The second series/season of Merlin was recently released to DVD, just as Syfy has started to air the third series here in the U.S. Strangely titled The Adventures of Merlin on the DVD cover and nowhere else (any idea why?), the set includes all 13 episodes as well as a disc full of extras.
Merlin is a show that, despite taking place in a completely different time, locale, and world, reminds me very much of early Smallville. You have characters whose destinies may lead them to evil; you have a young lead character mastering his ability. You even have a parental unit always telling them to be careful lest they get caught, and a father to the best friend who acts like he is a King or something. The series has a very likable cast and characters that are easy to get behind.
Merlin Series 2 is obviously better if you’ve seen the first series which preceded it. That is also available on DVD, don’t worry. Several characters from the first season – including Lancelot and Mordred – come back for return appearances here, and several key relationships and situations build on what came before. Arthur gets closer to Guinivere, especially following a stay at her home; and Morgana’s magic connections also grow.
The presentation and DVD packaging, despite the inexplicable “Adventures Of” bit, are nice, but I do have a major issue – nowhere on or in the packaging does it say what episodes are on which discs, or what extras are on each discs. So without exploring more, I have no idea which episodes have commentary, because there’s no way to look it up. The discs do say things like Episodes 1-3, 4-6, etc. but that doesn’t do a whole lot of good.
There IS a disc full of extras, which are mostly culled from “Behind The Magic,” which appears to be the Merlin equivalent of Doctor Who Confidential. There’s also an “intro to Series 2” video. These are nice, but beware that you’ll find some duplication of clips if you watch all of the extras at once as I did.
Merlin is a very rewatchable series and one that I am definitely glad to have in my collection. There are silly episodes, don’t get me wrong – the two-parter where Uther marries a troll is not the series’ high point – but there’s still enough that you’ll want to see again and again.
The new set is now available at stores and online outlets everywhere.
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