Robin Hood
Tags: historical fiction

Plot synopsis:
Alan-a-Dale introduces the story of Robin Hood and Little John, two outlaws living in Sherwood Forest, where they rob from the rich and give to the poor townsfolk of Nottingham, despite the efforts of the Sheriff of Nottingham to stop them. Meanwhile, Prince John and his assistant Sir Hiss arrive in Nottingham on a tour of the kingdom. Knowing the royal coach is laden with riches, Robin and Little John rob Prince John by disguising themselves as fortune tellers. The embarrassed Prince John then puts a bounty on their heads and makes the Sheriff his personal tax collector, who takes pleasure in collecting funds from the townsfolk including hidden money from the crippled blacksmith Otto and a single farthing from a young rabbit, Skippy, who had just received it as a birthday present. However, Robin Hood, disguised as a beggar, sneaks in and gives back some money to the family, as well as his hat and a bow to Skippy in honor of his birthday.
Skippy and his friends test out the bow, but Skippy fires an arrow into the grounds of Maid Marian's castle. The children sneak inside, meeting Maid Marian and her attendant Lady Kluck. Skippy "rescues" Marian from Lady Kluck, who pretends to be a pompous Prince John. Later, when she is alone with Kluck, Maid Marian reveals she and Robin were childhood sweethearts but they have not seen one another for years, and Kluck consoles her not to give up on her love for Robin. Meanwhile, Friar Tuck visits Robin and Little John, explaining that Prince John is hosting an archery tournament, and the winner will receive a kiss from Maid Marian. Robin decides to participate in the tournament disguised as a stork whilst Little John disguises himself as the Duke of Chutney to get near Prince John. Sir Hiss discovers Robin's identity but is trapped in a barrel of ale by Friar Tuck and Alan-a-Dale. Robin wins the tournament, but Prince John exposes him and has him arrested for execution despite Maid Marian's pleas. Little John threatens Prince John in order to release Robin, which leads to a fight between Prince John's soldiers and the townsfolk, all of which escape to Sherwood Forest.
As Robin and Maid Marian fall in love again, the townsfolk have a troubadour festival spoofing Prince John, describing him as the "Phony King of England", and the song soon becomes popular with John's soldiers. Enraged by the insult, Prince John triples the taxes, imprisoning most of the townsfolk who cannot pay. A paltry coin gets deposited into the poor box at Friar Tuck's church, which gets seized by the Sheriff. Enraged that government has meddled in his church, Friar Tuck lashes out at the Sheriff, to which he is quickly arrested for "attacking a lawman, interfering with the Sheriff's legal duties and high treason to the Crown". Prince John orders Friar Tuck hung, knowing Robin Hood will come out of hiding to rescue his friend and give the potential for Robin to be caught and a "double hanging".
Robin and Little John, having learned of the plot, chose to sneak in during the night, with Little John managing to free all of the prisoners whilst Robin steals Prince John's taxes, but Sir Hiss awakens to find Robin fleeing. Chaos follows as Robin and the others try to escape to Sherwood Forest. The Sheriff corners Robin after he is forced to return to rescue Tagalong, Skippy's little sister. During the chase, Prince John's castle catches fire and the Sheriff figures he has Robin where he wants, either to be captured, burned, or make a risky jump into the moat. Robin Hood elects to jump. Little John and Skippy fear Robin is lost, but he surfaces safely after using a reed as a breathing tube. Sir Hiss says he tried to warn Prince John, and now look what he did to his mother's castle, causing the Prince to exclaim "Mummy!" and suck his thumb and chase the terrified snake into the burning castle.
Later, King Richard returns to England, placing his brother, Sir Hiss and the Sheriff under arrest and allows his niece Maid Marian to marry Robin Hood, turning the former outlaw into an in-law.
=== Alternate ending ===
The alternate ending (included in the "Most Wanted Edition" DVD) is a deleted version of the story's conclusion, primarily utilizing still images from Ken Anderson's original storyboard drawings of the sequence. As Robin Hood leaps off of the castle and into the moat, he is wounded (presumably by one of the arrows shot into the water after him) and carried away to the church for safety. Prince John, enraged that he has once again been outwitted by Robin Hood, finds Little John leaving the church, and suspects the outlaw to be there as well. Sure enough, he finds Maid Marian tending to an unconscious Robin Hood, and draws a dagger to kill them both. Before Prince John can strike, however, he is stopped by his brother, King Richard, having returned from the Crusades. King Richard is appalled to find that Prince John has left his kingdom bleak and oppressed. Abiding his mother's wishes, King Richard decides he cannot banish Prince John from the kingdom, but does grant him severe punishment (which explained how Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff ended up in the Royal Rock Pile). King Richard returns Nottingham to its former glory (before leaving for the Third Crusade), knights Robin Hood as Sir Robin of Locksley, and orders Friar Tuck to marry Robin Hood and Maid Marian.
A short finished scene from the planned original ending, featuring King Richard and revealing himself to vulture henchmen Trigger and Nutsy, appeared in the Ken Anderson episode of the 1980s Disney Channel documentary series Disney Family Album. This scene, at least in animated form, does not appear on the Most Wanted Edition DVD.

Review: After the first 15 minutes of the BBC's new drama 'Robin Hood', I was pretty much certain that I wouldn't go further than the first episode.
What made sure I came back to watch the second, third and eventually entire series of this show was Lucy Griffiths as Maid Marian and Keith Allen as the deliciously ruthless Sheriff of Nottingham.
It isn't really until the seventh episode "Brothers in Arms" that things really start to pick up with the drama and story lines, and from seven onwards it is a brilliant roller-coaster ride sure to make the previous six lack-luster episodes worth the watch..
I just couldn't get on with the actress playing Maid Marion at all.I never thought I'd hear myself say this but even Kevin Costner's mediocre version of the myth of Robin Hood was more believable and much more enjoyable.
This series is a lot of things but it is definitely not the Robin Hood story.
Absolutely lack of production, the soldiers clothes look plastic, Guy of Gisborne uses a Matrix like plastic jacket, poor scenarios, foolish plots, the worst Robin Hood I've ever seen.Robin of Locksley was a noble and in the series his home was not a castle but a small house in a villa.I am an archer and you take time to shoot arrows and in this series Robin shoots arrows like from a gun machine.Look at the arrows shafts they are field points no hunting or killing shafts.The only thing that worths it is Lady Marian, she is a beauty.
When I saw that a new series of Robin Hood was coming to Prime TV, and that it was British, I found myself looking forward to seeing it, having fond memories of the 1980s series with its romance and mysticism.The new series has disappointed me thus far (five episodes so far), despite having the Sheriff of Nottingham played by the deliciously OTT Keith Allen.
Guy (Richard Armitage) is, despite being one of the baddies, by far most attractive thing in the show  and he really can act.Purely as an action adventure, it's not too bad, but there's a great deal in it to deplore.The costuming, for a start.
Outlaws dressed like 21st-century street kids, complete with hooded jackets (and I could swear one of them was wearing a machine-sewn, knit-fabric tunic!), a Sheriff who dresses in what look like black polo jerseys and full-length coats with fur collars (a bit of bling and he could just about pass for a gangland pimp), and a Marian who looks as though she buys her clothes in some Seventies-revival boutique.The dialogue is an uncomfortable mish-mash of stilted pseudo 'Olde Englishe' and gratingly modern expressions, and they've taken gross liberties with the story itself.
The makers of the series really don't seem to have thought things through at all.The legend of Robin Hood, with its romance and adventure, its chivalry and championing of the common man, has well and truly stood the test of centuries, but this latest retelling might just manage to sink it.
If you wanna see a good Robin Hood, I recommend watching Errol Flynn then you will realise how terrible this BBC production is..
the supporting cast are great and Jonas Armstrong puts in a great cocky performance for an unknown actor.The back ground characters are a bit week but this is probably more due to the fact there grasp of English is limited as the series is filmed in Hungary.
Got to hand it to the BBC, take a well loved folk hero, with a cinematic pedigree of nearly a hundred years and then create the most awful version of the legend (and yes I am including the Noooo Adventures of Robin Hood).
This programme is very much like the US TV series Hercules or even Xena Warrior Princess, with the wobbly dialogue, acting and special effects except that the BBC probably spent far more per episode.
First things first, the sheer level of class in the production shows the amount of effort the have put into making this TV series, unfortunately having grown up watching Robin of Sherwood this fails miserably in comparison in every other aspect, the fact the casting director must be blind being that Robin Hood and Maid Marian are both Wayne Rooney lookalikes(just look at Marian's man jaw!) and Little John in fact being a dwarf like person instead of a giant is plain ridiculous, not to mention that they have made Robin a mouthy smart arse doesn't help, shut up and fight i say!It is a shame they have lost that essentially English feel with the dialogue seeming a bit American, the same as Dr Who.So to sum it up the effort is there, as is the budget but the execution is poor with really bad casting and boring story.
Jonas Armstrong could perhaps be a good Robin Hood - I like his gymnastic stunts, and he has a cocky swagger and arrogance that could be interesting - but he is stuck with this terrible, terrible script.
This, coupled with the shows love of attributing any scientific break though to Saracens, including at one point "Greek Fire" just reeks of, and I really hate this phrase, true Political Correctness Gone Mad. What happened to "rob from the rich and give to the poor"?Every week Robin and his Merry Men manage to stretch reality by gaining entry into Nottingham Castle via convenient hatches, holes and ladders and every one of the soldiers left guarding the place seem to go down after one punch.
I have a hard time believing anyone would enjoy this: it's neither action packed, well-written, well-acted (with a couple of exceptions), nor fun to watch.Robin's 'acting' is appalling and worst of all he has zero charisma: you can't imagine people following him to the nearest tavern for a pint of whatever ale they drank in ye olde Englande, let alone into the woods to live a life of outlawery.
The only one with charisma is Guy of Gisborne and while I love a good villain, it is a bit of a problem for a show called 'Robin Hood' when Guy is more interesting than Robin.If they can't write they should at least throw more action on the screen to ensure we don't have to hear their excruciating dialogue.
A lot of us feel that we have hit the "mother lode" because the majority of "home grown" programs in North America are for the most part a great wasteland of mindless drivel.I had looked forward to seeing "Robin Hood", but have been rather disappointed so far.
I just caught the first episode of this show, and if that was anything to go by, things need to improve greatly for this to rate anything more than awful.The pacing of the show was pedestrian, the lead actor made Kevin Costner look animated, Much was portrayed as a moron, rather than the simple miller's son of the story.Keith Allen's portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham was way too campy.It came across as politically correct drivel, not so much Robin Hood, more Robin Hoodie.The writing was awful.Sorry but Robin Of Sherwood with Michael Praed/Jason Connery in the lead role is still the definitive portrayal of the legend.I only gave it 1 out of 10 because a zero rating is not supported..
The story lines are repetitive and uninspiring, and rely on sporadic bouts of violence to relieve the tedium; apart from Allen and Armitage, the acting varies from the indifferent to the indecently bad.It seems a mistake was made when Marian was disposed of in the previous season; with her went the sole interesting character dynamic of which the show could boast.
Some of the finest and best versions, most recently (in modern times), of the Robin Hood legend have been Michael Praed/Jason Connery's interpretation in Richard Carpenter's "Robin of Sherwood".However with the BBC's take on the bow-shooting, swash-buckling action series  filling in the Doctor Who Saturday night void  this version has left me feeling that there could have been better pieces of tripe on TV than this.
Yes, people have a tendency to slate things before they are given a real chance, but with me it's been given every possible chance to turn around and really "WOW" me failing miserably I might add.The acting is terrible (save for Keith Allen's scenery chewing Sheriff), the stories are poorly construct, the action is ridiculous, clichéd crap and Lucy Griffiths is the blandest-looking Marion I've seen.
Maybe a little, but either way I'll stick with my "Robin of Sherwood" DVD's & I'd urge anyone who's maybe too young to know what that series is like to give it a go & be prepared to see something light years ahead of this poor incarnation of the green-tighted bandit..
I watched the new BBC adaptation of Robin Hood last night.
You're not interesting in being drawn in (if it were at all possible - believe me, it isn't), because they keep kicking you back out of the story by either using a stupid camera technique when none were needed, or by just plain stupid camera work.The BBC needs to take a good hard look at what passes for drama these days outside of their own network, as this fails by the longest shot Robin is capable of (which is probably about eight miles if his powers in this version are anything to go by).
The whole look and feel of the show is far too modern for the period and the producers seem to have randomly changed the spellings of both character names (eg GUY OF GISBURNE) and places (LOXLEY) from previous incarnations of Robin Hood.
(I haven't been able to establish whether Paul actually had a hand in episodes 1 and 2 so, if he didn't, my apologies for casting aspersions on his writing talents.) If this series takes off, it'll either be due to the quality of Keith Allen's performance or the good looks of Richard Armitage.Give me Robin of Sherwood any day!.
thats all i can say, i think you fail to realise what a great Hero Robin Hood is you were just taking the mickey out of him, i couldn't believe how bad the show was the director is a total shambles and i'd be amazed if he finds work after this job, All the shots of the town were miserable and lifeless there was nothing there and it was made worse by the terrible terrible performances, Much and Robin were attempting to be a comedy duo that feel on there face a pierced the flesh straight away.
Oh dear.The BBC's much publicised new version of Robin Hood makes the Patrick Bergin movie version look like a masterpiece.Zero appeal from the eponymous character, a humdrum script, middling action scenes and the revelation that mascara apparently was developed in the era of merry men - well, that's one excuse for having one photogenic character parading around like something from a 2006 fashion mag.Only Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham makes this worthwhile.His deliciously corrupt tyrant adds levity and menace to the rest of the poorly realised scenario.With David Tennant as Hood and Billie Piper as Maid Marian, this could have worked...
To some extent, any historical telling of Robin Hood is doomed by this same problem - everyone's heard the story a million times and there's not much you can do about that.However, this BBC rendition manages to be disappointing in that all they've done is go read the usual books, write a screenplay based on just that and go film it without even trying to be artistic.They could have done a swords and sorcery version - but didn't.They could have done a martial arts version - but didn't.They could have done a painstakingly-detailed historically-accurate-to-the-period version - but didn't.They could have done a comedy version - tried, but failed IMHO.It ends up dull -hence the vote of 3.
I particularly liked the fact that she doesn't welcome Robin back with open arms when he finally returns after 5 years (given that he had left her and his obligations back home to go fight in a pointless war).And I have to say, I loved that the series was so light-hearted and anachronistic and over the top.
In fact, I felt a little let down when they went for the more serious feel and historically accurate costumes in series 3 (no doubt to try and appease the critics).There is plenty of good old fashioned fighting, but no real violence and no images of blood and gore, even when people get run through or shot with an arrow.
Other problems with the show is that it makes to much of a effort to have a political sub-context, such as comparing the relationship between England and the Vactian to current Anglo-American relations and being political correct, having black and Muslim characters that wouldn't have been around in the Middle Ages.It's just not a good show and there are better versions of Robin Hood out there..
Although I can appreciate Morgan Freemans character Azeem, in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which had a ring of truth to it, I cannot understand a black man playing Friar Tuck and a woman vying for the position of Sheriff of Nottingham.
They're living in Sherwood Forest but Hannibal Smith has been replaced by this sensitive looking guy who escaped from the WB (good grief, Maid Marian is more butch than he is!) But not to worry the rest of the gang is there and, just like in the old days, there's lots of weapons but none of the bad guys are ever killed by the good guys.There's some new twists - the Sheriff is a surrogate for the U.S. which is fun for awhile and a black guy's the Sheriff's Master at Arms (no really, there were lots of educated black people in Britain during the 12th century).
The character Much is adorable, Robin Hood is ruggedly handsome and heroic, Marian is amazing and inspiring, Guy of Gisborne is hot in leather and the sheriff is the best villain since Darth Vader.
It's action packed high kitsch entertainment, it is amusing but it would be nice to actually not overly glamorise him, Jonas is a good choice as you could have the bad boy thing going on with him, but why is he always portrayed as a knight in shining armour for people, only one tale really mentions much charity from him, he mostly robbed from the rich and kept for himself and his band of men, plus his love is always portrayed as Marian which was a much later addition to the tales and his true love before her arrival was Little John.
Second, a bit of direction for a cast that has promise: Richard Armitage is wasted (he looks more like a panto villain from amdram land most of the time - and he is a LOT better than that!) and Keith Allen - an actor with great presence (watch him as a devil worshipper in a Morse re-run to see evil incarnate), needs more to do than a walk-on imitation of Alan Rickman's sheriff!
The story lines don't even have to be that realistic to make the show watchable (and in spite of myself, I have watched most of it; perhaps hoping for better things?) - remember Robin of Sherwood, which got heavily into the mystical side of the legend (Herne the Hunter, etc).
Sadly enough, Robin Hood was so creepy that I found the romance with Guy/Marian far more touching and at points even tragic and beautiful.The realism and historical accuracy are very bad.
The Robin Hood in this case is in the first part of the series a rather uninteresting character, but became a little clearer at the end of the second part.
I loved the Adventures of Robin Hood on TV back in the 60s and it still has appeal today with fine actors and good story lines, and if you ever get chance to give it a rewatch then do.
The casting of the characters is brilliant, jonas armstrong plays a great robin, and the sheriff and gisbourne have both been cast very well.
I really like Richard Armitage as Sir guy of Gisborne and Jonas Armstrong does well as robin.
I'd just like to say that the BBC's new Robin Hood is really good.
As to Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood) being ugly, I thought is was really cute and quite good looking.
I thought the script was very well written and is definitely the best Robin Hood in a long time, it was exciting, entertaining and a jolly good ride to say the least.
He seems to have based his sheriff on Alan Rickmans in robin hood prince of thieves, and while i enjoyed that, I'm not sure how Keith Allen's similar performance will hold out in a 13 part series.
Really the only that I have ever ventured to pay for to buy the series DVDs (which are always expensive).Once a week, my parents and I sit down together to watch Robin Hood (taped) on BBC America.
So far I've watched all but one of the episodes aired on BBC1, and I've had mixed feelings.If what you're looking for is something to entertain the kids, with swooshy noises and men in leather, this series is an excellent way of spending 45 minutes of your Saturday evening.
I still loved the whole Robin Hood story so will watch it a little longer and give it a chance and I do enjoy Keith Allen as a baddie..
Robin Hood was far more fun to watch than Doctor Who - which was far better but was marred by boring long dialogue scenes in favour of action and death.
I love this modern day type robin hood, i think that there is a good strong cast.
i also think that the sheriff is played great by Keith Allen with a great cocky Robin Hood played by Jonas Armstrong to annoy him.