NOSTALGIC 80s: Robin of Sherwood (Series 3)

Nothing is forgotten... nothing is ever forgotten...

For the  fans  of the 1984  BBC period series, Robin of Sherwood,  it ended on a very sad note, with the death of the titular hero (Michael Praed) in the final episode of Series 2- “The Greatest Enemy”. We remember the heartbreaking scenes…

 

 When he and his beloved wife, Marion,  exchanged an emotional  farewell…

“For the sake of everything we meant to each other, you must care. Because that way, you’ll keep alive all we believed in. I can’t die then, can I?”

 When he purposely fired that last arrow…

  When the Sheriff’s soldiers emptied their bows on him… (Thank God we were spared the gory sight)

               

When Robin’s men were told by Gisbourne Robin was gone…“Your precious leader is dead, shot by the Sheriff's men. What do you have to say to that?"

  

The men return to Sherwood forest to find Marion and Much in mourning, Marion holding Albion

 The crew shooting the fire arrows in memoriam… and then turn to see the mysterious hooded archer 

 For some reason, NTA never aired the third  series and viewers were left bewildered by the ending. Was the mysterious hooded archer  a resurrected Robin Hood? 

Answer: NO

So here’s what occurred at the beginning of Series 3…  

The mysterious archer, after shooting the fire arrow, walks off, ignoring calls from the men to come back. He walks further into the forest and takes his hood off… and we see it’s NOT Robin at all. An equally handsome man but with blond hair.

Then comes Herne’s voice…

You’re Herne’s son, you must lead them.

But the stranger doesn’t seem interested in filling his predecessor’s boots. He telepathically (and sullenly) replies, “Herne’s son is dead.”

Robin of Loxley is dead, Herne’s son lives again.

“No!” the stranger snarls. “It’s finished!”

You were chosen…

“You called and I answered. His followers are safe.”

You ARE the Hooded Man.

“Farewell Herne.” and he drops the bow and quiver of arrows before walking away.

You WILL return. You MUST.  

After Michael Praed opted to leave the series, Richard Carpenter decided to make do by relying on the two main theories of the legendary folk hero. It was already far more popular than previous adaptations, thanks to the inclusion of  Robin's semi-immortal mentor Herne, The Hunter,  the fantasy and supernatural elements, having an Arab character- Nasir-  among Robin’s ‘Merry Men' and the gritty tone and realistic settings. And let’s not forget the hauntingly beautiful songs, (especially Robin: The Hooded Man) all performed by Enya’s former band, Clannad, who earned a BAFTA for Best Original Television Music. 

With Praed impending departure, Carpenter and his team had to be more creative. According to English folklore and ballads, Robin Hood was a yeoman highly skilled in archery and sword fight. Other history scholars say he was a noble man, who fought in the Crusades but became an outlaw to help the poor suffering under tyranny during King Richard’s absence. Hence, the writers came up with a second incarnation of Robin Hood.

The ‘other Robin’ was Robert of Huntingdon, played by Jason Connery;  the only child of the late Sir Sean Connery, the first actor to play  James Bond.  His first episode is a two-parter, “Herne’s Son”, set a year after the events of “The Greatest Enemy”.

What happened to Robin’s Merry Men?  

- Robin’s widow, Marion, was pardoned by King John and moved back to her father’s house, Leaford Grange. Sir Richard got his estate and lands back, much to the Sheriff's and Hugo’s fury.

- Will Scarlet went to live with his brother, who ran a tavern in another town.

- Little John and Much became shepherds.

- Nasir’s fate is unknown until a later appearance in the first episode.

- Friar Tuck remained in Sherwood Forest, opting not to return to his Abbey.

 

At the start of the episode, Robert is sent to meet his father’s guests; the Sheriff de Rainault, his equally slimy brother, Abbot Hugo and of course, the very nasty  Guy of Gisbourne... yuck. The party’s already tense: the envious ladies whispering behind Marion’s back, the Sheriff, Gisbourne and Hugo openly insulting Marion but swiftly curbed by Robert’s father, the Earl of Huntingdon. Marion, who was invited along with Sir Richard,  takes it in her stride by just ignoring the three assholes… and Robert, who simply can’t take his eyes off her. But the beautiful widow is still grieving, so it’s a no-go… for now.

Enter the guest of honour, the Welsh nobleman, Lord Owen of Clun.  Any hope of the Earl of Huntingdon to win him over to King John’s side is immediately disrupted after the brutish man forcibly kisses Marion. Marion’s feistiness briefly resurfaces when she punches Lord Owen,  but he’s more turned on than repentant. Disgusting! 

Incensed,  Robert demands he apologise to the lady. Owen calls him an  ‘insolent puppy’ and the two men draw swords, over Lord Huntingdon’s protests. At the end of the short duel, Robert is scolded by his father for defending the ‘notorious girl’ and insulting his guest, insisting he apologise to Owen! The brawl results in Marion being abducted by Owen and taken to Clun castle, where she is bewitched after refusing  Owen’s offer of marriage. The Sheriff extorts a large sum from  Sir Leaford in exchange for soldiers to rescue his daughter (actually he would give them instructions to run away), while the Earl of Huntingdon couldn’t care less. Nasir unexpectedly appears and rescues Sir Leaford but is captured by Owen’s men and made to fight for his life as a gladiator in the castle. 

Herne the Hunter 

Robert, spurred by his love for Marion, turns to Herne for help… who in turn orders him to finally embrace his destiny as Herne’s Son. Robert turns his back on his father and inheritance and rallies up the Merry Men after he is accepted by Robin’s old friend, Edward of Wickham and Friar Tuck. Marion is rescued, Sir Richard gets the last laugh and the new  "Hooded Man" continues Robin’s mission, his eyes opened to what's happening in the land at last. 

Robert, being of a different class than his predecessor and the Merry Men, was initially rebuffed by them but soon proved himself a worthy leader. He also nursed some self-doubt if Herne made the right choice of picking him to succeed Robin until he accepts Robin’s sword from Marion in the nail-biting episode, "The Power of Albion". 

After the following episode,  "The Inheritance" (where TWO legends were merged), the series decreased in quality. The episodes following could have been written better. In particular: 

“The Cross of St. Ciricus”, where Gisbourne briefly reunites with his estranged mother and is revealed to be (gasp!!!) Robert’s half-brother.

“The Betrayal”, where Robert and the outlaws are impersonated by a gang of thugs,  led by Roger de Carnac, to discredit them among the people.

“The Pretender”, where a stranger, revealed to be a contender for the throne, shows interest in Marion, causing Robert to have a jealous hissy fit. Viewers later learn that the contender Arthur, (King John's nephew)  was murdered in France. So who was the stranger? We never find out.

“Rutterkin” was the worst one as it was about Mad Mab, accused of being a witch, is left distraught when her favourite pig, Rutterkin, is stolen from from her as it is believed she caused King John’s illness, via the Earl of Huntingdon's instructions.  Via a flashback, we see she was driven mad after witnessing her husband’s murder but we never know who he was and why he was killed.

Other issues: 

1. After the big reveal in The Cross of St. Ciricus”, it was never followed up. 

2. The demonic Baron de Belleme (Anthony Valentine) never resurfaced after his resurrection in the series 2 episode, "The Enchantment". 

3. Herne's silver arrow was never seen nor mentioned all through Series 3. 

The final two-part episode, “The Time of the Wolf”  left the series with a cliffhanger and VERY disappointed viewers.  From what was heard, Richard Carpenter did try to revive it but was unsuccessful, which is a huge pity. Even with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Jason’s father Sean in a cameo appearance as King Richard at the end of the film) the (very stupid)  2006 version and the 2010 version, they are all overshadowed by  Robin of Sherwood. 

Trivia: 

English actor Nickolas Grace (who played the Sheriff of Nottingham) received a lot of hate mail from angry viewers after "The Greatest Enemy" aired, much to his amusement. 

Robert Addie (who played Guy of Gisbourne) passed away in 2003, at age 43.