Robin of Sherwood Set 2

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DVD details

Actor: Jason Connery
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 654 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-09
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media

DVD Reviews of Robin of Sherwood Set 2

DVD Review: Cheesy 80s fun
Summary: 4 Stars

When watching this show, I was struck by how much it reminded me of the Doctor Who episodes that I remember from the time complete with the gratuitous electronic music and the low budgets. I was also a little disappointed that it wasn't the new Robin Hood that I had heard so much about. And that beginning of "Roooobin Roooobin [mumble mumble] dudundadaaaaaa!" was just too much.

But as I watched the thing, I really started to fall in love with the series. The sheriff is always hatching a diabolical plan unless King John screws him over and then he's gotta turn to Robin for help. Everyone keeps breaking into the castle to rescue the rest of the cast. Jason Connery brings an innocence to the role and the rest of the cast does great work. There are moments of Hey!!! That guy! Especially with Ray Winstone and Matt Frewer who shows up as a villain in one episode. Both of whom are vastly different than their quintessential roles in Sexy Beast and Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future respectively. There are also some great moments of medieval legends throughout the series.

It also gets progressively stranger as demonic cities and golems start showing up. I'm quite sure that the original conception didn't involve crazy witches and evil children. Richard O'Brien can only play Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Widescreen Edition) but it's fun to see him playing the demonic wizard (of course, try to watch any of his episodes without yelling "hey Riff Raff..." I dare you) And by the end there seems to be quite a different series coming through. Don't know how far it would have gone (probably would have fizzled out) but there was some serious Twin Peaks level of strangeness peaking through.

Not a perfect series by any stretch of the imagination. It's very much trapped in the 80s. The music is very cheesy. The characters are stuck in the episodic happy ending curse. The violence is constant and bloodless. People get hit with swords. They go down and that's all you need to know about it. From today's perspective, that seems a little hypocritical; in that the series wants to show violence without consequences and after the fifth or sixth anonymous henchman goes down in any episode you start to remember The Venture Bros. - Season One and the way the Monarch's Henchmen get a lot of comedy out of their short lives. But if you accept the limitations (and let's face it, you aren't considering buying this thing expecting Shakespeare) then you are in for a great weekend.

DVD Review: Men not in Tights
Summary: 4 Stars

The tales of Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws have had popular appeal for centuries. Books, movies and TV series about them have turned up pretty regularly for decades. This is the 1980s iteration, with Robin and Marian, Little John and Will Scarlet and all.

This set comprises the final 13 episodes of a series which originally ran for three seasons. The first two starred Michael Praed as Robin of Loxey, a commoner who obeyed the summons of the forest-spirit Herne the Hunter. He gathered the original band of outlaws and defended the interests of the poor and dispossessed against the greed of the nobility, represented by the Sheriff of Nottingham, until he was cornered and killed. This series picks up with the summoning of Robert of Huntingdon, the son of a powerful noble, to take up the mantle... or hood, as it were. Initially reluctant, Robert (played by Jason Connery) obeys Herne and reassembles the far-scattered band, rescues Marian from the clutches of a semi-barbaric Lord Owen of Clun and embarks on a series of adventures as exciting as they are historically improbable. I am sure that any medieval scholars watching this series are probably gibbering incoherently over some of the plot devices, but then it's not a show for them; it's a show for the rest of us, all fantastical derring-do, lots of fighting, what passes for social justice, lashings of mysticism and magic; all that and music by the group Clannad. There was originally a lot of money spent on this series and it shows. Much of it was shot on location in Northern England, and there are lots of nice details, like the paucity of tableware, and the Sheriffs' collection of hunting birds. The castle interiors look dim and cramped; comfort and privacy are very authentically in short supply, and almost everyone appears to be grimy, rumpled and somewhat shaggy of hair. On the whole, the series has aged very well, as have the actors. But the final episode ends very abruptly and on a bittersweet note, with Marian taking refuge in holy vows. A downturn in the fortunes of the film company which produced the series made it impossible to continue, after setting up such a cliff-hanger!

As suited to such a popular show, the bonus features are generous. Nearly half of the episodes have a commentary track. Two hours worth of other extras are on a separate disc, and to a fan would be worth purchasing as a stand-alone. Two documentaries feature interviews with the actors (nearly all of whom have aged as well as the series has) there is another short feature about Clannad's music, a short morning news feature done about the show, some nice behind-the-scenes footage and the usual bloopers and outtakes. There is also a short filmography for the featured actors, which should solve the puzzle of "where the heck have I seen that face before" for many a consumer of British imports.

DVD Review: Robin of Sherwood Set 2
Summary: 5 Stars

This really is excellent. It engages the viewer from the first episode and expands the relationship between the characters in the following episodes in a realistic and human way. Very enjoyable. I reccomend it.

DVD Review: Enjoyed this series!
Summary: 4 Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this set as much as I did the first set with Michael Praed (tho Michael is still my favorite).I bought both sets and watched them in a week. The setting was great, the medieval costuming was very authentic (including dirty peasants as it would have been), the storylines were a wonderful mix of medieval reality and mystical and the characterizations were great. One really comes to care for these young outlaws. Each had a distinct personality and stayed true to it through most of the series. That said, I take off only one star for the scriptwriter, Richard Carpenter, who ended the last episode of both sets unacceptably. Robin (Praed) in the last episode of set 1 and Marian (Trott) in the last episode of set 2, in my opinion, slipped out of character for the mere purpose of a more dramatic ending. Robin was much too wily and smart for such an end, and Marian was strong, passionate and a fighter. She would not have suddenly become a whimpering "female" afraid to face an uncertain future. She would have held onto what she'd been fighting for for so many years. Other than that, everything else about this series is a joy to watch, and I'm sure I'll watch them over and over again. I may however avoid those 2 episodes. Unfortunately, nothing is forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten. :)

DVD Review: Best thing to come out in years
Summary: 5 Stars

This is the second dvd set to the Robin of Sherwood series that was on PBS here in the states or BBC in England. I watched this series as a kid in England and was happy to see it finally come out here in the states. This was the and still is the cheapest place to purchase this set.

Description of Robin of Sherwood Set 2

History meets myth in a critically acclaimed classic

Connoisseurs of the Robin Hood legend call this action-packed British series the standard by which all other adaptations are measured. Rich with authentic historical detail and cunning plot twists, Robin of Sherwood adds a bit of sorcery and mysticism to the swordplay and social justice that have made the heroic outlaw so endearing and enduring. In these tales, the young nobleman Robert of Huntingdon (Jason Connery, Shanghai Noon) assumes the mantle of the fallen Robin of Loxley. Guided by the forest spirit Herne, he reassembles Robin's band and resumes the campaign against the greedy Sheriff of Nottingham. Children and adults will thrill to Robin's feats of derring-do in the mysterious, misty depths of medieval Sherwood. With an award-winning score by the traditional Irish band Clannad. Includes the final 13 episodes of the series.

OVER 9 HOURS OF SPECIAL FEATURES!

Nine commentary tracks
Two retrospective documentaries
Behind-the-scenes footage
Clannad: Scoring Robin of Sherwood
U.S. credit sequence
Outtakes
Cast filmographies
And more!

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