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Escape from Pearl Bailey

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Steve and his friends plot their Escape

“Escape from Pearl Bailey” is a fourth season episode of the animated series American Dad!.

Plot summary

Steve gets back together with his ex-girlfriend Debbie, making his friends jealous. Meanwhile, Lisa Silver is running for Student Council President, though she is clearly corrupt. Steve tries to persuade Debbie to run against her, which she accepts after learning that Lisa spent the school’s money for fetal pigs on hiring a Hollywood hairdresser and a live buffalo. Steve works extremely hard to get support, neglecting his friends. Though Debbie seems to be winning, someone posts a slam page and she loses. Steve determines that it was Lisa and her friends and executes an elaborate revenge scheme financed by pawning Toshi’s family katana.

Using a mask, Steve exacts his revenge on the cool girls in a parody of Navajo Joe. On Amy, he has a buffalo excrete on her, with laxative; Janet, having her leg filled with fat during a liposuction procedure; and last Lisa, giving her infections by giving her teddy bear to a prostitute and then letting her smother the bear in her sleep.

However, Debbie is horrified at his actions and dumps him. Steve later learns that his friends posted the smear page, as he was spending a lot of time with Debbie and they wanted him back. At this point, Lisa and all the cool kids learn that Steve was the culprit (having traced his purchase of the mask) try to beat up Steve and his friends (Principal Lewis permits this as Janet happens to be his own daughter).

As Steve and his friends try to escape from the school, Principal Lewis abuses his power and makes an announcement to the various cliques in the school to catch them, offering a $500 reward. They get past some of the cliques, but when they stumble into Goth territory, Debbie tells her friends to let Steve go, understanding why he did what he did. But her Goth friends were going to turn Steve’s friends to the popular people, so Steve decide to go with them but Debbie decides to let them all go. Debbie and the Goths distract the other cliques by playing “Love will tear us apart” by Joy Division and dancing in their way.

They make it outside, but the cool kids cut them off from Francine and they get cornered in the school bus. Knowing that their time is near, Steve tells his friends that they will take some of them down with them. They leap out of the bus to go out in a blaze of glory; as the screen freeze-frames, we hear Steve shouting “We’re not taking any of them with us!” alongside the sound of several punches landing at once.

Cultural references

  • Right after the popular girls call Debbie a fat cow, Tim Gunn appears to offer fashonable clothes to help.
  • The scene where the Goth kids allow Steve and his friends to escape (”You shall not pass!”) is a reference to Gandalf’s confrontation with the Balrog in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • The Goth kids dance to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division.
  • Snot compares the smell of the stairway taken over by the Goths to a Depeche Mode concert.
  • One of the Goths mentioned buying a dagger on eBay.
  • When Debbie refers to a “thirty year old TV show”, the scene cuts to three nerds in the audience, wearing the costumes of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth incarnations of the Doctor, as well as K-9. Technically, “thirty years” refers only to the approximate American broadcast history of Doctor Who – the series was first broadcast from 1963-1989, and was revived in 2005.
  • One of the PBHS cliques is the The Red-Headed League, an allusion to a Sherlock Holmes story about a phoney club made up exclusively of red-haired men.
  • Steve’s line “You want to get nuts, come on. Let’s get nuts!” is a reference to the 1989 film Batman.
  • The audience is shown Steve taking revenge on the girls in chapters à la Kill Bill, even going as far as Toshi giving Steve a Samurai sword for his “Holy Revenge”, instead Steve sells it.
  • In the scene where Steve plans to plot revenge against Lisa, he apparently pulls out some dynamite and tells his friends ‘This is my promotional lunchbox from that Cartoon Network show about that bundle of dynamite that lives with that talking burrito.’, he is most likely referencing the bomb scare in Boston caused by a failed promotion for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie.
  • The way the boys have to escape the school, by passing all the school gangs, is similar to the way the Warriors escape to their turf by passing all other gangs’ turfs in the film The Warriors, and also features the same song as in that film’s escape scenes. The principal’s announcements over the PA system reference the commentary provided by a radio DJ in the film. The escape sequence can also be seen as an allusion to the film Escape from New York, which is referenced in the episode title. It is also very similar to Cleavon Little’s character ‘Super Soul’ from the 1971 movie Vanishing Point.
  • The pawn shop where Steve pawns the samurai sword to get the cash to fund his revenge plot is the same shop from Pulp Fiction. In an ironic twist, it is the sword that causes the undoing of the nefarious shop keeper and his biker friend in the basement of the shop in the movie.
  • The mask worn by Steve when he takes his revenge is a reference to the film Navajo Joe.
  • Steve makes a reference to James Cameron’s Titanic, to which he admits after the phrase.
  • When Steve and his friends are escaping through the bleachers, it mirrors one of the final scenes in The Faculty.
  • The final scene in which Steve and his friends take on the school in a fight resembles the end of season 5 of the television show Angel. The final freeze-frame is a reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
  • Just before Steve comes to inform her of the success of his revenge plots, Debbie was standing in front of her locker and whistling Frederic Chopin’s Marche Funèbre (funeral march).

Trivia

  • As implied by Stan in this episode (”Nice of Steve to acknowledge us this week, even if it was just this once.”), the rest of the Smith family (save Steve) have no real part in this episode and only appear in the living room scene. Francine, however, appears twice (in the living room scene and near the end when she is in her SUV reading a romance novel called “Swept Away.”) Also, Roger, Hayley, and Klaus have no lines in this episode making Stan, Francine and Steve the only characters to appear and speak in this episode of American Dad!.
  • When Steve told his friends that they didn’t have girlfriends, Toshi mentions having a wife for a while. This is a reference to the second season episode, “Of Ice and Men”.
  • Debbie’s last name is revealed in this episode as Hyman.
  • Both this and the preceding Family Guy episode contained jokes involving a young woman with her leg deformed in a mishap and simulated intercourse with a teddy bear.


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The Beginning of the End (Merlin)

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

b>Morgana hides with the young druid boy from Arthur and his soldiers.

“The Beginning of the End” is the eighth episode in the British fantasy drama television series Merlin, which will be broadcast on BBC One on 8 November 2008.

Synopsis

When the identities of a druid and his boy apprentice, Mordred, are discovered in Camelot, they are soon on the run from the guards, but when Merlin hears the boy’s cry for help in his mind, he saves the boy, but the druid ends up being executed, leaving the boy all on his own. Although the Great Dragon has told Merlin to be careful on who he meets, he still puts Arthur’s life in danger keeping the boy safe. The Great Dragon tells Merlin that if he saves the boy Merlin can not fulfil his destiny – the young boy is going to kill Arthur.

Plot

A druid, Cerdan, and his very young apprentice are in Camelot to collect supplies, but the shopkeeper reports them and they are chased by soldiers. Merlin telepathically hears the boy scream in pain as he is wounded by one of the royal guards. The druid is captured after using his magic to help the boy escape. Merlin now hears the boy’s voice in his mind, begging for help. They manage to find each other by communicating telepathically, and Merlin hides him inside Morgana’s room at the castle (having been told that the boy will be killed if the guards find him.) A soldier knocks on Morgana’s door but she gets rid of him. She and Merlin then discover that the boy is wounded.

King Uther instantly orders the druid’s execution. Prince Arthur protests that the druids are a peaceful people but Uther sees their use of sorcery as a threat. He wants to make an example to the druid people and orders the city to be searched until the druid’s accomplice is found. The boy is recovering in Morgana’s room and does not see what is going on, but at the moment of his master’s execution he screams in horror and the mirror shatters magically.

Merlin later asks Gaius about druids and is forced to admit that he heard the child call to him telepathically. Gaius warns him not to be caught hiding the child, and says that druids look for children with magical gifts to serve as apprentices. Merlin later visits the boy, who is sleeping in Morgana’s room. He refuses to tell her his name or even to speak. She is upset that Uther wants to execute an innocent child and says that magic may be something people are born with, rather than a choice they make. She and Merlin decide they must return the boy to the druid people.

At dinner Morgana is forced to make excuses when Uther asks if anything is troubling her. Arthur admits that the boy has not been found, and is ordered to continue the search. The following day the boy develops a fever because of an infection in his wound. Morgana wants to fetch Gaius but Merlin thinks this is too dangerous and offers to try and help the child himself. Arthur arrives with a guard to search the room. Morgana says that the missing boy is behind the screen (where he really is) and Arthur leaves, thinking she is making fun of him.

Gaius catches Merlin reading a book about medicine. He is delighted that Merlin is taking an interest, and insists Merlin sit and be lectured to about the human anatomy. Merlin finally gets away and goes to the boy. While Morgana fetches water, the child thanks him telepathically and calls him “Emrys.” This is Merlin’s name among the druid people. Merlin asks how they know about him but there is no reply. Later that night he goes to see the Great Dragon. The Dragon tells him that he has many names, of which “Emrys” is one, and is the subject of many prophecies that Merlin has not yet read. The Dragon, like Merlin, has heard the druid boy’s voice. He says that Merlin must not help the child, but flies away without explaining why.

Meanwhile, the boy is being cared for by Gwen (Guinevere) and Morgana, and calls out to Morgana telepathically. He is becoming weaker. When Merlin arrives she begs for Gaius to be fetched. Merlin tells Gaius everything and Gaius is furious that he would put himself in such danger. Merlin says that the boy is dying and pleads with Gaius to save him. Gaius reluctantly agrees on the condition that they hand the child back to the druids as soon as he recovers. Everyone who leaves or enters Camelot is being searched, so Merlin and Morgana decide they will smuggle him out through a door which leads to the lower town. Merlin uses magic to get the key from Arthur.

Morgana and the boy escape but are seen leaving, and the guards chase after them. Arthur eventually catches them and orders them to reveal themselves. Morgana begs him not to hurt the child but Arthur tells the guards to restrain them both. The king accuses Morgana of conspiring with the druids against him. Uther commands for the boy to be executed and lashes out at her furiously when she says he has been overcome by his hate for magic. A tearful Morgana swears to Merlin that she will not allow the boy to die. Merlin agrees to help her.

Morgana asks for Arthur’s help to free the boy. With Merlin they agree to carry him out through the burial vaults. Merlin again visits the Dragon and asks why he was told not to help the boy. The Dragon says that if the boy lives, Merlin cannot fulfil his destiny: the boy will one day kill Arthur unless allowed to die by Merlin himself. Merlin cryptically asks for Gaius’s advice and Gaius says it seems that Merlin has already made his decision.

When Gwen asks why Morgana is risking so much to help the druid boy, she says she feels an inexplicable bond with him and believes she was meant to help him. As agreed with Arthur she goes to apologise to Uther in order to keep him distracted. Arthur uses a smoke bomb to distract the royal guards and then releases the boy from the dungeon. He has alerted the druids and they are waiting. The guards soon discover the boy is missing and raise the alarm. As the Dragon advised him, Merlin is not waiting to help Arthur and the boy escape. However, he is haunted by the boy’s telepathic cries for help and runs to their aid. The child promises “Emrys” that they will see each other again.

Uther is furious to discover the boy has escaped. He threatens Morgana with death if he finds out she was involved. Morgana silently rages as he leaves the room.

Arthur hands the young boy back to the druids. As they leave he calls out to them, asking who the boy is. The boy speaks his first and only line aloud: “My name is Mordred.” Arthur wishes him good luck as ominous music plays.

Cast

  • Colin Morgan as Merlin
  • Bradley James as Prince Arthur
  • Katie McGrath as Morgana
  • Asa Butterfield as Mordred
  • Richard Wilson as Gaius
  • Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
  • John Hurt as The Great Dragon
  • Angel Coulby as Guinevere (Gwen)

Reception

Airing at 19:20, the eighth episode drew overnight ratings of 5.49m (23.1%) viewers. The final ratings were 6.25 million viewers.

Release

This episode, along with the previous episode and the five that follow, was released on Volume Two of Merlin, one the 9th February 2009.

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Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

“Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words” is the sixth episode of The Simpsons‘ twentieth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 16, 2008. In the episode, Lisa discovers that she has a talent for solving crossword puzzles, and she enters a crossword tournament. Lisa’s feelings are hurt when she discovers that Homer bet against her in the championship match. This was rated TV-14 DSLV. The episode was inspired by the 2006 documentary, Wordplay, and was written by Tim Long, and directed by Nancy Kruse. Crossword puzzle creators Merl Reagle and Will Shortz guest star as themselves in the episode while Scott Thompson has a cameo as Grady, a character he first voiced in “Three Gays of the Condo”. Reagle created all of the crossword puzzles that appear in the episode and as promotion for the episode, a special Simpsons-related message (dedicated to this episode) that appeared in The New York Times Sunday crossword on November 16, 2008. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, and finished fourth in its timeslot during its initial airing on Fox, with a 3.9 Nielsen rating.

Plot

Bart and Lisa start a lemonade stand, but it is quickly closed due to them not having a vending permit. They get in line at the licensing bureau, only to find that the long line is standing still due to the clerk doing a crossword puzzle. Impatient, Lisa completes the puzzle herself, only to find herself addicted to the puzzles. Eventually, she becomes so obsessed with them that Superintendent Chalmers hands her a pamphlet for the Crossword City Tournament. Happening concurrently, Homer takes up a second job, in which he helps break up romantic relationships. Grady, one of his old roommates, calls him and asks Homer to break up with his boyfriend because he found a new and “better” man. Homer successfully manages to break up the couple. After making a good deal of money, he dreams that he is pestered by the “ghosts” of the jilted lovers and thus quits the trade.

At the crossword tournament, Homer bets his money from his breakup business on Lisa and vastly increases his money. However, upon hearing Lisa saying that she’s wary of the final round, he bets on the other finalist, Gil Gunderson. Gil plays Lisa for her sympathy and cons her into losing the round, which in turn lets Homer win his final bet. Upon realizing that Homer has come into some money by betting on the tournament, Lisa gets angry at him and refuses to acknowledge herself as Homer’s daughter, even going so far as to call herself “Lisa Bouvier”, Marge’s maiden name. Feeling guilty, Homer arranges for the crossword’s clues and solution to contain hidden messages stating that he is sorry and he cares for her, which results in the two of them making up.

Production

The episode was written by Tim Long, and directed by Nancy Kruse. James L. Brooks got the inspiration for the episode from the 2006 documentary, Wordplay, which chronicles the national crossword puzzle championships, and he thought that Lisa should go to a championship in the episode.Will Shortz and Merl Reagle, who both starred in the documentary, appear in the episode. “We felt both Will and Merl were very compelling, off-the-beaten-track personalities [in Wordplay], who would fit into our universe very well”, Brooks said.

Shortz was the first guest star the producers of The Simpsons approached. Long later asked Reagle to make puzzles for the episode. Reagle recorded his lines in a studio near his home. Reagle told the Arizona Daily Wildcat that “for me, to be such a total nut for animation since I was a kid, I never even dreamed [of being in a cartoon]. It’s like a dream I never had coming true.” He added that “you don’t see [the crosswords] in the episode for very long, but when crossword fans watch this show, we want them to think that we got it right.” Reagle designed every puzzle that appears in the episode, including one that appears in a hopscotch court in Lisa’s daydream. There were certain lines in the script that had to be incorporated into Reagle’s puzzles, including one where Gil says “I think I’ll warm up with a bunch of Q’s”, and he enters a number of Q’s onto the grid. Reagle therefore had to create a puzzle which used words that included the letter Q more frequently than would be usual. Reagle said he saw the early script of the episode, “but they change it right up to the last minute. In a lot of ways, I’ll be seeing it for the first time right along with everyone else.”Scott Thompson has a cameo in the episode as Grady, a character that he first voiced in the season 14 episode “Three Gays of the Condo”.

Promotion

In order to promote this episode, guest stars Reagle and Shortz collaborated with the episodes’ writer Tim Long to create a hidden Simpsons-related message (dedicated to this episode) that appeared in The New York Times Sunday crossword on November 16, 2008. The crossword, which was titled “Sounds Like Somebody I Know”, also appears as a plot point in the episode.Harry Shearer recorded a clip of Mr. Burns and Smithers telling the winner of the National Public Radio’s Sundays Puzzle on November 16, 2008, what they had won.

Reception

On the night it aired, the episode was watched in 8,520,000 homes and had a 3.9 Nielsen rating, finishing fourth in its timeslot. The episode did finish first in the 18-34 demographic with a 4.7 Nielsen rating and a 13% share of the audience, narrowly beating an episode of 60 Minutes featuring Barack Obama in the demographic.Tim Long was nominated for Writers Guild of America Award in the animation category for writing the episode.

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Robert Canning of IGN did not think there was anything “terrible” about the episode, but he did not think there was anything to get excited about, either. Canning thought there were a number of throwaway jokes in the episode that he felt worked well, “but the episode as a whole failed to grab me. As stated, there are a number of episodes that already fit this mold, and most of those are far superior.” Daniel Aughey of TV Guide thought the episode provided a “healthy balance” of humor, story and heart. “Exactly what makes a great Simpsons episode!” Aughey would have liked to see Homer’s storyline explored as an A story in its own episode rather than cut short as a C story.

Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict thought the puzzle-solving storyline was “a lot of fun”, both for its references to the “highly entertaining” documentary Wordplay and the jokes it inspired. He thought the one problem with the final part of the storyline was that it took away from what could have been “one of the best Lisa-centric episodes in a long time. Marrying her bookish sensibilities with cruciverbal skills is an inspired idea. They should have done more with it. At the very least, it would have left more screentime for Will Shortz and Merl Reagle.” Ariel Ponywether of Firefox News said he thought “Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words” contained several moments of “surprisingly thought-provoking emotion”. He thought some jokes “seemed to feel vintage-era”, such as Lisa’s bus trip, and Moe taking Lisa’s name. Ponywether thought the third act of the episode could have been improved by moving Reagle and Shortz’ cameos to the crossword competition. “Placed as they were, they felt more like an afterthought.”

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Treehouse of Horror XIX

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

“Treehouse of Horror XIX” is the fourth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 2, 2008. The nineteenth Treehouse of Horror episode, it contains three self-contained segments: in “Untitled Robot Parody”, Transformer robots battle in Springfield; in “How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising”, Homer starts killing celebrities so that they can be used in commercials for free; and “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse” is a parody of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown where the Grand Pumpkin goes on a rampage. It was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Bob Anderson.

A total of 12.48 million viewers tuned in to watch during its first airing, more than any other episode since “The Wife Aquatic”. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, who generally regarded “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse” as the best segment. Shortly after airing, the episode was criticized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) because a character (Nelson Muntz) casually uses the adjective “gay” to describe something bad.

Plot

In the opening scene, Homer tries to vote for Democratic Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 American presidential election. However, the voting machine is rigged to turn his vote into one for Republican Senator John McCain. After six attempts to vote, Homer heads out to report the mishap but the machine sucks him in and kills him.

Untitled Robot Parody

Bart buys Lisa a Malibu Stacy convertible as a Christmas present. However, the car turns out to be a Transformer. The robot transforms all of the technology in Springfield into robots so they can wage war with each other. Just as two machines prepare to face off, Marge asks why the robots war with one another; as it turns out, they can’t even remember. Thanking Marge, the two sides declare that they will work together to conquer the human race, and use the residents of Springfield in a game of table football.

How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising

Homer takes Maggie to a daycare and encourages her to enjoy a mural featuring Krusty the Clown to make her feel better while she is away from her parents. Krusty arrives to have the images of his face sandblasted from the mural, as his likeness is trademarked and used without his permission. This upsets Maggie and an outraged Homer shoves Krusty in retaliation, sending him flying into a wood chipper where he is shredded. Homer is later approached by businessmen who have heard of his deed and explain that the likenesses of dead celebrities can be put in commercials for free. They manage to convince Homer to start killing celebrities, and he kills several, including George Clooney, Prince, and Neil Armstrong. In heaven, the dead celebrities are outraged by these exploits. Krusty convinces the dead celebrities to descend from heaven and stage an attack upon all those who benefited from their deaths, striking in the midst of one of Homer’s parties. Krusty kills Homer by blowing his head off with a shotgun. However, Homer gets revenge by locking the celebrities out of heaven before they return.

It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse

Milhouse waits in a pumpkin patch for the Grand Pumpkin on Halloween and Lisa decides to stay with him. After Lisa sees everyone at school having a Halloween party, she grows tired of waiting and leaves in frustration. Milhouse starts to cry and his tears and childlike belief bring the Grand Pumpkin to life. However, the Pumpkin is appalled to find that his kindred pumpkins are being carved up on Halloween, and vows revenge. He devours Homer as he carves pumpkins, then marches to the school and eats Nelson who threatens to stab another pumpkin, then eats Groundskeeper Willie after being offered a pumpkin seed. Realizing that Milhouse can bring things to life by believing in them, Lisa tells him about “Tom Turkey,” a symbol of Thanksgiving. Milhouse starts to believe in Tom Turkey, who comes to life and kills the Grand Pumpkin, freeing everyone he ate. However, when Tom Turkey learns that people eat turkeys on Thanksgiving from Bart, he vows revenge and starts angrily chasing children around the school.

Production

The opening segment of the episode, which was leaked onto the internet weeks before the episode aired, features Homer voting for Barack Obama. Rather than taking sides in the election, Al Jean says it is “mostly a comment on what many people to believe to be the irregularities in our voting system.[sic]” “Untitled Robot Parody” is modeled on the live action film, rather than the cartoon. Al Jean said it was “just really fun to do transformations [and] you can see why they enjoyed doing that film.” “How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising” featured a parody of the title sequence of Mad Men. Jean was a fan of the series and pitched the scene.

The final segment is based on the Halloween cartoon It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It could not be titled “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Milhouse” to exactly match its namesake because of a “big legal issue”, according to Al Jean. However, the characters were redesigned to resemble the style of Peanuts, and they also obtained rights to use Vince Guaraldi’s music.

Cultural references

The first segment of the episode is a parody of Transformers. The second segment features a parody of the opening of Mad Men and Homer kills several celebrities, including Prince, George Clooney, and Neil Armstrong, set to the song “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads.

The final segment, “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse” is a parody of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and contains several references to the Peanuts series. In the segment, Milhouse wears the same clothes and plays the same role as Linus van Pelt. Lisa is modelled after Sally Brown and Bart looks like Charlie Brown, he even says “good grief”, echoing Charlie Brown’s catchphrase. A redesigned version of Santa’s Little Helper can be seen sleeping on top of his dog house and Homer is seen sleeping on top of his house in a manner similar to Snoopy. When Marge first speaks, she uses a muted trombone. This is a parody of the “wah wah wah” voice that is used for adults in the various Peanuts specials. Milhouse’ prayer to the Grand Pumpkin is similar to the Nicene Creed. The dance scene during the Halloween party is a parody of the dance scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Reception

In its initial airing, the episode was viewed in 12.48 million homes and achieved a 4.9 Nielsen rating. It was the highest rated episode of the night in the 18–49 demographic, the sixteenth highest rated show of the week, and the fourth highest rated on Fox after two airings of the World Series and House. It was the highest rated episode since season 18’s “The Wife Aquatic”.

“Treehouse of Horror XIX” received mixed reviews from critics. Rick Bentley of the Seattle Times described it as a “paint-by-numbers episode”. Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 7.9/10, calling it “funny, entertaining and even nostalgic [which] only makes this yearly tradition that much better.”

“It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse” was regarded by reviewers as the best segment in the episode. Canning wrote, “this segment may not be all that gory, but it’s funny and, quite honestly, it will just make you feel good”, and Bentley described it as “a dead-on comedy assault of the Charlie Brown animated Halloween special.” Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette concurred, writing that it “succeeds because it offers sly cultural commentary.”Show Patrol wrote “The nostalgia factor makes “Grand Pumpkin” the best of these amusing bits for me, but they all lack that trademark “Simpsons” brand of satirical smartness.” Hal Boedecker of the Orlando Sentinel gave the episode a 4/5 and called the final segment a “witty parody of Charlie Brown’s Halloween classic. [...] The best gag, though, is a subtle one. Marge plays a trombone, a loving salute to the way the Peanuts specials portrayed adult voices.”

Director Bob Anderson received an Annie Award nomination for “Best Directing in an Animated Television Production” but lost to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Controversy

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which was in the middle of running a campaign to prevent casual use of the adjective “gay”, criticized Nelson Muntz’s line “the Grand Pumpkin is super gay”. A spokesperson for the GLSEN said “many people say gay without even realizing what they’re saying is bad, we’re trying to educate people that this is a term that is hurtful to young people when used in a negative way.” The spokesperson added, “Nelson should send an apologetic e-card to Milhouse.” Several similar jokes have been made throughout the series without controversy.

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Pulling Double Booty

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Hayley and stan's Body Double at the Beach

“Pulling Double Booty” is a fourth season episode of the animated series American Dad!.

Plot summary

Hayley and Jeff head to the mall to shop, which later turns into a disaster, as Jeff breaks up with Hayley, causing her to go on a destructive rampage that has happened every time a boyfriend broke up with her (her first known one involved killing a pregnant hamster). She is stopped by Stan with 19 tranquilizer darts as a result. The police inform the Smiths that one more of these tantrums and Hayley will go to jail. One night Stan excuses himself from bed on the pretense of feeding Klaus (who shouldn’t eat, as he is having a blood test in the morning). Francine follows Stan and is horrified to see him in bed with their daughter, the two passionately making out. She passes out at the sight of this.

However, it isn’t Stan–it’s Stan’s CIA body double, Bill from It’s Good to Be Queen. Hayley met Bill when she saw him eating lunch in the CIA cafeteria and threw a salad in his face, thinking he was her dad (who had just ruined a potential date by airlifting the boy Hayley was talking to). Stan realizes he’s perfect for Hayley. As Hayley states that if Bill dumped her, she’d kill him, burn down the neighborhood, and rape Roger (for starters), Francine must try her best to be supportive (though she reflexively vomits profusely whenever Bill and Hayley kiss). However, when Bill tries to seduce Francine after Stan gives a detailed description of her sex drive, Stan first dispatches Bill, then decides to go on a date with Hayley, thinking that if “Bill” annoys her enough, she will dump him, and there won’t be any rampages and no jail time. Unfortunately, Stan assumes Hayley merely wants to kiss, but she wants to go “all the way”.

To offend her enough to break up with him, he makes her carry all the bags, belches in her face, and even suggests picking up an attractive diner waitress to take back to their room. None of this bothers her (in fact, it rather excites her). Stan takes her to the middle of a forest, where she starts complaining about how her dad never says “I love you” to her. Stan, still as Bill, tells her that her father does loves her, which seems to be all that Hayley wanted to begin with. However, the ruse is exposed when Hayley decides to call Stan and when he answers Hayley beings to burn down the forest they were hiking in.

Meantime, Steve gets a summer job sex-typing baby chickens, which he is uncannily good at, and takes Roger with him. Roger is upset because he thought he and Steve were going to have a memorable summer vacation, not spend the time working. When he learns the male chicks are being made into slurry, Steve rescues as many as he can and keeps them as pets in the toolshed. He takes care of them and soon raises them to young adulthood. Roger kidnaps the chickens and holds a cockfight to gin up extra cash. Steve makes a deal with the alien: they fight, and winner keeps the roosters. After a brief skirmish, Steve frees the whole brood, who run giddily into the street and are fatally struck by cars. As Steve mourns his loss, Roger clocks him from behind with a folding chair.

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Phantom of the Telethon

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Stan at the C.I.A Telethon

“Phantom of the Telethon” is a fourth season episode of the animated series American Dad!.

Plot summary

Stan learns that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can no longer afford torture devices as the Democrats are shifting money to teaching inner city children to read. While Stan tries to come up with ideas for revenue-raising inventions, Roger suggests that the CIA hold a telethon, which Stan says is a stupid idea. The next day however, Stan then suggests a telethon and takes all the credit and doesn’t admit that it was Roger’s idea, despite his protests that it was. At the telethon, Roger becomes “The Phantom” and wreaks havoc to force Stan to admit the truth. Roger sabotages the teleprompter, cuts down stage lights, crushes Jeff Fischer with a fishing boat, cuts the motorbike brakes of Sergei’s Russian circus bear, and even kidnaps Steve and dresses him up as Christine Daae. Unfortunately, he also unleashes The Common Gardensnake of Ramond, a terrorist who plants enough C-4 to destroy the CIA building and even rigs the exits so no one can leave. Stan “negotiates” with the Snake by humiliating himself in a skit that bashes Israel, but the terrorist had no intention of disabling the bomb. Stan decides to accept Roger’s help, who pounds the terrorist with his recently bought mini keyboard (he intended to buy a pipe organ). This gives Stan an idea and makes a plea on the air for donations so they can torture him in revealing the disarm code; once the counter reaches one million dollars, Stan tortures the terrorist and Roger disables the bomb. Unfortunately, Stan decides not to confess the telethon was Roger’s idea so as punishment, Roger beats him to a pulp.

Cultural references

  • The main plot is similar to The Phantom of the Opera, however the plotline of a creator taking revenge on someone who stole the idea can also be seen in the 1943 and 1962 version of the story, as well as the Brian De Palma satire, Phantom of the Paradise.
  • Stan pokes fun at conspiracy theories that the CIA faked the moon landing and planned the JFK assassination.
  • The terrorists nickname “garden snake” is a parody of how many criminals have nicknames that relate to various deadly snakes (i.e. Viper, Cobra, Python)

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The Moment of Truth (Merlin)

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

b>Merlin casts a gust of wind upon the village to blow away Kanan's men.

“The Moment of Truth” is the tenth episode in the British fantasy drama television series Merlin, which was broadcast on BBC One on 22 November 2008.

Synopsis

When Merlin’s village is attacked by Kanan, a fearsome raider, Merlin rushes home to help – and is surprised when Gwen, Morgana and Arthur insist on coming with him.

It quickly becomes clear that the odds are stacked firmly against them. With dozens of lives at stake, Merlin’s old friend William forces him to make a difficult choice. Is he prepared to use magic to save the village, and in doing so reveal his sorcery to Arthur? Or will his destiny to protect the future King lead him to keep his magic a secret, which may mean leaving his old friends to die..?

Plot

Merlin’s home village, Ealdor, is besieged by raiders. They have intimidated a farmer called Matthew into giving them the village’s entire harvest. The raiders’ leader is Kanan, who is furious that Matthew kept back some of the food so the village wouldn’t starve. He strikes Merlin’s mother, Hunith, when she tries to stop the raiders; and demands the rest of the harvest in a week’s time.

Hunith goes to Camelot to ask King Uther for help. The village lies in another kingdom but its ruler refuses to act. However, Uther will not intervene because by sending soldiers there, he would be declaring war. Merlin announces that he must return home to take care of his mother and Prince Arthur thanks him for his service. When Merlin sees Gwen to ask her for a sword, she and Morgana declare their intention to come with him and fight for his village.

Hunith makes Merlin promise not to reveal his magical abilities to anyone else. As they camp for the night, Arthur comes to join them. They reach the village and fight the raiders as they arrive. Kanan threatens the lives of everyone present, and orders his men to leave. Arthur tries to talk to the villagers but Merlin’s old friend, William, objects. He is in favour of giving the raiders what they want so that no one will be killed. Arthur says that unless the local people fight, they will forever be at Kanan’s mercy. The whole village rallies behind Arthur and William leaves furiously.

Merlin tries to talk to William, who believes that Arthur is risking their lives for the sake of military glory. Merlin says that Arthur is his friend and would not put innocent people in danger; William replies that a real friend would have told Arthur about his use of magic. After they go to bed, Arthur asks why Merlin came to Camelot. Merlin cannot bring himself to tell the truth and just says that he wanted to find somewhere where he could belong.

The next morning Hunith tells Merlin that she thinks Arthur truly likes him. Merlin says he would be dead if Arthur knew about his magic, but she disagrees. Merlin goes to collect wood and is cornered by William, who wants to know why Merlin will not use sorcery to defeat the raiders. Merlin insists it is his destiny to help Arthur become a great king, and William is enraged that Merlin would put Arthur before his own friends and family. Arthur trains the men of the village in basic combat. Morgana points out that the men are outnumbered and the women must also be allowed to fight, but Arthur rejects this suggestion. Merlin later overhears Gwen and Morgana admitting that both they and Arthur came with Merlin because they care about him.

Matthew, who was acting as a lookout, is killed and his body returned with a note from the raiders. It threatens that they will return tomorrow to massacre everyone in the village. William publicly accuses Arthur of responsibility for Matthew’s death, then makes plans to leave before the raiders come. Merlin tries to stop him but William again says that Merlin is a traitor for refusing to use magic. Merlin explains to Arthur that William distrusts nobility because his father was killed while fighting in the service of a king. Arthur fears William is right that everyone will die if they are made to stay and fight. Merlin convinces him that he must have faith in the villagers or they will not find the strength to win the battle.

Guinevere stands up to Arthur when he tells the women to leave before Kanan returns. He agrees that they should remain to defend their home, and gives a rousing speech to the villagers. Hunith privately expresses her fear of Arthur discovering Merlin’s secret. Merlin reassures her that if Arthur is a true friend he will still accept Merlin.

Arthur apologises to Gwen for not wanting the women to fight. She wants to say that she trusts Arthur, but stumbles over her words. Merlin tries to tell him the truth about his magic and is interrupted by Morgana, who informs them that the raiders have crossed the river. The raiders are lured into a trap (with the women setting fire to the fences, hemming them in while the men ambush them) and the villagers come out to fight. William returns and saves Merlin from being hit. As it looks like the village is losing the battle, Merlin uses his magic to create a strong whirlwind that sends the raiders fleeing.

Kanan remains and duels with Arthur, who runs him through with a sword. Arthur wants to know who used magic to bring the wind up. At this point Kanan uses his last moments to fire a crossbow in Arthur’s direction. William pushes Arthur out of the way and is hit with the arrow. He is brought in to Merlin’s house, where he confesses to being the sorcerer who conjured the whirlwind. Arthur leaves and William says that he wanted to give Merlin the chance to be the servant to a great king. He dies, and Merlin sobs over his body.

Arthur believes that what Merlin meant to tell him was that William was a sorcerer. He is upset that Merlin didn’t warn him about something so dangerous. Merlin says goodbye to his mother and prepares to return to Camelot. Echoing the Great Dragon’s words, she states that he and Arthur are like two sides of the same coin. She assures him that one day, when the time is right, he can tell the truth at last.

Cast

  • Colin Morgan as Merlin
  • Bradley James as Prince Arthur
  • Katie McGrath as Morgana
  • Richard Wilson as Gaius
  • Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
  • John Hurt as The Great Dragon
  • Caroline Faber as Hunith
  • Alexander Siddig as Kanan
  • Joe Dempsie as William
  • Angel Coulby as Guinevere (Gwen)

Reception

Airing at 19:25, the tenth episode drew average overnight ratings of 6.42m (25.6%), the show’s highest overnights since the premiere. The final ratings were 7.03 million viewers.

Release

This episode, along with the previous three episodes and the three that follow, will be released on Volume Two of Merlin, released 9 February 2009.

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Baby Not on Board

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Promotional Artwork for this episode.

“Baby Not on Board” is an episode of Family Guy and originally aired on November 2, 2008. it also aired in the United Kingdom channel BBC Three on May 3, 2009. The Griffin family gets a year of free gas, and decide to take a vacation to the Grand Canyon. They soon realize they left Stewie at home, and rush home to get him. The episode was written by Mark Hentemann and directed by Julius Wu. The episode was watched by 9.97 million viewers on its first airing. The title is a play on the ‘Baby On Board!’ signs.

Plot

When Chris asks Peter for personal advice concerning Chris’ testicles at the convenience store where Chris works, Peter threatens to sue the store for sexual harassment. Peter is given a coupon for unlimited gas for a year by the store owner to keep quiet. Lois suggests Peter use the card for a family vacation. The family decides to drive to the Grand Canyon. They leave early the next morning but inadvertently leave a sleeping Stewie behind at home. He wakes up to discover that he is home alone, and that he can do whatever he wants.

While stopping off at the ruins of the World Trade Center to pay respects, the rest of the family realizes that they left Stewie behind in Quahog. They call Cleveland and Quagmire to babysit him. As soon as they come in to the house, Stewie believes they are intruders and knocks them out with a noxious gas but, discovering their true identities, he chains them to the basement wall and force them to watch the 24-Hour DirecTV help channel. When Stewie eats up all the food in the house, he gets a job at McBurgertown, but is fired for eating food meant for the customers.

After not receiving any calls from Cleveland and Quagmire for the past eight hours, Lois insists they return home to get Stewie. While driving the car, Peter somehow enters the car next to them to watch a show, causing the Griffins’ car to crash. The Griffins attempt to take a train home, but Peter squanders all the money they have with them for tickets on helium shower rings. Lois loses her temper and blames all their misfortunes on Peter’s stupidity, but in a direct parallel to a scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles is ashamed for hurting Peter’s feelings when when he calls her a cold-hearted cynic and says that everyone else likes him for who he is. Brian manages to get the Griffins a ride on the back of a pickup truck bound for Quahog.

In his solitude, Stewie realizes how much he depends on his family and is thrilled to see them return. When Peter questions where Cleveland and Quagmire are, the credits roll over Cleveland and Quagmire as they are still in the basement, reciting everything that is being said on TV, when Cleveland casually mentions he’s getting a spin-off.

Cultural references

When Peter mentions about needing the sauna’s treatment, the scene cuts to a non-sequitur that parodies the opening scene from Back to the Future, which Peter, as Marty, rushes for school. This also features sound biting of Christopher Lloyd as Doc and the corresponding song “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News which played in the film.

Peter’s masseuses are characters Molly Jensen and Sam Wheat from the film Ghost, who are reenacting the famous pottery-making love scene from the film with Peter’s back fat while the corresponding song “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers plays.

Meg suggests the family go to the island from Lost for their vacation, but Stewie doesn’t want to listen to Matthew Fox’s “heavy breathing”.

Brian tries to imitate Stewie’s reaction to being left home alone, commenting that he “doesn’t do a good Stewie.” Seth MacFarlane provides the voice of both characters.

During the drive the family sings Bette Midler’s song “The Rose”.

Both Peter’s purchase of the shower curtains filled with helium and his monologue are references to John Candy’s character Del in the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

When Stewie is fired from McBurgertown for eating fish sandwiches, a picture of a McDonald’s Big Mac is shown in the background.

When Stewie is reunited with the family, the suite from the film Home Alone, can be heard in the background.

When Joe cleans his wheel-chair, he recites the first part of the Rifleman’s Creed, substituting “rifle” for “wheelchair”.

Reception

Alex Rocha of TV Guide said, “By the time the end rolled around on this week’s episode, I was overall, satisfied. It was a definite step up from the previous Germany episode.” He went on to say there were “memorable moments including crazy fight between Peter and Quagmire and also, one of my favorites, the Griffins singing Bette Midler’s ‘The Rose.’” Ahsan Haque of IGN was much more critical of the episode. He said, “It seems as if the writers decided to forgo any effort to put together a decent plot and instead picked out whatever crap they could find from their barrel of manatee jokes and strung them together with absolutely no sense of pacing or theme.” He continued by saying, “Overall, this was one of those lazy, haphazardly put-together episodes that has terrible timing, no real plot, overlong jokes that simply are not funny, uninspired musical numbers, and some terribly out of character moments. Despite the fact that there are a small handful of genuinely funny gags.” He concluded by saying, “This is definitely one of the worst Family Guy episodes in years.”

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Business Trip

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Michael enjoys the spoils of business class flight.

“Business Trip” is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the show’s seventy-second episode overall. The episode aired in the United States on November 13, 2008 on NBC.

Synopsis

CFO David Wallace sends Michael on a foreign sales call to Winnipeg to help alleviate the stress of having Holly taken away from him. He brings along Andy as a foreign language translator and Oscar as the “numbers guy”. David Wallace tells him to go to the concierge to find activities to do in the city. Michael finds himself attracted to the concierge (whose name is Marie), and, thinking that the concierge is the Winnipeg version of a Geisha, mistakes her as some kind of prostitute. Michael runs into Marie at a bar later that night. They have a few drinks and head back to her hotel room. After suggested brief and impersonal intercourse, Marie kicks Michael out of her room and he walks away, depressed.

Back at the bar, Andy attempts to set Oscar up with a couple of guys, who just wish to be left alone. A few drinks later, Oscar asks Andy what he sees in Angela. Andy says he sees something behind her strict behavior before mentioning that they have not had sex yet. Oscar is shocked and tells Andy to call Angela about this. Andy calls Angela, who is with Dwight, and tells her he does not like the fact they have not had sex yet. Angela berates him for calling her whilst drunk and hangs up on him.

The next morning, Andy and Oscar reminisce about the night before, with Oscar bringing up Andy’s call to Angela. Andy does not remember and calls Angela to apologize. He says afterward that Angela has put them back on “first base”, which for her means that Andy gets to “kiss her forehead”. Andy tells Oscar he appreciated his company on the trip, and Oscar feels the same way about Andy. Michael secures the sale with the client and calls David Wallace, who congratulates him. Michael then tells him he had a terrible time in Winnipeg and berates him for taking Holly away from him before abruptly hanging up. He then gets on the plane back to Scranton, mentioning he has stayed with the company for a long time because they give him enough respect that he could talk down his boss and nothing would happen to him.

Back in Scranton, Jim and the rest of the staff are eagerly counting down the days until Pam returns from art school, with the staff awkwardly and intrusively showing their excitement for Jim. Pam is upset that she failed a class and calls Jim to tell him that she would need to stay in New York for another three months to retake it. Pam is unsure if she wants to spend another three months away from Jim, but Jim reminds her that she went to New York for her own personal benefit and should only return to Scranton “the right way”. The rest of the staff find out about her situation and feel sorry for the two of them, save for Dwight who criticizes Pam’s painting of the office building on the wall. At the end of the day, Jim finds Pam waiting in the parking lot. Pam tells Jim that she is coming back “the wrong way” not because of him, but because she ultimately did not like graphic design and that Scranton is her home. Jim welcomes her back and they kiss.

Meanwhile, Ryan moves back to the annex with Kelly in preparation for Pam’s return and starts showing off by doing push ups in front of her. Kelly says she has no intention of breaking up with Darryl and restarting a relationship with Ryan, but the two begin making out passionately. Ryan tells Kelly to break up with Darryl via text message, and Darryl responds immediately saying he’s okay with it. Ryan is shocked at Darryl letting it go easily, and Darryl is shown happily walking to his truck. At the end of the episode, Ryan and Kelly confirm they are back together, with Ryan visibly uncomfortable like he was before in their relationship.

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Excalibur (Merlin)

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

b>The Black Knight is unaffected by Merlin's flames.

“Excalibur” is the ninth episode in the British fantasy drama television series Merlin, which will be broadcast on BBC One on 15 November 2008.

Synopsis

The machinations of Nimueh begin anew as a mysterious knight arrives in Camelot whilst a ceremony happens of Arthur’s coming of age, to challenge the knights of Camelot to mortal combat. It swiftly becomes apparent a secret of Uther’s past has come back to haunt him.

Plot

In a crypt below Camelot, Nimueh performs necromancy on a sealed sarcophagus, saying several magic words and ending it with “Uther Pendragon”. The crypt bursts open, revealing a gloved hand, and its occupant roars in fury while a delighted Nimueh looks on.

Back at Camelot, Arthur comes of age and is crowned by his father as “Prince of Camelot”, when a black clad knight, mounted on a black horse bursts into the hall through the window. The knight casts his gauntlet onto the ground as a challenge which is taken up by Sir Owain. The knight states the rules; single combat at noon to the death before galloping out. Gaius claims to Merlin he doesn’t know the knight, but he and Geoffrey of Monmouth recognize the crest and realize that the knight is Tristan Dubois. Gaius immediately goes to tell Uther who already knows; Tristan Dubois is dead, killed 20 years previously by Uther himself, though Uther refuses to believe it is him, citing the obvious point that dead men do not return.

The next day, Arthur attempts to teach Sir Owain how to fight when Guinevere comes in with a token from Morgana. Sir Owain and the Black Knight then fight; in the duel, Sir Owain manages to stab the Black Knight in the belly, with no visible damage. The Black Knight then finishes off Sir Owain before issuing another challenge. Uther holds back Arthur from taking it, allowing another knight, Sir Pellinore to take up the challenge. Arthur then confronts Uther about why he held him back. Uther justifies it saying that they should allow the other knights a chance to prove themselves and that Arthur is not to blame. In the aftermath of the fight, Merlin tells Gaius Owain landed a mortal blow and the Black Knight should by rights be dead. Gaius suggests that perhaps he already is.

Merlin and Gaius go to Tristan’s crypt to discover that someone had already broken out of the sarcophagus. Back at Gaius’ room, it is revealed that Tristan is the brother of Igrayne, Uther’s wife and Arthur’s mother. Tristan, blaming Uther for the death of his sister in childbirth, rode to Camelot and confronted Uther. Uther managed to kill Tristan in single combat, but with his dying breath, Tristan swore he would return to Camelot one day and take his revenge. Gaius suspects that sorcery was involved: magic was used to harness the grief and rage of a demented soul, creating a wraith that cannot be harmed by any mortal weapon, and will continue killing until it achieves its ultimate goal: revenge.

The next day’s challenge is the same as the first: Sir Pellinore fights the Knight, managing to stab the Knight (noticed by both Morgana and Guinevere). The Knight shows no sign of harm and finishes off Sir Pellinore. This time, Arthur throws down his gauntlet and issues his own challenge, to the shock of Uther. The Black Knight accepts and stalks away. Uther tells Arthur to revoke the challenge. Arthur refuses as it is against the rules, and to prove that he is worthy of the throne. Uther says that Arthur will surely die. Arthur comments that Uther has little faith in him.

Merlin suggests that he and Gaius will have to find a way to destroy the wraith. Merlin goes to try an idea to use magic in an attempt to destroy the Knight, whilst Gaius goes to the King and tells him that Tristan’s tomb is empty and Tristan himself has been conjured from the dead. Gaius tells Uther not to let Arthur fight. Gaius tells Uther that no mortal weapon can kill the wraith and that Arthur will die. Uther says that Arthur will not listen to him, prompting Gaius to suggest that Uther tells Arthur who the knight is. Uther reveals that Gaius has already sworn not to tell a soul and dismisses him. Meanwhile, Merlin attacks the Knight with magic, conjuring a ring of fire that surrounds the knight. However, the magic has no effect, causing Merlin to confront Arthur, telling him to back out: Arthur still refuses.

In the dead of night, Uther is confronted by Nimueh, who states the wraith is her revenge for Uther banishing her from court and murdering so many of her fellow magic-users. Uther accuses her of killing Igrayne, but she insists she had no choice: by using magic to conceive Arthur, Igrayne had to die to preserve the balance of the world, and that had she known the depths of Uther’s revenge, she would never have helped him. Nimueh leaves, stating that having seen so many people she loved die at his hands, now Uther will know the same pain.

Merlin, with the help of Geoffrey, looks for information on weapons that can slay the undead. After finding a cryptic reference to weapons blessed by a dragon, Merlin gets a sword from Guinevere, then goes to the Great Dragon. The Dragon initially refuses, saying it will be better to let the wraith take its revenge on Uther, but Merlin refuses, saying if Arthur dies in the challenge, he will have no destiny. The Dragon grudgingly agrees to bless the sword, but insists it is only to be used by Arthur: in the wrong hands, it could be used for terrible evil.

Gaius, at Uther’s request, drugs Arthur, while Uther takes his place in the challenge. He meets Merlin in Camelot’s armoury and, despite Merlin’s protests, takes the sword for himself, using it to fight the wraith. Uther challenges the wraith, saying it can have what it came for: the father, not the son. A long and close-fought battle ensues: Uther and Tristan are well-matched, until Uther knocks off Tristan’s helm, revealing the wraith- a decrepit, decayed corpse. Uther narrowly defeats Tristan, running him through while the wraith tries to free his sword from Uther’s shield. Finally beaten, Tristan gives a scream of defeated rage before bursting into flame. A furious Nimueh, watching the fight in the crowd, slinks away defeated.

Arthur confronts Uther after the fight, but Uther defends himself saying he couldn’t allow the most precious thing to him to die. Arthur is surprised by this, having believed he was a disappointment to his father.

The Great Dragon, however, confronts Merlin and is furious to learn Uther wielded the sword instead of Arthur, saying that in Uther’s hands, the sword will only bring evil. As he cannot destroy the sword, the Dragon orders Merlin to hide the sword where no one can find it or uses its power. Merlin sneaks the Sword out of Camelot and casts it into a lake, where it lands on the lake floor, a shot which is shown in the opening credits.

Cast

  • Colin Morgan as Merlin
  • Bradley James as Prince Arthur
  • Katie McGrath as Morgana
  • Richard Wilson as Gaius
  • Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
  • John Hurt as The Great Dragon
  • Michelle Ryan as Nimueh
  • Sean Francis as Sir Pellinor
  • Christopher Fairbank as The Voice of the Black Knight
  • Rick English as The Black Knight (Tristen)
  • Michael Cronin as Geoffrey of Monmouth
  • Kyle Redmond-Jones as Sir Owain
  • Angel Coulby as Guinevere (Gwen)

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