I’ve been watching all three, but I think I’m giving up on The Borgias. It doesn’t have any interesting characters, and seems to be too focused on whose having sex with who in place of a plot. Too bad, since the pilot was kind of interesting, but they didn’t really run with the ideas from it in the following episodes.
Of course the source material for Camelot is pretty much a soap opera, too.
I find that some of the dialogue is slightly too contemporary in its idiom and takes me out of the suspension of disbelief, such as
– “You’re with me” – an instruction from Morgan (IIRC) to a lackey, meaning to accompany her. It’s something I expect to hear from Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect, not from an iron age sorceress.
– “You know me. I never miss an invite.” – Merlin to Morgaine
We watched the first four (?) episodes, and then gave up. I don’t mind people taking liberties with the Arthur story (killing off Lot, marrying Guenivere to some new character, etc) but we had a real dislike for the Arthur character that we never got over. There were a couple of nice moments – the sword in the stone, for instance – that then got wrecked with Arthur falling over the waterfall. Basically, we felt it was meh.
It might have been damaged by running alongside GAME OF THRONES and BORGIAS. They’re all being done as soap operas, but this one was the weakest. We stopped DVRing.
I agree with some of your points.
I really, really dislike Arthur. The actor is too pretty. He plays Arthur as too much of an impulsive adolescent. He’s really unlikable.
I quite like Morgan and Merlin. I like how the story took fantasy elements like the sword in the stone and the lady of the lake and re-crafted them.
I’m still annoyed, however, that Morgan is the daughter of Uther instead of being the daughter of Igraine and Gorlois.
I’m going to stick with it for now, along with The Borgias and Game of Thrones. Mostly because at this point the good still outweighs the bad. And also because there never seem to be more than a handful of serious, adult dramas. And, on principle, I support serious, adult dramas that are sexually explicit. I want to encourage more of that.
I am still learning the Camelot characters, having missed the first episode or two but am enjoying the show. Although I agree with those who think it pales in comparison to Game of Thrones, it’s definitely less cheesy than Pillars of the Earth, which was way too soap opera-ish, imo.
On this latest episode ‘‘The Long Night’’, what the heck happened at the end? First it looked like Igraine was taken secretly as prisoner being tended by that backstabbing nun, then it showed her (Igraine) riding into Camelot… “it’s good to be home.” 
Morgan shape shifted to look like Igraine. The Igraine now at Camelot is really Morgan in disguise.
Thanks for the explanation, Diogenes. Am more than a little bit disappointed though upon learning this. What’s next? Quantum physics? I realize Camelot might involve magic and fantasy but the writers should draw the line somewhere - if the story gets far fetched past a certain point it can become silly.
It’s already well established in the Arthur stories that Arthur was conceived when Merlin helped Uther change his shape to look like Gerlois so that he could copulate with Igraine. How is this any worse?
I’m not finding the magic very intersting either. I’d rather see the show focus more on Arthur trying to establish a new kind of kingdom (protective instead of exploitive), and a more naturalistic tone. All the Morgan/Merlin intrigue and the magic is starting to get boring.
I hate Arthur. Guy has such a dopey look on his face all the time.
But I’m liking the show. Not up to par with Game Thrones which is rocking my fantasy bone, but good and interesting none the less.
Specially like Morgan, as everyone else apparently.
I’m not big into the Arthur legend, but isn’t this STRAIGHT from the Excalibur movie, which is presumably based off…something?
-Joe
Based on the earliest full “account” of Arthur’s life. Made up completely, of course, but yeah that’s how Geoffrey of Monmoth recounts (invents really) Arthur’s birth.
Okay, I missed out on this, wasn’t familiar with the root of the story. This was the first magic I had seen (or was whooshed on, until it was pointed out) - with the exception of the cauldron with the face of Igraine appearing. Uther? Gerlios? Are these people in this version? I still think it’s bordering on lame, it threw the context out a bit for me. Or maybe I am just defensive for not figuring the shapeshifting out. If Morgan has this kind of power, what’s the use of all these convoluted scenarios? I give credit for Liberty Starz network for plugging away with these original series attempts, and this one is vastly better than Pillars of the Earth. But HBO outshines them regularly - not only on original series productions but sports documentaries as well.
I should bail, just wait for the Camelot series to be replayed, then catch the first couple of episodes that I missed - would likely enjoy it more.
Uther was in the very first scene of the series. The series begins with the return of Morgan from the nunnery and the subsequent death of Uther. On several occasions, Morgan reminds people that she is the daughter of Uther.
Gerlois hasn’t been in the series yet, but Igraine admits at some point that she was married to another man when she conceived Arthur. And Merlin admits that he helped Uther trick his way into Igraine’s bed in exchange for any child that might be born of that union. I don’t know that they showed exactly how that happened except in fuzzy flashback.
In addition to the annoyance that Morgan has been reassigned as the daughter of Uther rather than as the daughter of Igraine and Gerlois, it also annoys me that they seem to be using “Pendragon” as a family name rather than as a title (“chief dragon,” meaning “high king”).
Don’t you have HBO On Demand available through your cable service? I’ll bet that all the episodes are available through that.
Yeah, but they’re replaying the episode that is current that week, in addition sometimes to the episode before that. I’m sure that sooner or later, they will get back to the earlier ones though.
Thanks for that explanation, Ascenray! It indeed help me figure out what is going on in the series.
Current episode airs in 10 minutes!
No one else noticed this?