Classic Series Overview: Robin of Sherwood

Sharon Agathon

08-23-2008, 07:09 PM

ROBIN OF SHERWOOD

Robin Hood and his Merry Men

Robin of Loxley – Michael Praed
Robert of Huntingdon – Jason Connery
Lady Marion of Leaford – Judi Trott
Much – Peter Llewellyn Williams
Will Scarlet – Ray Winstone
Little John – Clive Mantle
Friar Tuck – Phil Rose
Nasir – Mark Ryan
Guy of Gisburne – Robert Addie
The Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert de Rainault) – Nickolas Grace
Abbot Hugo de Rainault – Philip Jackson
Baron Simon de Belleme – Anthony Valentine
Prince/King John – Phil Davis
Gulnar – Richard O’Brien

" There can only be one Robin.." Micheal aim his arrow at Kevin Costner’s forehead

Robin of Sherwood or Robin Hood in the States, was a popluar and acclaimed British television series during the 1984. Made by HTV in association with Goldcrest, the series ran from1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. It starred Micheal Praed Robin of Loxley and later replaced Jason Connery (Sean Connery’s son) as two different incarnations of the title character, and was created by Richard Carpenter. Compared to the previous Robin Hood adaptayions, Robin of Sherwood is dark, gritty and authentic production design with many elements of real-life history including the pagan myth. Michael Praed, who played the title character in the first two seasons does most of his own physical stunts and shows an incredible amount of charisma that is absent in recent adaptations. His "Merry Men" consisted of Will Scarlet (played by Ray Winstone of Beowulf fame), who used to be Will Scathlock a long time ago, before changing his name when his wife, Elena, met with death at the hands of Brabancon mercenaries; Little John (Clive Mantle); Friar Tuck (Phil Rose); Robin’s adopted brother Much (Peter Llewellyn Williams); the Saracen Nasir (Mark Ryan) and Lady Marion (Judi Trott). As in the legend, Robin is opposed by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Nickolas Grace) and Sir Guy of Gisburne (Robert Addie) and the Sheriff’s brother Abbot Hugo (Philip Jackson) representing all the greedy abbots in the legends. Robin is assisted by Herne The Hunter (John Abineri), who sometimes appears as the spirit of the forest and sometimes as a normal human when not posessed.

Nasir is the definition of cool~

By the end of the second season, Robin of Sherwood’s story was met with an unfortunate twist of events and Robert of Huntingdon (Jason Connery) replaces him as the new (and less charismatic) Robin Hood. During the final season, Robert discovers that he is the half-brother of his arch-enemy Guy of Gisburne. This particular story arc was never resolved because of the series cancellation when Goldcrest met a downturn in the fortunes of their film arm (Goldcrest was responsible for critical and commercial hits Chariots of Fire and Gandhi in the past). Until this day, Robin of Sherwood remains as the most important retelling of the Robin Hood legend.

" I’m Beowulf.. i mean Scarlet and i’m here to kill your monstar!"