Product: Robin of Sherwood: The Complete Collection (1983)
Rating: 5.0
Still The Best
I first discovered Robin Of Sherwood via the Public Broadcast System here in America. The local university channel carried it under the name Robin Hood. It was the best version of Robin Hood I had ever seen. I've seen several since, and in my opinion it is still the best by far. This may seem odd because of all the very unhistorcal magic, but this series comes closer to the spirit of the orginal 15th-century ballads than any other. In this version Robin is a yoeman rather than a disposessed noble. A couple of the original ballads are included in the stories, such as the tale of Sir Richard-at-Lea and the money he owes the local abbot. The acting is uniformly good and the interiors and exteriors feel real.One of the fun parts involves the games. Robin and his men train themselves with archery contests and mock fights, and several episodes feature these games in various forms, all in fun.It was the first version to have a Saracen character. Since then the movies and shows have all included one, none of them ever as good as Mark Ryan playing Nasir.In my opinion it is also the only series or movie that gets King Richard right. The stories either center around the ransom collected when Richard was captured on his way home from the crusades or around the hope that all will be well when Richard finally returns. The only problem is that Richard was only back in England for a few months before he took off again to make war on France, where he was killed. If Richard saves the day for Robin in the fight against evil Prince John then what happens to Robin a year later when Richard dies and John becomes king? Robin of Sherwood gets around that by having Richard be portrayed (by the wonderful John Rhys-Davies) as the hard-bitten tyrant he was. He pardons Robin and his band on the promise that they will join him in his new fight against the French. When they agree he forces his nobles, including the sheriff, to accept the outlaws as equals. When Robin later challenges the king to devote his resources to helping the poor rather than waste them on another war, Richard secretly orders Robin's assassination. The point is that Robin and his gang are going to be outlaws for as long as those in authority are self-serving, and are safe from no one.Toward the end of the second series Michael Praed, who played Robin of Loxley, decided to leave the series. Rather than find a lookalike actor they hit on a novel idea. There is one late legend, almost certainly false, which identifies Robin Hood with Robert, the Earl of Huntingdon. Since they had already had their Robin be chosen as 'The Hooded Man' by the Celtic forest god Herne the Hunter, they decided to kill off Loxley and have him replaced by Robert of Huntingdon, played by Jason Connery. It was a good move and the series went for another 13 episodes in that form, and had some of their best shows.The final selling point for me was the amazing music by Clannad. At the time I described it as being "as green as the forest itself." I became a fan for life and now own all their albums. A remarkable group created remarkable music for a remarkable show.Overall Robin Of Sherwood still gets my vote as the most historical and most fun version of Robin Hood.Herne protect us.