I'm a big fan of T.H. White's Once and Future King and Book of Merlyn. It's why I watched this series when I learned it existed on Hulu. It's not White's book, by any means, it lacks the philosophy, the magic, the wit, the heartbreak and the sorrow. It is a good adaptation of the Arthurian tales though. It keeps some of the major parts of the Arthur story while adjusting and adapting details and it fills in the narrative on how certain events or persons came to be.
The acting is very strong among the lead actors, Jamie Bower, Eva Green and Joseph Fiennes. Bower grows as an actor along with the growth of his character from boy king to leader of united Britain. With the exceptions of Clair Forlani and Sinead Cusack, however, a fair portion of the supporting cast is wooden, some of them don't even seem to attempt to break their characters out of a 2D role. James Purefoy and Sean Pertwee played their roles well for the limited duration they were in the series. At times there are enough extras and at other times there are not. Don't expect battle scenes like Braveheart or Game of Thrones, in fact the battle scenes and fights are the weakest elements of this show as they are not very well done, lack the frenzy and horror of combat, and are small in scale.
Starz had money for this series and it shows with some well done sets and quality filming and editing. The score is not bad and there are occasional Celtic style songs that give the show some additional atmosphere. It's also obviously a Starz production as each episode has nudity, sex and violence - sometimes helpful to the story telling, other times gratuitous.
There are a few rather lame story lines, but there are enough plot devices, thoughtful dialogue exchanges, and explorations/re-shaping of the Arthurian story to have kept me watching through all ten episodes - and wishing the series had survived more than one year (apparently it failed to continue due to casting issues and cost).
If you are a fan of the Arthurian stories give this a try. As long as you can understand the writers' desire to add to the Arthur tales, and are not incapable of enjoying variety and difference, you may like this as I did. And if you have never read The Once and Future King, go to the library now.
The acting is very strong among the lead actors, Jamie Bower, Eva Green and Joseph Fiennes. Bower grows as an actor along with the growth of his character from boy king to leader of united Britain. With the exceptions of Clair Forlani and Sinead Cusack, however, a fair portion of the supporting cast is wooden, some of them don't even seem to attempt to break their characters out of a 2D role. James Purefoy and Sean Pertwee played their roles well for the limited duration they were in the series. At times there are enough extras and at other times there are not. Don't expect battle scenes like Braveheart or Game of Thrones, in fact the battle scenes and fights are the weakest elements of this show as they are not very well done, lack the frenzy and horror of combat, and are small in scale.
Starz had money for this series and it shows with some well done sets and quality filming and editing. The score is not bad and there are occasional Celtic style songs that give the show some additional atmosphere. It's also obviously a Starz production as each episode has nudity, sex and violence - sometimes helpful to the story telling, other times gratuitous.
There are a few rather lame story lines, but there are enough plot devices, thoughtful dialogue exchanges, and explorations/re-shaping of the Arthurian story to have kept me watching through all ten episodes - and wishing the series had survived more than one year (apparently it failed to continue due to casting issues and cost).
If you are a fan of the Arthurian stories give this a try. As long as you can understand the writers' desire to add to the Arthur tales, and are not incapable of enjoying variety and difference, you may like this as I did. And if you have never read The Once and Future King, go to the library now.