Merlin

Yesterday saw the return of Merlin to our screens. This is the BBC's third major Saturday teatime TV drama after the success of Doctor Who and the updated Robin Hood. Robin Hood didn't really work for me. The kids seemed to enjoy it but I couldn't quite get into it; it wasn't the anachronisms, which I usually enjoy, but it felt like variations of the same story every week. Merlin, on the other hand, has just gone from strength to strength. I've always enjoyed the Arthurian legends and this is an original take on the old medieval tale by focusing on the early years of the characters - even if it does take some astonishing liberties with the original texts.

The start of the new series is a two-parter and I'm assuming that they are setting up the themes for the series as I found it rather dull. It struck me that much of the character development in the second series had been undone and that the relationships between the young protagonists had been reset to the start of series one. This is a pity as I had hoped it would move towards the darker romantic overtones of the original stories and approach the fantasy and philosophy of the film Excalibur - in my opinion the best adaptation of the story of King Arthur, although it would have to be toned down to suit a family audience. Of course, that would probably raise the ire of David Mitchell.

David Mitchell has caused some controversy with his latest Guardian soap box in which he criticises adults for watching what he classes as "children's programmes" by which he means the likes of Doctor Who and Harry Potter. Personally, I think he misses the point. These are family shows; aimed at a general audience and suitable for both younger and older family members to watch together - or on their own if they so desire. That explains the broad appeal and high viewing figures of dramas like these and general entertainment shows such as X-Factor. There are plenty of adult orientated shows on the TV but these invariably seem to focus on cops, doctors or the tawdry affairs of dull middle class people.

Part of the problem with adult drama is that the producers believe that it means "contains sex, violence and bad language". It doesn't and, in fact, this makes what could be perfectly decent dramas quite juvenile. What I would like to see as adult drama is something that can engage the mind; something that would appeal to Freud's das Über-Ich rather than das Es. These seem to be rather thin on the ground which explains why many people would rather watch teatime telly rather than the lazily written post-watershed programming.

I suppose this does raise the question of exactly what is a children's programme. It certainly shouldn't mean dumbed-down and I do get annoyed at people who feel the need to constantly patronise children in this way. I think the giveaway is when a story is told from a child's perspective. The popular CBBC children's drama Tracey Beaker is about children and is told from the perspective of a child whereas something like Oliver Twist is about children but has greater themes of good versus evil with a great dollop of social satire to boot. That's not to say that Oliver Twist cannot be enjoyed by the whole family or that Tracey Beaker wouldn't provide amusement to their parents - it didn't get a BAFTA for being crap. Harry Potter probably falls somewhere in-between: it's not something I would choose to read but I found the films entertaining enough - if a little formulaic.

As for Merlin, it should stay firmly with it's family audience in mind - I just hope this series picks up soon.