They managed this trick easily enough because they had already established that the figure of Robin Hood was a role designated by a figure out of English myth, Herne the Hunter. While the original myth says that on the twelfth day after the Winter Solstice Herne gathered his hunt at an oak tree in Windsor Park in England and rode the sky seeking prey (I don't know if it still stands but there was an oak tree on the grounds of Windsor Castle known as Herne's or The Hunter's Tree), for the television show they've made him into more of a mixture of a few figures from pagan times: the Greenman, the Stag King, and Herne the Hunter. In both the first episode of the series, and the opening episode of the third season, the characters played by Michael Praed and Jason Connery are designated by Herne as his son, and the person to carry on the fight against the Saxons using the name of Robin of the Hood.
As with everything else about the series, the situation was handled neatly and cleanly. It may sound a little contrived on the page, but in the context of what had been established in the previous two episodes it worked. Unfortunately Jason Connery lacked the charisma of Michael Praed and, in spite of doing some fine work, never seemed to capture people's imaginations and the series ended after the third season. If he had been cast as Robin from the beginning Connery would have been a fine choice, but Praed had made the role so much his own that anybody would have paled in comparison.
There's also a noticeable drop-off in the quality of the scripts from the first two seasons to the third. Part of the problem is just how many variations on the theme of keeping out of the clutches of the Sheriff of Nottingham, embarrassing his lackey Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and robbing from the rich to feed the poor can there be? In the first two seasons they were able to draw upon the adventures attributed to Robin Hood in various books, including many of the old favourites like his meeting with Little John, and give them new twists to create interesting episodes, but the scripts seemed to lose direction somewhat in the third season.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - Robyn Hoad
I think you mean carry on the fight against the Normans (you said "carry the fight against the Saxons"). The Saxons were English.
And this series has some aspects from English Myth (such as Herne and Weyland, and the name Grendel) but some of it (too much) is Welsh/Anglo-Norman(King Arthur) or Irish (Crom Cruacc).
I am not keen on this series for this reason. I find it ironic that they felt the need to connect a story to a character (King Arthur) that was an enemy of the English in mostly Norman literature (him being obscure in true Welsh folklore). Seems very ironic.
Also not another English folklore is used. I hate attempts to make England just the same as Wales or Ireland. It has its own mythology and folklore that certainly isn't Celtic (though dies have similarities due to common Indo-European tropes).
I also don't think this is the definitive version of the legend of Robin Hood as Robin Hood was in a more realistic world, without the magical elements in a lot of other folktales ('Jack And The Beanstalk', 'Ainsel' et cetera). Folklore has different genres in it after all.
This isn't a bad show (better than the BBC) but it is highly overrated.
2 - Greg
I totally disagree with the other comment. I felt the blend of mythology was not overly Arthurian. As the original blogger says, the stories of witchcraft, enchanted weapons, etc. were probably believed by people from this time period. The myths served to produce an excellent blend of medieval beliefs, real history and excellent story-telling. The acting is also first class and so is the music. I don't understand how anyone can say it is over-rated. It's under-rated!