“Merlin” Premiere: The Dragon’s Call

The BBC fantasy adventure, Merlin, made its State-side debut Sunday night, with The Dragon’s Call. In this episode, a vengeful sorceress plans to get even with Uther for killing her son who practiced magic in his kingdom. Magic is strictly forbidden and punishable by death. Ironically, it is magic that Merlin uses to save Arthur’s life, for which he is rewarded with the position of Arthur’s personal manservant.

What fun, this show is! It’s a little strange to see Merlin as a young man, with no clear idea of his direction. Colin Morgan plays Merlin and I’m already charmed. There’s a playfulness about him that is fun to see. He’s a newcomer, so there isn’t much out there that we’ve seen him do. It will be fun to watch him handle the title role in a series. If I had a “Newcomers To Watch” list, he’d be on it.

When Merlin meets Prince Arthur, it’s not bosom buddies till we die. In fact, they don’t like each other at all. Arthur is a pompous ass, no doubt. Hey, the kid’s going to rule a country some day, I think he’s allowed. Bradley James plays Arthur and he’s another newcomer. Focus on him as well.

Since this episode was called The Dragon’s Call, I was looking forward to seeing their dragon. He looked a bit like Eragon, but what delighted me was that John Hurt was his voice. The Storyteller, himself. The dragon call’s to Merlin, and when Merlin finally finds him, chained up in the lower regions of Camelot, he speaks to Merlin about his destiny in riddles.

So far, after seeing the first two episodes of this series, I have not been disappointed. It’s like opening a book and loosing myself for an hour each week, in action, adventure and a good helping of humor.

Tune into NBC this Sunday night, at 8/7 CT, for Not the Time for Magic. When an evil witch casts a debilitating spell on Camelot, Merlin must act quickly to save the kingdom. Take a look at the preview.