Review by Craig Byrne

As part of four classic Doctor Who DVD releases that were put out recently (our review of “Underworld” can be found here with other reviews soon to be posted), the 3-disc Region 1 set of The Space Museum and The Chase is definitely one of my favorites. It’s a bit pricey, as it includes three discs, but it’s still a very cool part of Doctor Who history.

Some of that history, sadly, was cut. A Beatles clip from “Top of the Pops,” which if I’m not mistaken only still exists because of Doctor Who, could not be cleared for The Chase, which is a little sad because it helps place the time period the show was made in a very nice way. Don’t let that stop you though – the episode still flows fine; I just think it would have been nice to have included. Apparently it WAS on the British releases.

I have to also get out of the way that The Space Museum, while interesting to see at least to start, is somewhat boring. There’s a reason one of the DVD extras is writer Robert Shearman (Dalek) defending the episode.

With that said… although it’s said to often rank low among fans’ favorite Dalek stories, I actually really like “The Chase.” The Daleks are a bit on the chatty side here, but it’s still one of Doctor Who’s first “epic storylines.” It is also historic because it is (spoiler warning!) when we say goodbye to schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who had been with the series since the very first episode. At that same time, the show welcomes Steven, a new companion played by Peter Purves. (Though if you watch closely you’ll see Purves in an earlier chapter playing an American tourist!)

There are a lot of fun settings in this, but I also like the locations. There’s a montage showing Ian and Barbara returning “home” that is one of my favorite moments in nearly 50 years of Doctor Who. It’s unfortunate that it had to be paired with The Space Museum and therefore is at a higher price, but I definitely recommend The Chase if you have the money and want to see some great classic Who.

DVD extras are plentiful. The Space Museum has commentary by William Russell (Ian), Maureen O’Brien (Vicki), and writer Glyn Jones with moderation from Peter Purves. There’s also Shearman’s defense of the story and an interview with the granddaughter of First Doctor William Hartnell. Finally, there’s a 14 minute “Holiday for the Doctor” spoof sketch that just seemed to be on the DVD to fill space…. it’s well worth skipping.

The Chase has commentary with Russell, O’Brien, Purves, and director Richard Martin, a visit from the Daleks’ original designer to the new Cardiff studios, a Making Of feature, and a fantastic featurette about the Ian and Barbara characters. If that’s not enough, there’s a Dalek retrospective, a look at prop makers of classic Who, a look at old Doctor Who merchandise, and more. It’s a packed DVD.

Both episodes have the usual fantastic trivia subtitles which always are a treat.

I know I’ve said it before, and I know I’ll hate it in a way since I’ll probably have bought the entire (available) series by the time it comes out, but I really do wish BBC Video would release season sets, as complete as possible. I think it would make someone feel a bit less guilty spending over $35 for ostensibly two stories, if you could get even more stories for around double that. Maybe someday…

One final comment: William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton, may be a bit older than he was in the Doctor Who days, but I will be extremely disappointed if new Doctor Who doesn’t at least try to get him back. He and Carole Ann Ford (Susan) are really the two surviving links to the very first days of Doctor Who, and it’d be a lot easier to explain an aged Ian Chesterton than it would be to bring in an aged Susan. And not just that — to have an older Ian next to a younger looking Doctor like Matt Smith would be fantastic.

Doctor Who: The Space Museum and The Chase is now available on DVD. Order them through KSiteTV and support this site!

Review by Craig Byrne

On July 6, Warner Home Video released not one, not two, but four DVD sets worth of classic Doctor Who. They seem to be set on releasing all of the episodes of the original series, and I truly appreciate that.

Instead of reviewing all four sets at once, I am going to start with one of the four – “Underworld,” the Doctor Who serial that aired between January 7-28, 1978.

Before now, “Underworld” held the distinction of being one of the Doctor Who stories that I had never seen a bit of. I can’t remember why we skipped it when I was watching the old episodes in order with my best friend; perhaps it was not available. Maybe he was embarrassed. (Why would he be? Keep reading…)

The DVD presentation of “Underworld” contains the usual production notes text and commentary by Tom Baker (The Doctor) and Louise Jameson (Leela) with one of the episode’s writers, Bob Baker. There’s a making-of documentary, a photo gallery, “in studio” video clips, and more. As for the story itself… well…

It started interestingly enough. There’s drama on a ship, and there’s a dodgy green screen for “windows” that probably would have been best not attempted. There are characters and situations with names that echo the story of Jason and the Argonauts. It’s very 70′s, and the actors are very 70′s, but it’s kind of fun. The best part, of course, is seeing Tom Baker and Louise Jameson giving fantastic performances despite a so-so script. Even when other parts of the story are flagging Baker and Jameson were great.

Unfortunately, Chapter 2 (of 4) is when it starts going downhill. Twenty years before George Lucas made virtual sets a thing of life with The Phantom Menace, the producers of Doctor Who, in attempt to stay on budget and not spend money on expensive sets, instead created virtual backgrounds. In 1978. Which means, there’s a lot of green-screen flicker, missing limbs, and people walking through things. It’s kind of awful, but an enjoyable kind of awful. But admittedly, it kind of loses the promise of Chapter 1, which really looked quite good, windows aside.

It’s really interesting to see, from an experimental point of view. It’s not successful, but then again, it was 1978. And I’d much rather see this than the attempts at effects the show gave us in the late 1980′s when more technology was available.

Fans of Tom Baker’s Doctor will still enjoy this. It’s not one of my “show it to a newcomer” recommendations, but if you’re curious to see how effects were done in the United Kingdom, this could work for you. I’d still give this a 4/5 because I found it to be interesting and fun, and it was great to see some old Doctor Who that I’d never seen before.

One final comment – I understand that a lot of our U.S. DVD releases are just region-changed versions of British releases. But would it really hurt BBC Video to change the promos at the start of the disc? I’m really growing tired of the Doctor Who Series Four “You seem to be drifting, love” promo trailer, especially now that it’s two years and one Doctor later. At the very least advertise Doctor Who: The Specials or something.

Come back later this week for more Doctor Who DVD reviews! If you’d like to purchase Doctor Who: Underworld, it is now available on Amazon.com. Order through KSiteTV and support this site!

Review by Craig Byrne

A bonus feature looking at Peanuts in the 70′s is on the second disc. It mostly focuses on the comic strip side of things, rather than the animated productions, but it’s still really great to see. If you’re curious, by the way, about the comic strips, Fantagraphics Books is doing an amazing set of the classic strips, complete and in order which is fascinating to me to see – particularly the early strips where later characters like Linus, Lucy, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie didn’t even exist and Snoopy was still very much a dog!

Like I said before, for someone nostalgic like me, this was definitely a fun watch. The only thing missing was the swirly “A CBS Special Presentation” thing that I always to this day associate with Peanuts specials. If you have kids, these are great trusted entertainment, provided their attention spans don’t demand things moving at an accelerated pace.

Peanuts 1970′s Collection, Vol. 2 is already available in stores and to order on Amazon.com.

Below you can find a clip from the DVD’s extra feature, taking a rare look into the office of creator Charles M. Schulz (aka “Sparky”):

Review by Craig Byrne

Back in the day, TV networks didn’t just let their pilots die; they instead aired them as TV-movies. They’d be burned off in the summer, and sometimes you could even get 2 very different pilots based on the same concept airing in the same week! This practice continued through at least the 80′s, and would usually be listed in TV Guide as simply “Pilot.” I’m sure at one point Young Me thought that was the actual name of a TV show.

One of the reference books in my collection that I always manage to come back to is Unsold TV Pilots by Lee Goldberg. The book details some of those pilots that did air on network TV, and one thing I found very curious was that a certain concept from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was done no less than three times in the 1970′s – and never did spawn a full-on series. That concept started off as Genesis II, was retooled as Planet Earth, and then was given a third try as Strange New World. Some cast members and story elements from the previous attempts appeared in multiple versions, although this third and final try did not have Roddenberry’s direct involvement.

Strange New World is fascinating to me as a long-time TV geek in that I haven’t seen much American science fiction from that era – most of it is restricted to just the British Doctor Who. Although Roddenberry wasn’t directly involved this time, his influence is felt with heroes who are heroic, villains who are shady, and characters who aren’t particularly sexually deviant, though the added story element that reproduction doesn’t happen anymore might have something to do with that last thing. Familiar Star Trek sound effects are heard loud and clear, and some interesting model shots are used. The lead character, Captain Anthony Vico, is played by John Saxon, who also starred in the previous try, Planet Earth, as “Dylan Hunt,” a character name that would later be used in Andromeda. Vico is one of three travelers who were in suspended animation for nearly 200 years — a time period in which Earth was hit by asteroids and the survivors have a unique way of prolonging their lives.

There are some moments where logic is questioned. Are those the only survivors? Why are all of the trees and plant life still living? Where did they get that tank-like transport vehicle? Did they feel ridiculous in their multi-colored togas? And if they want to leave, where would they go to? But ultimately, that doesn’t matter much. Again, I enjoyed this a lot for the historical context. There are scientific implications within – some such as the cloning of cells, which is something that is still scientifically debated today.

I also find it very interesting to see what passed for special effects on TV when this was made. A lot of shortcuts were used, although oddly, it looks a lot less dated than something later that would try too hard. (Anyone seen any Season 1 Star Trek: The Next Generation lately?)

If you like your TV fast-paced, this probably isn’t for you, but if you want to see a “time capsule” of a TV series that never was, I highly recommend this, one of the latest additions to the Warner Archive collection. The two earlier attempts at this concept – Planet Earth and Genesis II – are also available in the collection, and I just might have to check them out.

The Warner Archive website where you can order this DVD warns that the picture has not been remastered, but to be honest – for a nearly 40 year old program I think it looks great. There are no extras on this release, though I don’t know what extras there could be even if there were any.

The fact that these “pilots” are on DVD now — even though they are at movie length — makes me think and hope the Warner Archive eventually expands to include television that might not be on DVD in a wide release for whatever reason. The 2006 Aquaman pilot is, of course, at the top of my list, especially considering there’s a wealth of footage that didn’t make it onto the iTunes release.

Strange New World isn’t the best piece of television I’ve ever seen but it kept me entertained all the way through — even when a pre-Dukes of Hazzard Catherine Bach is attempting to act (fortunately for her, she got better). It presented a science fiction situation and what would otherwise be a familiar setting and turned it on its ear. I liked it a lot.

Strange New World is now available from the Warner Archive Collection. Check it out!

Review by Craig Byrne

The recent DVD release of The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Hamlet – starring Doctor Who’s David Tennant and Star Trek: the Next Generation’s Patrick Stewart – gives audiences who might not have had the chance to see them on stage, an opportunity to see a televised version of the performance. When the RSC put the show on in 2008, there were massive sell-outs, some of whom were disappointed when Tennant suffered a prolapsed disc and missed about a month’s worth of performances… this was a big deal.

The DVD has the entire show — around 3 hours of it. Yes, 3 hours. Tennant and Stewart are good – it’s great to see both of them sharing the screen, and it disappoints me that we never did get that rumored Patrick Stewart Doctor Who appearance — but I’m going to have to commit sophistication suicide and admit Shakespeare just isn’t for me. The wordy dialogue, the dry feeling… I got really, really bored, and two actors whose work I enjoy so much couldn’t save it.

Which is not to say this DVD is a “must-avoid” – those who are fans of Shakespeare’s work would probably eat this up, as would fans of good acting in general. I may have liked it better in person, seeing these great actors do their craft… but some things just don’t work for everyone. Please, no one kill me for this — I openly admit I have unsophisticated taste!

This DVD is now available in stores everywhere and to order on Amazon.com!

Review by Craig Byrne

Ah, old Doctor Who. You really loved that “The ____ of ____” title scheming trope, didn’t you?

BBC Video earlier this month released three classic Doctor Who stories to DVD, and being that two of them feature Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor and two of them feature Sarah Jane Smith, I’m definitely happy with that. Find the reviews below:

“The Curse of Peladon”
Starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor with Katy Manning as Jo Grant
Story #61 – U.S. DVD Release Date: May 4, 2010

When I first saw this episode, I was in a streak of watching as many episodes in chronological order as possible with my best friend. As such, following a series of mostly Earth-bound stories, this was one of my first Doctor Who experiences with The Doctor and his companion going to other planets.

And I loved it.

Sure, the Alpha Centauri with its squeaky voice and olive-looking head is ridiculous, but this episode is still one of my favorites of the Jon Pertwee era.

Modern Doctor Who fans will catch one of the guest stars of the episode “Midnight” in this episode, playing a different character – they might also notice he looks a little bit like the Second Doctor.

The Ice Warriors factor in to this story, for their first appearance in a color episode. The Doctor and Jo team is as always great. The settings – granted, some of them were small model shots – are memorable and still look really good.

Getting past the silly looking Alpha Centauri creature, this is definitely a Third Doctor story I’d recommend or show to someone new. It’s also the best of the three new releases.

Extras on this DVD include audio commentary from Katy Manning (Jo Grant), script editor Terrance Dicks, production assistant Chris D’Oyly-John, and the late producer Barry Letts; trivia subtitles; a 23-minute behind the scenes featurette; a fantastic look back at the Ice Warriors; storyboards; and a retrospective on the Doctor/Jo era. BBC Video as always threw a lot into this release and make it worthwhile. It’s kind of amazing, actually, that so many extras are done for a nearly 40 year old serial.

The only thing that would make this better would be complete season sets – I know Doctor Who fans including myself are used to the individual releases, and I would prefer to finish this way, but I think they might ultimately sell better and have a better reception if full-season sets were out. Rating: 9/10

Find the other two reviews below the cut…

On April 27, BBC Video released DVD sets of the 2008 television series remake Survivors which recently aired here in the U.S. on BBC America as well as the original series from the 1970′s. Both sets are full of content.

I admit when starting this review I’ve barely scratched the surface of the original Survivors DVD. This three-season show, which ran from 1975-77, consists of over 30 hours of content. I’m going to be going through this for the next few weeks. I will say from what I have seen, though, is that it’s very interesting to me. I hadn’t seen any British television drama of that era beyond Doctor Who. And of course, creator Terry Nation became famous from Doctor Who, where he created the Daleks. Director Pennant Roberts and producer Terence Dudley also ended up working on Who eventually.

The best extra on the original series set is a documentary-style featurette interviewing cast and crew from the original series.

One might argue that Terry Nation had done post-apocalyptic type stories before; Doctor Who‘s “Dalek Invasion of Earth” with its empty streets especially surely informed both this and the 2008 remake series. Nation departed after the first season (or “series”) and other cast members found their way out by series’ end.

The pacing is definitely different than what I’m used to as an American viewer whose idea of 1970′s TV is the original Rockford Files or Columbo. That’s not to say it’s bad; there’s a whole lot of atmosphere and there are a lot of characters involved. The series is definitely well before its time.

Flashing forward nearly 35 years, the 2008 reinvention of Survivors is from some of the same people who brought us Primeval. Fortunately, I loved Primeval. The production quality is on a similar level if not better; it is definitely many steps ahead of the original series. To see empty streets and that feeling of a decimated society is handled very strongly. The best kinds of science fiction, in my belief, are things that build on real-life concerns. If there was a situation where a viral pandemic killed most of the world’s population, I don’t know that we’d be able to deal. To see how some characters can and will is interesting to me. I had hoped the aborted NBC series Day One would explore these sorts of things, but it never got off the ground. Jericho also did a great job of a world without disaster but was sadly canceled before getting the chance to truly explore it. It’s a very interesting concept and I wish an American broadcaster and network could do something to the same level of quality and production value with a similar concept.

Another thing I’ve loved about the new Survivors is that I’m recognizing several actors from other programs I’ve seen. For me, seeing Freema Agyeman and Shaun Dingwall of Doctor Who in the series’ first episode was a thrill, and when I first saw this, I remember the speculation that star Paterson Joseph might be a contender to be the eleventh Doctor on that series. This DVD set includes a featurette about the making of the series and cast profiles.

Modern British television has a significant difference with American TV, however; each of the two seasons represented on this set are only 6 episodes each. That’s not a typo. That means there are only 12 episodes, but fortunately like many BBC productions they’re of a high quality. (Thankfully, this is not Demons.)

If you’re a fan of modern television, especially of the British variety, you’ll probably enjoy this. It’s a very well done show. And if you’re into classic British TV, full of atmosphere and an exercise in how different TV was 35 years ago, the original Survivors is for you. Both series are now available on DVD.

Get your copies from Amazon.com and support this site!

Survivors: The Complete Original Series – Survivors: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2

Review by Craig Byrne

Back when I wrote my reviews of the second 1960′s and 1970′s Saturday Morning Cartoons DVD volumes from Warner Home Video I commented that I wanted to see a 1980′s volume. I am happy to say that they answered fan requests by releasing a set full of cartoons from that era, although the actual execution of the set isn’t quite what I was hoping for.

The 1980′s were a prime decade for me to watch cartoons. I started the decade at age 2 and ended it at 12. There’s a lot I remember. Unfortunately… very little of this set resonated with me, and instead felt like just leftovers from the Warner Bros. cartoon vault.

On the bright side, an episode of The Flintstone Kids is on the set. That one I definitely watched, especially liking the Captain Caveman and Son segments. And, as I had hoped, as painful as it is to watch, the Mister T cartoon is found on here. It’s really bad but it still evokes a feeling of nostalgia. But everything else? Maybe I wasn’t watching the same stuff as everyone else, but I never heard of Goldie Gold or The Biskitts and can surely find better representations for a Child of the Eighties than The Kwicky Koala Show or The Misadventures of Ed Grimley. It was interesting to see Chuck Norris Karate Commandos again; though I don’t think I watched it back in the day, I remember the commercials.

I admit that most of my cartoon watching of the 1980′s involved toy or other media tie-ins, which might explain why those cartoons are not present. Since Warner Bros. has absorbed the Ruby-Spears library, I’m sad that at the very least The Centurions wasn’t on this DVD set. Even though Thundercats and Silverhawks have had their own releases, THOSE were certainly watched by kids my age.

More 1980′s tie-ins like the cartoon where Fred and Barney meet the Schmoo, or even those episodes of Scooby Doo where Shaggy has a red shirt, even if Scrappy is in them, would have been welcome. I know THOSE are in the WB library. What about The Snorks? Or the Smurfs for that matter?

Instead, unfortunately, as I said earlier in my review, this set felt like just remainders of shows that don’t have their own DVD releases, and I admit I was pretty disappointed.

I love the concept of doing “best of” sets from the 1980′s, but I know that if I myself – a 32 year old whose nostalgia buttons are so strong that I still buy G.I. Joes – didn’t get too excited by it, I don’t see how many others would be, either. I think I might even have better choices when watching an afternoon of the Cartoon Network or Boomerang. At the very least, menu screens that look like the “CBS Saturday Supercade” or something like that would have made the mood so much better, but even that seemed to be asking for too much.

Lists of the episodes are on the discs, but an actual booklet or list of the included cartoons would have been nice as well. Then I wouldn’t have to sit through some of the… not so good features of this set.

A bonus feature on this 2-disc set is a retrospective on Thundarr the Barbarian; because that one was kind of before my time, it didn’t really resonate with me, even though I do give it props for the fact that comic book legends such as Jack Kirby were involved. Maybe if I had watched the show more as a kid it would have meant more; the episode of the cartoon featured on this set was decent, especially the opening titles which talk about an apocalypse in the far-future year of… 1994.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980′s can be purchased at stores everywhere as of today (May 4), or you can purchase it and support this site by ordering from Amazon.com. Even though only a few of the cartoons featured on this set were for me, perhaps some of them were more popular in your 1980′s household.

Those who are familiar with this site and site network probably know that this all started with Superman – first as an online newsletter/website for Lois & Clark and then of course KryptonSite for Smallville.

In 1997, soon after Lois & Clark ended but a few years before Smallville premiered, a Superman-related character made his big-screen debut in the form of the character John Henry Irons, aka Steel, who first appeared in the Superman comics from DC after the character “died.”

Unfortunately, like the Halle Berry Catwoman disaster, this is one of those spin-offs that could even make Batman & Robin look good.

Warner Bros. through their “Warner Archive” program recently made this available. From my understanding, Warner Archive releases lesser-known movies directly onto DVD rather than going for a full release. I admit, I was a bit excited to see this as 14 years later I still haven’t seen this part of Superman (sort of) history.

The first surprise I had was that this was written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, the creator of V who made that fantastic mini-series. He also was the writer and producer tasked with making the Hulk incredible, in the original TV series which I still believe to be superior to the two recent films. I thought “this couldn’t be so bad, really?” And… well…

I don’t have much other frame of reference so I don’t know if Shaq’s “acting” got better than this, but Judd Nelson as the movie’s villain isn’t any better. The problem with Shaquille O’Neal (who is playing John Henry Irons aka Steel in this movie) is that he’s one of those actors where it’s clear he’s trying too hard and he’s, well… acting. It doesn’t make him believable in the role.

The sets of this movie seem on par with the first Street Fighter movie that was made a year or two earlier. Not too impressive. Oh, and the soundtrack is ATROCIOUS.

I will say, though, that I actually like the Steel “armor” in the movie. The visible mouth is weird, but I thought the design was well done.

The other problem I have with Steel as a film in general is that the character’s origins in the comics are so based around Superman; I think a Steel movie can only properly exist as a direct spin-off from a Superman movie. Much like the previously-mentioned Catwoman; if Halle Berry had appeared as the character in a Batman film first, I might have been more interested. Though really, what I wanted was a Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman movie.

Anyhow, this movie satisfies a curiosity at the very least, and at its best it is an exercise of amusement. It makes me sad, though, that such a big movie studio couldn’t create something… better.

The other surprise I get from this movie is that, in nine years of watching Smallville it has never crossed my mind that John Henry Irons should appear on the show. Now, I’m wondering why he hasn’t already!

My final comment on all of this is that I am very impressed with the “Warner Archive” DVD program and really wish they’d expand it to include television series. There are several shows Warner Home Video has started and never finished the collections for, such as Superboy; and there are others like the Fugitive remake with Tim Daly or the Dukes of Hazzard spin-off Enos that might not sell too well in a wide release but with a program like this, might get to see the light of the day. If anyone from the Warner Archive is reading this, please consider it!

You can purchase Steel from the Warner Archive here.

Review by Craig Byrne

The first season (or series) of Merlin aired here in the United States on NBC last Summer and recently re-aired on the Syfy Channel in anticipation of tonight’s Syfy premiere of Series Two. While not setting the summer ratings race on fire, the show provided some good entertainment, and I can happily say that on DVD, it’s even better.

Merlin: The Complete First Season is released here in the States on April 20; and not only does it have a clearer picture than its NBC counterpart, it also avoids the pesky commercials and such. Merlin is a series that flows better without them, especially when it comes to the episode’s final moments leading into the opening credits. The music builds and builds at the end… into something good.

What is Merlin, you ask? Basically… and I mean this in the most respectful way… it’s a British Smallville. You have a young man discovering and mastering more powers than he knows what to do with. There’s a future king in the shadow of his domineering father. There’s a wise man hoping the young boy never gets caught, with fear of the consequences. The homoerotic flirting between the two male leads. (Don’t deny it; it’s there, even if it’s not meant to be.) There are so many parallels between the two series, but rather than seeming derivative, it is just FUN. (For example, the season finale? Totally Smallville Season 5).

Colin Morgan is the series’ title character, Merlin, and instead of being an old man, he’s reimagined as a young man charged with serving the prince. The prince in this story, Arthur (Bradley James), is not yet a king; the King of this land is his father, Uther Pendragon, played by Buffy‘s Anthony Head. Rounding out the cast of brilliant actors are Angel Coulby as Guinivere, Richard Wilson as Gaius, and Katie McGrath as Morgana. John Hurt is the voice of the Great Dragon. Guest stars in episodes include Heroes’ Santiago Cabrera, Torchwood‘s Eve Myles, and Bionic Woman‘s Michelle Ryan.

This is a show that’s perfect for marathon viewings; the episodes are so memorable that you’ll also want to revisit them. But if you’re thinking “oh, I can just watch those on Syfy”… think again. The bonus features on this disc make it well worth it.

The entire fifth disc of this set is packed with bonus features, the best of being video diaries of the cast. In my years of covering TV, I’ve been fortunate enough to interview several TV celebrities… and although many are fun, I don’t think any cast appears to get along as well as this one does on the DVD extras. I would pay to see a sitcom with Bradley James as goofball to Colin Morgan’s straight man. I still laugh at Bradley’s insistence that if people’s names matched their descriptions, he would be Angel and Angel Coulby would be… well, you watch it. Stars from other BBC programs randomly pop in to the DVD extras; I guess likeness-rights and DVD stuff isn’t the same overseas as it is here. I would love the opportunity to interview this cast someday… though I’d imagine I’d spend a good part of the time laughing.

There are also two “Behind the Magic” specials on these DVD’s. These, too, are interesting, although I feel the “video diaries” are better.

Unless for whatever reason you insist on only watching American television (and face it – shows like this and Doctor Who are loads better than most of what we have here), Merlin: The Complete First Season has my highest possible recommendation. I give it a 5 out of 5. You won’t be sorry!

Pre-order your copy of Merlin: The Complete First Season and support KSiteTV! For more on Merlin, including a recently-updated gallery full of images from both seasons, visit Merlinsite.com. Don’t miss the U.S. premiere of Merlin Series Two at 10PM (ET) Friday, April 2 on Syfy and be sure to talk about the show on our forums!