Kaamelott

I was in the US when this show was released and thus did not watch it before 10 years later. I never understood the hype surrounding it... until I saw it and then I discovered light.

Alexandre Astier and his cast have created one of the funniest shows ever on TV with characters that will last generations (Perceval, Leodagan, Yvain, Lott, Merlin, Karadoc; Bohort, Guethenoc, ...). The show is full of quotes that are incredibly funny, all the while keeping some real messages about the loneliness of power and humanity.

Can't wait for the movie.

And as would say Perceval with an "Objet redondant saisi par la partie sporadique" in the hand to the "Deux Petits Pedestres": "C'est pas faux!"

With this sort of 3minute episode type series, with constant breaks and transitions, the creators have a highly dynamic platform to operate on and keep the format fresh.

Now add to that the dialog and show in general are very well written; the characters are written with depth however grotesque, and the episodes avoid rehashing... Finally, the humor is contagious. The only way to dislike it is to absolutely hate the comedy on display, as even casual fans who've seen episodes here and there spreadout will admit it's a contagious show with good humor and good fun to be had overall.

It should be said none of the actors were big time actors, at all, and most of the main ones were small time actors, and yet, the acting is absolutely superb, at times it's almost uncanny how authentic. The mustached peasant, Guenièvre the queen you'd think play as themselves (aren't really actors) and all of the others are really very good, or outright excellent.

The thing is beyond the mere language barrier, the humor and spirit of the show are typically French. This is not to say they cannot be understood or processed and appreciated as such by non-French individuals, but the constant references to food, the way of messing with language, the indulgent self-satisfied mood, in fact the moodiness itself...just the spirit of it may not be for anyone in the world, and might not be interpreted in its own right by fault of being too foreign in nature and exclusive to the French culture and mindset.

This is raw, pure French humor (of this current modern era at least). That's for certain.

It could be added as criticism that the final season, occurring in Rome in a much less comedy-oriented atmosphere/much bigger production, is fine work in its girth but ends on a very disappointing note and the viewer is left hungry. After such a wonderful ride, such a lackluster ending ? Really ?

Another criticism is the implicit publicity creator Alexandre Astier gives himself through the writing of the character he plays, King Arthur. His character always aligns with fairness in a terribly obvious way, an overt sense of justice...basically the cool relaxed lenient good guy who's really really 'nice', and he's taken all the promotion from the image he's given the people through this character. Everyone has associated the man with this role he's written for himself. One could say there's a very partisan, politically biased aspect in the writing of that character.

Anyways. Really good job. 8/10.

It is a French humorous series which was broadcast for the first time on 03/01/2005 on television. It is a series that has 6 seasons and 458 episodes. The series was created and directed by Alexandre Astier. The main characters are : King Arthur, played by Alexandre Astier / Guenièvre, played by Girouard and Leodagan, played by Lionnel Astier. The story is set in the Middle-Ages in Great Britain. This is the story of the knights of the round table, led by King Arthur. They are all looking for the Holy Grail. But it looks bad ... For me, it's the best humorous series in France and every xhere in the world. The plot is amazing and so are the characters. The replicas are already cult.

This is one of the best comedies I've ever seen. As a translator, I'd be hard-pressed to put this into English - it pushes the envelope to the limit in its own language. The wordplay is amazing.

Each episode is about 3.5 minutes (!), over 6 seasons. In the first three seasons, the episodes are stand-alone, with a few seeds planted for the story arcs that arise in the 4th and 5th, which take a serious turn while remaining funny. I haven't yet seen season 6. Every episode, very intelligently written, has us coming back for the next (for the time being, they can be seen on YouTube).

A humorous take on Arthurian legend, other than Père Blaise, the Roman-educated Arthur is the only erudite person in Kaamelott. He's surrounded by a bunch of "billes", "marteaux", "clodos" and what not, who exasperate him with primitive values and general ineptness, a misuse of the language, and misunderstanding of the simplest instructions.

Each character is distinct from the others. Perceval, for example, is an idiot-savant who simply can't get an instruction right. Leodagan, Arthur's father-in-law, is the irascible knee-jerk rule-by-force male member of the "couple infernal" in which he's married to the shrew Dame Seli. Their battles are legendary. Their daughter, Guenevièvre, is the twit who's married to Arthur. Their son Yvain is a lazy oaf whose best friend, Gavain, is not much better. Bohort is a febrile coward whose face is always contorted with tension, Merlin is addle-pated, the Lady of the Lake is visible only to Arthur, which Arthur can't get others to understand, and so on.

Despite all this, it's quite faithful to the actual legend and the story manages to build up a lot of tension as well as tenderness through season 5. It has earned an ardent following in France and Canada. If you have any understanding of French, you gotta see it, otherwise, you might find some episodes with English subtitles on YouTube.

In the beginning, I thought, "Oh no, not yet another mockery of the search for the Holy Grail!" I watched, though, and by the end of the first mini-episode, I was totally taken in. The dialogs are brilliant, witty, absurd, and screamingly funny. I honestly don't find any faults with this little jewel. I didn't know we, french, could be as good and daring as Monty Python... We can. It's a relief. Thanks to Alexandre Astier, who dared come out with a preposterous idea (King Arthur is the only intelligent guy in a environment of dorks, dimwits and blockheads: namely, the knights of the Round Table), the tradition of Audiard carries on. The best french TV series I've seen in a very long time.