Sam Neill’s Forgotten 90s Fantasy Performance Is Streaming For Free

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 7 seconds ago

Sam Neill will be best remembered for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, his doomed Russian officer’s desire to see the Black Hills in The Hunt for Red October, or for the real sickos out there, his one-two punch of In The Mouth Of Madness and Event Horizon. Forgotten in all of that is his turn as Merlin in one of the most successful television mini-series of the 90s. Merlin was a two-night event on NBC in 1998 and brought in a combined viewership of 70 million. As the legendary wizard, Neill brought his usual gravitas to the Arthurian legend and elevated the series to must-watch television. 

The Entire Legend Of King Arthur In 3 Hours\

Merlin tells the legend of King Arthur through the eyes of his loyal advisor, starting when he was a young wizard-in-training. Learning that he was created by Queen Mab (Miranada Richardson), he sets off to learn magic from her and her servant, Frink (Martin Short). The true depths of her treachery and wicked ways are revealed, leading Merlin (played here by Daniel Brocklebank) to swear his revenge. 

The story jumps many years later, to the ongoing war between Uther Pendragon and King Vortigern (Rutger Hauer), which Merlin finds himself right in the middle of. Reluctantly, Merlin assists Uther in bedding Igraine on the condition that he’s able to raise the result of the union himself, and sure enough, the first episode ends with the birth of King Arthur.

The second episode whips through the rise and fall of Camelot at lightning speed, all while keeping Neill’s Merlin at the center of it all. As you can tell, the pacing required to tell the entire Arthurian legend in under 3 hours (allowing for 2 hour episodes with commercials each night), means it’s a great overview, but only Merlin’s feud with Mab and his love of Nimue (Isabella Rossellini) is able to have any depth to it as a result. And yet, while watching, Sam Neill’s portrayal is so good, you’ll swear it’s one of the best adaptations you’ve ever seen. 

Sam Neill Gave Every Performance Everything He Had

The 90s saw a brief revival of the television miniseries format that was so popular in the 70s and 80s, between Merlin, The Odyssey, and the Stephen King adaptations The Stand and Storm of the Century. Sam Neill was, thanks to Jurassic Park, a movie star so when Hallmark landed him for Merlin it was considered a very big deal. He enjoyed the role, and even came back to it in 2006 for the sequel, Merlin’s Apprentice.

Sam Neill had a unique charisma to him that demanded your attention and the way he’d deliver his lines, no matter how they may have been written on paper, with the gravitas and emotion of Shakespeare in the Park. No matter the role, you knew if he turned up on screen you were in for a great show. Sam Neill’s recent passing has impacted his fans, but he left a long list of performances that will continue to entertain for many generations to come. 

Merlin, one of his most overlooked, is currently available to stream for free on Tubi, The CW, and Amazon Prime Video.