Merlin - Season 1 : 2008

Merlin is a young warlock who arrives in the kingdom of Camelot after his mother arranges for him to stay with the court physician, Gaius. He discovers that the king, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic and imprisoned the last great dragon deep under the kingdom. The dragon tells Merlin that he plays an important role: to protect Uther's son, Arthur, who will bring forth a great kingdom. When Merlin meets Arthur, he believes that he is an arrogant bully and Arthur, likewise, has a less than stellar opinion of Merlin. Merlin must keep his magic secret or face being executed by Uther.

Morgana is Uther's ward with the power of prophetic foresight, which frightens her and which she keeps secret. Guinevere, whom she calls "Gwen", is her maid and close friend. The first series focused on the development of Merlin and his friendship with Arthur, while the second series focused more on the development of the other cast members. Some of the series' central themes are Morgana's struggle to control her powers and the maturation of Arthur to become the great king of legend, as well as his blossoming romance with Gwen.

Other characters from Arthurian legend have also appeared. Lancelot longed to become a knight but was unable to do so because of his birth as a commoner. Mordred has appeared as a Druid boy who formed a bond with Morgana (in the legend he is her nephew), and it has been predicted by the Great Dragon that Mordred will cause Arthur's death (in the legend this occurred at the Battle of Camlann). Mordred and occasionally the Great Dragon refers to Merlin by his Druidic name, Emrys (the Welsh form of Ambrosius); Ambrosius Aurelianus was a historical figure that Geoffrey of Monmouth partially merged with Merlin. Excalibur is an ordinary sword that becomes enchanted by the Great Dragon and is later thrown into a lake (in the legends, this was the sword Nimueh gave to Arthur).

COUNTRY: UK
YEAR: 2008
DIRECTOR: James Hawes, Jeremy Webb, Stuart Orme, Ed Fraiman, Dave Moore
CAST: Anthony Head, Katie McGrath, John Hurt, Richard Wilson, Angel Coulby, Caroline Faber, Colin Morgan, Bradley James