The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV Series) - Plot and Writing

Plot and Writing

The series is set in the 12th Century, during the reign of King Richard I. Robin Hood, a nobleman, is forced into the life of an outlaw, dwelling in Sherwood Forest with a band of men who right the wrongs committed by the rich and powerful against the poor and defenceless. Robin Hood's enemy in the series is the Sheriff of Nottingham who, with his cohorts, schemes to capture the outlaw by any means possible. Lady Marian Fitzwalter (Maid Marian), a young noblewoman and Robin Hood's lover, keeps him informed of the Sheriff of Nottingham's whereabouts and intentions. Episodes are punctuated with manly deeds of derring-do, tense escapes and pursuits, princely tournaments, the thundering hoofbeats of powerful steeds, the clattering of flashing swords, and the whizzing of fatally-placed arrows.

In "A Year and A Day" (Series 2), a refugee peasant explains that, under English law, a peasant who escapes serfdom and lives in a city for "a year and a day" is a free man, given the man lives openly, not in hiding. When Robin Hood helps the peasant move about the city, the Sheriff invokes "the law of hue and cry", explaining that any man within hearing must drop his chores and help apprehend the felon. In "A Christmas Goose" (Season 3), a boy's goose nips a lord's horse so the lord is thrown. The lord condemns the goose to death - for his Christmas dinner. But Robin Hood counters that under English common law, an accused animal is entitled to a fair trial, the same as a human. While Robin Hood drags out the trial, Friar Tuck gets the cook drunk and switches geese. When the deception is revealed, the lord relents and pardons the goose. Two episodes, "Brother Battle" (#84) and "To Be a Student" (#90) emphasized the Catholic Church's struggle to educate commoners, and even the children of serfs, despite laws forbidding the practice and in the face of opposition from the nobility.

The writers created supporting characters who were likable and occasionally resourceful. In "The Goldmaker's Return" (Season 2), Robin Hood is away in France on a mission. The Lady Marian, Little John and the other Merry Men carry the day without the star of the show ever showing his face. Most of the time, however, Robin is required to save the day following the usual comment about "Many men will be noticed. Only one going in will be successful," etc. Despite simplistic plotting required by the 30-minute format, the writing was both professional in its handling of situations, and pointed in its dialog. Anachronisms abound: the lipsticked girl with modern hairdo in the Friar Tuck episode, for instance, wine cups for each occupant at a table in Checkmate when that only became the practice hundreds of years later, the 20th century school implements in Brother Battle, and a "bard" in The Challenge episode who sings a song to the late 17th century tune of Lillibulero, in 13th century England. All this is typical of every series of historical fiction, but the show's producers pointed with pride to their accuracy, courtesy of hired consultants.

There was also an element of self-parody at times that sat uneasily on the series. In one episode, The Challenge, the plot-as-such was finished halfway through the show, and during the rest, the hapless Richard of the Lea and his wife worried as their larder and wine cellar were emptied during a siege with Robin, Little John, and Tuck eating and dancing all day and night.