'Camelot': I have to push the pram a lot
What did everybody think of the new King Arthur drama?
Eva Green as Morgan in "Camelot."
Credit: Starz
I posted my review of "Camelot" yesterday. Not my kinda show, and not something that's going to be in the rotation going forward, but as I often do with new series premieres, I'm curious for outside reactions. What did everybody else think? Was there enough there for you to stick around?
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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April 2, 2011 at 12:16AM EST Reply to CommentYes, definitely enough to keep me tuning in. Funny how I you and I are in lock stop with certain shows (SOA, Justified, Breaking Bad) but so out of synch on others. The 30 min sitcoms you love are not my cup of tea. I double-majored in English and History so I'm a sucker for stuff like The Tudors, Spartacus, The Borgias, and Camelot. I recognize what they are and agree with your assessment of them, but I'm more easily entertained than you and try to focus on the good parts of these shows that really entertain me. Too bad you're not as into historical faction. I'll keep watching these shows and you can keep writing about Parks & Rec, Community, etc. We can still get along fine I suspect. BTW... I fought as hard as anyone to save Terriers. *SIGH*
Tausif Khan If you majored in English and History you should give Community another try. 30 Rock is not at its best but still good and I would put that in the same boat as Community. What 30 Rock does with subverting traditional narrative conventions and Community does with genres are unbelievable.
April 2, 2011 at 2:07AM EST
April 2, 2011 at 10:21AM ESTalan
April 2, 2011 at 12:21AM EST Reply to Commentsepinwall archer is a must hilarious! o and camelot okay plus what with all the medevil stuff first pillars, camelot, games of throes and i think im missing one more
chuchundra
April 2, 2011 at 12:59AM EST Reply to CommentIt is a silly show. A lot of very bad, very cliched writing. I was watching it and about halfway through I was like, "Did Arthur Pendragon, King of Britons just say, 'No way'?"
And Merlin talks way way way too much. Seriously dude, the Sorcerer character is supposed to be tight-lipped and cryptic, not yak yak yak with all the exposition and the inspiring speeches.
Sad to see James Purfroy and Sean Pertwee get killed off this early as well. I guess they got out while the getting was good.
Still, I'll probably watch for while to see what happens. It could worth a laugh on a quiet Friday night.
chuchundra Also, talk is for lovers, Merlin. I need a sword to be king!
April 2, 2011 at 1:14AM ESTEllie
April 2, 2011 at 1:18AM EST Reply to CommentIts terrible and I enjoy historical fiction and period dramas. I will not be watching...the best thing about it is Eva Green but her scenes are too short. Joseph Fiennes is terribly miscast as Merlin, and if i want to watch a bratty Arthur, I'd watch the BBC's Merlin, as at least its tongue in cheek.
Mark S.
April 2, 2011 at 1:49AM EST Reply to CommentFrom my review (http://whatmarkread.blogspot.com/2011/02/camelot-on-starz.html):
"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."
Tausif Khan
April 2, 2011 at 2:04AM EST Reply to CommentWill Ryan McGee (or anyone at Monkeys as Critics) cover Camelot for Hitfix? He seemed to like it more than either you (Alan) or Dan (Fienberg).
James
April 2, 2011 at 3:46AM EST Reply to CommentChris Albrecht who used to run HBO Greenlighted this? The same guy responsible for The Sopranos, Oz, Carnivale, Deadwood, Angels in America and Band of Brothers greenlighted this? I can't believe the guy who had remarkably great taste at HBO greenlighted this pile of crap.
Karen
April 2, 2011 at 4:41AM EST Reply to CommentHate it. Love the costumes, hell, i'd even take most of the actors (except that kid as king - wtf?!) but the story is -so- bland. I would totally have gone for a reinvisioning that has eva green just take over camelot! Screw arthur - take his cute brother kay and corrupt him. Now that sounds like a plot! :D
Efernand
April 2, 2011 at 6:15AM EST Reply to CommentI feel about it the same way I feel about Spartacus and Pillars of the Earth, enjoyable enough for me to keep watching especially on Fridays where there isn't much stuff worth watching.
Lazycrockett
April 2, 2011 at 12:50PM EST Reply to CommentThey killed the only interesting character way too early.
A.P.
April 2, 2011 at 1:46PM EST Reply to CommentI watched the premiere, and about 75% into the show I accidentally changed the channel. I wasn't motivated enough to change the channel back to finish the rest of the show, and don't plan on watching the rest anytime soon. The dialogue is just REALLY poor.
Reading Alan's reviews of this show and The Borgias, I was reminded about how, years ago, I only watched 1 episode of the Tudors and couldn't get into it. I don't remember if that show's set-up was as bad as this ones though. But if it was, are all medieval history dramas this bad? I read one of the commenters' review of this show as, "smart, interesting, yet with a little bit of camp." But I feel like it has a too-similar tone to xena:warrior princess (that's not to say my pre-teen self didn't love Xena and Hercules, but as an adult that style of show isn't as endearing anymore). I just couldn't stay interested in the characters, which is a shame because this show has some really beautiful imagery.
However, I admit that I have similar feelings about this genre as Alan [which I'm sure you all have already figured out from my snark], I didn't like Rome or the Tudors when they premiered.
But I'm sure this show could be interesting if it just had better writing. Too bad that it doesn't.
Oaktown Girl
April 2, 2011 at 1:52PM EST Reply to CommentAnyone know if Netflix is going to be showing this series via streaming anytime soon? I know they have a partnership of some sort with Starz. That's how I was able to watch "Pillars of the Earth", and "Sparticus: Gods of the Arena" since I don't have access to Starz on TV.
Michael You'll want to read this article (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/starz-introduce-90-day-netflix-171231) for your answer to that. You could, of course, try watching it through the Starz Live option on the Netflix website as the episodes air.
April 2, 2011 at 3:44PM ESTOaktown Girl Thanks for the info, Michael. Much appreciated.
April 2, 2011 at 7:31PM ESTPotatoSolution
April 2, 2011 at 2:22PM EST Reply to CommentIt's only a model.
Mirri
April 2, 2011 at 4:09PM EST Reply to Commenti thought it was just ok, some mindless fun. The worst scenes were the ones involving Arthur and Guinevere, the costumes are the best thing about the show.
Hwat
April 2, 2011 at 7:09PM EST Reply to CommentI stopped reading your review when you said 'sex'. So haven't seen it.
KingofPunjab
April 2, 2011 at 7:10PM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...
nic919
April 2, 2011 at 8:04PM EST Reply to CommentSo far I find Eva Green to be the best part about this show and so I will give it a few episodes. There is something petulant about this Arthur, and I don't quite buy him. The actor who plays Arthur in BBC's Merlin does a much better job and you can at least buy that he could be a king, despite being in a show with an overall campy tone. And at this point Colin Morgan plays a better Merlin, even a younger one, than Joseph Fiennes. And I don't even dislike Fiennes as much as Alan and Dan seem to.
KingofPunjab
April 2, 2011 at 8:54PM EST Reply to CommentI'll try to watch this series in 3 months because of the starz 90-delay on netflix.
Tom
April 2, 2011 at 10:16PM EST Reply to CommentAs long as Eva Green gets nude every episode I will keep watching. Also with so many shows just ended or ending soon there is not much scripted TV to look forward to so I will end up watching it for lack of a better option. In fact with Fringe in repeats it was the only show I watched on Friday.
Alex
April 3, 2011 at 7:14PM EST Reply to CommentNo review of The Kennedys?
Grifter
April 3, 2011 at 8:24PM EST Reply to CommentFor some reason I was expecting more from this, despite knowing that Fiennes with the look he sports would be Merlin and the uncharismatic actor playing Arthur would well...be playing Arthur! Hehe.
As pointed out, Eva Green is indeed the best part of the show and my hope is that she gets out of it and into something far more entertaining than Camelot.
Also...unrelated to the show but...after seeing Eva Green on this...did anyone else think that Eva Green should've been cast as Catwoman/Selina Kyle in the upcoming Batman movie? She pretty much has it all for it. The "femme fatale" and the acting chops. No offense to Anne Hathaway, who I think is a great actress...but she's no "femme fatale".
apk
April 4, 2011 at 1:18AM EST Reply to CommentI've been in love with Eva Green since "Casino Royale," and I normally like this kind of thing, but it was just BAD. Super boring. I fell asleep four times trying to watch it, as either nothing happened, or the things that happened didn't seem to have much of a reason for happening. The Merlin character was terrible- like they tried to go so far outside the box with him that they lost the character completely. King Lot and Morgan were the best part of the show, which is why I am saddened by Lot's cliched end. I would much prefer an alternate take on the story from the Lot/Morgan point of view. Arthur is an absolute weeine/whiner, and he lacks any tangible bit of charisma. I will continue to DVR it, though, because I love Green that much (and I found her performance magnetic enough that "nudity" isn't the only reason to watch), and because maybe, just maybe it'll get interesting and better. I doubt it, though. Bring on "Game of Thrones."
Tom
April 4, 2011 at 7:33AM EST Reply to CommentEh. Bring on Game of Thrones, instead.
Harry O
April 4, 2011 at 8:04AM EST Reply to CommentThis show looked TERRIBLE to me but my 54-year-old father, who watches crap like Spartacus: Blood and Sand, loved it.
April 4, 2011 at 12:48PM EST Reply to CommentI lost my shit when I read "I have to push the pram a lot."
jmmff3
April 4, 2011 at 2:17PM EST Reply to CommentGiven you ambivalence to my beloved Spartacus, I was prepared to respectfully disagree with you about this show. It turns out I did indeed disagree with you, but not in the direction I thought. I thought this was about as painful a first outing for any show I can remember being excited for. The performances are largely ghastly, Arthur is terribly unconvincing and miscast and whatever Ralph's brother is doing with the intense whisper thing is exceedingly distracting. This is very much my kind of show, but I just thought it was really poorly executed. Oh well, just a couple weeks until A Game of Thrones.