RobinOfSherwood

Every so often a programme emerges that is head and shoulders above the remaining
mediocrity in both quality and style. Robin of Sherwood is a prime example of British
Telefantasy at its best. It is 10 years now since this was first screened in April 1984 on
ITV, but as Robin was fond of saying, "Nothing is ever forgotten." It was definitely
something different, a new mystic reality slant on the Robin Hood legend.

This adaptation was created by Richard Carpenter and his writing partner Paul Knight,
also the series producer. They had already proved themselves a winning combination
with the fondly remembered Catweazle, the Richard O'Sullivan Dick Turpin, The
Baker Street Boys, and the highly successful Black Beauty - all aimed primarily at a
young teenage audience of London Weekend Television. Backing for Robin of
Sherwood came from Harlech Television (HTV) and Goldcrest. It was a professional
and visually-striking package, polished and sold overseas to America before any
completed film was in the can.

Previously, the long-running Richard Greene 50's series had dealt with the oppression
almost as a minor inconvenience, and Errol Flynn in the movie was all acrobatics,
thigh-slapping and belly laughs, played more for lighthearted entertainment than gritty
reality. This Robin was more earthy and realistic. He was a leader through necessity
rather than any wish for martyrdom. Far from perfect, he was both an idealist and a
dreamer, simply doing his best and muddling through. Michael Praed's character was
based on the myth of a peasant from Locksley whose village was burned to the
ground by the Normans whilst searching for the boy's father, who in this case was the
keeper of a symbol of great power - the Silver Arrow. The adult Robin rarely erupted
with verbal outbursts; instead he sat back quietly summing up the situation while the
outlaws argued among themselves, before calmly announcing his decision. Rather than
solving the dilemma it often prolonged it, with the outlaws calling him all the fools
under the sun. They regularly questioned his course of action, which was invariably so
extremely bold as to be foolhardy, but they never questioned his authority as their
leader and guiding light. As the Lady Marion put it in Cromm Cruac, "He's more than
a leader, he's the reason we stay together." The only question raised at this point was
how an uneducated peasant managed to speak such eloquent and poetic English!

In these stories, the legend preceded the man, and it is this that the peasant people
revered. Nevertheless, the peasants lived in fear of their villages being burned by the
Sheriff's soldiers, and their families killed before their eyes as a lesson in obedience,
and so were reluctant to shelter the outlaws. The band were often turned away from
villages that simply refused to help themselves by helping Robin.

The central characters, particularly the outlaws themselves, were completely different
in their mannerisms, reactions and background. The oppression of Norman rule and
their shared experiences kept them together; the outlaws were comrades rather than
close friends, although they saw themselves as a unit and so went to any lengths to
help one of their own. In the 100 minute pilot episode, Robin Hood and the Sorcerer,
Robin and Much (Peter Llewellyn Williams) were imprisoned in the Nottingham Castle
dungeon when his dim-witted companion killed one of the king's deer. There they met
Will Scarlet (Ray Winstone) and two other men and formed the initial nucleus of the
outlaw band. Much was a young man almost perpetually afraid, but he was far from
being a coward; the fact that he was prepared to constantly enter dangerous situations
with the others made him perhaps the most courageous of the band. Scarlet was the
most interesting of the outlaw characters aside from Robin himself. He wore a brash,
angry exterior, and sported an argumentative cockney-like voice, but nevertheless
proved to be a good and true man, although his heart ruled his head on numerous
occasions.

There was a new angle on the established legend of Robin encountering Little John
(Clive Mantle) on the log river crossing. The big man was fighting in an all-out attempt
to kill Robin, because he was bewitched by the dark sorcerer, the Baron de Belleme
(Anthony Valentine). Once the spell was reversed, Little John emerged as a gentle
giant, a quietly spoken man, calm but powerful in battle. Tuck was a brother at
Nottingham Castle. He saved the Lady Marion's (Judi Trott) life when he overheard
the sheriff and the baron planning to take her from the abbey and wed her to the
sorcerer, when she would then be sacrificed to the dark god, his master. Tuck was fat
and greedy like all the legends tell, but he was also at times serious and solemn. It was
never established for certain whether he still considered himself a valid servant of god
after adopting a life of violence. His best scenes were the fight sequences, wherein he
was often seen to cross himself immediately before or after striking out, as if
attempting to absolve himself from guilt. Sometimes the gesture was used to lull the
soldier into a false sense of security, making him believe he was about to be blessed.
Although the Lady Marion was of the gentry, she was also made of stern stuff,
allowing her to easily make the change to forest life. Having said that, this character
seemed to exist only as a love interest for Robin, and to look concerned when he
embarked on another perilous escapade. Nasir (Mark Ryan) was a renegade Nadir
warrior, employed by the baron. When the sorcerer was seemingly killed with the
recovered Silver Arrow, Nasir joined the outlaws. Alan A Dale, the bard of legend,
appeared in only one story; it's just as well because his character came across as a
pitiful love-forlorn creature.

The Sheriff of Nottingham (Nickolas Grace) was a man with a temper and general lack
of vision. He was made to look increasingly incompetent when each plan to capture or
kill the 'wolf's head' failed. Sir Guy of Gisburne (Robert Addie) saw himself as the
intelligent one, trapped under the wing of a fool who possessed the power to have him
killed with a word, and simply awaiting his chance to prove his worth.

The most innovative twist to the legend was the introduction of Herne the Hunter
(John Albineri), the spirit of the forest. Herne was revered as a god by the commoners
and dismissed as superstitious mumbo-jumbo by the nobility, and in particular the
Sheriff and Gisburne. Although the other outlaws had all seen him, he usually appeared
to Robin himself, chosen as his spiritual son to lead the fight against oppression.
Spectacularly garbed in the skins and antlers of a stag, it was never quite established
whether he was a supernatural being or merely a man. Whichever, he garnered
sufficient respect to be taken seriously when he popped up to tell of a premonition or
to issue Robin and the outlaws some perilous task. Albion, one of the Seven Swords
of Wayland, was presented to Robin by Herne. Although it was imbued with certain
mystic powers, including the inability to be used against him, his prowess with the
bow didn't transfer to his sword arm and he was forced to undergo swordsmanship
tutoring courtesy of Scarlet. This was a nice touch that displayed a vulnerable side of
the hero. However, this seemed to be forgotten in the many stalemates with Gisburne
who was supposed to be reasonably accomplished.

The magic and mysticism was ever-present but generally understated, making it appear
a regular occurrence of life with one or two exaggerated exceptions, such as The
Swords of Wayland, and Cromm Cruac. People were superstitious in the Middle-
Ages and believed in the powers of Light and Darkness in the same manner that we
treat technology today.

Terry Walsh was the Stunt Coordinator. Richard Carpenter worked closely with him
to achieve the realistically choreographed action sequences. A Bradford-upon-Avon
protected barn was used for the interior shots of Nottingham Castle, until finally the
Department of the Environment withdrew permission, explaining that tourists were
being prevented from visiting the historic site. The majority of location filming took
place in or around the West Country, where the countryside is suitably changeable. In
fact, the period atmosphere was excellent; you could almost feel the dank chill of the
castle, and smell the cloying smoke and the stench of death when a peasant village was
put to the flame. However, this description should not be taken as an indication of a
generally depressing atmosphere, because this just wasn't the case; there were
humorous moments too. This realism was further fortified with the addition of
Clannad's BAFTA award-winning theme and incidental music, which turned to
chanting rhythms more fitting to medieval times with series III.

At the conclusion of series II, after 13 episodes, Michael Praed announced his
decision to leave the peasantry and join the nobility of the big budget American soap,
Dynasty. Praed was given an excellent send off with The Greatest Enemy, arguably the
most outstanding story of the serial, in which the outlaws were captured and Robin
sacrificed himself to save the lives of Marion and Much.

Carpenter and Knight were now in a quandary. After much deliberation they decided
to continue with the programme. It had received rave reviews, and was even praised
by the then BBC Controller who stated that he would like to see the same production
standards used for Doctor Who. But how to write in another actor as the same
character? Finally they decided to add an alternative existing legend. In Elizabethan
times they found it difficult to accept the notion of a peasant as the people's hero, so
Robin Hood became Robert of Huntingdon, who abandoned his titles and lands to
take up the cause. Enter the fair-haired Jason Connery, son of Sean. Hooded to hide
his identity, he freed the outlaws from captivity and then disappeared, even shunning
Herne when the spirit of the forest made the man his new spiritual son. Believing the
quest for justice to be over, the outlaws disbanded. Series III commenced with Robert
returning to his fate after a year, and therefore having to seek out the regular characters
and convince them that what they were doing remained worthwhile. The outlaws began
by calling their new leader Robert, before reverting to Robin after a few stories.

This change of actor attracted the attention of Mary Whitehouse, who complained
about Robin's rebirth taking place at Easter!

Connery failed to convince in quite the same way as his predecessor, though it is hard
to reason why. His acting was near faultless. Perhaps it was a definite lack of
charismatic presence, missed from Praed's performance. Still, it was a small price to
pay when all other high standards were maintained.

One continuity note of interest worth mentioning is that Marion, initially reluctant to
become too closely attached, quickly came to love the new Robin, which suggests to
me that she loved the legend and what it stood for, rather than the man behind it.

Guest villains included the aforementioned Anthony Valentine, resurrected for a sequel
story in The Enchantment, Gemma Craven, Rula Lenska, Lewis Collins and Richard
O'Brien, whose portrayal of Gulnar, the evil sorcerer in the stories, Herne's Son,
Cromm Cruac and The Time of the Wolf, was outstanding.

Carpenter was already heavily involved in scripting stories for series IV, when
Goldcrest suddenly withdrew its half of the financial support, leaving HTV �5m down.
The programme was shelved until 1990, when there was another attempt by Carpenter
and Knight to continue with Michael Praed again in the lead role. Praed had by now
hung up his shoulder pads at Dynasty, and Connery was unavailable due to work
commitments. In the Autumn of the same year, there were rumours that a $10m film of
the series was due to enter production. Subsequent news of this project quickly
became conspicuous by its absence.

At this late stage I am uncertain if another series would be a good idea. There were 26
enjoyable episodes, each lovingly constructed with a serious and professional attitude.
In this adventure the heros did not always win. Comrades died and missions went
awry, forcing the outlaws to compromise certain issues. This is confirmed in the final
episode; in The Time of the Wolf, Gulnar constructs a copy of Robin to kill the real
legend. When the copy is dispatched, Marion discovers the body and, thinking she
has lost her love for the second time, returns to the abbey and takes her vows. Thus,
we have the unusual situation of an unhappy ending, proving that when all is said and
done, a hero always stands alone.

END

Note: This article originally appeared in Dreamwatch magazine. The entire serial of
Robin of Sherwood is available on DVD over four boxsets. Go buy them! You won't
be sorry.