Camelot is Coming

Starz is at it again.  First, it gave us the great mini-series Pillars of the Earth, and now it is back with Camelot.  The first episode of this retelling of the adventures of King Arthur and Merlin premieres tomorrow night, though the season does not start until April 1.  I for one love the current competition for viewers among HBO, Showtime, Starz, and others.  These new programs add a whole new level of vitality to television and bring back memories of when the networks put out period-pieces such as Shogun, The Thorn Birds, and Roots.

And Camelot has lined up a nice cast, including Joseph Fiennes for the part of Merlin (though his magic did not work in FlashForward).  Arthur is played by Jamie Campbell Bower, known by many for his role in the Twilight and Harry Potter movies.  Such a cast should draw viewers of all ages.

The trailer for the show looks promising, and initial comments are mostly positive.  In an interview last year, Fiennes noted,"It's a beautiful, riveting, romantic, sensational epic story that has never been told in all of its episodes."  Let's hope he is right.

Update:  I finally watched this first episode of Camelot and enjoyed the story.  While Fiennes has a strange way about his character that is not working for me, Bower is doing well as the youthful (and somewhat whiney) Arthur contemplating his situation.  So far is it much closer to the original story than other versions I have seen, such as the BBC's current program Merlin.  Then again, the BBC production is focused on a young Merlin and a young Arthur in Uther Pendragon's castle, which is not even close to the original story since Merlin was already an older man when Arthur was born and stowed away from Uther.  I look forward to the full season of Camelot next month.

Second Update:  The second hour has also been a good story, though it continues to blaze its own way.  For instance, the sword Excalibur is now the Sword of Mars buried in a rock, but a rock at the top of a waterfall.  An interesting and odd twist with its own perils.  And I thought the sword was originally placed there by Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, though placing it here would be very difficult to do.  I guess all fictions grow richer with the retelling, and this program will be no different, or so I hope.

Third Update:  Camelot is going!  Off the air, that is.  According to Geeks of Doom, Starz decided against picking up the series for a second season.