always say it was some sort of small dragon. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.143.209.4 (talk) 19:32, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Tagline

The article cuurently states that the tagline is "Shh. Keep the magic a secret!". I was under the impression that it was "Shh. Keep the magic secret!". Is there a difinitive source for the tagline? 84.65.58.167 (talk) 10:22, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Really needed?

"The era in which the series is set is ambiguous; traditionally the Arthurian legends are set in the dark ages, and the idea of King Uther reigning over a small kingdom (which is present in both traditional legend and the television series) sets it before the union of England in 1066. Despite this, the castle interiors are 15th century, making the series' setting entirely inconsistent with English history, and therefore should be treated purely as fantasy fiction. Britain is never mentioned; Uther's domain is referred to by the name Albion, the oldest known name for Great Britain."

So because the castles are 15th century but the lack of union is pre-1066, this should be treated as fantasy? Not because it's got Merlin and magic and a dragon in it? This feels like someone taking the opportunity to show off their knowledge, rather than anything particularly encyclopedic: it's basically original research to try and identifythe historical setting followed by an admission that doing so isimpossible. Deletion objections, anyone?JonStrines (talk) 11:57, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

As mentioned above it's also incorrect as the union of England predates the Norman conquest. Like you say, it's obviously a fantasy not historical setting. --Joey Roe 08:59, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Categorizing episode articles

If I may suggest, please don't categorize individual episodes in Category:Arthurian film and television. If the show is successful the episode articles will quickly overload it. Category:Merlin episodes is the appropriate choice. Otto4711 (talk) 17:11, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Merlin vs traditional Arthurian legend

I think at least a small section which shows how this story has deviated from traditional Arthurian legend could be included here:

- Arthur and Merlin were not similar ages, in fact, Merlin was already an old man when Arthur was born.
- Some tales see Arthur raised by Merlin, others in the countryside.
- Merlin allows Uther to bed his enemies wife - Ygraine, who gives birth to Arthur.
- Certainly from a historical context, Arthur would never invite sons of Wessex or Northumbria to join his knights! These, being Anglo-Saxon kingdoms would have been the enemy.
- Guinevere was certainly not a handmaiden
- Morgana is generally accepted as the foe of Merlin and certainly in 'Merlin' the mini-series, she is Arthur's half sister.
- Nimueh is often cited as the Lady of the Lake and enchanter of Merlin. White43 (talk) 12:51, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Also - Mordred was the son of Arthur and Morgan Le Fey, not a druid. 87.127.178.28 (talk) 10:42, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Regarding number of viewers (online)

It is a shame that the number of online viewers is not taken into account. As many Canadians and Americans do not have access to viewing the BBC, they typically access it online via torrents or direct-downloads. I do not know if there is any site that monitors the online popularity of a show. 6 000 000 or so viewers is rather low when you consider the amount of attention the show gets relative to other shows on sites like 'zerosec.ws'. The exact link is: http://www.zerosec.ws/merlin-2008-s01e08-ws-pdtv-xvid-affinity/

So, my question is: Does anyone know where to find data on viewership on the Internet for any given show? Thanks. XJeanLuc (talk) 19:55, 9 November 2008 (UTC)