- Joined
- Jul 16, 2001
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- 18,539
A grittier cousin to the more recent British show MERLIN.
Oh, it is SO much better than Merlin, IMO....
The writer was a man named Richard Carpenter, who also wrote before that a series called Catweazle for British television, which is also fondly remembered.
In Robin of Sherwood he cleverly managed to combine the Robin Hood myth with pagan elements (see Hearne the Hunter). It's a series that works on different levels and is much more than the children/family status suggests.
Honest point: I was usually watching Doctor Who on "the other side" - BBC- when Robin of Sherwood was first on. But I watched repeats and have them now on Bluray. They hold up pretty well. Yes, there's a comedy-ish Sheriff of Nottingham (pre-Alan Rickman), though he's not quite as bumbling as he appears at first, but the cast is brilliant. I was amazed how many I recognised who have gone on to bigger and greater things.
I would recommend the first two seasons with Michael Praed especially - the last season with Jason Connery (yes- that Connery family) is not quite as good, but the scripts are still great. And that Clannad music which veers from 80's synthesiser music to brilliant vocals!
Whereas Merlin tried to be a more modern version of the King Arthur from the BBC. I struggled with it, mainly remembering the "chainmail" that was basically grey woolly jumpers... some good acting but the scripts were not a patch on the Carpenter ones IMO.

