Picks and Pans Review: Mr. Merlin

UPDATED 10/12/1981 at 01:00 AM EDT • Originally published 10/12/1981 at 01:00 AM EDT

CBS (8-8:30 p.m. ET)

Barnard Hughes stars as King Arthur's 1,600-year-old magician, now ensconced in a grimy San Francisco auto-repair shop and training a mischievous sorcerer's apprentice, Clark Brandon. The acting is fine but the humor forced ("Didn't I teach Attila the Hun to brush his teeth?"), and the real trick will be keeping this silly series on the air. (Premiere)