Camelot Cancelled by Starz

I'm really not surprised by this news. I love the Arthurian Legend and couldn't get into it, so I knew it was in trouble. I review Merlin on this blog, and was seriously considering reviewing Camelot, but truth be told, I just didn't like the show enough to review it, and I thought it would be silly to post one snarky blog post after another, when anyone who was into the show could find better, more passionate reviews elsewhere.

I know there are those who probably believe that the show had potential and deserved a second season and they wouldn't be wrong. Some shows need that first season to work out all its kinks. Camelot was clearly one of those shows because it had no direction. Season Two could have changed that. Plus the rating were decent, the season finale was tantalizing, and there was rumblings of introducing Lancelot, always a plus, but considering that Guinevere was already knee deep in adultery stew, probably not the wisest move for her characterization...But when you are being compared to Game of Thrones and Spartacus, potential just isn't good enough.

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit that part of me wasn't thrilled when I heard the news about Camelot because I feared that its bigger budget, and American distributor, would mean that it would overshadow Merlin, a show that has become one of my favorite adaptations of the Arthurian Legend, ever, but I was willing to give it a chance and I really hoped I'd fall in love with it. Unfortunately, the show was a nonsensical jumbo for me. I thought it was going be a fascinating and complex tale of sibling rivalry where both Arthur and Morgana had legitimate claims to the throne, but used different methods to get/keep it. Instead it was just a dud. I think my expectations were too high. For years I wondered, "what would Merlin be like if it was more adult, darker and had a bigger budget?" I thought Camelot would be my answer, but alas...

The major problem that I had with Camelot was Arthur.  He was too whiny and too hard to like. And yes, I understand this was a prequel and he was growing into the Arthur of Legend, but Merlin is a prequel too, and Arthur was far from the king of legend when he was introduced, but from the very moment Bradley James popped on my screen, I believed  I was looking at The Once and Future King. I'm sure that Jamie Campbell Bower is a fine actor, he just wasn't Arthur. In my opinion, he was miscast and it was a fatal error for the show.

Still, it wasn't all bad. Eva Green WAS Morgana. She made that show worth watching and I think watching her use Mordred in Season Two as a weapon against Arthur would have been delicious. If there is ever another movie based on Arthur and his knights they need to snap up Ms. Green in a heart beat.

Read more about the cancellation here.