So, I’ve been watching Merlin and have come to quite like it. It’s a BBC Wales production which should have lessened the shock of seeing Torchwood‘s Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) as a witch in the first episode. The story follows young Emrys growing up and coming to terms with his gift. He has to do all the impetuous things typical of the “young sorcerer muddling by” genre and keep everything secret since Uther has a closed mind concerning magic (having been burned in his earlier days) and has decreed it an act punishable by death. Merlin is the manservant of Arthur and gets to muck out the stables and other menial chores in between his saving everyone without their knowledge. Oddly, Arthur is much less irritating as a character than Merlin … probably not what they were going for. It’s also a bit annoying that they have made everything so entirely episodic that noone remembers anything that happend before (other than the constant annoyance of Nimue). In any case, I look forward to the next episode (BBC Saturdays).