Fiction featuring Merlin

The legendary wizard Merlin features as a character in numerous works of fiction, especially Arthurian fiction. He is an important character in the following works:

Comics

• Merlin has made several appearances in DC Comics, often in association with the demon character Etrigan. In the Trials of Shazam he is a half-demon villain. He has also appeared in various animated series adaptations of the comics franchise, including Justice League and Batman: The Brave and the Bold; in the latter he introduces himself as Merlin Ambrosius.
• Merlin (Marvel Comics) has also appeared in Marvel Comics, in which he is portrayed as an otherdimensional being who gave Captain Britain his powers and led the multiversal Captain Britain Corps.
• Merlin is one of the major characters in the American mini series Camelot 3000
• Merlin is a major character in Matt Wagner's Mage series, which features a reincarnated King Arthur in the character Kevin Matchstick. He is presented as the World Mage, and is a paraplegic in the first series Mage: The Hero Discovered, and an old man named Wally Ut who Kevin thinks of as a crackpot, until he reveals himself in Mage: The Hero Defined.

Feature films

• The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010), played by James A. Stephens.
• Merlin and the Book of Beasts (2010), played by James Callis.
• Merlin and the War of the Dragons (2008), played by Simon Lloyd Roberts.
• Shrek the Third (2007), voiced by Eric Idle.
• The Last Legion (2007), played by Ben Kingsley.
• Merlin's Apprentice (2006), played by Sam Neill.
• King Arthur (2004, in this version, Merlin is presented as a Celtic Druid instead of a wizard).
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2002), played by Robert Davi.
• Merlin: The Return (1999), played by Rik Mayall.
• Quest for Camelot (1998), voiced by John Gielgud.
• Merlin (1998), played by Sam Neill. Merlin the pagan goddess Queen Mab.^[1]
• Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (1996), played by George Milan.
• Merlin and the Dragons (1991), narrated film by Kevin Kline.
• Vasantha Sena (1985), played by Shobana.
• Knightriders (1981), played by Brother Blue.
• Excalibur (1981), which featured Nicol Williamson as an eccentric Merlin who is mystically connected to the land.
• Le Dernier métro (1980), played by Marcel Berbert.
• The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979), played by Ron Moody. Merlin is, in a rather unusual fashion, portrayed as an evil character.
• Licensed to Love and Kill (1979), played by John Arnatt.
• Son of Dracula (1974), played by Beatle Ringo Starr.
• 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), played by Tony Randall.
• The Sword in the Stone (1963), the Disney animated adaptation of T.H. White's book, featuring an old and funny Merlin (voiced by Karl Swenson) helping a young lad named Wart to become King Arthur.
• Siege of the Saxons (1963), played by John Laurie.
• Lancelot and Guinevere (1963), played by Mark Dignam.
• Jules et Jim (1962), played by Bernard Largemain.
• Santa Claus (1959), played Armando Arriola.
• Faites-moi confiance (1954), played by Pierre Larquey.
• Knights of the Round Table (1953), played by Felix Aylmer.
• Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949), played by William Fawcett.
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), played by Murvyn Vye.
• A Connecticut Yankee (1931), played by two actors Mitchell Harris and Brandon Hurst.
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921), played by William V. Mong.

Games

"Merlin imprisoned", a concept art for the 2012 video game King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame

Various games, especially those with a magic or Arthurian background, include Merlin as either a character or just as a reference.

• In Age of Wonders II and Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic, the player takes the role of Merlin, a powerful wizard.
• In the arcade game Gauntlet, Merlin is one of the four playable heroes. His role in the game series continued until Gauntlet 4 for the Sega Genesis.
• The Disney version of Merlin appears in the action role-playing games Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. This Merlin is depicted in the same way as his appearance in Disney's film The Sword in the Stone, and he provides a tutorial on both summon magic and elemental magic. He is one of the main bases of the game and helps widen the story. Though silent in the original game, in the sequel he has audible dialogue provided by Jeff Bennett.
• In the role-playing game Magic and Mayhem, Merlin is the game's final antagonist.
• In Master of Magic, Merlin is one of the predefined wizards.
• In the MMO role-playing game RuneScape, Merlin is a part of three quests, including Merlin's Crystal (a quest to free Merlin and become one of the Knights of the Round Table), The Holy Grail, and King's Ransom.
• In Sonic and the Black Knight, the character Merlina is based on Merlin. Merlin is Merlina's Grandfather.
• In the 2013 video game Soul Sacrifice, Merlin was the game's antagonist. In the English version of the game, he's known as the Magusar. Merlin reappeared later in the game's sequel Soul Sacrifice Delta and concluded the Merlin's story.*In the MMO role-playing game "Wizard101", the character Merlin (who represents himself as "Merle Ambrose") is the headmaster of "Ravenwood School of Magical Arts" and assigns players multiple quests.
• In Young Merlin, videogame about Merlin's youth.
• In Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II, Merlin gives the protagonist, Mike, psychic attacks to help him throughout game.

Literature

• In Kara Dalkey's Water Trilogy, it is revealed that one of the main characters by the name of Corwin eventually comes to be known as Merlin from Arthurian legend, linking the events of the trilogy to the Lady of the Lake legend.
• Merlin plays a modern-day villain in Roger Zelazny's short story "The Last Defender of Camelot" (1979), which won the 1980 Balrog Award for short fiction and was adapted into an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone in 1986.
• Cyr Myrddin, the Coming of Age of Merlin by Michael de Angelo is the story of the early life of Merlin as he searches for his destiny.^[2]
• René Barjavel's L'Enchanteur (1984) features Merlin.
• T.A. Barron portrays Merlin as a young man in his The Lost Years of Merlin series, and as an adult in its sequel series, The Great Tree of Avalon. Merlin also figures prominently in Barron's Merlin Effect, which may be in the same fictional continuity.
• Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series includes Merlin as both a title (leader of the White Council) as well as a man responsible for the creation of the supernatural prison Demonreach.
• Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series has Merlin as the central character in an Arthurian fantasy series about the battle between "the Dark and the Light". The child characters know him as "Gummerry" (contraction of Great Uncle Merry). He is also variously known as Professor Merriman Lyon, Merry Lyon, Mer-lion and Merlin.
• Merlin is a Druid who rules over Avalon, all the land seen from the top of his hall in Ynys Wydryn, in Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles. He is portrayed as an irreverent, lecherous, sarcastic and condescending mystic, revered and feared by both Britons and Saxons, who is obsessed with bringing back the old gods of Britain, so they can make the Isles their sacred realm again, expelling from it Christians, Saxons and all those who do not belong to the old way.
• The Galician author Álvaro Cunqueiro published Merlín y familia in 1957. In it, Merlin dwells in the Galician forest of Esmelle and is visited by mythical figures seeking magical advice. It synthesizes Arthurian legend and Galician folktales.
• Simon Green's Nightside series contains a character named Merlin Satanspawn, who is the son of the Devil and who was King Arthur's mentor and friend.
• Merlin is the main character in Robert Holdstock's The Merlin Codex trilogy of mythic fiction novels, which traces Merlin's adventures in Europe over a span of two millennia, placing him alongside Jason and the Argonauts, and Urtha Pendragon. Merlin is also a major character in Holdstock's novel Merlin's Wood.
• Sherrilyn Kenyon (writing under the name of Kinley MacGregor) includes a "Penmerlin Emrys" of Arthurian legend in her Lords of Avalon series.
• Stephen King mentions a character called Maerlyn in The Dark Tower series of novels, as well as the prequel comic The Gunslinger Born. Although this Maerlyn is an adviser to an alternative Earth's version of King Arthur, he appears to be evil, as he sires the evil sorcerer Marten Broadcloak and creates the soul-corrupting Wizard's Rainbow.
• Merlin (1988) and Pendragon (1994), the second and fourth book of Stephen Lawhead's fantasy Pendragon Cycle series, respectively, are narrated by Merlin (Myrddin) and seen through his viewpoint. Lawhead makes him a half-Atlantean king of Dyfed who goes insane, but recovers after years of living in the forests; he then assumes the roles of prophet, adviser, and bard.
• C. S. Lewis used the figure of Merlin Ambrosius in his 1946 novel That Hideous Strength, the third book in the Space Trilogy. In it, Merlin has supposedly lain asleep for centuries to be awakened for the battle against the materialistic agents of the devil, able to consort with the angelic powers because he came from a time when sorcery was not yet a corrupt art. Lewis's character of Ransom has apparently inherited the title of Pendragon from the Arthurian tradition. Merlin also mentions "Numinor," a nod to J. R. R. Tolkien's Númenor.
• Myrddin Wyllt or Merlin the Wild, is the Emperor Arthur's counsellor, a major character in John Cowper Powys's novel Porius: A Romance of the Dark Ages (1951). Powys identifies him with Cronos or Saturn the father of Zeus.^[3] Merlin is also important in Powys's A Glastonbury Romance (1934),^[4] and Morwyn (1937).^[5]
• Merlin (1978) by Robert Nye is a bawdy, anti-Christian version of the Arthurian story, as relived by Merlin after Nimue has trapped him. Though dedicated to Malory, it draws rather from the earlier texts, curiously intertwining references to Kaballah and explicit erotic passages.^[6]
• Merlin is one of the main characters in the Magic Tree House series of children's books by Mary Pope Osborne. He appears in the later volumes of the series, known as the Merlin Missions.
• Merlin also appears as the antagonist in James A Owen's The Indigo King in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series. In the book, Owen discusses the development of Merlin into the Cartographer of the Imaginarium Geographica. Merlin comes from a place known as the Archipelago of Dreams where he was born Myrdyyn along with his twin brother, Madoc (who would later on become Mordred). He is portrayed as an ambitious and treacherous man who was banished from the Archipelago for trying to use knowledge of the future to shape it. He soon becomes a caretaker of the Holy Grail in the library of Alexandria, but is soon arrested for trying to steal it. He is able to escape however, and banish his brother in his place. He then travels to Britain (then called Albion) and changes his name to Merlin. Sometime after this, he becomes the apparent father of Arthur through the Lady of the Lake.
• Merlin, called Aurelianus, is a character in Tim Powers' 1979 novel The Drawing of the Dark (1979), which describes the reincarnation of King Arthur, an Irishman named Brian Duffy, leading the forces of the West in battle against the forces of the East in 16th century Vienna.
• Merlin, le faiseur de rois (2006) is a novel by Michel Rio.
• In Chapter 19 of James Rollins' sixth Sigma Force novel, The Doomsday Key(2009), Father Rye and historian Wallace Boyd tell the group seeking the Doomsday Key that Bardsey Island was home to Fomorian royalty and that Merlin was a famous Druid priest, buried on sacred Bardsey Island with other prominent Druids.
• William Rowley wrote a play title The Birth of Merlin (1622).
• J.K. Rowling portrays Merlin as a famous or almost God-like wizard in her Harry Potter series, and refers to him as "The Prince of Enchanters".
  • The magical population uses the expression "Merlin's Beard" as a substitute for "My God".
  • "The Order of Merlin", mentioned throughout the books, is given to witches and wizards for great accomplishments, and is given in three classes, First, Second, and Third; it is similar to an OBE. According to the Harry Potter website Pottermore, the Order of Merlin began as an organization formed by Merlin to protect Muggles, or non-magical beings.
  • Merlin is featured on a Famous Witches and Wizards Collectors card; such cards are included with chocolate frogs.
  • Albus Dumbledore much resembles Merlin.
  • As in many other stories, Merlin is the enemy of Morgan le Fay.
  • The Harry Potter website "Pottermore" states that Merlin was a Slytherin, despite the fact that the real-world mythology places Merlin's existence several centuries before the founding of Hogwarts.
• Fred Saberhagen's novel Merlin's Bones is told partly from the perspective of a young Merlin.
• Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy. "Myrddin Emrys" (Merlin Ambrosius) is the protagonist of the first two novels, The Crystal Cave (1970) and The Hollow Hills (1973), which are based on earlier traditions of the character, as shown above. The last book of the trilogy, The Last Enchantment, and a related book, The Wicked Day, focus more on Arthur and Mordred, though the former is still told from his viewpoint. Stewart portrays Aurelius Ambrosius (brother to Uther Pendragon) as his father, and thus makes him Arthur's cousin. Here Merlin goes mad due to Morgause's poison.
• Arthurian scholar Nikolai Tolstoy (a relation of Leo Tolstoy) wrote a non-fiction book, The Quest For Merlin (1985), and a historical fantasy, The Coming of the King (1988), the first of an unfinished trilogy. The latter book's depiction of Merlin may be the most historically accurate of all, since he lives after Arthur's death. The hero Beowulf even appears as an invader.
• Mark Twain made Merlin the villain in his 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. He is presented as a complete charlatan with no real magic power, and the character seems to stand for (and to satirise) superstition, yet at the very last chapter of the book Merlin suddenly seems to have a real magic power and he puts the protagonist into a centuries-long sleep (as Merlin himself was put to sleep in the original Arthurian canon).
• Robert Weinberg in this books A Logical Magician (also published as A Modern Magician) 1994, and its sequel A Calculated Magic 1996 portrays Merlin as an being brought into existence through belief and possessed of all the powers general belief grants him. It's the '90s and Merlin has to recruit a hero to save the world using logical devices (electronics) to defeat the chaotic forces of evil.
• T.H. White's 1958 Arthurian retelling, The Once and Future King, in which "Merlyn", as White calls him, has the curious affliction of living backwards in time to everyone else. This affliction also appears in Dan Simmons' Hyperion as the "Merlin sickness." A related novel is The Book of Merlyn.
• Merlin is a central figure as guardian and teacher of the eventual King Arthur in Jack Whyte's nine-volume series The Camulod Chronicles. The series presents a full retelling of the Arthurian legend with entirely natural explanations of the magical abilities attributed to Merlin.
• In Diana Wynne Jones' book The Merlin Conspiracy, Merlin is not one person, but a title. The Merlin is entrusted with the kingdom's magical health.
• Marion Zimmer Bradley's 1979 The Mists of Avalon retells the Arthurian legend with Morgan Le Fay as protagonist, in the tradition of John Gardner's Grendel. It includes two distinct characters who, in succession, hold the title of "The Merlin of Britain," an office which grants leadership of the Druids in the same way that "The Lady of the Lake" is the title of the high priestess of Avalon. The division of the Merlin character of the Arthurian canon into two different persons enables Bradley to have in the early part of the story an elderly, fatherly Merlin to be Arthur's mentor, and in the later part – a younger Merlin with whom Nimue could fall tragically in love. This usage ("the Merlin") has found its way into a fair amount of subsequent Arthurian fiction.
• Books based on British TV show Merlin (2008) feature an adolescent Merlin in King Uther's Camelot, including television episode stories.
• Merlin's Mirror by Andre Norton, tells the story of the half-human, half-alien Merlin.
• Kristine Papin Morris explores Merlin's emotional childhood in the Merlin of Carmarthen^[7] series featuring Merlin of Carmarthen^[8] and Merlin of Calidon.^[9]
• Merlin is an important figure in films and television programs, where he functions often as a teacher or mentor figure, a role that he shares with other wizard and wizard-like figures in popular texts, such as Gandalf the White.^[10]
• In the romantic urban fantasy Enchanted, Inc. and its sequels by Shanna Swendson, Merlin is the CEO of MSI, Inc. (Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc.) the company the heroine of the series goes to work for.
• In the urban fantasy series, Arkwell Academy written by Mindee Arnett, Merlin is the fictional name based on an evil sorcerer named Marrow. He is the main antagonist who sets out to claim the legendary sword of great power (the legendary Excalibur), only to be thwarted by protagonist Dusty Everhart and her allies.^[11]

Music, musicals, and operas

• Merlin is also an opera by Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz completed in 1902 but not premiered until 2004.
• A fictionalized version of Merlin appears in Ayreon's first album, The Final Experiment.
• Merlin (1983) was a Broadway musical featuring illusionist Doug Henning and music by Elmer Bernstein.
• Merlin is an opera composed by Karl Goldmark that premiered in 1886.
• Merlin is played by Bob Catley of Magnum on the rock operas Once and Future King Part I and Once and Future King Part II, composed by Gary Hughes of Ten.
• Merlin; Bard of the Unseen is a progressive rock concept album about Merlin's life by Kayak.
• On Rick Wakeman's album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975), the fourth track is entitled "Merlin, the Magician".

Television

• Sofia the First features numerous references to Merlin, who is idolized by the character of Cedric the Sorcerer. He later appears in the episode "Gone With the Wand" where he is depicted in his traditional Disney design and voiced by Jeff Bennett.
• Nanatsu no Taizai a Japanese manga and anime where it features a female Merlin as The Boar Sin of Gluttony and actual tutor of a younger prince Arthur. Voiced by Maaya Sakamoto.

A promotional photo of BBC's Merlin with Morgan taking on the award-winning lead role.

• Merlin (2012) French film in two parts, played by Gerard Jugnot.
• Camelot (2011) played by Joseph Fiennes.
• Once Upon a Time (2011), portrayed by Elliot Knight. Merlin, known as the Sorcerer, is sought after in the fifth season to defeat the Dark One, a dark entity that currently possesses Emma Swan and was originally Nimue who was his true love. He is eventually killed by Killian Jones after becoming a Dark One, and uses his heart to cast the Dark Curse again so that he may exact his vengeance against Rumplestiltskin. Knight is the first black actor to play Merlin in a prominent production.
• Merlin (2008-2012) British series by BBC filmed in Wales and France, played by Colin Morgan interpreting a young Merlin who is scouted as a servant for Prince Arthur and has to hide his magic while protecting the soon to be King.
• Morgana (2007) (Portuguese) played by Ruy de Carvalho in a television version of a theatre play.
• Pé na Jaca (2006) Brazilian series played by Humberto Martins
• Kaamelott (2005-) French sitcom played by Jacques Chambon.
• Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007), Stargate Atlantis (2004-2009) and Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008), Merlin is represented as an Ancient, named Myrddin (originally Moros) from the Pegasus galaxy who ascended to a higher plane of existence, descended to a lower plane of existence on Earth, and proceeded to 'create' King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Played by Matthew Walker.
• Merlin's Apprentice (2006) sequel to Merlin (1998) Sam Neill reprises his role.
• They're Made Out of Meat (2005) sci-fi played by Gbenga Akinnagbe.
• King Arthur's Disasters (2005) animated series played by Matt Lucas.
• River City Rumble (2004) based on a video game. Merlin played by Rich Durham.
• Potatoes and Dragons (2004) animated series played by John Vamvas.
• Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo (2001-05). Brazilian series played by Emiliano Queiroz.
• ChuckleVision (1987-?) in episode Bookshop Chuckles (2003) played by Leslie Schofield.
• The Jersey (1994-04) in episode Origins: Part 1 (2003) played by Angus Scrimm.
• Justice League (2001-06) in episode A Knight of Shadows: Part 1 (2002) played by W. Morgan Sheppard.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008-present) in episode "Day of the Dark Knight" played by David McCallum.
• White Teeth (2002) played by Russell Brand.
• The Outer Limits (1995-02) in episode The Tipping Point (2002) played by Jim Byrnes.
• House of Mouse (2001-02) played by Hamilton Camp.
• Guinevere Jones (2002) played by Ted Hamilton.
• The Zack Files (2002) in episode Once and Future Zack played by J. Adam Brown.
• Young Arthur (2002) played by James Fleet.
• Sir Gadabout: The Worst Knight in the Land (2002) played by Ian Lindsay.
• MythQuest (2001) in episode Sir Caradoc at the Round Table played by David Gant.
• The Fairly OddParents! (2001 - Present) in episode, "Knighty Knight" (2002) played by Jim Ward
• The Brak Show (2000-04) in episode Time Machine (2001) played by Marc Cram.
• The Mists of Avalon (2001) played by Michael Byrne.
• Suite en ré (2000) French film played by Adama Niane.
• The Exotic Time Machine II: Forbidden Encounters (2000) played by David Christensen.
• Arthur's Quest (1999) played by Arye Gross.
• A Knight in Camelot (1998) played by Ian Richardson.
• Merlin (1998) played by Jason Connery.
• Merlin (1998), a television movie starring Sam Neill as Merlin, Daniel Brocklebank as Young Merlin, Miranda Richardson as both the villainess Queen Mab and her supporting protagonist sister, the famous Lady of the Lake, Martin Short as her servant Frik, Isabella Rossellini as Nimue, and Rutger Hauer as Vortigern. The film depicts his life, from his magical birth through the reigns of Vortigern, Uther, and Arthur, and ends with him as an old man. Merlin is a half-faeren man created by Queen Mab, sister to the Lady of the Lake, as a saviour to the Old Ways (i.e., Paganism) from the encroaching Christian religion. Becomes a tutor of King Arthur and the lover of Lady Nimue.[2]
• Histeria! (1998-2000) played by Paul Rugg.
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996-03) in the episode Oh What a Tangled Spell She Weaves (1997) played by Bob Goldthwait.
• The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1997-99) was played by two actors, Geoffrey Bayldon in the episode The Legend of Olwyn and then David Gant in Return to Camelot.
• Timmy Towers (1997) in the episode No Time Like the Present played by Stephen Mulhern.
• The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996-99) in the episode The Alchemist (1996) played by Michael Des Barres.
• The Crystal Cave (1996) played by Robert Guillaume.
• Alchemy (1996) played by Robert Guillaume.
• Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (1995-96) animation voiced by Bob Kaliban. Merlin is an ancient wizard who has discovered Avalon and tamed its magic centuries ago. When the evil Lady Kale banishes Merlin into the "wild magic", the young Princess Gwenevre and her friends struggle to defeat Kale and rescue him and Avalon.
• Chien et chat (1992) played by Roland Giraud.
• TekWar: TekLab (1994) played by Jody Racicot.
• Death Ring (1993) played by Kelly Bennett.
• King Arthur and the Knights of Justice (1992) animation voiced by Jim Byrnes.
• Merlin of The Crystal Cave (1991), played by George Winter as Merlin, Jody David as a boy and Thomas Lambert as Merlin the child. Based on the novel by Mary Stewart of the same name.
• Doctor Who. The 1989 episode Battlefield suggests that Arthurian legend in our world is influenced by actual events in a parallel world, and that the Doctor is himself Merlin.
• MacGyver (1985-92). In the two part episode Good Knight MacGyver (1991), Merlin (played by Time Winters) is shown to be a bumbling trickster who relies on the title character's wit and wisdom to save the day (later taking credit himself, generating his legend off of MacGyver's exploits).
• The Legend of Prince Valiant (1991-93) animated series voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
• Doctor Who (1988) in the story "Battlefield", The Seventh Doctor is recognised as Merlin by the knight Ancelyn, Mordred and finally Morgaine, and it is implied that Merlin is, or will be, a future (or alternate-dimension) incarnation of the Doctor. The 2010 episode The Pandorica Opens confirms this.
• Knightmare (1987-94) played by John Woodnutt.
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1989) played by Rene Auberjonois.
• High Mountain Rangers (1987) played by Rick Porter.
• The Twilight Zone (1985-89) in the episode A Day in Beaumont/The Last Defender of Camelot played by Norman Lloyd.
• 3-2-1 (1978-87) in the episodes The Magic of Merlin and Egypt played by Kenneth Connor.
• Arthur The King (1985) played by Edward Woodward.
• Thundercats (1985) Episode "Excalibur".
• Quidam (1984) French played by Philippe Du Janerand.
• Série noire (1984) French, in the episode L'ennemi public n° 2 played by Bernard Maître.
• Bergerac (1981-91) in the episode Always Leave Them Laughing played by Edward Phillips.
• Mr. Merlin (1981–82) sitcom starring Barnard Hughes as the wizard, disguised as Max Merlin, a mechanic in modern-day San Francisco. He hires Zachary Rogers, played by Clark Brandon, to work in his garage, and when Zac pulls a crowbar out of a rock, the crowbar is revealed to be Arthur's sword Excalibur, and Merlin must reveal himself to Zac and make him an apprentice. The show was typical of late-1970s and early-1980s sci-fi/fantasy television.
• L'Atterrissage (1981) French, played by Jean Barney.
• Read All About It! (1981) in the episode 'Tis Magic played by John Dee.
• Merlin (1980) German miniseries with Ekkehardt Belle playing the wizard and Tommi Ohrner playing the wizard as a boy.
• The Legend of King Arthur (1979) played by Robert Eddison.
• The Boy Merlin (1979) played by Ian Rowlands.
• Les Acteurs de bonne foi (1979) French, played by Dominique Rozan.
• Shadows (1975-78) in the episode The Boy Merlin played by Ian Rowlands.
• Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978-80) animation voiced by Michael Bell.
• Once Upon a Classic (1976-79) in the episode A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court played by Roscoe Lee Browne.
• Good Against Evil (1977) played by Issac Goz.
• Carry on Laughing (1975) in the episodes Short Knight, Long Daze and Under the Round Table played by Peter Butterworth.
• The Ghost Busters (1975) in the episode Merlin, the Magician played by Carl Ballantine.
• Au théâtre ce soir (1966-85) French series in the episode La collection Dressen (1971) played by Raymond Baillet.
• Les Cinq dernières minutes (1958-75) French series in the episode Traitement de choc (1969) played by Jacques Lalande.
• The Avengers (1961-69) in the episodes The Morning After (1969) played by Peter Barkworth and Look - (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers... (1968) played by Robert James.
• The Time Tunnel (1966-67) in the episode Merlin the Magician (1967) played by two actors Christopher Cary and Dennis Christopher.
• The Adventures of Superboy (1966 - 1969). In the episode The Black Knight(1966). Filmation Studios.
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68) in the episode The Foxes and Hounds Affair (1965) played by Andre Philippe.
• Burke's Law (1963-66) in the episode Who Killed Marty Kelso? (1964) played by Dana White.
• Niets dan de waarheid (1963) Dutch played by Dick Scheffer.
• Richard the Lionheart (1962) in the episode King Arthur's Sword played by Ferdy Mayne.
• Startime (1959-60) in the episode Tennessee Ernie Ford Meets King Arthur (1960) played by Carl Ballantine.
• The David Niven Show (1959) in the episode A Day of Small Miracles played by Eddie Bracken.
• The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-57) played by Cyril Smith.
• Knight-Mare Hare (1955) animated Warner Bros. Pictures voiced by Mel Blanc.
• Kraft Television Theatre (1953) in the episode A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court played by Victor Jory.
• Studio One (1948-58) in the episode "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1952) played by Salem Ludwig.

Other cultural references

• Adobe Photoshop has long included an Easter egg featuring Merlin in a miniature dialog box entitled "Merlin Lives!", with a cartoon depiction of the wizard and a single button, "Begone".

See also

• Morgan le Fay in popular culture
• The Lady of the Lake

References