Characters and Conflicts

I like Robin Hood stories, and when I saw the circa-2006 BBC TV series on sale I decided to invest. The big box came with three seasons over fifteen discs, and it took me about a month to work my way through them.

This production is spun more modern than most, and has an interesting cast. Robin is played by a skinny, boyish Jonas Armstrong, who did a decent job of the role, but had to compete with Richard Armitage, who plays Guy of Gisborne with a slow-burning vengeance. The Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Keith Allen, was beyond campy and ridiculous, which just made Gisborne smoulder even more. Maid Marian, played by the quite lovely Lucy Griffiths, is soulful, stubborn and has a mind of her own. The very small band of Merry Men -- known as only the gang on the show -- are all interesting actors. I really liked the characters, and how their roles changed and grew and did some surprising moral bomerangs.

The writing, especially most of the dialogue, is pretty dreadful. The costumes are beyond dreadful. The action is very low-budget, and the female actors and all of the extras are noticeably, painfully sparse. Regarding the latter, when you storm a castle with maybe twenty or so guys on horseback, you're not going to convince me the twenty or so holdups are doomed. Also, throw historical accuracy out the window because you aren't going to find much of it in this series.

That said, most of the conflicts in the series are stellar, especially those involved with the supporting cast. Seeing what they did with Guy of Gisborne, usually a thug role, was absolutely astonishing. I've never seen anyone do better with that character, ever. Allan a Dale was the best Allan ever, and I can't tell you why without spoilers, but trust me. Robin and Marian's relationship was not the syrupy hero-chick dynamic; Marian was literally Robin's equal in daring, determination and intelligence. I didn't quite buy the two of them falling in love -- for one thing, I think she could kick his ass if she really wanted to -- but I went along with it.

The Brits like to kill off characters, and a few that I liked a lot died over the three seasons. A few of the deaths were really illogical as well as unfair, especially at the end of seasons two and three. I got very pissed off at the end of season two and almost tossed it in the Friends of the Library box, but I kept watching to follow Gisborne as his arc played out. He often enraged but never disappointed me.

I think if you can get this box set cheap, and you have the patience to put up with the obvious flaws, it's worth watching just for the characters.