The Legend of Merlin (serial): Difference between revisions

Help

Content added Content deleted

Inline

Latest revision as of 21:18, 15 November 2023


*The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective.*

The Legend of Merlin was the sixth story of Season 30. It was written by Ben Aaronovitch, directed by Michael Kerrigan and featured Richard Griffiths as the Doctor, Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield and John Banks as Henrick.

Synopsis

The TARDIS crashes on a parallel world in the 1000s. The Doctor is mistaken for a wizard and is sentenced to death by the evil Morgaine. The Doctor avoids death only to find that Morgaine isn’t just anyone, she is a sorceress.

That’s when it hit the Doctor: This all seemed very familiar.

He is to become Merlin and he is to banish Morgaine to imprisonment for all eternity, ready for her to return to battle his former self.

Plot

Part 1

To be added.

Part 2

To be added.

Part 3

To be added.

Part 4

To be added.

Cast

To be added

Crew

Writer - Ben Aaronovitch
Producer - Ian Fraser
Script Editor - Ben Aaronovitch
Director - Michael Kerrigan
Lighting - John King
Designer - Malcom Thornton
Visual Effects Designers - Malcom James, Dave Chapman
Make-Up Designer - Helen Barrett
Casting Director - Anne Henderson
Music - Mark Ayres
Costume Designer - Anushia Nieradzik
Edited by - Dave King
Vision Mixer - Julie Mann
Original Theme Music - Ron Grainer
Title Music - Mark Ayres
Title Sequence by CAL Video

Memorable Quotes

To be added.

Background Information

Development

To be added.

Pre-Production

To be added.

Production

To be added.

Post-Production

To be added.

Reaction

Part One received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.54m viewers. It ranked at 52nd over the week.
Part Two received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.96m viewers. It ranked at 51st over the week.
Part Three received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 9.07m viewers. It ranked at 42nd over the week.
Part Four received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 9.40m viewers. It ranked at 56th over the week.

Story Notes

This story acts as a prequel to Season 26's Battlefield.
This was the final story to be filmed using the 625-line PAL setup after 23 years; from the 30th-anniversary special, The Lords of Time, the show would be filmed via PAL 480i 4:3 until Season 34.

Continuity

To be added.

Home Video Releases

To be added.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Episode|prodcode = 8M|episodenumber = Episodes 17-20|doctor(s) = [[Eighth Doctor]]|companion(s) = [[Bernice Summerfield]]
-{{Episode|doctor(s) = [[Eighth Doctor]]|companion(s) = [[Bernice Summerfield]]; [[Henrick]]|main_enemy = [[Morgaine]]; [[The Destroyer]]|main_setting(s) = [[Parallel Earth]], [[11th Century]]|written_by = [[Ben Aaronovitch]]|directed_by = [[Hettie MacDonald]]|produced_by = [[Chris Sanderman]]|season = 40|story_number = 246|original_air_date(s) = 30/08/2003 - 20/09/2003|original_release = BBC One|image2 = The Legend of Merlin.png|caption2 = Title card|previous_serial = [[Conundrum]]|next_serial = [[The Societal Step]]}}'''The Legend of Merlin '''was the sixth story of [[Season 40]]. It was written by [[Ben Aaronovitch]], directed by [[Hettie MacDonald]] and featured [[Richard Griffiths]] as [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]], [[Lisa Bowerman]] as [[Bernice Summerfield]] and [[John Banks]] as [[Henrick]].
-== Synopsis==
+[[Henrick]]|main_enemy = [[Morgaine]]
+[[The Destroyer]]|main_setting(s) = [[Parallel Earth]], [[11th Century]]|written_by = [[Ben Aaronovitch]]|directed_by = [[Michael Kerrigan]]|produced_by = [[Ian Fraser]]|season = [[Season 30 (Doctor Who) | Season 30]]|story_number = |original_air_date(s) = [[23 October (releases)|23 October]]-[[13 November (releases)|13 November]] [[1993]]|original_release = BBC1|image2 = 30x06.jpg|caption2 = |format = 4x25 minute episodes|chapter = [[Doctor Who: Chapter Two|Chapter Two]]|nNthReleasedInSeries = 176|aPrevReleasedInSeries = The Reverent Peril (serial)|sSeries = Doctor Who|aNextReleasedInSeries = The Lords of Time (episode)|nNthReleasedInAll = 179|aPrevReleasedInAll = The Reverent Peril (serial)|aNextReleasedInAll = The Lords of Time (episode)|title1 = The Legend of Merlin|TXtime = 19:10 (parts 1-2)
+:00 (parts 3-4)}}{{Realworld}}'''The Legend of Merlin '''was the sixth story of [[Season 30 (Doctor Who)|Season 30]]. It was written by [[Ben Aaronovitch]], directed by [[Michael Kerrigan]] and featured [[Richard Griffiths]] as [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]], [[Lisa Bowerman]] as [[Bernice Summerfield]] and [[John Banks]] as [[Henrick]].
+==Synopsis==
 The TARDIS crashes on a parallel world in the 1000s. The Doctor is mistaken for a wizard and is sentenced to death by the evil Morgaine. The Doctor avoids death only to find that Morgaine isn’t just anyone, she is a sorceress.
@@ Line 6: / Line 12: @@
 He is to become Merlin and he is to banish Morgaine to imprisonment for all eternity, ready for her to return to battle his former self.
 ==Plot==
 ===Part 1===
@@ Line 21: / Line 26: @@
 *[[Henrick]] - [[John Banks]]
 To be added
 ==Crew==
+*[[Writer]] - [[Ben Aaronovitch]]
-To be added.
+*[[Producers|Producer]] - [[Ian Fraser]]
+*[[Script Editors|Script Editor]] - [[Ben Aaronovitch]]
+*[[Director]] - [[Michael Kerrigan]]
+*[[Lighting]] - [[John King]]
+*[[Production designer|Designer]] - [[Malcom Thornton]]
+*[[Visual effects|Visual Effects Designers]] - [[Malcom James]], [[Dave Chapman]]
+*[[Make-up designer|Make-Up Designer]] - [[Helen Barrett]]
+*[[Casting director|Casting Director]] - [[Anne Henderson]]
+*[[Incidental music|Music]] - [[Mark Ayres]]
+*[[Costume designer|Costume Designer]] - [[Anushia Nieradzik]]
+*[[Editor|Edited by]] - [[Dave King]]
+*[[Vision Mixer]] - [[Julie Mann]]
+*[[Theme Music|Original Theme Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
+*[[Theme Music|Title Music]] - [[Mark Ayres]]
+*[[Title Sequence|Title Sequence by]] [[CAL Video]]
 ==Memorable Quotes==
 To be added.
 ==Background Information==
 ===Development===
+*To be added.
-*
 ===Pre-Production===
-To be added.
+*To be added.
 ===Production===
-To be added.
+*To be added.
 ===Post-Production===
-To be added.
+*To be added.
 ===Reaction===
+* ''Part One'' received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.54m viewers. It ranked at 52nd over the week.
-* Viewers at the time were happy to see the doctors return for the 40th. Fans and critics responded overwhelmingly to the return of Griffiths, but more to Ben Aaronovitch writing the story with many feeling very nostalgic with the use of action and tension that still held up to their expectations. However, a few were critical of continuity references used to Battlefield, as well as most stories in this season.
+* ''Part Two'' received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.96m viewers. It ranked at 51st over the week.
+* ''Part Three'' received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 9.07m viewers. It ranked at 42nd over the week.
-* Speaking to DWM in 2011, Aaronovitch said: ''"Watching the story back was such a treat. It was really helpful that out of most other stories, this one was prepared years in advance. I wrote Battlefield beforehand, so I knew what I was doing for those who though they spotted so many differences. The only thing I would've done to make the whole experience worthwhile was to have more confidence during my time and simply say "Yes, I think we should do this to understand the whole Merlin concept more" instead of keeping hold of it for ages. But I think looking back, the story suited Season 40 more as it had a much better budget (to make everything feel old!) and it was the time where everyone could look back fondly on the last 40 years of Doctor Who, which thankfully avoided more fans being new to the Merlin idea and not understanding it."''
+* ''Part Four'' received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 9.40m viewers. It ranked at 56th over the week.
 ===Story Notes===
+* This story acts as a prequel to Season 26's ''Battlefield''.
-To be added.
+* This was the final story to be filmed using the 625-line PAL setup after 23 years; from the 30th-anniversary special, [[The Lords of Time (episode)|The Lords of Time]], the show would be filmed via PAL 480i 4:3 until [[Season 34 (Doctor Who)|Season 34]].
 ===Continuity===
+*To be added.
+==Home Video Releases==
 To be added.
-==Home Video Releases==
-VHS
-*This story was first released on VHS in 2003.
-DVD
-*This story along with the other stories in [[Season 40]] were included in [[the Complete Season 40 Box Set]] released in December 2003.
-*This story was included in [[The Complete Richard E Grant Era (DVD Box Set)]] in April 2012.
-*This story was included in [[the Complete Richard Griffiths Era (DVD Box Set)]] as a Bonus Disc.
 [[Category:Stories]]
 [[Category:Eighth Doctor stories]]
-[[Category:Stories Set On Earth]]
+[[Category:Season 30 Stories]]
-[[Category:Chapter Two Part III Stories]]
+[[Category:Chapter Two Stories]]