MERLIN

1. MERLIN • Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme, broadcasted on BBC One from 20 September 2008 to 24 December 2012.The show is based on the Arthurian legend of the young wizard Merlin and his relationship with Arthur Pendragon. The TV show have 5 seasons with 13 episodes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(TV_series)

2. SERIES OVERVIEW • The first episode begins with the arriving of the young wizard Merlin in Camelot, after his mother arranges for him to stay with the court physician, Gaius. He discovers that the king, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic and that his destiny is to protect Uther's son, Arthur, who will be the last and future king.

3. MAIN CAST

4. Colin Morgan • Colin Morgan as Merlin,(born 1 January 1986) is a Northern Irish actor, best known for playing the title character in the BBC TV series Merlin. He is Arthur's servant and Gaius' ward, who must secretly develop his magical gifts under the gaze of kings Uther and Arthur, both of whom despise the art.

5. Bradley James • Bradley James as Arthur Pendragon, (born 2 October 1983) is an English actor from Exeter, Devon. He made his television debut in the ITV series Lewis in 2008 and is best known for portraying King Arthur in the BBC television programme Merlin. Despite being charged with carrying out his father's harsh edicts, Arthur is portrayed as a far more compassionate man. Most importantly, he comes to regard his servant Merlin as a close friend, never realizing how many times Merlin has had to save his life using magic.

6. Katie McGrath • Katie McGrath as Morgana, (born 24 October 1983) is an Irish actress and model from Ashford, County Wicklow, Ireland, best known for playing Morgana in the BBC One TV series Merlin. Uther's ward who is later revealed to be his daughter. Initially portrayed as a kind and compassionate young woman, Morgana comes to despise Uther when she realizes he would never accept her if he knew of her magical powers, and begins covertly plotting against him. She becomes the show's primary villain by the third season.

7. Angel Coulby • Angel Coulby as Guinevere, (born 30 August 1980 in London) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the character Queen Guinevere "Gwen" Pendragon in the BBC fantasy series Merlin. Morgana's servant who later rises to become queen of Camelot. Her relationship with Arthur at first causes conflict within the kingdom, however, Gwen proves popular among the people, and strives to make Arthur and his advisers approachable to them.

8. Production history • The series went into production in March 2008, with filming in Wales and France. The series was produced by Shine in association with BBC Wales, whose Head of Drama Julie Gardner was executive producer for the BBC. The Old English for spells was written by a university scholarand later the script editing team. An initial series of 13 episodes, Merlin began transmission in the UK on 20 September 2008. A trailer was prepared in advance for television, cinemas, and online. On 19 September 2009, Series 2 began airing on BBC One. A ten-episode fourth series was confirmed on 25 October 2010 so that it would not clash with the BBC's other primetime drama Doctor Who which would possibly run during the same period. The fourth series was broadcast in the United States on the Syfy Channel. In UK, the fourth series began on Saturday 1 October 2011. Capps and Murphy confirmed on 24 July that BBC had commissioned a fifth series. • Filming for the fifth series began March 2012 in Pierrefonds, France and near Cardiff, Wales. 13 episodes were ordered. Series 5 started broadcasting on 6 October 2012. On 26 November 2012, it was announced that the series 5 of Merlin would be the last, with a two-part special concluding the series over Christmas.

9. Château de Pierrefonds castle in France is used for filming Camelot scenes.

10. Broadcast • A documentary series called Merlin: Secrets and Magic explains how the series was created. The show is frequently shown on CBBC. • In April 2008, US broadcasting rights were purchased by NBC, where it was shown on Sundays at 8 pm, starting 21 June 2009. This made it the first British drama in over 30 years to be shown on US network television, as opposed to PBS or cable. The programme moved to Syfy, a cable channel also owned by NBC, for the second series, which premiered on 2 April 2010. Syfy aired the third series in early 2011, after the conclusion of the initial broadcast on BBC. It was later announced the series would air after Friday Night SmackDown beginning 7 January 2011 at 10 pm. The distributor, FremantleMedia Enterprises, also sold broadcast rights to CTV in Canada and Network Ten in Australia. The series was broadcast in 183 countries.

11. DVD releases • Series one and two were released on DVD in the UK, US and Australia. Series three is available in the UK, and was released in Australia on 4 August 2011. Behind the Magic, a two-part overview of making Merlin is included with the UK series one box set, while the documentary series, Secrets and Magic, is included with series two. • In Australia Series 1 was released on DVD and re-released in new packaging on 4 August 2010. Series 2 was released on 22 July 2010 and then re-released in new packaging on 6 January 2011. Series 3 was released on 1 August 2011. Series 4 was released on 1 March 2012. Series 5 was released on 13 February 2013.

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