Telly Talk

BBC One’s Saturday night sword and sorcery, somethingtowatchwhilewaitingforthenewseriesofDoctorWho, adventure series Merlin continues to fail to live up to expectations.

Trying desperately to succeed where Robin Hood failed, the big budget series appears not to know what its purpose is.

At its best when focusing on the machinations of the evil Morgana, the show falls flat as soon as it has to come up with a storyline that doesn’t involve her.

Take this weekend, for example. A join the dots story which had Prince Arthur facing a forced marriage out of a sense of duty. The princess in question was, naturally, possessed by an evil faerie (I think I dated her sister).

So far, so routine. But then Merlin fell into its own trap.

The writers obviously realised the subject matter was, shall we say, a little too fanciful even for a show full of fancy and that the low budget SFX weren’t going to cut it (don’t even get me started on the pixie’s prosthetic nose). So they went for the comedy jugular. Only to then decide that perhaps it should be serious adventure stuff after all.

The problem with the “comedy” was that it was so pantomime it was untrue. Helped, of course, with obligatory comedy soundtrack (yes, even including a tuba) in case you didn’t get that this was the comic relief.

It was painful.

The “jokes” included the fact that the princess, because she was possessed, had a problem with wind. Aside from the fact that fart gags really aren’t ALWAYS funny, this is something they nicked from Doctor Who’s Slitheen.

And on the subject of theft, if you thought you recognised the princess’s nanny before it’s because she was a carbon copy of Nursie from Blackadder II.

It wasn’t all bad. The focus on the love that cannot be between Arthur and Guinevere makes for nice human drama, yet was pushed aside here despite it being the perfect chance to explore it further.

Merlin needs to realise that what a family wants at teatime on a Saturday is rip-roaring fantasy adventure.

Pantomime is for Christmas.