It is official: although it is currently breaking its own records in UK and although it is the show viewed in the biggest number of countries around the
world, BBC's epic series
MERLIN will finish with the current fifth season! The hit fantasy drama will draw to a close this Christmas in Britain with a two-part finale. The producers think that the story has reached its apex and the fifth and the least run of the show will lead to a spectacular finale that draws on the best known elements of this much-loved story and brings to a conclusion the battle for Camelot. The final episodes will be coloured with impending doom since Merlin (
Colin Morgan) knows that king Arthur (
Bradley James) will die at Mordred's hand which will make
him more ruthless and focused in the show's finale. BBC's bosses said
that they have ambitious plans for new drama in the Saturday evening
slot in 2013. But do not despair Merlin fans, it was also announced that the plans of making movies out of the show are still on: MERLIN's
co-creator Julian Murphy said to "Digital Spy" that the films would inevitably be done in the form of a reboot and that, if the films happen, it is not yet known if they would be done with the same actors. MERLIN's final season will be aired in USA on SyFy from Friday January 4th.
Some time ago HOLLYWOOD SPY has informed you about the plans for new period drama
SUITE FRANCAISE with Oscar winning
Michelle Williams in the lead role and now she's got herself the main partner in the film. Belgian actor
Matthias Schoenaerts (you've seen him full naked in RUST AND BONE with equally naked Marion Cotillard on top of him) is apparently in negotiations to take the lead male role. According to "Daily Mail", based on a section of
Irene Nemirovsky's novel of the same title, the World War II drama tells the love story between a French woman (
Michelle Williams) and a German officer placed at her home she shares with her mother-in-law (
Kristin Scott Thomas) in Nazi-occupied France.
Saul Dibb, who already has experience in filming period pieces since he helmed THE DUCHESS, will direct the film. It is interesting that
Nemirovsky intended to write the novel in five parts, but managed to write only the first two parts before she died in Auschwitz. You already know that you will be watching Michelle next year as good witch Glinda in OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL.
One thing I have noticed about the BBC, they ft hint let their shoes jump the shark like they do in the states!
ReplyDeleteThey usually have these things planned at the very beginning - from the very start they knew MERLIN would last for five seasons with 10 episodes in each season.
DeleteThere are many many shows here that I wish they would do that with...so many good ones have been ruined...
Deleteit's true. I'm guessing over in USA they love to milk them as long as the money drips....
DeleteThat is exactly what they do...and it ruins too many good things. So sad.
Deletethat is why I support the ends of MERLIN and SPARTACUS, they should go while we still love them.
DeleteI agree with you 100%!
Delete;)
DeleteThe Brits have always shown good sense when it comes to their programs. They don't work their actors to death doing too many shows per season and this helps their actors be able to play other roles and grow their careers.
Deletethat's true, Annzie, they really chose their roles carefully too, because unlike USA, in UK the actors enjoy deep respect and are considered real people of art.
DeleteI just got done watching Foyle's War with Michael Kitchen who is a brilliant actor. It's a detective show set in WWII and it deals with all the hardships, horrors and doubts faced by the English at home. And a lot of their actors come from the stage as well. Love their programs.
DeleteThis is why I watch so much BBC America. The quality of programming puts American television to shame. Granted there are a few exceptions to that rule. I am hoping that the exceptions become the norm, and that they take a hint from the UK.
DeleteThat's why I always thought the secret of European thespians was - most of them are educated in drama and they have stage experience, they're artists not random stars like the ones in USA.
DeleteDon't even get me started on American "celebrities". Trash famous for doing nothing. It's sickening.
Deleteespecially in recent few years.
DeleteThose reality shows are responsible for that. A trend that came from the bowels of hell itself. But you know there have been some American classic movies and telly that are great. Seinfeld springs to mind and some old telly like The Dick Van Dyke show and I Love Lucy. Those were groundbreaking comedies and will stand the test of time.
Deletereality shows, MTV, computer games.... all of it.
DeleteI'd put FRIENDS and HOME IMPROVEMENT in the good ones, but SEINFELD was, in my opinion, the father of the problem we are facing today. Although I watched the sitcom and often laughed with it, it was one of the first ones to openly show all of the worst American characteristics as funny and acceptable ones - cold sarcasm, lack of sympathy, brutal alienation of society, lack of compassion, coldhearted irony and cynicism.... The good thing is that the heroes of SEINFELD were punished for their sins in the final season by being locked up in jail for all the mockery and cynicism they've shown for years.
Oh MTV...why did they have to do that? I can't even tell you the last time I actually saw a music video on the channel!
Deletethey did it to VH1 too and here we have MTV ADria and VH1 Adria which also play some horrid domestic videos which nobody listens too. Ah, the old times.... when Tina Turner and Celine Dion were stars
DeleteI am sad Merlin is coming to an end. I have loved that show so much and have grown to love the cast. Esp Colin, Bradley and of course Eoin, Tom and Santiago. ;)
ReplyDeleteMichelle's got herself one hot partner there in her new film Yowza!
ah, yes, we must mention Eoin and Tomzie too, we do lurve them mucho :)
DeleteYep, that WW2 flick will be hot as hell with the two of them fooling around :)
who is that girl, there is no way that is who you say it is... that girl is a toad... this photo is a kissed toad turned princess...
ReplyDeleteoh yes... too i am saddened by the choice to cancel merlin... dammit.
Deleteit's from her GQ photoshoot :) Methinks Photoshop worked there full steam!
DeleteWhew! I haven't had the chance to start watching Merlin yet so I don't know what I'm missing yet by it's cancellation. I was so nervous when you gave me that teaser yesterday, Dezzy. Even after reading it wasn't TWD, I wasn't sure what it could be....
ReplyDeleteLOL, sorry I almost gave you a heart attack :) You should join our TWD rants at Tweeter, we rant about it after every episode, Melanie, Joshua and me :)
DeleteI'm so terrible when it come to Twitter. I always forget it's existence =PP
DeleteI love it because I get celebrity contacts there, my army of lady angels is there :) and we rant about TWD there too :)
DeleteYou have quite the following there!!
DeleteIndeed I do and I love to cherish my army of tweeting angels there :) And I love it when we manage to pull some strings like when Hiddleston was losing from RPats in GQ's best dressed poll and I united my angel armies with Hiddlestoners there and we changed the score in a few days sending thousands of votes :) It's a powerful machine that Twitter :)
DeleteI never fully got into Merlin, maybe now is the time!
ReplyDeletethe end for some, the beginning for some others :P
DeleteI just finished the fourth season and you're right it did get a bit darker. Marganna is so evil I want to see her come to a bad and final end. You know in the original legends Mordred was the offspring of Arthur and Morganna. I know they couldn't write that into this program as this is family friendly. And yes Arthur does have to die to complete the story as according to legend The Once And Future King will return to save England in it's time of greatest need.
ReplyDeleteyep, they did twist the legends a lot... The night when Morganna tricked Arthur and conceived Mordred with him is rather interesting in the legends.
DeleteI don't have a problem at all with what they changed. I love the way they've focused on the relationship between Merlin and Arthur. And watching these two grow together and to see the love and dedication Merlin has to Arthur and to doing right is the best way they could have gone.
Deleteyep, that innocence in them is what made the show so special and different. Back in USA it would've been made gory and violent and Merlin would've been some crazy psycho like in that horrid CAMELOT show.
DeleteFollowing 9/11 the media did intensive market studies to find out which direction to take the future of television. What they discovered is that violence sales. I was shocked as I anticipated that what people would want at that time would be something to make them feel safe and comfortable. Something that would harken back to their original roots as a great nation. Not what happened. The people were primed for war and gore and that's what got made in the year following the tragedy. One of the first things they served up was that hideous show Survivors that promoted the absolute worst in people and it's been downhill ever since.
Deletethis is because when you watch bad people on TV it makes you feel better about your own faults and bad characteristics. It also has to do with the fact that the whole humanity is reaching its boiling point due to economical problems and in such moments they usually want to see blood as some kind of personal release or something. It's disgusting, makes us look like animals. This is why newer generations are so superficial in their tastes and attitudes and why they feel no shame in openly saying they want gore,blood, death, killings, butcherings.... Those are all the generations born in the 90's, the decade of alienation, the lost years, the brutal years... there was no love in that period and thus the kids of that age are the way they are. It scares me extremely.
DeleteHello Matthias, it's nice to meet you. :))
ReplyDeleteYou won't believe what kind of trouble I was in while choosing the best of his naked pics for this post:)
DeleteI need to go back and watch the old Merlin miniseries.
ReplyDeletethat one was nice too, although not as nice as BBC's series :)
DeleteAs sad as I am to see the show go, I'm glad that the BBC put a definite stopping point to the series. Plus it means I get finally get an overall box set without worrying about more shows!
ReplyDeleteJamie
yep, it was getting a bit boring with them refusing to reveal Merlin's powers making the show much more dynamic and interesting.
DeleteLots of eye candy here :)
ReplyDeletealways, Carol, always :)
Delete