Hood. Robin Hood. Jason Connery, son of the original "007" actor Sean, stars as
Robin Hood, in the adventure yarn which aired from 1984-86 on Showtime in the USA, and which also aired in Britain (on the ITV1 network, with a 90-day delay per episode) under the slightly changed title
"Robin of Sherwood".
Now we have word from a reader, Cybele Baker, who informs us that the entire 26 episode series is available to purchase on Region 1 DVD. In fact, it has been since last July! However, that R1 DVD set isn't sold from a USA source. Instead, it's available for import from Britain at a cost of £99.99 (approximately $183 at current exchange rates, which change daily). Plan on adding approximately $35-$40 in shipping costs (again based on current exchange rates).
The source for this box set is Network, "the premier video label owned and operated by Sound and Media Limited, part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group." Click the graphic to go to their website and purchase this, which is formatted for NTSC video in Region 1:
Here are the complete disc-by-disc details about this 9-DVD set, each of which contains either 2 or 3 episodes (which run an hour each), plus bonus materials:
DISC 1 : Series 1, Volume 1
- Episode 1 : Robin Hood and the Sorcerer (Part 1)
- Episode 2 : Robin Hood and the Sorcerer (Part 2)
- Episode 3 : The Witch of Elsdon
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- Commentary with creator Richard Carpenter and director Ian Sharp (Episodes 1 and 2)
- The Electric Theatre Show documentary from 1983
- The Making of Robin of Sherwood Part 1 of a 2 part documentary Clannad promo for Robin the Hooded Man
- Stills gallery
- French titles
DISC 2 : Series 1, Volume 2
- Episode 4 : Seven Poor Knights From Acre
- Episode 5 : Alan A Dale
- Episode 6 : The King's Fool
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- Commentary with creator Richard Carpenter and director Ian Sharp (Episode 6)
- The Making of Robin of Sherwood Part 2 of a 2 part documentary
- Series 1 out-takes
- Richard Carpenter's original treatment
- Biographies
- Stills gallery
- Textless titles
DISC 3 : Series 2, Volume 1
- Episode 1 : The Prophecy
- Episode 2 : The Children of Israel
- Episode 3 : Lord of the Trees
- Episode 4 : The Enchantment
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track Music only tracks
- Stills gallery
- Series 2 French titles
DISC 4 : Series 2, Volume 2
- Episode 5 : The Swords of Wayland (Part 1)
- Episode 6 : The Swords of Wayland (Part 2)
- Episode 7 : The Greatest Enemy
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- The Swords of Wayland commentary with director Robert Young and producer Paul Knight
- The Making of Robin of Sherwood Series 2 documentary
- Stills gallery
- Series 2 out-takes
- US titles
DISC 5 : Series 3 Part 1, Volume 1
- Episode 1 : Herne's Son (Parts 1)
- Episode 2 : Herne's Son (Parts 2)
- Episode 3 : The Power of Albion
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- Commentaries with Jason Connery, Mark Ryan and Clive Mantle (episodes 1 and 2)
- Music only track (episodes 1 and 3)
- The Making of Robin of Sherwood Series 3 documentary (Part 1)
- Stills gallery
- Robin Hood 1-2-3 Screen Swordplay short
DISC 6 : Series 3 Part 1, Volume 2
- Episode 4 : The Inheritance
- Episode 5 :The Sheriff of Nottingham
- Episode 6 : The Cross of St Ciricus
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- Commentaries with Jason Connery, Mark Ryan and Clive Mantle (episodes 4 and 5)
- Music only track (episode 5)
- Promotional Stills gallery
- Biographies
- It's Showtime promotional short from 1985
DISC 7 : Series 3 Part 2, Volume 3
- Episode 7 : Cromm Cruac
- Episode 8 : The Betrayal
- Episode 9 : Adam Bell
- Episode 10 : The Pretender
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- Stills gallery
- US titles
- Commentaries with Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Nickolas Grace and Anthony Horowitz
- Series 3 out-takes
DISC 8 : Series 3 Part 2, Volume 4
- Episode 11 : Rutterkin
- Episode 12 : The Time of the Wolf (Parts 1)
- Episode 13 : The Time of the Wolf (Parts 2)
- Extras:
- New digital transfers
- Newly enhanced Dolby Surround track
- Original mono track
- Esta Charkham's Photographic Retrospective
- The Making of Robin of Sherwood Series 3 documentary (Part 2)
- Clannad Interview
- TV-am location report
- Commentary with director Sid Roberson and producer Esta Charkham (episodes 12 and 13)
DISC 9 : Bonus material
- The Electric Theatre Show Unseen footage
- Clannad Video footage
Video is NTSC in the original 4x3 fullscreen, with some supplements shown in 16x9 widescreen (which is why Network's site says "PICTURE 4:3 (16:9) Colour"). A separate PAL version is available from Amazon.co.uk at a discount, for those with multi-region DVD players that are equipped with PAL-to-NTSC converters; the content should be identical. But the NTSC version is ONLY available direct from Network, by all accounts.
Audio is English Dolby Surround, and there are no subtitles. The running time is approximately 1300 minutes. Here's a look at the box art:
UPDATE:
TVShowsOnDVD reader David Roberts sent us the following e-mail, setting us straight on the starring roles in this series. A closer look at the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB) verifies that he's 100% accurate on this, so we'll let his note speak for itself:
I wanted to offer a correction and/or clarification in regard to this news item posted about "Robin of Sherwood" on DVD:
The article is misleading in that it refers solely to Jason Connery starring in the series. The first two series (seasons) starred Michael Praed as Robin of Loxley. Jason Connery played Robin of Huntingdon in the third series (season) only. He replaced The Hooded Man figure after Praed left the show and his character was killed, thus becoming the new Robin Hood archetype.
TVShowsOnDVD regrets the error. It would be great if Gord & I could have personally watched every television show that has ever aired, but I'm sure you'll all agree that it's a difficult thing to achieve. Mistakes creep in, so we always appreciate it when the fans of a series set us straight. Thanks to David Roberts for keeping us in check!
