Camelot

Unfortunately, lightweight Bower (more Dude Arthur than King Arthur) and an even lighter-weight Egerton can't carry a series, let alone a kingdom. Nonetheless, it's still lots of lush, plush, silly good fun.

Fantasy epics aren't really my thing, but this stylish, intense series should satisfy sci-fi fans for some time.

It all gets pretty involving in time. Based on the first three hours, this is a sturdy production from a producer/scriptwriter (Chris Chibnall) whose well-appointed credits include Torchwood, Doctor Who and the United Kingdom version of Law & Order.

A few key tweaks to the story and Joseph Fiennes' puckish interpretation of the king's right-hand sorcerer keep the legend from getting too stale

Some fans apparently don't think the sloe-eyed blond actor Jamie Campbell Bower is studly and thrusting enough for Arthur. But boyishness gives him room to grow, and there is plenty that's masterly about Joseph Fiennes as Merlin, who is occasionally seen in a studded hoodie and always shrouded in mystery, but other otherwise all man.

Bower's not the most compelling hero--and Fiennes can be a bore--but the story, however twisted, remains amusing.

Mr. Fiennes is fun to watch as an arrogant, punked-out Merlin; he's much more interesting than Jamie Campbell Bower, whose lightweight Arthur, to this point, doesn't appear to deserve all the attention he's getting....Best of all is Ms. Green, the Bond girl and Bernardo Bertolucci dream object, as Arthur's sister and rival (known here as Morgan). Her intensity is a good match for the show's gloomy-doomy, psychologizing mood.

Fiennes gives Camelot some feistiness and playfulness, and the whole affair is boosted by the fiery Green, a bit part by James Purefoy, plus strong performances in the supporting cast (and yet more wonderful costumes by Joan Bergin, who worked her Emmy-winning magic on Tudors).

This is "King Arthur Begins." Fiennes seems determined to play the Joker. Whether this interpretation of the sorcerer will cast a spell over viewers is uncertain.

As Merlin, Joseph Fiennes is more like a trainer-dietitian than mentor, but he's lively. Eva Green, as Morgan, is coldly beautiful and magnificent in Camelot couture. She's enchanting. But I don't see Jamie Campbell Bower's Arthur having the resolve of a king. [28 Mar 2011, p.54]

The main thing Camelot has going for it is a lively, unpretentious desire to entertain. It doesn't take itself overly seriously--Merlin has a wry sense of humor--and there are some capable action sequences amid scenes of rustic splendor.

Bower starts out seeming just a bit too young and green to command the throne, though he may grow into it as the weeks go along. The rest of the cast play their positions well, from the conniving Morgan to the inscrutable Merlin. And if once in a while things look like "The Young and the Restless," well, some truths are eternal.

It's all extremely familiar material, despite plot tweaks here and there, and yet the show is still somewhat charming in its emphasis on idealism and bravery. Flimsy, but charming enough.

While stately and reasonably smart, the first three episodes unfold at a less-than-galvanizing pace, featuring a young King Arthur whose appeal seems more calibrated to please the "Twilight" demo than action-craving men.

Nice looking, but not nearly enough action.

It's not easy, with all the silly one-liners, oddball plot twists, and frat-party ambience, to get terribly invested in who will win the power struggle that Camelot dramatizes. But if Fiennes and Green could stage a coup, wresting control of the show from its tawdrier impulses, then that might just be something worth watching.

Pieces of the familiar Arthurian epic are preserved in the script, but that doesn't mean the characters fit our images of them.

The series as a whole seems much more interested in the love triangle involving Arthur, his bravest knight Leontes (Philip Winchester) and the beautiful Guinevere (Tamsin Egerton) than in actually showing the growth of a king. It doesn't help that parts of that story are bizarrely anachronistic.

Camelot teeters on the edge of camp, but it doesn't have the nerve to pitch itself into the abyss and just be trashy.

Despite the interesting twist of overt sibling rivalry, Chibnall seems to be making a blood and gore version of "The Princess Diaries."

This retelling of the Arthurian legend feels overly familiar and there's just not enough that's new or different to make it worthwhile.

Rarely has the story been rendered so dreary and insipid.

Even on the level of it's-just-entertainment, Camelot is exceedingly silly.

There are a few amusing, if not always sensible, twists, and after a rough start, Bower does display some charm and skill as the boy king. But even so, a story meant to sing simply doesn't.