Maid Marian and her Merry Men
Maid Marian and her Merry Men was a
UK children's television series created and written by
Tony Robinson. It began in
1989, with the last episode shown in
1994. The show was a
comic re-telling of the legend of
Robin Hood, placing Maid Marian in the role of leader of the Merry Men, and reducing Robin to an incompetent ex-tailor.
The programme was much appreciated by children and adults alike, and has been likened to Blackadder, not only for its historical setting and the presence of Tony Robinson, but also for its comic style. It is far more surreal than Blackadder, however, and drops even more anachronisms. Like many British children's programmes, there is a lot of social commentary snuck in, which would be unlikely to have been allowed on an adult show, due to the Beeb's neutrality on political issues.
Many of the plots included film spoofs, including Jurassic Park and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Characters:
- Maid Marian (Kate Lonergan)
- The Sheriff of Nottingham (Tony Robinson)
- Robin of Kensington (Wayne Morris)
- Barrington (Danny John-Jules), a rastafarian Merry Man, who would often get to rap during the episode's song.
- Little Ron (Mike Edmonds), a very short and insanely angry Merry Man.
- Rabies (Howard Lew Lewis), another Merry Man, fat and very strong.
- King John (Forbes Collins, who also played John's brother, Richard the Lionheart, in the episode The Whitish Knight)
- Gary and Graeme (Mark Billingham and David Lloyd), the Sheriff's henchmen. Very affable, but not very clever.
- Guy of Gisborne (Ramsay Gilderdale), the king's wet-behind-the-ears nephew.
- "Rotten" Rose Scargill (Siobhan Fogarty), rival to Maid Marian
- Gladys and Snooker (Hilary Mason and Robin Chandler), two villagers.
The programme was set in the very real
Nottinghamshire town of
Worksop, near
Sheffield, although large sections of the show were shot in nearby Sherwood Forest Visitor's Centre,
Edwinstowe and the World of Robin Hood, in between Elkesley and Bothamsall.
The memorable music and songs for Maid Marian and Her Merry Men series were composed by Nick Russell-Pavier and David Chilton.