Merlin
The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table follows Joan Of Ark in being turned, far from the first time, into sumptuous television drama.
Merlin (Pearl, 9.30pm) has attracted an extraordinary cast for a mini-series, including Sam Neill in the title role, Helena Bonham Carter, Isabella Rossellini, Miranda Richardson as women good and evil, and even Sir John Gielgud, aged 94 when the mini-series was made last year, as King Constance.
Running over four hours tonight and next Saturday, this stylish version of Merlin (pictured above), laden with special effects, promises to be good entertainment for Camelot fans and those who like magic and sword play.
The mini-series was filmed in the Welsh hills and tells the complete story, from Merlin's creation by Mab, the Queen of Darkness (Richardson), through King Arthur's creation of Camelot to the triumph of Sir Galahad in his quest for what has become such a cliche for television and cinema, the Holy Grail.
The cliche of ancient mythical treasure is revisited earlier in the day in the made-for-television movie MacGyver: Lost Treasure Of Atlantis (Pearl, 1.45pm).
This film is inspired by the books of mythologist Joseph Campbell and palaeontologist Charles Pellegrino. Like Camelot, the mythical Atlantis that supposedly lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar represents a lost ideal irresistible to movie-makers. The treasures it could hide spark a Raiders Of The Lost Ark-type adventure for Richard Dean Anderson's MacGyver.
One of the greatest ladies' men of the 20th century is featured in 20:20: Profiles Of The Century (BBC World, 5.10pm). Frank Sinatra, The Voice Of The Century, recalls Old Blue Eyes' humble origins, through his years of screaming teenage adoration, his break as a soloist and his mature work.
It also celebrates the man behind the voice, who had liaisons with some of Hollywood's leading actresses, from Marlene Dietrich to Mia Farrow, while his failed romance with Ava Gardner inspired his finest songs.
Sinatra's notorious temper helped him lose friends as easily as his irresistible charm gained them.
