Merlin is a 3 hour made-for-television movie released in 1998 that retells the famous legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin. Sam Neill stars in the title role in a story that covers not only the rise and fall of Camelot but also the phase, supposedly in the history of the British Isles, that had preceded it. According to this version of the famous Arthurian tale, the power of the pagan goddess Mab, played by Miranda Richardson, is waning due to the coming of Christianity to Great Britain, and she creates Merlin in hope of keeping the "Old Ways" alive. Merlin, however, accepts the imminent demise of pagan magic and superstition and focuses instead on trying to bring peace and order to the land by counselling promising warlords such as Uther Pendragon against Vortigern, and Uther's famous son King Arthur. Mab frustrates Merlin's efforts by weakening the hearts of those very persons whom the benevolent wizard wishes to help