Camelot: Season 1 [Blu-ray]

Camelot was a series that aired on the Starz Network that was a version of the King Arthur mythology. It starred Joseph Fiennes as Merlin, Jamie Campbell Bower as King Arthur, Eva Green as Morgan Pendragon, and Tamsin Egerton as Guinevere. The story is set around the sudden death of King Uther which sends the kingdom into chaos. Merlin installs Arthur as the king but his claim to the throne is challenged by his half-sister Morgan, who uses dark magic to try and take the throne. For those who get the Blu-Ray, the show looks and sounds great in HD. The 10 episodes are spread across three discs and there are a series of featurettes that range from about a minute long to nearly 15 minutes. The longest is a making-of documentary that features interviews with the cast and crew. There is also a five-minute blooper reel. A good amount of material for those who like watching the bonus features. Overall, the show was very good but was not around long enough to really establish a foothold. Green is really a stand-out as Morgan, the main antagonist of the series. It definitely has some of the main elements of the Arthurian legend, but definitely puts its own spin on the story. It does have a lot of violence and sex as many of the series on the premium cable stations have. The show was ultimately canceled not because of bad ratings but because of scheduling conflicts for Fiennes and Green. It was a well-written and acted series that should have had a longer run.

The tone and visual of this series lies somewhere between The Tudors and the first season of Spartacus: a fair heaping of graphic sex, lots of action and fighting and blood, plus sorcery and magic to boot. I thought they did a good job of making the show appeal to both women and men, which is not an easy task - could easily have too much historical emphasis and costuming & pomp, or too much blood and action. We must keep in mind there was no real King Arthur but only many myths and theories. I have seen and read many retellings and think they've done some clever and creative things in this show. They strike a nice balance between the barbaric and the noble in the lifestyle of the time - no gleaming armor, but rough furs and leather armor instead, with rough thrones and much smaller castles and armies than usually pictured. In a way, it makes every struggle more urgent and visceral when there are only a handful of men against each other in this way. They have cast some quite good actors such as Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green and others. I like this trend of movie actors doing television and especially cable which can be more intense. I also recognized some other faces such as the lead from TV's short lived "Crusoe" (really, how long could a show based on that book go on?). I hope that fans of both fantasy and action check the show out. Starz is definitely doing some interesting things and I look forward to seeing thier other upcoming shows such as Torchwood (one of my favorite shows, which I was crushed when it was cancelled).

*Two very mild spoilers below* You must understand, I am a big history buff. So when a friend and I went to the theater some time ago and I saw the trailer for this, I was both elated and saddened (as I don't have Starz.) When I learned that the brilliant mind that helped craft The Tudors, another of my favorite (albeit historically innacurate) series, I was on board, one hundred percent. And while I may have had to wait for streams to go up online to see it, you better believe I was waiting eagerly in front of my computer screen every weekend. The basic tale of King Arthur is known by all, so no need to repeat that. Here, King Uther has recently died, and his quick witted daughter Morgan sees this as her perfect opportunity to claim the throne she has so long coveted. Merlin, however, has something else in mind. Arthur, having been raised in the countryside unaware of his parentage, is quite surprised to find the sorcerer in his home spewing tales of being the son of a king. Merlin sees a future in this boy, a way to mend a country torn apart by warlord kings, and it will all start in one place, a crumbling stronghold that will stand as a beacon for a new era: Camelot. It's pretty much common knowledge that a lot of peopele don't like this series. Even as a fan, I admit there is some to be desired, and certain things could have gone better. But there is still a lot to appreciate. A big sore spot for a lot of people is the casting of Jamie Campbell Bower as the well known king. While yes, I'm sure someone out there could have carried the role better, this choice wasn't a horrible one. This Arthur is not the one we tend to immediately think of. This is a young, aloof Arthur, who doesn't know a damn thing about being king, and would frankly rather be at home with his foster family than thrust into the middle of medieval politics. Even halfway through the series, he's still coming into his own. Had the series continued, I feel like we'd have gotten to see different sides of him, and see him grow. There are, as to be expected, historical innacuracies. This is a medieval show, after all, and sometimes that is forgotten. A previous reviewer mentioned the episode where a young girl is nearly forced to offer up her virginity as compensation for the land she and her father live on. And they were right; in a teeny tiny medieval settlement like this town, this is commonplace. Even far after this time period, landowners were able require women's virginities as payment from those beneath them, and there was no denying a person who was above you in station. This is given a modern treatment of "ohhh, that poor sweet child shouldn't have to give up her virginity to the big bad man", and while in the end it turns out it is mostly because the two are secretly related, it still is something that would probably have never come to light in real life. Now, in the show's defense, as I said, this is a young Arthur, one who would probably still believe in childish idealism and who would undoubtedly take trouble with this sort of thing. On a completely different note, something that really irritated me is the big boo-boo that is Morgan's parentage. Morgan is the child of Igraine and the Duke of Cornwall, along with her sister Morgause. She is NOT a Pendragon. Despite the ups and downs, there are two shining gems that really make this show: Eva Green as Morgan, and Joseph Fiennes as Merlin. Firstly, this is a different Merlin than the wizened, bearded figure everybody imagines. This is a dark, brooding Merlin, one whose past is filled with sins and who may not be all that sane. The series seems to hint that the reason he hides his power is that it once got out of hand and killed his family, but this was never cleared up before the cancelation. Then, of course, my favorite part of the series, the goddess that is Eva Green. Not only is she stunningly beautiful, but she pulls off the role of cold, calculating enchantress like she was born for it. Really, I think that Camelot had many chips and cracks, but with a little patching up (that is, to say, more seasons) it could have had a lot of success. Every show starts off with baby steps, this one just never had a chance to work on its toddler years, so to speak.

Ya know what? Every now and then I like a different twist on an age old story. "Let's try something different for a change", say I. Well, this series does not disappoint along this line of thinking for these very reasons: King Arthur is NOT the manly Richard Burton we knew on the Broadway stage or the Richard Harris of the movie...he is an awkward teenager barely aware of his own existence on this earth who has to learn everything about being a king from the ground up as he goes along...he's a boy king who grows up to be a man and a leader of men. Guenevere is NOT a virtuous Julie Andrews or Vanessa Redgrave...she's a young woman betrothed to another who has a failing for young lads like the teenaged king! Sir Lancelot is NOT Robert Goulet or Franco Nero with a deep baritone voice...in fact, I don't think I've heard him sing even once in this series! Merlin is NOT the spritely Roddy McDowell or clever Laurence Naismith...he is a believable "magician" of curious and questionable background who successfully uses his magic only to serve and protect the new king, yet he is shown to have vulnerabilities and human frailties at certain points in the story...he is NOT the omnipotent creature we have come to know in past versions. Camelot is NOT the utopian "Emerald City" of modern Arthurian legend...it is an old, moss-covered, overgrown, rundown heap of stones that the new King Arthur and his knights decide to make their own because nobody else wants it! And Morgan is just plain.......Morgan! This version of the story is refreshingly different than the stories we've previously encountered. My wife and I find ourselves sitting together on the couch, bowl of popcorn precariously balanced between us, saying, "Oh, that was clever!" and "I didn't see THAT coming!" In short, we have found this version of the Arthurian legend to be very entertaining, and we like it a lot.

Good series that had lots of potential had it been given a 2nd season. The acting and storyline was good. The nasty woman was getting annoying. I'm not one for a constant nemesis in any show. It get tiresome. But this was a good series but once again, the folly of the powers that be prevailed and it was canceled. Oy.

Over the top on sorcery, but a good interpretation of "The Knights of the Round Table."

I wish they never made season one of this series as there will be no more seasons to come. According to IMDB a number of the actors are scheduled for other projects & that is why production has stopped. I love Arthurian themed tv and movies and the castles & village sets seemed so much more authentic to the era. Arthur starts off as this skinny kid with no regard for Guenevere's relationship and the actor seemed positively wrong for the roll. He started evolving into a man and king and a 2nd season would have developed his character much further, stronger and better. Merlin was magnificent. An entirely different yet fully workable & fascinating spin on the man. I was sorry to see a few of the characters killed off in the first season, I think they were rich for more storytelling. I truly am extremely disappointed that this has come to an end. I really am. I find myself waiting for whispers of a second season with the original cast even though there is no evidence to support my wish.

This is quite a nice contrast to the portrayal of the legend as done by BBC's "Merlin." While Merlin in "Merlin" uses magick to get he, Arthur, and the kingdom out of jams each episode, the Merlin in "Camelot" is justifiably conservative in the use of his skills--one of many fundamental differences where "Camelot" is more mature and suspenseful (although "Merlin" shines at times when it takes itself more seriously). I find little sense in reviews complaining that Camelot is "PC"...Is Colin Morgan's portrayal of Merlin in "Merlin" rubbish because it lacks a politically incorrect world? Yes, Game of Thrones is fantastic, but not everything needs to be covered in blood and harlots. This is FICTION, not a documentary! The storyline in Camelot is acceptable and many of the actors are exceptional. I welcome any half-decent swords and sorcery tale, and this one is at least as entertaining as the "Legend of the Seeker" and "Merlin". The good outweighs the bad here; it is really a shame that it was cancelled, if for no other reason than to see what other tricks Merlin had up his sleeve.

I am shocked to see such bad reviews for this excellent adaptation of Camelot. I found it well cast, especially Eva Green and Jamie Campbell Bower who portrayed a new version of their characters instead of churning out the same old chestnut. I see a lot of critisicm of JCB as Arthur but it was refreshing to see a younger more vulnerable version of Arthur and I thought his performance really progressed through the series which I guess was the whole idea, that the audience see Arthur slowly mature and change his behaviour. I also liked the spin on the old legends, like the lady of the lake and the sword in the stone and thought it was a clever twist on the original tellings and that held my interest where a direct rehashing of old ground would have been dull. All in all, I found it a great series and am saddened that there will be no series two. I would have liked to see the characters continue to progress and see the story develop.

He visto varias producciones de Starz y la verdad son dignos adversarios para HBO. Desde Spartacus hasta Boss. Camelot se volvió una de mis favoritas, principalmente por el rol de Eva Green.

Latest research about Tintagl Castle was not ignored in putting the script together. I liked several historical details blended in: 1.) The Romans left an infrastructure of buildings and roads, which where now deterioating. 2.) Christianity did not have a firm grip on the island yet. 3.) Close detail was given to the weapons, armor and fashion of the period. Very little about King Arthur, except the legend is known about. The producers did a very fine job to create the ambiance of the period with carefully mixing in the the mysticism of the period. So magic does not get too much overboard. The charactors are not black and white, like in real life they have baggage, inner conflicts and doubts. Greed, lust and envy come to play at all levels. The idea of an earthly organized State is the goal of King Arthur, that is fed to him by the sourcerer Merlin. After all it is the period of the dark ages, the time when the roman organisation went down and no organisation prevailed for 400 years, until history started to be recorded again. The minseries records the struggle in a very suspenseful and nailbiting fashion. Some historical and political sound viewers could draw paralels with the current struggle. History repeats itself today, and the miniseries does an excellent job mirroring it. Technologies have evolved but not our social behavior.

J’adore cette série, je suis trop contente de l’avoir trouvée. Très contente de mon achat, merci.

剣や魔法のバトルや、陰謀策謀有りの最高のドラマでした。シーズン1で終わったのは残念でした。