From Dan's Media Digest: 'Merlin: what was magic, what was tragic?
S5 Spoilers!
Dan Owen of Dan's Media Digest reflects on the good and bad of Merlin over its five year run [extract below].
The key thing that kept Merlin in most people's affections was the likable cast: a quartet of unknowns (lovable Colin Morgan, charismatic Bradley James, sweet Angel Coulby, and devilish Katie McGrath) with two famous actors representing the older generation (Richard Wilson, Anthony Head). It was a clever mix, because genre fans recognised Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and were enticed to support his new show, while parents had fond memories of Wilson from programmes like One Foot in the Grave. More importantly, the unknowns didn't take long to settle into their roles and quickly became the backbone of the show. In particular, the sterling work done by Morgan and James as Merlin and Arthur gave the show its big heart; often overcoming bad scripts and cheesy dialogue, and allowing a tongue-in-cheek bromance to exploit. Merlin and Arthur 'shipping inspired 25% of Tumblr animated .gifs over the years.