In an enchanting tale of long lost loves (one who happens to be possessed by a demonic creature), Gaius falls for the wrong woman in “Love in the Time of Dragons,” an all-new episode of the hit series MERLIN premiering Friday, March 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy.
Romance finally arrives for Gaius – unfortunately in the form of old flame under the control of a demonic beast. When a long lost love of Gaius (Richard Wilson) arrives in Camelot, Merlin is pleased to see a different side to his curmudgeonly mentor. But after discovering she is under the influence of a Manticore, a creature from the Old Religion, Merlin has no choice but to tell his old friend of Alice’s (Pauline Collins) evil intentions. Blinded by love, the old physician refuses to believe Merlin’s story and the two friends fall out. With the King in danger and all signs pointing to Alice and her evil pet, Merlin must somehow make Gaius come to his senses before it is too late.
“I’m very pleased at all the bits of Gaius’s backstory coming out this season and, to be honest, it’s been quite a surprise to me sometimes,” Wilson says. “It’s all been very good fun for me. The thing about Merlin is that, by and large, each episode is an entity onto itself. It’s a contained storyline. So you never really know what you’re going to get thrown at you.”
Wilson is regarded as a national treasure in the U.K. for his comedic performances. An Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Wilson was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1994 for his contributions to the dramatic arts. The two-time BAFTA winner is best known for his iconic role as Victor Meldrew in the extremely popular UK television series One Foot in the Grave. Other TV appearances include roles in Only When I Laugh, Tutti Frutti, Born and Bred, Doctor Who and dozens of series, mini-series and TV movies.
Wilson admits his favorite episode of Merlin’s Season 3 is “Goblin’s Gold,” in which Gaius was possessed by a gold-infatuated goblin. The variation on the usually restrained Gaius allowed Wilson to take his character in many comedic directions.
“It was a jolly good script, and really allowed me to play Gaius as somebody else – so I just treated him as a slightly different character,” Wilson recalls. “Also, the voice of the goblin was played Mark Williams (the Harry Potter films), who is a friend. We didn’t actually get to act together, but we read at the read-through, and when we were doing the episode, it was nice to hear a friendly voice.”
Still, “Goblin’s Gold,” wasn’t all fun. To treat the goblin’s obsession with gold to even greater comedic lengths, the script called for Wilson to frequently lick gold coins. Apparently the props department didn’t do anything to make the taste any more palatable.
“The gold was really something covered in gold wrapping paper, so it was very metallic and tasted pretty terrible,” Wilson remembers. “It was not pleasant at all – and I had to suck quite a few coins. Every time I glanced at my script, I thought, ‘Oh gosh, here’s another sucking scene coming up.’”
Wilson says working on a drama has offered many challenges he never encountered on his notable TV comedy.
“One Foot In The Grave had some serious stuff in it, but not quite as serious as Merlin,” Wilson says. “I’ve never really done a drama series of this length before, so it’s kept me on my toes. I’ve been fortunate in that, at my ripe old age, it’s not always easy to find work as an actor. And the Merlin producers have also given me time off to direct plays, so I’ve been lucky to be able to keep working as both a director and an actor.”
Wilson and Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) may be the elder statesmen of the Merlin cast, but Wilson says they’re not on set to dispense advice to their younger acting colleagues.
“The young actors on this show are all very good,” Wilson says, “and this is a young person’s show, so the young actors really do carry the burden. I’m glad for that. I couldn’t do all these action scenes that Bradley (James) has to do. Tony has had it rough this season, too – they’ve put Uther through so much, I think he’s about to pop his clogs. So I think Tony and I just look on in admiration of the young actors.”
When Alice (Collins), a long lost love of Gaius (Richard Wilson), arrives in Camelot, Merlin is pleased to see a different side to his curmudgeonly mentor. But after discovering she is under the influence of a Manticore, a creature from the Old Religion, Merlin has no choice but to tell his old friend of Alice’s evil intentions. Blinded by love, the old physician refuses to believe Merlin’s story and the two friends fall out. With the King in danger and all signs pointing to Alice and her evil pet, Merlin must somehow make Gaius come to his senses before it is too late.
Collins took the world by storm in 1990 with her performance as the title character in the film Shirley Valentine, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and earned a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She also received a Lawrence Olivier Award and, later on Broadway, a Tony Award for her performance in the one-woman play Shirley Valentine. Collins, also noted for her portrayal of Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs, was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2001.
Wilson, a two-time BAFTA winner best known for his iconic role as Victor Meldrew in the extremely popular UK television series One Foot in the Grave, was quite pleased to act opposite Collins for the first time. The two actors are neighbors and visit frequently.
“It was very nice to do this episode because I was able to act with Pauline Collins, who I know quite well. She was wonderful in the role, and it was fun because I know her quite well. We live in the same area, and I often meet her up on Hyde Street. She’s a really topnotch actress, and that’s one of the joys of working on Merlin. They get very good people to guest on the show, which makes our life pretty enjoyable.”
(Information provided courtesy of Fremantle Media.)
