NBC’s new Arthurian legend is Smallville in Camelot [Merlin]

Maybe the summer heat is making me grumpy. Or maybe it’s NBC’s fault for saving their worst shows for summer. After laughing my way through the first couple of episodes of its EMT-telepath drama The Listener, I was hoping for something better from Sunday’s two-episode premiere of Merlin.

From the opening scene of the show, I sensed something amiss. The backdrops looked a little too painted. The characters were a bit too diversified for England, circa A.D. 1100. Like many of the made-for-television fantasy films on the SCI FI channel, the NBC drama Merlin seems to disregard historical accuracy. I understand that there’s a “fantasy” element to Camelot, but when the lead character (played by Colin Morgan) is wearing clothes that look modern enough to blend in at the local mall, it’s difficult to take the story seriously.

And then there’s the story. This isn’t the traditional telling of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. It’s about a young Merlin meeting a young Arthur, before fame and glory. If the story seems slightly familiar — if there’s something that you can’t quite put your finger on — let me spell it out for you: Smallville.

Yes, the makers of Merlin have co-opted the CW’s long-running “Superman as a teen” series Smallville. Only the names have been changed to protect the writers from copyright infringement.

In Merlin, we have a character with amazing powers that he must keep secret (think Clark Kent) who meets up with a rich and powerful king’s son (think Lex Luthor). The king (think Lionel Luthor) is evil, but his son could go either way. The difference here is that they begin as enemies and will end as allies, whereas Clark Kent and Lex Luthor went the opposite way.

Every week, it appears that Merlin must save Arthur from others who possess magic, while keeping his own magic powers a secret. This is the same “meteor freak of the week” formula that launched Smallville.

Guiding Merlin is a wise dragon hidden beneath the castle (think Clark Kent getting advice from Jor-El in his Fortress of Solitude). And then there are the ladies. The lovely Morgana (Lana Lang?) is out of Merlin’s reach, but he has a buddy in Morgana’s maid servant, Guinevere (Chloe Sullivan).

If that’s not enough to convince anyone, I would also point out the blue shirt with red bandanna that Merlin wears reflect the color combination that Clark Kent favors and Superman made famous.

Although I once loved Smallville (until season 3 or so), I see no reason to believe that Merlin has anything new or interesting to offer. This seems a poor attempt to cash in on the fantasy genre while mashing it with modern television storytelling aimed at a youth demographic.

It’s Teen Camelot, and I don’t think anyone really needs that.