''Mr. Merlin'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that ran for one season, from 1981 to 1982, about

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

the wizard (played by

Barnard Hughes Bernard “Barnard” Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American TV, theater, and film actor. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles: his most notable came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dith ...

), who is immortal, living in modern-day

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and disguised as Max Merlin, a mechanic. ''Mr. Merlin'' was produced by Larry Rosen and Larry Tucker, working as the Larry Larry Company, in association with

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems ...

Premise

Merlin hires Zachary Rogers (

Clark Brandon Clark Brandon (born December 13, 1958) is an American actor. His most notable roles were as Max Merlin's apprentice Zachary Rogers in the CBS series ''Mr. Merlin'', as Chris Richards on ABC's "Out of the Blue," and as Sean Fitzpatrick, the older ...

) to work in his garage, and when Zac pulls a crowbar out of a bucket of cement, the crowbar is revealed to be Arthur's sword

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

and Merlin must reveal himself to Zac and make him an apprentice. Leo Samuels (

Jonathan Prince Jonathan Alexander Prince (born August 16, 1958) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and movie producer. Career Prince embarked on an acting career following graduation from Harvard University. He played Leo in the 1981 CBS series '' M ...

) is Zac's best friend, who naturally has no idea his best buddy is a "wizard in training".

Elaine Joyce Elaine Joyce (born Elaine Joyce Pinchot) is an American actress. Early life and education Elaine Joyce Pinchot was born in Kansas City, Missouri, of Hungarian ancestry, the daughter of Iliclina (née Nagy) and Frank Pinchot. Career She made ...

is Alexandria ("Alex"), Max's equally magical liaison with an unseen "council" (who insisted Merlin take on an apprentice or lose both his powers and immortality).

Cast

Main

as Max Merlin,

the Magician who now works as a mechanic in San Francisco. *

as Zachary Rogers, Merlin's apprentice. *

as Leo Samuels, Zac's best friend. *

as Alexandria, Merlin's fellow magician. * Phil Morris as the Kid.

Guest cast

DeAnna Robbins DeAnna Robbins (born June 15, 1959) is an American former actress known for her role as Lisa in the 1981 slasher film ''Final Exam'', and for her role as Cindy Lake on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. She also appeared as Diane P ...

in "Pilot" (Episode 1) *

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. Known for his "deep, resonant baritone voice and craggy good looks," he was active in film, theatre and television from 1947 until 1983. He won two National ...

in "A Moment in Camelot" (Episode 7) * Stacy Keach Sr. in "Take My Tonsils... Please!" (Episode 9) * Scott McGinnis in "Not So Sweet Sixteen" (Episode 11) * Mel Stewart in "Alex Goes Popless" (Episode 14) *

Catherine Mary Stewart Catherine Mary Stewart (; born 22 April 1959) is a Canadian actress. Her film roles include '' The Apple'', '' Night of the Comet'', '' The Last Starfighter'' and ''Weekend at Bernie's''. She was also the original Kayla Brady in ''Days of Our L ...

and

Rita Wilson Margarita Wilson Hanks (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. Her film appearances include ''Volunteers'' (1985), ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' Now and Then'' (1995), '' That Thing You D ...

in "Everything's Coming Up Daisies " (Episode 15) *

Eugene Roche Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original " Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials. Personal life Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan ...

in "Change of Venue: Part 1" (Episode 18) * Holly Gagnier in "I Was a Teenage Loser" (Episode 22)

Episodes

''Note'': A ''Mr. Merlin'' strip ran briefly in the British ''

TV Comic ''TV Comic'' was a British weekly comic book published from 9 November 1951 until 29 June 1984. Featuring stories based on television series running at the time of publication, it was the first British comic to be based around TV programmes

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Merlin 1981 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms Television series by Sony Pictures Television American English-language television shows Television series based on Arthurian legend Television shows set in San Francisco Works based on Merlin CBS sitcoms