NBC has recently started airing the BBC's Merlin, which tells the story of the mythic legend from the point he arrived in the kingdom of King-to-be Arthur's dad Uther Pendragon's kingdom. I'm not terribly fond of the semi-modern schoolyard bullies and nerds take, but it's better than US TV, which features barely any fantasy adventure content at all. The major standout among the cast is Anthony Head as Uther. The pace does pick up as the first season goes on, but it didn't pick up nearly as fast as the three-year-old Robin Hood show did, but such is the nature of what they're going for here.

The first season hit DVD in a five-disc set. The fifth disc contains all of the extras save the audio commentary, which is spread across the rest of the set. The two-part Behind the Magic (two half hours) is rather thorough. The video diaries and the 15-minute Black Knight episode featurette are nothing particularly special. Amazon's got it for $34.99.