RobinHoodseries1

Robin Hood Series 1 (2006)

My friends have been giving me a lot of flak for watching an outrageous amount of British television on DVD. Most notably, Doctor Who and Torchwood. One nice thing about BBC shows, however, is that they put neat little trailers on the front of each disc to entice you into paying another 80 bucks for 13 episodes. Well, the trick there is to find a nice little video store that gets ‘obscure’ titles, and rents them to customers for four bucks a pop at week long intervals. This is why I don’t need Netflix! But I digress, again. In an effort to thwart my friends constant teasing was to rent another BBC show that has no ties in the science fiction realm!

Enter Robin Hood! We all know the story, rob from the rich, give to the poor, and sometimes lead a country into a full scale uprising against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John. This version picks up with Robin of Locksley and his faithful manservant Much heading home after serving under King Richard in the Crusades. Of course, the England Robin loves is in chaos, with evil men in power, the good men fearful, and no one to stand up for the rights of the common man.

After trying to fight injustice with his position as a noble, Robin is forced to become an outlaw and live in Sherwood Forest, where he meets the rest of his band of merry men. However they’re not too eager to join his cause at first. They come around by the end of the first episode, though, and the rest of the series is a collection of episodes sticking it to the sheriff and the smarmy Guy of Gisbourne.

If you’re familiar with the actual folklore behind the Robin Hood legend, this show won’t disappoint in that regard. The creators kept very close to the legends and it really adds a shine to the final product. The cast is especially good, and as I watched I didn’t find myself groaning or becoming bored with any of them. Even Maid Marion, who can be rather bland depending on which adaptation you’re watching or reading, has a twist that I wasn’t expecting at all.

There’s a little something for everyone in this show, and it’s one that the whole family can enjoy. There’s not a lot of violence, but there’s plenty of swashbuckling action. The fight choreography is interesting and modernized, but doesn’t get stale throughout the run.

I do have a few complaints, but they’re very few and don’t take away from my recommendation; first, I’m a sucker for a branching story arc that carries over the series, and Robin Hood would have been perfect for that. There are even a few loose ends that don’t get tied up by the finale. There are some plot threads that do come into play, but they don’t give the show a sweeping, epic, feel that Robin Hood really deserves.

And my other complaint is rather silly, all things considered, but I still feel it’s valid. Our heroes seem to be able to walk in and out of Nottingham Castle at will. They’ve all been arrested several times throughout the course of the show, but can still manage to sneak past guards with only a hood or a helmet as a disguise. No wonder the Sheriff can’t seem to accomplish anything. He’s almost like Starscream from the Transformers in that regard.

All in all, it’s not perfect, but I enjoyed it immensely for what it is. If you’re in the mood for another version of Robin Hood where the title character actually speaks in a British accent or isn’t Russell Crowe, it’s either Robin Hood: Men in Tights or this. Yeah, there’s Errol Flynn, too, but that’s a little too dated for my taste. Also, there are two more series of thirteen episodes that follow this one.

3 out of 4

reviewed by Seth Moore