Although it isn’t scheduled to start until April, this past weekend, Starz had a sneak preview of it’s new series Camelot. When I think of Camelot, I usually think of the 1967 musical
When King Uther dies, his main rival King Lot comes to take over his kingdom. Uther’s daughter Morgan Le Fay makes a pact with King Lot, ships off Queen Igraine and has hot sex with the new king. Meanwhile Merlin is on a special mission. He goes and finds Arthur, an adopted son who is the playful one compared to his brother Kay. When Merlin comes to tell him that his real father was King Uther and that he is now the heir to the throne, our journey begins.
Merlin and Arthur ride on to Camelot, a broken down castle that has almost nothing there. When Morgan finds out that she has a half brother and that he has a more legitimate claim to the throne than she does, she is not happy (to say the least). Morgan and Lot come to dispute Arthur’s claim to the throne and gain it for themselves. While Arthur has to come to grips with being a King and having to fight off his half sister.
The best parts of the show were Morgan, Lot and Merlin. Morgan is determined to get what she wants and won’t let anyone stand in her way. Merlin is suitably creepy and scary where he shows he knows more than anyone else and isn’t always willing to share it. Lot (played wonderfully by James Purefoy) chews up the scenery every where he goes and makes you almost wish that the show was about him. Arthur has almost no personality at this point. He’s a scared teenager who has been thrust so far out of his comfort zone that he has no idea what’s going on. And the rest of the cast is just there for decoration right now.
Overall it was a good, but not great pilot. It served its purpose of getting me interested in the show and I’ll probably start watching when it comes back in April. While we wait, let’s listen to a couple Camelot songs.
Monty Python and Holy Grail
Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave in Camelot