This Sunday, the British series Merlin, a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend, premieres on NBC, with a cast of actors mostly unknown on this side of the pond. (The notable exception being Anthony Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) But is America ready for a new medieval television series? Sure, Legend of the Seeker just got renewed, and Robin Hood airs on BBC America, but is period fantasy ready for one of the big networks? We took a look back at previous period fantasy shows to see whether they were hits or misses.

In late 2006, still suffering from Angel withdrawal, I started seeing commercials on the Sci Fi channel for The Dresden Files, starring Paul Blackthorne (Lipstick Jungle) as freelance wizard Harry Dresden. It looked like it had a real Angel vibe about it -- this is before Moonlight, mind you -- and I started watching it with my wife whenever I could (she was instantly hooked). We caught most of the first 12 episodes... and then the series was canceled. I know, there are a dozen of the original Jim Butcher-penned books out there, some of which inspired episodes of the TV show, but Blackthorne was delightfully roguish, and I can't bring myself to read any book whose cover shows Harry wearing a black duster -- it's a little too high-school role-playing club for me, and I speak from experience. Luckily, I can watch the 12 duster-free episodes over and over on Hulu, or pick them all up (with the original uncut pilot) here. Check out the first one below.

There are four completely unrelated reasons for me to write about Andy Richter Controls the Universe today. 1.) The complete 19-episode series is finally coming out on DVD tomorrow. 2.) Andy Richter is re-teaming with Conan O'Brien on the new Tonight Show starting next month. 3.) Show creator Victor Fresco recently debuted his new office comedy, Better Off Ted. 4.) ARCTU may very well be the best TV show that has ever aired on television. Ever. Better than Airwolf, even! ARCTU is like a perfect storm in a bottle, if that's even a metaphor. This kind of magic could only have happened once, with all of the right factors in place, and of course, no one watched it. Fresco would go on to create the awful series Life on a Stick, and Andy Richter would go on to star in the execrable Quintuplets and the mediocre Andy Barker, P.I., the latter of which lasted all of four episodes before getting rightly canceled. But for one glorious moment, the two teamed up, and with a highly talented cast of regulars and guest stars, they created TV gold. Let's look at that cast, shall we?

I can't believe how happy I am to type this title. This show ever so narrowly missed making our TWoP 10 of shows that were canceled too soon just last week (seriously, it was a tough call between that and Wonderfalls), and now word comes that we'll actually be getting more of it! In the form of a direct-to-DVD movie. I'll take what I can get. The one catch? Mandy Patinkin isn't in it. I kind of liked him as the boss of the reapers, but in general I'm not a huge fan (Princess Bride being the other exception). So I was torn about his absence. Until I saw who was replacing him. It's one Mr. Henry Ian Cusick! Those Lost fans out there should know him better as Desmond. He's fabulous. And I think I won't be missing Mr. Patinkin one bit.

So it turns out America is still the colonies. At least when it comes to network TV series concepts. The real power resides back in Britain. Where do you think ABC discovered the retro action of Life on Mars? Where did CBS find its moody Eleventh Hour and daffy Worst Week? Heck, England's even providing us the stars of these borrowed designs. Not that we object to importing such hot, uh, talents as Jason O'Mara and Rufus Sewell.

DVD now lets us compare two out of three translations -- and the verdict is strangely mixed.

When they say politics is a joke, they might be speaking literally in Minnesota. That's where comedy writer and sitcom star Al Franken is running for a U.S. Senate seat he may well win this week.

The Saturday Night Live veteran already had better luck there getting the Democratic nomination than he did in the Nielsen ratings, where his 1998 NBC sitcom Lateline failed to make the grade. Even when Franken means business about current events -- as in such bestselling books as Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot -- he doesn't take himself quite so seriously. The curly haired Minnesota native played slapstick lunkhead in Lateline, which is out on DVD and well worth another look as a rare satire of TV news and current events.

He's a sexy beast. A raging biker. A self-centered superhero. He's one of those actors who never plays himself, or the same person twice. Even when Ron Perlman isn't quite playing a person.

His starmaking turn as the latter character of Beauty and the Beast is being showcased anew in a complete-series DVD giftset of CBS' cult classic, just as Perlman revs up cable as the scary cycle gang leader in FX' Sons of Anarchy.

And the superhero? On Fox' short-lived 2001 live action version of The Tick, Perlman guested as arrogant Fiery Blaze, memorably hogging all heroic credit away from resentful sidekick Friendly Fire. Even in a comic-book comedy, Perlman conveys surprising emotional meat beneath the surface.

Ever notice how great things often happen when you're not trying quite so hard? Sports Night is one of those great things. Aaron Sorkin wasn't trying to wow us with social import (like on The West Wing) or culture commentary (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). He was just scripting sparkling dialogue for sparkling actors like Peter Krause (Dirty Sexy Money) and Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives). He was just showing authentic human behavior on a small scale in tight confines.

He was just creating an all-time gem.

Before there was Anna Torv kicking ass on Fringe, before Jennifer Garner was taking names on Alias, before Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess, even before The Bionic Woman and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. , there was Honey West -- TV's original woman warrior.

It made this long-time Mary Tyler Moore Show fan deliriously happy to see that the power of Oprah has been used for good. The powers that be over at 20th Century Fox have finally seen fit to appease the masses and release the final three seasons of the show on DVD. The first four sets became quickly available, but the final three had been stalled with no date in sight. But thanks to Oprah and her hour-long MTM lovefest this pat spring (in which she transformed her stage into WJM's newsroom and Mary's apartment and talked to the entire cast), the studio has taken notice and will put the last three sets on their DVD calendar (though an official date has yet to be set).