metacritic.com: Merlin

Critic Reviews

83	Entertainment Weekly Adam Markovitz Cheesy? Sure. But there's enough sword-clanging Action--not to mention homoerotic tension--to keep viewers happily entertained for a spell.
80	Hollywood Reporter Randee Dawn For those new to the legend, this is a fresh, and delightfully color-blind, approach to the tale.
70	The New York Times Alessandra Stanley A lighthearted, quite charming medieval adventure series made by the BBC, is tailored to the age of Obama.
63	Slant Magazine Kris King Even with its quirky charm, though, the show's formula begins to wear thin.
40	Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert The middling show plays too much like “The O.C.’’ with swords, crowns, and a cheesy CGI dragon (voiced by John Hurt).
40	Washington Post Tom Shales It takes the stuff of legend and imagination and makes it dry and commonplace. You look forward not to the next exciting chapter, but for the whole enterprise to go "poof" and disappear.
40	Variety Brian Lowry It's just that Merlin is clearly shopping for tricks in the bargain bin, and like the song says, the new Camelot's shining moments are all too brief, indeed.
30	Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen Merlin looks, well, typically British with shoddy production values. Worse, it tells dull stories.