"Robin of Sherwood" was one of those terrific little shows that took the myth of Robin Hood seriously. Forget all the movie versions, especially the Kevin Costner debacle (which might have been better if Kevin Kline had not been kicked out of the role). This series kept away from making the character light and frothy, choosing instead to make him dark and mysterious. His 'merry men', if you will, were anything but. These were men who found themselves living under the thumb of tyranny and looked to Robin of the Hood to lead them and their people out of their chains. Adding to the show's realism was the use of actual locations to do most of the filming. There was little that needed to be done to make the forests and castles look even more ominous than they already were.

When the show first aired, the part of Robin was played by Michael Praed, who is not a name well known to American audiences. While he enjoyed a stint on "Dynasty" as Prince Michael of Mordavia and starred as Phileas Fogg on the little seen "Secret Adventures of Jules Verne", but aside from those roles (and a brief run as D'Artagnan in "The Three Musketeers" on Broadway) most of his work has been done across the ocean. His name is known however to throngs of American fans who have flocked over the years to the 1984 BBC series "Robin of Sherwood."

It is interesting to note that while the series kept a very realistic look to its approach, creator Richard Carpenter steeped the writing in heavy mythology. Characters like Herne the Hunter were made to be as real as those who populated the towns and forest. But Carpenter introduced them in such a way as to never make them silly or unbelievable. Then there was the matter of hygiene. Familiar with the history of the period, he also went to great lengths to make sure that his actors, sets and the surrounding areas were far from squeaky clean. Costumes looked as though they had never been washed, and for some of the main characters they even seemed to look more and more threadbare as the seasons progressed.

Suffice to say, Carpenter also took big chances with the series… some of which might have killed other shows. For instance, at the end of the 2nd season, Praed had to leave the show to take on a Broadway role, so he was replaced with actor Jason Connery (yes… Sean's son). But the plot revolving the replacement was a surprising one. I won’t give it away here, but if you get the opportunity to see the whole series, let me know if you were as shocked as I was.

The series was a huge hit in England, but it took years for it to find its way here. But even then, unless you were a big fan of PBS, chances are you missed it. I was one of the lucky ones who saw the series nearly in its entirety. It wasn't until much later that I realized just how many episodes I had missed. I mentioned before that IF you see the series, and I guess I should have said WHEN. Up until recently, the only way I know of to see it was by tracking down an insanely expensive DVD set from overseas. I'm glad I waited. Earlier this year Acorn Media released the first set of "Robin of Sherwood", complete with all 13 episodes (11 plus two 2-parters) of seasons one and two.

When that set arrived for review, I couldn't wait to re-visit the series to see just how many of the original episodes I had missed. It turned out there were so many in fact, that the 'shocking' ending to season two was part of one that I had never seen. And you can only imagine my surprise when I saw John Rhys-Davies as King Richard. It only took me a couple of days to get through the episodes and I enjoyed every one of them as much as I did originally.

Acorn Media is following up that set with Set 2, which features all 13 episodes from the final season. These are the ones that introduced Connery as the new Robin. Though he wasn't as powerful of an actor as Praed, Connery did a good enough job as Robert of Huntington to make the rest of the series worthwhile. He was very energetic and eased into the more physical aspects of the role. This final season also brought with it many interesting characters, but few as interesting as the evil sorcerer Gulnar who is played with relish by Richard O'Brien (of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" fame).

I do have to hand it to Acorn for taking the time to gather some decent extra features for this set (as well as the first release). After all, I'm sure they had no idea how popular of a title it might be and that always adds to the expense of production. Most amazingly is the inclusion of commentaries for nine of the episodes by various members of the cast, most of which I found to be quite enjoyable. You'll also find a fascinating featurette focusing on the group "Clannad" (of whom I've always been a fan) talking about creating the score for the series. Additionally, they filled the set up with a two retrospective featurettes, some outtakes and a ton of behind the scenes footage.

It has been a long, long, long wait for these DVDs to come to American shores, but it is certainly worth it. This is still in my opinion the definitive version of Robin Hood, and I doubt any other versions will ever be this good.

Episodes:
Herne's Son, Part 1
Herne's Son, Part 2
The Power of Albion
The Inheritance
The Sheriff of Nottingham
The Cross of St. Ciricus
Cromm Cruac
The Betrayal
Adam Bell
The Pretender
Rutterkin
The Time of the wolf, Part 1
The Time of the Wolf, Part 2

Starring: Jason Connery
Extras: Nine commentary tracks, Two retrospective documentaries, Behind-the-scenes footage, Clannad: Scoring Robin of Sherwood, U.S. credit sequence, Outtakes, Cast filmographies
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Acorn Media
Release Date: 10/16/2007
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website

We'll give Robin of Sherwood: Set 2 an A.