merlin! i am happy to report this is imported from britain. i am sad to report it apparently only has 13 episodes, in all, ever, anywhere. boo!

left to my own devices, i've never been one to watch a lot of television. i do like to watch some movies - and there are ones i could watch over & over again. pretty woman, the harry potter movies, bridget jones, sleepless in seattle, you've got mail, mrs doubtfire. i'd watch those - and that's not a complete list, there are some others, too - even if it meant watching commershals. i'd watch those movies when i am alone and i'd watch them with someone if there's someone who will watch with me.

there are very few television shows i'll watch alone. i'll turn on friends or raymond or seinfeld if i am in the kitchen messing around and my old man's in the other room watching golf or something. but if it's a series, it's something i follow b/c someone else is following it. take csi for instance. i really like the show a lot, but even so i would not watch it alone. mini-me would watch it or just have it on like 24/7. it could be a constant backdrop to her existence. the shaman could have watched law & order - every flavor, every episode - over & over & over. my old man likes to watch sports, so i watch a lot of sports with him, and he likes csi and law & order and so we watch those. i really like the closer and saving grace and the two of us watch those, but i don't think i'd watch them alone. i would not seek them out or tivo them.

so what is it about merlin? i am completely captivated with that show. i check the tivo every sunday night to be sure it's recording. i watch it alone while my old man's out at soccer or golf. any other show, i'd be doing a crossword or playing an iphone game at the same time it's on, but with merlin - no way. i do nothing but sit and watch that show. i know it's not the writing - i mean, it's got its moments, but it's predictable. is it the actors? possibly. uther and arther are especially electric - and merlin's enchanting [haha]. the others - gaius, morgana, gweniviere - all solid & likeable. the british accents? that might be part of it. you do have to sort of listen more closely to catch what they're saying. perhaps it's the wardrobe - which is exceptional [did you see that gold cape last week??], if not exactly correct to the period. or the legends, which are fascinating even if they are mangled a bit here. or maybe it's the special magical language, or the magic itself, or the tension between uther & arthur, or the love that floats between the young folk, or merlin's silly antics which spring from his loyalty to arthur and which land him in the stocks time & again. i know for sure it's not the talking dragon - bah!

well - whatever the cause - i'm going to go watch it now. care to join me?