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Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01/11

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Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01/11

Old 04-01-11, 04:27 AM
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Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01/11

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By djariya at 2011-04-01

General Synopsis:


In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control. These are dark times indeed for the new king, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur’s harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget
everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that
has never been told before.
Synopsis for episode 1 "Homecoming"

Spoiler:
When King Uther dies the sorcerer Merlin travels to collect Arthur, a young man he believes can bring an end to the darkness of the land. But Uther’s daughter Morgan sees the crown as her birthright.


Synopsis for episode 2 "The Sword and the Crown"

Spoiler:
Arthur meets Guinevere, the woman of his dreams. Morgan and King Lot conspire to attack Camelot and take the throne. Merlin has Arthur reclaim the legacy sword in the stone to prove his worthiness as king.


New Trailer:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3eb-EBdwRtk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

10 episodes ordered. Starz showed a special sneak preview of hour 1 back in February. Some of you here probably saw it, including myself.

Ordered Starz last week, specifically for this. Looking forward to it. I enjoyed hour 1 alot.

***Bad News for those who don't subscribe to Starz and have Netflix, Camelot will not be posted online until July because of the new 90 day delay **

Couldn't wait until July, so I gave in. Not going to expect very many comments since I assume alot of you here don't have Starz.
Old 04-01-11, 05:06 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Well it certainly looks to be of a higher quality than Pillars of the Earth.
Old 04-01-11, 07:12 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

FIOS sent out e-mail for free Starz through the weekend so I'll definitely check this out. Going to need a subscription in the summer for Torchwood too though.
Old 04-01-11, 10:07 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

I caught the first two episodes online. They are very good imo.

Basically, if you liked Spartacus....well this is the same show in medival England.
Old 04-01-11, 11:38 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

So its filled with bad acting, writing, and ugly special effects?
Old 04-01-11, 12:28 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Originally Posted by sven
Well it certainly looks to be of a higher quality than Pillars of the Earth.
I liked Pillars and thought it had decent production value

Anyway, looking forward to Camelot. I liked what I saw in the first hour.

Dish's promo for free 12 months of Starz will be put to good use
Old 04-01-11, 12:51 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Originally Posted by Geofferson
I liked Pillars and thought it had decent production value
Yeah I'd say decent describes Pillars pretty well. This looks a bit better than decent though from a straight production values stand point.
Old 04-01-11, 06:55 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Eva Green is enough to make me watch the entire first season no matter the quality.
Old 04-01-11, 10:44 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

When even the hotness of Eva Green can't keep you from getting bored, you know you're watching a steaming pile of crap.

The show doesn't make up it's mind as to wether it wants to be a realistic retelling of the Arthur myth or just another fantasy version. Instead it settles for an ill defined middle. The writing was poor and the direction worse. The production design was good but used to ill effect. The writing and direction were so bad they even screwed up a homage to Excalibur at the end of the second episode.

Last edited by RocShemp; 04-02-11 at 01:11 AM.
Old 04-02-11, 10:21 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

I liked it
Old 04-02-11, 12:54 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

This show is fucking terrible.
Old 04-02-11, 01:30 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

I know they want to set us up to watch Arthur mature into the legendary king, but do they need to start so far down the scale as to start with a mildly retarded frat boy to demonstrate it?
Old 04-03-11, 03:58 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

^ I hear ya. I'm not a fan of their casting choice. Plus, Fiennes seems to be sleepwalking through his role of Merlin. That said, I enjoyed the first two installments -- will likely see it through to the end.
Old 04-03-11, 05:34 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

I watched hour 1 back in February, but I guess I wasn't paying too close attention because I really didn't remember much about it.

But, I watched both parts today and really liked it. Hour 1 was much more compelling the 2nd time around. I liked how they set up the origin story for Arthur and Camelot. Frankly, now that I think about it, it doesn't really bother me that much that Arthur is a young 20-something guy who is girl crazy and needs the extra push to become better. I think Bower doesn't have the "gravitas" to be Arthur yet, but I can see him getting better as the character considering this is an origin story. I think they could have cast a better actor to play Merlin, but I thought Fiennes did an adequate job even though I really didn't get the grand feel that Merlin is supposed to be this grand sorcerer yet.

Absolutely loved Eva Green. Great villain. Sexy as hell. Her sex scene with James Purefoy was really good and loud. Plus, you get the random gratuitous nudity shot of her at the end. I was disappointed that they killed off Purefoy's character King Lot in Hour 2. I thought he was a really good 2nd villain, but I realize Morgan is supposed to be Arthur's main nemesis.

Uhhh, Ohhh looks like we're going to have a love triangle for Guenevere's affections. I do like the actress they picked for her and of course the random gratuitous nudity of her as well.

The preview for the upcoming weeks looks great.
Old 04-03-11, 05:40 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Yeah, sucks that Purefoy won't be around anymore...he's great in these period dramas.
Old 04-03-11, 05:51 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Originally Posted by Geofferson
Yeah, sucks that Purefoy won't be around anymore...he's great in these period dramas.
I thought he was terrible in that NBC summer show The Philanthropist a few years ago, but he was great in this.
Old 04-03-11, 08:18 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Eh, thought the show was ok. Eva Green is a great villainess, not thrilled with the casting choice for Merlin and I can't stand the guy they picked to play Arthur. Besides the fact that there's absolutely nothing "kingly" about him, every time he opens his mouth, I can't stop looking at his crooked upper front teeth.
Old 04-03-11, 08:40 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Originally Posted by SiberianLlama
Eh, thought the show was ok. Eva Green is a great villainess, not thrilled with the casting choice for Merlin and I can't stand the guy they picked to play Arthur. Besides the fact that there's absolutely nothing "kingly" about him, every time he opens his mouth, I can't stop looking at his crooked upper front teeth.
I can see how this version of Arthur will have it's critics. They are playing him as a horny skirt-chasing 20-something year old without any leadership qualities. Hell, this actor still has the pre-puberty peach fuzz on his face. Since this is an origin story, I'm willing to accept this younger version of him as just a different viewpoint of the legend. If this show manages to last a few seasons, I can easily see them jumping ahead in time eventually and recasting him as an older character.
Old 04-03-11, 08:46 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Originally Posted by DJariya
I thought he was terrible in that NBC summer show The Philanthropist a few years ago, but he was great in this.
Yeah, that wasn't a very memorable show. I liked him in Rome.
Old 04-03-11, 09:33 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

I'm a bit mixed on this as well. I love the Arthurian legends so that's enough to get me to watch. I love Eva Green too much and am disappointed to see her doing cable TV. She's too beautiful and too good of an actress for this show. But at least we get to see her take off her clothes, which might be a fair trade off.

I also dislike the kid playing Arthur. Too effeminate and uncharismatic to play the lead on the show, let alone King Arthur. James Purefoy was great on Rome and this was a similar performance. Didn't expect him to stick around though since I didn't know he was in this until I saw the pilot.

I'm a fan of the Arthurian myths, so I found the Arthur Begins/demystification aspect to be rather boring. Still, I'll continue watching just for the heck of it. I hope it picks up though.
Old 04-04-11, 12:33 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Wow, there seems to be universal agreement on the actor playing Arthur. It was the first thing I thought after watching the episodes, whoever made that casting decision will probably get the show canceled. Pretty good stuff otherwise, but you can't sustain a series where the pivotal character has the completely wrong actor for the role. He couldn't wipe that goofy grin off his face in most scenes. The guy playing his brother would have been a much better choice.
Old 04-04-11, 02:32 AM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Yeah, the guy playing Arthur just doesn't have the gravitas for the role. He comes off like he should be playing a background character in Twilight or something, not the lead in a King Arthur series. He seems like he should playing a bit part.

You just kind of sit there watching the series, baffled that this kid is supposed to be King Arthur, and you just don't really buy it. He's just not a lead actor, and I question whether he can carry this series.
Old 04-04-11, 04:27 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...premiere/88200

1.125M people watched Friday night. Set a new Starz record. Beat Spartacus Gods of the Arena. Including the encore airing, 1.573M watched.
Old 04-04-11, 04:48 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

Wow Frankly, I didn't expect the ratings to be all that great as we've been quite saturated with King Arthur projects in recent years.
Old 04-04-11, 05:12 PM
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Re: Camelot -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Homecoming/The Sword and the Crown" -- 4/01

I wanted to like this but the premiere really didn't do much for me. May tune in for the next episode but if it doesn't get any better I'll probably just drop it.

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