Merlin

[whiskeryron]

Does anyone agree with me that the present showing on TV of Merlin is a complete travesty of the British Arthurian legend. As I remember it Merlin was an aide to King Uthor,& with magic helped the King to bed another nobleman's wife resulting in the birth of the baby Arthur,Merlin then took on the task of finding foster parents & watched over the child until he grew to manhood & then the incident of the sword in the stone occurred,& Arthur became King. I do know that it is all a myth but I feel that our children should at least be given the ''proper'' version & not the garbage being shown on TV.

[dundurn]

I couldn't agree more and to make matters worse we haven't had a "historically accurate" Robin Hood series since Richard Greene! I only watch documentary programmes now, like Doctor Who and Blackadder re-runs ;-)

[daniela31]

Yes, i agree. I was under the impression that Merlin was an old man when Arthur was a boy.
But then again....isn't it just a legend? There has been lots of different accounts of Arthurs final resting place, and even if Camelot was a real place.
It is just poetic license to make the Merlin story on the BBC entertaining.
:-)

[Hazel104]

Hi
That�s the problem though; there are many versions of the Arthurian legend which originate as a mix of Celtic mythology I believe. I think way back in the 10th century the legend was written by Welsh clerics and used by kings to prove their right to the English crown by connecting their lineage to Arthur�s. There was also a French poet in the 12th century that wrote romantic poems about Arthur�s court and there was another version where Arthur was a soldier trained by Romans. I haven�t watched Merlin but I�m guessing they are using the Thomas Morley version (Morte d�Arthur) as a basis, as it is a very popular version, and very like what you have described. What I�m getting at is all they have done is what most others have done with this legend � rewritten to suit their purpose and depends entirely on the audience the story is aimed at. I don�t doubt there are inaccuracies, but it is Saturday night entertainment show after all and is not pretending to be a factual programme.

[daniela31]

They are not using Morte De'Arthur as a basis.
In the tv programme, Merlin is only a young man, and I'm assuming, younger than Arthur.
Uther is still alive at the moment, and Arthur is trying to prove his worth as the future King, along with Merlins assistance, but as of yet only one other knows of Merlins powers, the court physician, played by Richard Wilson.

It's quite good as so far as early Saturday evening TV goes, with a different story every week. I enjoy it anyway.
:-)

[zbearspirit]

Hi like most of you I was appalled that the BBC has taken a popular legend, and they have rearranged the story to suit the audience they hope to sell the series to primarilly the American market. The americans will probably like the special effects but do you think they give a damn about whether it is true to the original story or not. It's sad to think that the younger people who watch the series will believe that this series is the original story. At the end of the day what is the true story, and the story that we believe we know did it really happen like we think it did?

[MrsJ1]

I agree. Nimueh was the Lady of the Lake, and in the legends, she is the one who gives Arthur the sword Excalibur. she also looks after Merlin when he is close to death. She was certainly never evil in any of the versions I've read.

[King Normie]

It is, after all, Television! I rather doubt Xena even existed, also!

[bankskank]

nimueh was one of the ladies of the lake.
once again the bbc are trying to gain the young audience by messing around with accepted myths and legends.
marion zimmer bradley gives a good version of the arthur tale in one of her books but beyond that even disney are closer than the beeb!
dundurn - you have the right idea

[Whickerman]

buy and read the Mists of Avalon

Just spotted this thread btw!

I watched all of two minutes and realised the Celtic Arthur was now living in some Norman fairyland, and turned on X Factor.

[badwolf29]

it's a tv series BASED of the Arthurian legend. it doesn't ruin anything. it's a FICTIONAL show based of a MYTH. it isn't meant to be "accurate". if you're interested in Arthurian legend do some research on it instead or see if there are other movies or shows that which stay more true to the myths.