Comic-Con 2010: Merlin Panel – The Buffy Fame Holds
July 29, 2010 by Trisha Leigh
Filed under Feature, feature overlay, Television
The powers that be at Comic-Con scheduled the Merlin panel for the final afternoon. It followed the packed Castle panel, which I will fill you in on later. The majority of the crowd filed out in a Nathan Fillion induced haze, but I have to say – those folks missed out on a great, entertaining panel that made someone like me (ie: a person who has never seen an episode of Merlin) want to watch the show.
In doing research ahead of time, I’d discovered that Anthony Head is part of the cast. As part of a group of certain-aged people I like to refer to as the “WB generation,” this meant something to me. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Yes, that’s right. For those of you who are more than five years younger or older than me, Anthony Head played the role of Giles, Buffy’s watcher, on the hit Joss Whedon show that ran on The WB from 1997 until 2003. At any rate, I felt excitement at seeing him in person and let me tell you, he has a fabulous sense of humor. Anthony Head spent the majority of the panel wiping his eyes and trying to stifle laughter.
The rest of the panel included the young Irish actor who plays Merlin, Colin Morgan, as well as producers/writers Johnny Capps and Julian Jones. For those (like me) who are not in the know, this show airs on the BBC in England and the SyFy channel in the U.S. and follows the adventures of the legendary sorcerer Merlin as a young man first encountering Camelot and exploring his powers.
We watched a trailer with snippets from the upcoming season, and I have to say, I think it’s a brilliant idea. The next season, season 3, will follow the characters as they go into battle to find the mysterious and devilish Morgana (played by Katie McGrath). Merlin is beginning to come into his powers and understand the potential of his place in Camelot – in a sense, he’s growing up. It looks fantastic.
My favorite part of the panel was a lengthy outtake reel featuring all the members of the cast, though Bradley James, who plays young Arthur, seems to be the most accident prone of the bunch. Anthony Head spent a good five minutes giggling and wiping his eyes after it was over. His genuine enjoyment in being at Comic-Con, working on the show, and spending time with the actors and creators of the show is apparent. It’s nice to see someone who has been in the business for so long who so obviously still loves what he does.
The panel took audience questions regarding the way they’ve twisted the legend of Merlin, and responded that there is so much literature out there and much of it conflicts. They’ve chosen to use the bits that best fit the story of his life they want to tell. The question that got the most laughs was, “What’s the biggest difference between filming in the UK and filming in America?”
The response? “Craft services.” Craft services is the food and beverage offerings on set. According to the panel, in the UK they get biscuits. In the US, it’s like an all day buffet.
Coming to Comic-Con garnered the desired results for a young, BBC show like Merlin - at least it worked on me. I’d like to see the show. I’ve already gone online looking for earlier episodes. The clips and teasers they brought intrigued the history/legend buff in me, and the panel members and outtake reel made the cast into real people I want to go out and support.
That’s the reason the studios send their shows, casts, and producers to Comic-Con. To connect with existing fans. To win over new fans. The Merlin panel stood out as an example of how to do it well.
For more Poptimal coverage of Comic-Con 2010, click here.
Photos courtesy of Poptimal.com
It’s great to see that the panel had impact on non-Merlin fans, I really hope you’ll enjoy watching the episodes.
Thank you as well for this brillant article, made me smile and laugh, especially about Athony Head almost always laughing, and Bradley as the most accident prone ^^
I can’t imagine how it must feel having seen the Epic trailer of the season 3 whle you haven’t see any other previous episodes but great that it got you interested in the show. I personally think it’s a truly brillant idea, the way they’re telling the story before Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred … became legends.
And what I really love in this show is the cast, they’re just amazing and so lovable. And I also love the great relation between Merlin and Arthur in the show. As Johnny said it during the panel (or was it Julian, I can’t remember) they’re lucky that Colin and Bradley have such great onset (and offset) chemistry. That is definitely one of my fave aspect in the show.
Wonderful story! I am a big Merlin fan and can’t wait for the 3rd season to start. You really should watch the show, it’s marvelous. I like the dynamics between the characters and I enjoy seeing a slightly different take on the Arthurian legend. I hope it’s on the air for a long time.
You lucky girl, getting to see the Merlin cast. It’s a wonderful show and the cast is really outstanding. Colin is brilliant and Bradley (who wasn’t there) has great comic timing and physicality in his role as Arthur. Thanks so much for the review!
Merlin is a great show so definitely check it out if you can (the first season is up on Hulu but I’d watch it uncut on dvd, the second season isn’t available on dvd in the US yet but it’s on iTunes). It’s not “accurate” according to the Arthurian legends but it’s lots of fun. The actors are wonderful actors and also really awesome people, not just Anthony Head, all of them (but I’m biased since I heart Colin Morgan). It takes a few episodes for season 1 to hit its stride and season 2 is grander. Those of us who’ve watched so far are eagerly looking forward to season 3.