Merlin - Series 3 - Complete BBC [DVD]

I love this series for its family quality entertainment. Full of promising young stars of the future combined with fantastic talent in its guest stars too, there really is something for everyone.
I own the previous two series & must say that the box layout on season 3 is frustrating as you are not provided with episode info about what is on each disc.
Another negative is that the quality of some of the discs is below par with lines running through the image & glitching. I returned the discs twice to no avail. It's not Amazon's fault. I would have complained to the BBC but I haven't had the time.
Still, my familyove the series & will continue to follow the adventures of Merlin and Arthur till the end.

I didn't know when I first started watching this if it would be as good as the first two series, but I found this on the whole to be more darker than before. There are a couple of episodes that arguably are more aimed at the younger family audience, one with scatalogical humour, and you could be forgiven if you only saw those to think that this had lost its direction, but it has to be said to offer something that younger children will more appreciate is rather canny on the part of the writers.

Starting off with the return of Morgana the series then develops with her finding out a secret, as well as being in constant communication with Morgause, as well as the usual magic and fantastical creatures. With Morgana actively seeking the throne of Camelot for herself, expect a lot of twists and turns. Also we have the first appearance of Gawain, and Percival, and the return of Launcelot, as well as Arthur getting more cosy with Guinevere. There is also an episode featuring the Fisher King.

With a brilliant ending to the series finale this has been set up perfectly for the fourth series. As I have always said, in theory this shouldn't work, it puts the popular legends out of order, and invents others, but that doesn't seem to matter because it all gels nicely together. With magic, danger, adventure and comedy this is a great series to watch and it can only be hoped that children will pick up the subtext of honour, compassion, friendship and good works, instead of growing up to go around mugging and stabbing each other.

I have just started watching Merlin, but the first two thirds of series 3 episodes have been pretty good. This is a short review of Episodes 1-12 in Series 3.

The Tears of Uther Pendragon- Part 1
My first ever episode of merlin, and some of the back story and set up confused me quite a bit, but by halfway through I had more or less got the hang of it. The ending was great, but the cliffhanger again wrong footed me, as I didn't know who 'The great dragon was. 8/10

Tears of Uther pendragon Part 2-
I had high expectations for this concluding part, and it matched them with some gripping storytelling, action packed fight scenes and great CGI. It set the bar really high for the rest of series 3. 9/10

Goblin's Gold
A departure from the dark opening 2-parter, instead this was a comic relief episode. Surprisingly good jokes, superb acting from Richard Wilson who plays Gaius, and a breath of fresh air from the movie style preceding episodes. Not well written though. 8/10

Gwaine
A drop in quality after a speedy start to the series. It was a lacklustre, poorly written mush of an episode. Also contains the most rubbish pre titles moment ever. Entertaining action scenes, and a very good comedy bar fight soften the badness of this episode. 6/10

The Crystal Cave
Back to the standard of the opening 2 parter, with a light on action, tight plotted and character driven story. Starts well, ends well, and is chock full of revelations. Marks the return of the Great Dragon in a much smaller role. 9/10

The Changeling
Bad, bad, bad. I have nothing good to say about this pointless, childish episode apart from good acting. I don't think I've WAITED MANY YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT.
5/10

The Castle of Fyrien
Much better than the changeling, at least this was entertaining, action packed and generally gripping. 8.5/10

The Eye of the Phoenix- An excellent episode with pretty much everything needed for an entertaining saturday night drama show. It will probably end up being a crucial cog in the overall series story arc, as a superbly handled scene near the end supplies some intriguing teasers for the series finale. The best episode in series 3 so far. 9.5/10

Love in the Time of Dragons
An episode bridging the gap between compelling and rubbish, in short the first OK episode of series 3. Pros and Cons everywhere- a great script, a lack of action, good character development and sometimes lazy, dull scenes. Nevertheless, it was stronger than some episodes and made perfectly adequate viewing. 7/10

Queen of Hearts
A return to the standards of episodes 7&8 with an epic, engaging and comedic episode. Colin Morgan makes his best acting performance of the series as 'Dragoon' the old Merlin, complete with some of the most funny scenes since the goblin episode in the courtroom and Bradley james and Angel Coulby also deliver fantastic acting. One of the strongest stories so far, and with Series 3 reaching a level of quality that beats parts of Doctor Who, and with Series 4 on the way, the future looks bright for Merlin. 9/10

The Sorcerer's Shadow
An solid all round episode. The best performances by guests this series, a mix of battles and dillemas, this is one of the most engaging episodes this series. Very well done. But why can't they dump this repetive tournament formula, It's getting dull. 8/10

The Coming of Arthur Part 1
Oh my god. The perfect Merlin episode, with all the vital ingredients for a sucessful instalment of the show, plus hundreds more extras, I am struggling to find a fault in this one. Road trip, battle, verbal battle, emotional moments, this has it all. Oh, and did I mention the blistering, game changing cliffhanger? Exceptional. But only exceptional because of the cliffhanger. If it had been a singular instalment, it would have scored 9. But when you see a finish like that after a pretty great episode anyway, you literally can't not give it perfect marks 10/10

The Coming of Arthur Part 2
The icing on the cake. A fitting finale to a great series, with new characters returning, Excalibur, Knights of the Round Table and a thrilling climax all featured in this super-compact 45 minute episode. A fantastic pre credits starts it, and it's all uphill from there. And then the episode finished with Excalibur placed in the stone. It's pity that the series is over, but Series 4 is on the way- a 10 episode run. Hopefully they'll cut the filler episodes. Anyway, thank you to everyone at the BBC for making this series a joy to watch. 10/10
UPDATE: Series 4 is 13 episodes again- its going to open with another 2-parter. :)