Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-10-05
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 520 minutes

DVD Description
Set in the mythical city of Camelot, in a time before history began, this magical adaptation of the Arthurian legend follows young Merlin's enthralling encounters with the young Prince Arthur.

The kingdom of Camelot is a realm of legendary beasts and mysterious peoples. In this dangerous world, magic has been banned by the ruthless tyrant, Uther Pendragon. Merlin, who was born with extraordinary magical powers, is taken as an apprentice to the court physician Gaius and as manservant to the headstrong Prince Arthur. However, with the practice of magic punishable by death, Merlin must take care when and where he uses his talents.

The Great Dragon, who lies imprisoned under the castle, informs Merlin that his gift has a purpose - to aid him in his destiny to protect Prince Arthur, who will one day lead a great and just kingdom. But Merlin has already discovered that following his destiny is not always an easy task.

Whatever the future holds, Merlin, along with Arthur, Morgana and Gwen, face many great dangers and exciting challenges as terrifying beasts and ruthless enemies stalk the kingdom of Camelot...

Customer Reviews

A little bit of magic goes a long way
The thing about Merlin, is that it's not a flawless show. There are times when I think it could have pushed the boat out a bit more in terms of storyline and characterisation. But the thing is... I love this show. In fact, I'm verging on teen-obsessed on it, and I am not a teen anymore.

So why do I love it? For the one thing, I find the actors captivating. Merlin definitely wins the charm award, and comes across as a mixture of Frodo (the good parts), Harry Potter (the initial innocence part) and Clark Kent from Smallville (the hero part). He's not arrogant, or self-righteous. In fact, he plays his role as a young Merlin, wonderfully. I couldn't have asked for better. Arthur is the opposite to Merlin. He's arrogant and brattish, but I can't help but *love* that about him. His child-like manner (and humour) makes him extremely likeable. Too likeable. They've taken a gamble with Gwen in terms of status (here, she is a servant), and I know some people will raise eyebrows over her race (but I hope people are sophisticated enough not to care. The actress does a brilliant job, and that's all that matters) but the gamble pays off, and Gwen comes across as an extremeably likeable heroine.

Other characters such as Morgana, Gaius and Uther comes cross well, although there isn't nearly enough screentime with them. It is a bit strange seeing Anthony Head as a mean king, and not a stuffy librarian, and he does come across well, although sometimes I wish he were more dynamic in that role (maybe the fault of the script rather than him).

There's usually a baddie-of the week plot line (featuring some familiar faces. Dr Bashir from Deep Space Nine, anybody?). And for now, that works well. What I like most, is the interaction between Arthur and Merlin. At first, they do not like each other, but a friendship starts to grow. And I can never resist a story that focuses a lot about friendship (because aside from things like love and money, it's one of the things that keeps us going). The special effects aren't terrific. But the budget isn't exactly high, so that is expected.

I love the humour of the show, and the very British feel of it. It's very homely, and makes well for weekend viewing with the family, and it's something I would recommend. Obviously, purists are going to have a problem with this show. So those of you who are a stickler for facts and accuracy: stay clear. Others: good on you for your laid-back approach!

Packaging- The dvd comes in the box as shown above (the brown book-like case). It is made of cardboard and I fear it will break sooner rather than later. Aesthetically, it is pleasing, and it opens up like a book with facts inside the cover. I just wish it were more sturdy. It encases the two dvd parts, so for those who bought the two parts separately, I don't think you're missing out on much.

Features- Behind the Magic parts 1 and 2, The Black Knight Featurette, Cast Video Diaries, Commentaries, Wallpapper and photo galleries.

Subtitles- I'm sorry people, but this only seems to have English subtitles.

Overall- this is a round-about good show. Room for improvement, but definitely a delight.

Merlin - the early years
While not perfect, 'Merlin' knocks the proverbial hat off its Saturday-teatime opponents 'Robin Hood' (dull and cliched) and 'Primeval' (poor scripts, 2D characterization, appalling CGI, shall I go on?) by featuring halfway decent stories, the imagination to fiddle with the Merlin myth in a creative way, and a handful of good actors. In fact it's the younger actors who turn in more impressive performances than the likes of Anthony Head and Richard Wilson. Colin Morgan as Merlin and Katie McGrath as Morgana are particularly impressive and Bradley James makes a decent fist of turning Prince Arthur from a petulant youth to a potential King.
The imperfections creep in with some dodgy CGI (that dragon, for instance), and a slight tendency for stories to not have quite enough plot for the running time.
Anyway, I'm actually quite looking forward to Season 2. Are they going to turn Morgana evil? Will they make more use of the Gwen character? Will Excalibur be back?
Saturday evenings will never be quite the same until the return of Who, but this is a good substitute for the interim.

Great series.
This is a brilliant variation to the Merlin legend story. Merlin the TV series is what the series "Smallville" is to Superman. If you hate your favourite franchise being changed and mutated, then you probably won't like this. But if you don't mind seeing the charaters you know and love in a story which differs from the normal one, then I think you'd be very surprised by this series.

Some outdated looking special effects are overshadowed by a brilliant cast and characters. The episodes are generous in featuring all of them, even taking Merlin out of the picture for an episode to a minor character can play the lead. I think the drive to watch this series came at first from the need to find out the mystery of why the King hates sorcerers. And whether or not that is concluded in this series (I won't spoil it) I'd say it continues to drive you until you realise there are many elements to the story, and you'll long to watch the next series as well. What I both dread and find exciting, is the prospect of Merlin coming clean to Arthur about what he can really do.

The sets are realistic and the costumes are brilliant and inventive. I want to know who came up with idea of Merlin wearing blue with a red scarf when all the other 'peasants' are wearing brown. I think Gwen's gowns are beautiful as well.

The music matches the atmosphere and effectively portrays tense and humourous moments. Merlin's Theme Tune is a favourite of mine (it's called 'exploring Camelot' on the OST). The first episode contains a stunning vocal solo which compelled me to buy the CD.

As for the product, it does what it says on the box and contains the whole of series 1.
You would perhaps be better off buying the seperate volumes of this series, of which there are 2 currently for £11/12 each (July 2009). It turns out much cheaper than buying the complete series at the moment.