Review – Merlin

If we wait around long enough, eventually we’ll get at least one made-for-TV version of Arthurian legend told from the perspective of each character in the story. Still, at least a miniseries of the tale told by Merlin makes some sense. I admit I prefer the wizard old, wise and mysterious. But Sam Neill does an acceptable job in the title role. In many ways this is a reverse-angle version of The Mists of Avalon, with the dialectic once again male/female and pagan/Christian, only this time told from the victors’ point of view. It was weird to see Martin Short doing anything besides broad comedy, and Helena Bonham Carter was squandered as a dimwitted Morgan le Fay. Otherwise the production was entertaining in a non-challenging way. Mildly amusing