TVSquad

So...who watched Merlin last night? Is it fair or unfair to say that this was a Harry Potter-ish version of the classic tale (or, at the very least, the reason this ran on BBC and now on NBC is because of the success of the Potter books)? It's the younger years of Merlin. What did everyone think of it?

While the second season launch of Merlin is set to debut on BBC One this fall, in the UK, we're still waiting for the first season on NBC in the US. Finally, it's coming to NBC starting June 21 with a two-hour debut. Considering this went from a winter premiere in the states to a summer debut now doesn't make me feel NBC has a lot of faith in it.

Or maybe NBC is actually seeing Merlin as a quality scripted summer program and truly embracing a twelve-month programming schedule. The shorter thirteen-episode run fits better in the three-month season between seasons. So maybe that second season will make it to NBC in summer 2010? Or at least BBC America if NBC loses faith in it completely.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S04E10) Well, it was a close call, with the top three candidates separated by two votes or less. So while I almost got to experience the Buffy musical experience with "Once More With Feeling," or the fifth season episode "The Body," it was instead the silent episode "Hush" that came out on top. Now, understand that this is by no means an intention to say that the entire series can be fully appreciated by one episode. In fact, I have every intention of watching the whole thing. Maybe I'll even give you guys season-by-season updates as I go along.

What I did learn from this is even several years after it's end, Buffy and Angel fans are as passionate today as they are about their favorite shows when they were on the air. And it makes me even more depressed at the poor treatment Whedon's other television masterpiece Firefly got at the hands of FOX. Maybe if it had been on UPN or The WB, it would have had a chance to develop as Whedon envisioned. But to the matter at hand. How does someone who's never seen a single episode of Buffy or Angel take an experience like "Hush?"

Well, more animated than he usually is. We're talking about pen-on-paper (or cursor-on-monitor) animation here for current Doctor David Tennant and his trusty sidekick Martha (played by Freema Agyeman).

They will both star in a new 13-part animated adventure 'The Infinite Quest' for the second series of BBC's Totally Doctor Who. In the cartoon Martha and The Doctor will follow a trail of clues to find the location of the Infinite, a legendary lost spaceship. The series will take place during Doctor Who's upcoming third series (known as season to us across the pond).

Also starring with Tennant and Agyeman will be Anthony Head, who portrayed evil headmaster Mr. Finch in last season's episode 'School Reunion'. This time around he will be voicing the character of Baltazar - Scourge of the Galaxy. Hm, that title sounds catchy. Maybe it should be the new slogan for TV Squad.

If I were fellow blogger Keith, I would be writing this article from a totally different angle. I would probably be doing cartwheels at the thought of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, written and directed by Joss Whedon. Alas, I missed the boat when it came to Buffy, so today's news breaks my heart. An article in the latest Entertainment Weekly with Joss Whedon says he has come to terms with the fact that there won't be any more Firefly movies.  Serenity only made $25 million in the United States and it's not yet clear how well the DVD will do (it went on sale this week). But, that amount of money isn't enough for Universal to launch a franchise of films. Sigh.