When I watched the opening episode of Robin Hood on BBC One I was
somewhat underwhelmed for a number of reasons but if you’re looking to
buy the DVD you probably don’t share my gripes.
This first volume contains episodes one to five of the series which
in terms of story quality range from dire and full of holes (the
opening episode) to well plotted, full of characters and entertaining
(take a bow Paul Cornell).
Not wishing to be too harsh the series does offer some thrills and
excitement, especially for younger viewers, and there seeds are there
for a great series if only the production team are willing to listen to
the many dissenting voices.
Moving on this DVD release the episodes look and sound great with the pictures looking exceptionally crisp and sharp.
I’m not technical enough to know is this is a result of the series
being shot in High Definition but the episodes do look great and
represent great value when you consider this set can be picked up for
less than twelve quid.
The first three episodes sit on the extras-free disc one with all special features on the second disc.
First up is ‘The Hood Academy’ which is a 15 minute look at the
process of teaching the cast to fight with period weapons and horse
riding. It’s a pretty standard behind the scenes fare which includes
contributions from co-creator Foz Allen and most of the main cast.
Also included is a collection of character profiles which takes the
form of discussions by Allen, co-creator Dominic Minghella, producer
Richard Burrell and the relevant actor. These contributions are
intermixed with footage from the episodes to illustrate points being
made.
As one might expect this first release looks at Robin and Marion
with a much shorter look at Roy rounding off the set. Two further
volumes containing the remainder of the series are due for release
early in the new year.
