Michael Praed plays Robin as a rather intense and very young man; kind and inspiring but also at times rash and fallable. The Merry Men are a rough band - not easy or willing to be simply led without question, yet bound to their leader and each other by love and a common purpose. Marion is a strong character and takes her place amongst the 'Merries' in a departure from most of the other versions of the tale. It is an interesting mix and you come to care for them all as individuals and a team quite quickly.

The Sheriff and Sir Guy are spot on as the snarling baddies that you love to hate.

The stories are well written and quite diverse.

The acting is very good and you will spot familiar faces everywhere amongst the guest actors. All of the regular actors are well cast but some deserve special mention: Praed is excellent as Robin (and not just because he is easy on the eyes either!); Ray Winston plays Will Scarlet as if he might explode as any moment; and Clive Mantle is also very good as the sensitive giant, Little John.

The DVD extras are also excellent (they are listed in the Amazon review so I won't list them again here) and are well worth the price of the DVD even if your old VHS tapes are still holding up.

They don't make them like this any more!!!
Review date: 2005-02-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is my favourite tv series of all time, and is by far the best screen adaptation of Robin Hood there has ever been. The action/adventure you'd expect with a Robin Hood series is wholly evident, but it's the extra element of magic that really makes this stand out from the rest. And not forgetting the very young, enthusiastic cast who brought so much vibrancy to the series with stars such as Michael Praed (Dynasty) as Robin, Clive Mantle (Casualty, Alien 3) as Little John and the fantastic Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, Nil By Mouth) as Will Scarlet. The series starts off with a two-parter, 'Robin Hood and the Sorcerer' which culminates in a sinister confrontation with the evil Simon de Belleme and a ferocious battle with the sheriff's men. Then we have 'The Witch of Elsdon' which is about a white witch who the sheriff blackmails into poisoning the outlaws. 'Seven Poor Nights From Acre' is about Robin's desperate attempts to rescue Much from the clutches of a pack of vicious warriors. 'Alan A Dale' comes next, a tale about a young minstrel who's sweetheart faces the prospect of marrying the sheriff!!! This episode tells a lighter, more humerous story. Finally, we have 'The King's Fool', when King Richard, played by John Rhys-Davies (Sallah from the Indiana Jones movies) arrives in Sherwood and causes all kinds of problems for the outlaws. Throughout all of these intelligently told stories, there is a perfect mix of swordplay and magic, surrounding characters who
you'll come to love. Even the baddies are fantastic! You think Alan Rickman is funny as the sheriff in Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves? You obviously haven't seen Nickolas Grace playing the same role in this series. Superb. The whole lot is set in wonderful surroundings: vast castle halls, castle courtyards (the courtyard of Nottingham Castle was filmed at Alnwick in Northumberland where they film Harry Potter), battlements and ramparts, and not forgetting the wonderful deep,
sunlight-dappled forest. This series was perfect, everything about it was done right, and I don't think the Robin Hood story will ever be told anywhere near as good as this.

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