Being Human - really good... so far... and free on hulu tv (so i can watch it as i don't have cable/dish.

But apparently you don't get QI - which is a real shame.

Primeval? Gah. It's an exemplar of the bad influence US TV can have on UK TV. Even worse with the subbing CGI for real creativity problem that Merlin has with its dragon, and smothered with a generous helping of mediocre acting and crappy writing. Shame, that. The premise and general story arc really had potential, but the pablum-quality end product made it unwatchable for me--and I watch some really weak stuff in the name of an interesting story line.

The UK Being Human is not excellent, but is an amusing bit given the general morass of vampire-zombie-yada-yada going on these days. The promo scraps I've seen for the US version make me suspect it is yet another title that is better in the original but got deemed 'too British' by US media execs. 

Spartacus seemed like some sort of bloody soft-core porn to me. Not sure what that might mean for how this Camelot thing might work out, but maybe it'll be OK. Sure would be fun to see a more 'grownup' version of the stories than has been tried so far for TV. That Sam Neil version of the Merlin story was abysmal, and I kind of like Mr. Neil as an actor.

I think "Spooks" is called MI-5 here.  Anyway, its my local public broadcasting station, not BBC America, and it is great.  But I gather what they show here is a few years behind.

Regular watcher of Being Human here  (on BBC).  Tried watching one episode of the American version and couldn't stand watching a rerun with different actors.  No idea whether it might be better for first-time viewers though.

Being Human doesn't even make it on to mainstream TV channels here (shown on BBC3), but thought it might be worth a watch for the sort of people who frequent this sort of site.

Seems we get a lot of imports from the US (CSI, House, Big bang theory being the ones I watch most often) Its nice to see some of the better programmes from the UK making it over.  most of the rest of the stuff is either soaps, game shows, reality shows, which is pretty much all rubbish, or stuff that wouldn't translate well (mock the week, have I got news for you, etc)

If however you want something that would certainly rate highly on the "too british" stakes - check out the BBC Radio 4 comedy podcast.

Well, there is less blood and naked skin that in Spartacus... after 3 episodes, i cannot yet say that it is a good or bad version... Merlin and Morgan are great but Arthur is not the hero that we hope to see...

About Spartacus, if you translate latin text from the same period, the series is certainly more soft that the reality from this time... Orgie, incest, murder and more was usual at these time... any real European history from the middle age and before can be labeled 18+ in all case...

The Short Review.  Enjoy!

Upsides, the Merlin/Arthur humor is funny and the characters are likable. 

Downsides, I have to say the first season is negative.  It makes me question how competitive TV slots really are in the UK.  The plot itself suffers at times from extremes to being borderline ridiculous.  Late season, one second Morgana loves her father the king and the next shes is the mortal enemy secretly trying to kill him over a petty shallow argument, wtf.  I understand royalty was mad in the middle ages but come on.

And now comes the personal opinion commentary.  The lead character Merlin reminds me of an older taller but somewhat dumber Harry Potter without the glasses, a little less dorky and a lot funnier.  There's no Hogwarts, no Dumbledore, well maybe if Dumbledore couldn't do magic but the badly garbled Latin is still in.  One final point I can't let slide because it's sacrilege.  We've all seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the cup of life spin off is just lame.  I thought this show was made in the UK.  How could they get it so wrong?

Please Please Brad, don't tell me this show is influencing Fallen Enchantress because if it is I'll demand a full refund, in advance. 

Thoumsin, it is the blood-as-porn thing that puts me off a bit in Spartacus, not the depiction of sexuality. Slo-mo gouts of blood are boring at best and basically icky wastes of screen time that could be spent on plot and character. Re the brutality in general, I appreciate shows that don't try to sugar-coat the past (HBO's Rome was awesome). Shame about the lead actor's illness derailing production, but maybe they'll get around to a series outside the ludus.

Re the new Camelot project, I've got it saved to my Netflix queue. Less blood than Spartacus sounds good, and I'm rather fond of stories about Arthur The Less Than Perfect. 

Re Merlin and FE, like RogueCaptain, I'd be pretty disappointed to find the new game reminding me of that show in any way. Not a big worry, though, even with the boost that appears to be happening for the RPG aspects of the game. There's really not enough 'there there' in Merlin for it to have a discernible influence on anything. 

regarding the brit (and EU) tv versus USA TV:   It seems that i prefer Brit versions when I can get them.

Generally, (painting with a very big brush here) USA videos that go to Europe have violence reduced (censored?) - while Brit / European videos/media that come to USA have the sex reduced (censored?).  Sex or violence... umm,  seems a silly choice to me.  

But the USA choses violence over sex. 

and aside;    Hey, i hear TX is passing a law allowing people to carry pistols in high school.

Like you say, "generally"...

In 2001, TNT ( Turner Network Television, an AOL Time Warner company ) have made ( order ) a great film ( personal opinion ) related to Arthur-Merlin-Morgan story... little violence, a few sex scene ( by example, incest between Morgan and Arthur )... anyway, i have really enjoy these American production ( filmed in Europe, Czech republic )...

For these who don't know it, look at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244353/ ( The mists of Avalon )... was at first a 3 episodes mini series, since released on DVD... 

@GW Swicord, agree that Rome was awesome... one of the few series that i have record everything... and keep it after seeing it...

I live in Australia and I have watched allot of the series. Mainly due to a process of elimination more than anything else.... in other words it was the least crappiest crap out of all the crap i had to choose from at the time without the usual reaching and turning off of the TV!!

Merlin is such a terrible show ugh. I really dislike it plus it just butchers the King Arthur story. Camelot is much better.

Merlin has become my favorite TV. It REALLY picks up after the first season as Arthur gains more authority and power. I find it a brilliant story about Arthur coming to power and Merlin discovering his magic. Outside of First Knight I don't know a thing about the King Arthur story so I'm not bothered by the cannon being off. I also really appreciated how they portrayed Uther Pendragon as a pretty Lawful Neutral King who just wants his people to be safe but goes about everything the wrong way while Arthur is basically becoming, what will be, a fantastic King.

I tried watching Camelot but it seemed like they cast a wussy Leonardo De Caprio wanna be as Arthur, Merlin was too weird, it had no likable characters, and the show was just too dark.

Lastly, Merlin's music is simply outstanding... and they have some really great cinematography.

The end! After five seasons the series is over.

Thoughts on the finale?

I like Merlin.   My biggest thought is, now that it's over, the crowd that likes to watch it can now get the entire series together for free on Netflix, Youtube, Vudu, etc..   Since it's fiction it makes the perfect view-whatever-you-want-on-demand series.