Seventeen years after beloved BBC One fantasy series Merlin came to an end, the show's co-creator and writer Julian Jones has revealed his one regret – and it revolves around the very first episode.
The first episode of the series, titled The Dragon's Call, aired in 2008, and saw Colin Morgan's Merlin arriving in Camelot, being welcomed by court physician and soon-to-be-friend Gaius (Richard Wilson), and taking on an evil witch (Eve Myles) who threatens Prince Arthur's (Bradley James) life.
Now, in an interview with The Ladies of the Lake podcast which will be available in full on 12th September, Jones has said the episode was lacking "an epic quality" which became clearer in future episodes and seasons.
He explained:"I don't feel I understand all the mistakes that were made, but it just doesn't seem to be enough room for the show’s story. I'm not saying I know how to do it differently, and there are great moments. Like when Merlin meets Arthur, the start of their relationship [is] spot on. I love the Merlin and Gaius relationship.
"I think that the story with the actress, Eve Myles… the witch who's come back to the banquet… I think it's a great story. But what we don't have in that first day and first episode is something that I think that as the season goes on, it and not only the season, the whole show, there's an epic quality that is somehow missing from that [first episode].
"And I don't know if it would have been better to have had a simpler story with some kind of monster attacking Camelot, which would have freed up more time for the characters to breathe a bit more and also given the audience a hint of the scale of the show."
Jones continued: "Now that's in part because when we first got it together, we'd come from the show, As If, which was a teen show and Hex. Even though that was a story about a woman who had supernatural powers, it didn't have this epic quality that the show [Merlin] has, which we discovered as we're going along.
"I mean, we made a lot of bad decisions. Is that too harsh? [Laughs]. I don't think we made the right decisions in the first [episode]. We shot them in blocks of three and that first block… I think what happened was we were able to have a look at that, and in seeing it, we were able to go, 'Okay, oh, now I'm beginning to see the show and then the episodes that follow'.
"Gradually, I think each [episode] gets better. And I just feel that it took its time to find its feet. I mean, it's not unique and shows get canceled way too early nowadays, and they should have more of a chance. But I look back, and I wish we could have known what we would do before we started."
In 2023, co-creator Johnny Capps told Radio Times that he and co-creator Julian Murphy "talk a lot about exploring the legend again", and that were Merlin to be revived they would be "able to do the effects far better".
However, he added: "I genuinely don't think we could have cast it better and I'm very proud of the scripts and what we did. We could make it better now, because technology is much better, but in regards to anything else, I don't think I would change it at all."
Past episodes of The Ladies of the Lake podcast are available to listen to now. The interview with Julian Jones will be available to listen to in full on 12th September 2025.
All five seasons of Merlin are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
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