![Robin of Sherwood, Set 2 [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2012/02/51ptxIvITHL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Robin of Sherwood, Set 2 [Blu-ray]")
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD: SET 2 (1986, Blu-ray released February 14, 2012 – MSRP $59.99)
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The Robin of Sherwood series on Blu-ray is continued and concluded with this second exceptional boxed set of discs from Acorn Media.
- “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, this set includes the final 13 episodes of the series.“
I spent most of my Grade 9 school year drawing pictures of Robin Hood. The Robin of Sherwood series had turned up on the local PBS station (I say local but of course, being Canadian, “local” means the nearest possible available signal we can steal from across the border, in the US) and I was mesmerized! The cast was young, there was plenty of action and the typical tropes of the legend were now entwined with pagan mysticism and the Celtic tones of Irish new-age band Clannad. This was a more electric and vastly improved take on the tales than my 12-year old mind could even begin to wrap itself around. But little did I suspect the shock that awaited me only a few months into enjoying the series, when its lead character, Robin, the “hooded man” himself was killed, leaving me and the series itself, left swinging in the wind, without any sort of resolution.
But as the third season of the program proves, there’s always hope and things move along and new heroes are born or created to take the place of the old. It was a shock to my system back then but re-watching these brilliantly crafted episodes now, I see that killing off Robin of Loxsley (Michael Praed in seasons one and two, departing the series at this point for his shot at stardom in the US) and having noble-born Robert of Huntingdon (a very young and very blonde Jason Connery) rise to fill his shoes was a stroke of genius on the part of creator Richard Carpenter. I mean, in a lot of ways, re-casting was just a way to save the series when Praed gave notice, but it allowed Carpenter to weave into his tale another take on the origin of the Robin Hood character, at the same time breathing new life into 2-year old show with a new actor and all the new stories that come along with the Merry Men of Sherwood being led by a hero born with a silver spoon in his mouth. It’s sad now, looking back, that each actor only had 13-episodes to realize the character, and that the series on the whole only survived for three short seasons, totaling a mere 26-episodes. But to this day, those few hours of small-screen adventure amount to the finest version of the Robin Hood fable ever put to celluloid.
The Robin of Sherwood: Set 2 Blu-ray discs look remarkably similar to those in Set 1 – more vivid, colourful and detailed than ever before but overall uneven and not quite up to high, modern standards. Taking into account, however, the origins of the low-TV-budget 16mm footage, the results on screen are stunning. Fans of the show will marvel at these transfers, despite their inherent shortcomings. To clear things up, the studio itself has issued the following statement regarding the presentation:
- “This Blu-ray was created from a high-definition transfer and restoration of the original program elements. While it represents a vast improvement in picture quality and level of detail over previous releases or transmissions, viewers may notice variable quality due to the inherent limitations and age of the original elements.“
The genuine disappointment of the set also mirrors Set 1 – episode audio is only presented in compressed Dolby Digital 2.0 or original mono. There is an argument to be made, however, about the negligible bump in quality that a lossless encode would bring. These audio tracks will do. It’s just a shame that the studios didn’t go that extra mile to make these two blu-ray sets absolutely definitive in every way.
All the special features form the previously available DVDs have been carried over to the Blu-ray set, however most of the video content is still in SD and presented on Disc 4, a DVD itself. There’s decidedly less here than on the first Blu-ray collection but it’s all of the same quality and fairly comprehensive. The only thing this wonderful 4-disc package is missing is another 40-page booklet, the likes of which was included with Set 1. Otherwise, this one has got it all.
Highly recommended!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Nine Episode Commentaries
- Photo gallery containing over 400 images (23 minutes)
- Music-only tracks for three episodes
- Documentary about the making of Series 3 (76 min.)
- Clannad: Scoring Robin of Sherwood interview (12 min.)
- Producer Esta Charkham’s Photographic Retrospective (4 min.)
- Robin Hood 1-2-3 Screen Swordplay (8 min.)
- Outtakes (13 min.)
- Promotional short (5 min.)
- PDF material
- And more!
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