- #Robin hood legend of sherwood runs slowly movie#
- #Robin hood legend of sherwood runs slowly series#
- #Robin hood legend of sherwood runs slowly tv#
Most of the episodes follow a fairly standard pattern.
And just as you start to feel sorry for Gisburn as he endures another round of bullying from the Sheriff, he'll go off and murder a peasant. Much time and energy is spent making these perpetual baddies into three-dimensional villains we love to hate. The relationship between the other group, the three main baddies - the Sheriff of Nottingham (Nickolas Grace), Guy of Gisburn (Robert Addie) and Abbot Hugo (Philip Jackson) - is also explored: the sour bile between the Sheriff and the Abbot, brothers who between them hold all secular and religious power in Nottingham, yet are constant rivals the snide, witty bullying of Gisburn by the Sheriff Gisburn's sneaky, underhand attempts to get his own back. Sparks fly as they establish their relationships with each other. The characters are wonderfully drawn - Scarlet, the perpetually angry, near-psychotic killer Little John, the earthy, independent and affable giant Much, the simpleton who hero-worships Robin Nasir, the silent, efficient Saracen assassin Tuck, the gentle, loving monk Marion, the fragile beauty with a will of steel and the guts to match. Because the group is small (seven, including Robin - about the size of the average gaming group), each gets their chance to shine.
#Robin hood legend of sherwood runs slowly series#
One of the most endearing features of the series is the group dynamics between the outlaws. Mark Ryan (Nasir) was the fight arranger for First Knight Robert Addie (Guy of Gisburn) was Mordred in Excalibur only Ray Winstone (Will Scarlet) has really made a name for himself, with a string of critically-acclaimed British gangster movies ( Face, Nil by Mouth, Sexy Beast and others). Praed himself had a guest role in Dynasty, and a large part in a Brit mini-series, Riders, which was complete tosh. It has constantly amazed me that their subsequent careers have not made them better known. The acting from the young cast - Praed and the outlaws were all in their early-20s when the show was made - is excellent. Not history, nor fantasy, but a kind of "mystic history".
Somehow, despite its fantasy elements, it produced something earthy and captivating. That Robin of Sherwood succeeded is a tribute to the skill of writer, cast and crew. To blend such diverse elements together could so easily have gone wrong - you only need look at Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves or, worse, the glam-rock of The New Adventures of Robin Hood to see how badly it can go.
Robin himself is the "Hooded Man", chosen champion of Herne the Hunter, benign pagan deity of the wildwoods. There are witches, evil sorcerers, Satanists and mysterious Saracens. And the magic is what makes this series so special, so endearing and so enduring.įor although Robin of Sherwood has its feet firmly rooted in solid medieval history - we see feudal relationships in action, governmental bureaucracy at work, peasants tilling the soil and craftsmen making their wares - its head is in the clouds. No, the characters don't get any older - don't ask, or you'll spoil the magic. The first series ends with Richard's return from the Crusades the second is set in the late 1190s, and the third in the reign of King John. The show is set, as are most 20th century retellings of the legend, in the reign of Richard the Lionheart. With the young, handsome Robin of Loxley (Michael Praed) leading his small band of young Saxon outlaws against the nasty Normans to a backdrop of pseudo-Celtic mysticism, pagan deities and beautfully-filmed greenwood, it quickly began to capture the imagination of those who saw it - especially those of us who played FRPs.
#Robin hood legend of sherwood runs slowly movie#
It was something of a "builder", as the movie moguls say.
#Robin hood legend of sherwood runs slowly tv#
It's available directly from Network ( The first series of Robin of Sherwood sneaked onto British TV screens in 1983.
Last month, Network Videos released a limited edition (1,500 copies) Region 1 (USA, Canada, Japan) boxed set of 8 DVDs containing all three series. The Region 2 DVDs (UK and Europe) have been available for about a year in three boxed sets. Moody, atmospheric, superbly written and acted, with a haunting soundtrack by Clannad (later released as the album Legend), it was the inspiration for a generation of British fantasy roleplayers. Robin of Sherwood is, for many people, the definitive modern version of the Robin Hood legend.
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