Posted by Jennifer Asencio | Published
Last month, Giant Freakin Robot reported that Colin Cunningham, who played King Vortigern The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of Merlinhe was nominated for a British Columbia Leo Award for his role in the show. The Leo Award is similar to the Golden Globes, in that it honors both movies and series for excellence in categories ranging from Best Show to Best Costuming, with a focus on Canadian talent. Cunningham has worked in the Canadian TV market, including series The Falling Skywhich makes him worthy of this award.
The Pendragon Cycle it’s about Merlin’s youth, in the days before he became mentor to Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father. In fact, Colin Cunningham’s episode, “The Fatherless Child,” is the one that tells the story of two legendary men who come together as Uther’s brother, Aurelius, trying to unite all the kingdoms of Britain under one banner to fight against the invading Saxons. Cunningham’s character, King Vortigern, has been working with the Saxons, to his great detriment. Vortigern seeks Merlin’s advice but is such a tyrant that Merlin refuses to work with him. However, Vortigern is more tragic than evil, a king who simultaneously tries to do the best for his people while doing something completely wrong.
Powerhouse Performance Finally Finds Its Flowers
Cunningham’s performance was tear-jerking from start to finish as he embraces the new world on his doorstep, making the character a formidable rival to Tom Sharp’s Merlin. This made it one of the most amazing episodes in the entire series, not to mention the amazing follow-up to the middling debut. The entire series has been excellent, and I’ve written reviews for almost the entire series, rating it at an average of 4.5 stars.
Despite high production values, a compelling script, and excellent acting with a mix of experienced actors like Cunningham and Steve Varnom (who played King Custennin in episodes 5 and 7) and newcomers like Sharp and Alex Laurence-Phillips, The Pendragon Cycle it began its life being destroyed by critics. It was also shown on Daily Wire+, a niche broadcast that is very conservative and controversial, which was the main reason given by many experts who did not want to judge the program on its merits.
Fortunately, the Leo Awards he did judge the show on its merits and find a way to honor it with Cunningham’s role. While the Americans fired 250 artillery piecesthCunningham was busy winning the Leo Award for Best Lead Performance in a Dramatic Series. So, while the series still, as of this writing, has no Rotten Tomatoes score, it has already won one award, which, if awards are to be trusted, should be the first of many. It also has a strong case to make for a second season, especially since the first season ended with a big jump that left a lot of questions unanswered.
Congratulations to Colin Cunningham on winning this award, and to the entire cast and crew. The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of Merlinbecause hard work was finally noticed. If the sword wasn’t in the stone, I’d gladly pick it up.
