Robin Hood (2006 TV series) characters

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Robin Hood is a British television drama series, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC One, which debuted in October 2006. The programme uses the majority of the familiar characters from the traditional Robin Hood legends, notably omitting Friar Tuck from the first 2 series (Though he will be in the 3rd series, as portrayed by David Harewood). Some have been given new back-stories or characteristics not evident in previous versions of the legend.

Contents

[edit] Main Cast

[edit] Robin Hood

Robin Hood
Created by Foz Allan
Dominic Minghella
Portrayed by Jonas Armstrong
Information
Occupation Outlaw
Title Earl of Huntingdon
Lord of Locksley
Spouse(s) Marian
Address Sherwood Forest
IMDb profile

Robin of Locksley, generally known as Robin Hood, is portrayed by Jonas Armstrong in the 2006 TV series. This version of Robin is much younger than many of the previous actors to have played the character, Armstrong described his portrayal of Robin Hood as "A believable superhero... Like all leaders, he's an egoist and he's often quite arrogant. He's not an out-and-out hero...He has an undercurrent of darkness."[1]

At the outset of the series, Robin has just returned to England after five years fighting in the Third Crusade as part of the King's Guard, during which he was honoured by King Richard and almost mortally wounded. He is Earl of Huntingdon, and Lord of Locksley Manor and its estate. In the early episodes, it becomes clear that his memories of the Crusades have affected him strongly, making him unwilling to take a human life. This is given as the main reason why he does not kill the Sheriff or Gisborne early on, even though it is clear that doing so would save many lives.

It is also shown that he had engaged to be married to Marian, an arrangement that seems to have been dissolved by his departure. He still has strong feelings for her when he returns, and is pleased that she is still unmarried. She initially shuns him upon his return, and rejects his attempts to charm her. They become closer over the course of the first series, Robin frequently visiting her at home under cover of darkness. He is devastated when she becomes engaged to Guy of Gisborne in order to keep herself and her father safe, and even contemplates leaving Nottingham on the day of her wedding to Guy.

A darker side of Robin's character is revealed when he realises that it was a masked Gisborne that he prevented from killing King Richard whilst in the Holy Land. This sends Robin into a rage and he attempts to kill Gisborne in his anger, compromising his own teachings and beliefs about killing only when necessary. Though prevented from killing Gisborne by Much and John, Robin still strives to prove Gisborne's guilt for the rest of the series.

When Guy stabs Marian, unaware that it is her disguised as the Nightwatchman, she appears to die, despite Robin and Djaq's efforts to save her. Robin, utterly devastated, breaks down over her body and admits that he loves her. She survives, her 'death' attributed to the shutting down of her body following the stab wound, and hemlock, applied by the treacherous physician Pitts. She decides to go ahead with the wedding to Guy, and Robin, furious and heart-broken, abandons his men.

He viciously rebuffs Much's attempts to comfort him (for the second time in the series insulting Much as being simple) and packs up to leave Nottingham. He stops in his tracks when he hears Much interrupting Marian's wedding and reaches the ceremony in time to see Marian leave Guy at the altar. He gives her a ride to the castle after Gisbourne reveals his true colors. Just when the audience is led to think that nothing will happen between them (Marian gets off the horse and they go in different directions in a hope to save her father) he calls her back and they kiss. Robin gets his fighting spirit back, saving Marian's father Edward from being killed by the Sheriff and redeeming himself to Much by preventing the Sheriff from slitting his throat. In Season 2, Robin and Marian's relationship has developed; and after Marian's father dies, she joins Robin in the forest. Robin remains somewhat jealous of her relationship with Guy, convinced that she has some feelings for him. However, Marian remains faithful to Robin, and does get misty-eyed when he tells her that he loves her. In episode 9, Lardner's Ring, Robin plucks up the courage to propose to Marian again, which she accepts, but later finds herself back in the castle with Guy.

In the final episode of series 2, he marries Marian as she lies dying. When she dies, he carries his deceased wife to her grave.

[edit] Lady Marian

Lady Marian portrayed by Lucy Griffiths, is the daughter of the former Sheriff of Nottingham, Marian is twenty-one years old, and in contrast to most Robin Hood legends, is not described as Maid Marian, but rather Lady Marian. "In those days [21] would be considered quite old to still be a maid," actress Lucy Griffiths explained in the Radio Times preview."[2] She was engaged to Robin before he went to fight in the crusades and is visibly cold and aloof toward him on his return, although in episode twelve she admits that she considered him a hero even while calling him a fool. She was initially disapproving of Robin's outlaw status because she believed that the best way to fight injustice was to work inside the system. However, she aids him in his fight against the Sheriff by frequently spying for him and giving him inside information that she has picked up in the Sheriff's castle, and from Gisborne. Marian also fights the Sheriff in her own right, disguising herself as the Night Watchman and giving the poor food and supplies.

Marian is undoubtedly beautiful and carries great status with her, as the daughter of Edward, the old Sheriff. For those reasons, Guy of Gisborne, a dispossessed lord and Vaysey's right hand man, falls in love with her quite obsessively. From the beginning, she frostily resists his attentions and gifts, unable to look past his murderous ways and cruelty. But as time goes on, her status and beauty aren't the only reasons why Guy wants her - he finds himself wondering if her pure heart and empathy could end his compulsive evil and bring about his redemption upon marriage. In the final episode of the first season, she is coerced by Guy, into agreeing to marry him when King Richard returns to England. Though she does not love him, she does so to protect both herself and her father from his wrath.

Though time and heartbreak may have eroded her gentleness, it has left untouched her valiant spirit and keen sense of duty to her people. Marian is head-strong and no-nonsense, if often derisive of Robin's arrogance and cocky attitude towards her. But despite this, her ongoing love for him is evident as the series progresses, and they share many tender moments in secret.

When King Richard appears to return to England (he is, in fact, an impostor), Marian must fulfil her promise to marry Sir Guy, and he immediately prepares their wedding. In one final act of defiance against him, she dresses as the Night Watchman and attempts to steal from him, but he stabs her as she makes her escape, unaware that she is Marian. Djaq cares for her and manages to revive her when she goes into cardiac arrest. Soon after though, Marian apparently dies, and the penultimate episode of the first series ends with Robin mourning over her body and repeating his love for her. However, it is revealed in the next episode that her body merely shut down as a result of a concoction that she had been given by Guy's physician Pitts.

Regaining her health shortly afterwards, Marian is left without option and to protect her father, arrives to marry Guy. The wedding is interrupted by a frantic Much, who informs her that the King is an impostor, and that it is a ruse by the Sheriff and Guy to weed out the Sheriff's enemies. In the hope that she will forgive him, Guy admits that he knew of the plan, but Marian punches him and flees the wedding. Robin rides up on horseback to greet her and Much, and Marian rides off with him. When they arrive at the castle to expose the Sheriff's plot, she and Robin share a kiss.

In the second series, Marian and her father were under house arrest in Nottingham Castle. Marian could not travel out of the castle without an armed guard, although she has managed to avoid one due to Robin's men creating a diversion, or her being allowed a day off by Guy. With these methods of avoiding an armed chaperone, Marian manages to successfully deliver information to Robin.

In Season 2, it is evident that Robin and Marian's relationship has grown stronger; however, Marian seems be stuck in a love triangle along with Robin and Guy - Guy, who is still ignorant of her being Night Watchman, and Robin's informer, still harbours deep feelings for her. However, she still remains faithful to Robin. She is discovering several uses for her beauty and her role as a Lady - with the leading advantage being able to manipulate Guy's feelings for her. She keeps him believing that he still has a chance to win her heart - to stay close to him and get information to help Robin.

When her father died, she agreed to join Robin in Sherwood Forest, despite several heated arguments as to whether it was the right thing to do. But although they argued at, first they eventually apologised and were able to see the bigger picture - it wasn't about what made them happy. It was about keeping Nottingham safe and looked after. In Lardner's Ring, Episode 9, Robin proposed to Marian. She accepted his hand and his ring, although by the end of the episode, she is once more back in the castle with Guy. Later on, she hides the ring from Gisborne, wearing it only in private.

In the final episode of series 2 (We Are Robin Hood!), Marian shields King Richard as Guy advances on the injured King. She admits her relationship with Robin and how she would rather die than be with Guy, to which he responds by attacking her, thrusting his sword into her lower abdomen. Only after this does Robin arrive and Guy retreats with the Sheriff. Marian marries Robin while she lies dying. She then dies in her husband's arms and is carried to her grave, leaving much uncertainty about Series 3.

[edit] Sir Guy of Gisborne

Sir Guy of Gisborne, played by Richard Armitage, is a dark, brooding man always clad in black leather. Guy is the Sheriff's second-in-command, and manages the Locksley estate in Robin's absence. He is reluctant to relinquish control over it and takes a dark satisfaction in being named its permanent lord after Robin is outlawed. His eagerness for land of his own comes from bitterness over having no actual Gisborne estate, and he contemplates renaming Locksley to Gisborne.

Guy fathers a child, Seth, with a servant girl, Annie, and later abandons him in the forest, only for the baby to be found and rescued by Robin and his men. In the words of the Radio Times, Gisborne is "the chief dispenser of the Sheriff's rough justice... seen killing a man in front of his own son."[2]

As in other tellings of the Hood legends, he is a suitor of Marian, but she does not return his affections. In episode seven, he forces her into an engagement with him. It is later revealed that Guy was the masked assassin that Robin was wounded by in the Holy Land as he tried to prevent him from killing King Richard. Robin slashed his tattoo with a sword during the fray, and Robin realises that it was Guy when he sees his tattoo with an identical scar through it. A very angry Robin kidnaps and tortures Guy after he finds out, and attempts to reveal Guy's treachery to the public with proof, but so far has been unsuccessful.

Just before their wedding is due to go ahead, Marian disguises herself as the Nightwatchman and attempts to steal a chest of money from Guy, which she describes to her father as "a final fling to make me more comfortable in my marriage". Unaware that it is his fiancée, Guy stabs her in the stomach. After being cared for by Robin and Djaq, she recovers for the wedding, but decides not to marry Guy at the last minute - she punches him and runs from the altar.

Gisborne is evidently not pure evil as he lacks the Sheriff's sadistic glee and even seems at times to disapprove. When three young boys witness an incriminating event during "Childhood," Gisborne attempts to spare their lives even though the Sheriff wants them disposed of. He risks his own life to help Marian when the Earl of Winchester demands Marian as part of a deal with the Sheriff in For England!. He does show remorse for his villainous ways in the final episode of the first season and lets Marian go after she goes to warn Robin of the Sheriff's plan.

In Get Carter, Guy breaks down and confesses to Marian his desire for a home and her love. She resists him at first, saying that she needs time to grieve her father's recent death. But when Guy is turning to leave, the two share a passionate kiss (though it is to protect a fleeing Robin from Guy's view); taking their formerly more platonic and strained relationship to an entirely new, if not dangerous, level.

In the season two finale, A Good Day to Die, Marian offers Guy her hand in marriage if he assassinates The Sheriff before he can oversee the murder of King Richard. Guy instead alerts The Sheriff of Marian's offer and instead decides to wed her regardless of her approval. During the final battle within a fort between Robin's men and the Sheriff's Saracen assassins, King Richard is wounded in battle and is left to the mercy of an advancing Gisborne. Realizing that Guy is consumed with power and greed, Marian stands between Guy and the King, informing him that she loves only Robin. An enraged Gisborne finally snaps and stabs Marian with his sword, fatally injuring her, but seems genuinely shocked and upset by his actions, nearly crying. He flees the fort with The Sheriff on horseback, as Marian dies from her wounds.

[edit] Vaizey, Sheriff of Nottingham

The Sheriff of Nottingham is the primary villain of the show. Keith Allen's portrayal was described by the Hollywood Reporter as "very camp in the Alan Rickman tradition of sardonic villains,"[3], referring to Rickman's role as the Sheriff in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Cynical, sarcastic and with a dark sense of humour, he has many catch phrases, including, "A clue: no."

Vaizey became the Sheriff a few years before Robin's return to England, taking over from Marian's father Edward. He has used the position to become the leading figure in the 'Black Knights', a group conspiring to overthrow King Richard in favour of Prince John. As part of this plot, John insures the Sheriff's life by promising to destroy Nottingham should he be killed.

In "Sisterhood," the Sheriff's sister Davina is introduced, with whom he displays previously unseen affection. Davina dies in his arms after an altercation with Robin, for which the Sheriff vows revenge.

Allen lost one of his teeth while filming at fight sequence for the show.[4] This was written into the script, with the Sheriff losing a tooth in last episode of Series 1. He takes teeth from skulls and places them in the gap in his teeth as a recurring gag in the second series.

[edit] Major Characters

[edit] Little John

Little John played by Gordon Kennedy, is a former resident of Locksley. John was outlawed many years ago; his wife Alice and his son Little Little John believe that he is dead until "Dead Man Walking". Prior to meeting Robin, John is the leader of an outlaw band in the forest consisting of Roysten White, Forrest and Hanton. The band captures Robin, Much and Allan at the end of the first episode, departing from the traditional meeting of John and Robin where they battle with quarterstaffs over who can cross a river first. "We had a different version for their meeting and we had something so horrible going on in the episode that a jolly fight was entirely inappropriate," the programme's showrunner Dominic Minghella told the Radio Times.[2] John dislikes Robin initially, but agrees to follow him when he realises that Robin can help Alice and the people of Locksley. He is a bit cantankerous and bad-tempered, but loyal to the group. He generally fights with a quarterstaff.

[edit] Much

Much portrayed by Sam Troughton, is Robin's former manservant and good friend who followed his master to the crusades. Troughton described his character to The Sunday Times as "an innocent who has lost his innocence."[5] Given his freedom on their return to England, he remains a loyal right-hand man to Robin, and is often seen to be jealous of the attention Robin gives to others, especially Lady Marian.

Unlike previous incarnations of the character Much the Miller's Son, he is not portrayed in the series as having been a miller's son — indeed, in "Sheriff Got Your Tongue?", he claims to have no family at all. Promised the estate at Bonchurch by Robin before they are outlawed, he briefly takes up residence there in "A Thing Or Two About Loyalty" when the Sheriff tries to coax him out of Robin's gang. He is the group's cook, though occasionally expresses resentment for this role. He fights with a longsword and buckler.

Sam Troughton's grandfather, Patrick Troughton, played television's first Robin Hood in 1953.

[edit] Allan A Dale

In contrast to the traditional depiction of Allan-a-Dale as a minstrel, Allan (played by Joe Armstrong) is an opportunist and pathological liar. In the first series' premiere, he is rescued by Robin after being caught poaching. He is later to be hanged, but is saved by Robin, whom he joins as an outlaw. He claims to have come from Rochdale, hence his surname.

His brother Tom, also a compulsive liar and thief, is hanged by the Sheriff in "Brothers in Arms".

In the second series, Allan becomes a reluctant informer for Guy of Gisborne, agreeing to spy on Robin for money and release from Nottingham's dungeon. After his betrayal is unmasked by Robin, he enters Gisborne's service. He provides Gisborne with vital information about the outlaws, but protects some secrets such as Marian's identity as the Nightwatchman and the location of the camp. In "A Good Day to Die", he leaves Gisborne to rescue Robin and the others, rejoining them in time for their voyage to the Holy Land.

[edit] Will Scarlett

The youngest member of the group at nineteen, Will (played by Harry Lloyd) is the son of Locksley's carpenter. Prior to the first episode, his mother died from starvation and his father lost a hand in punishment for Will and his brother poaching food to survive. In the first series' premiere, he is to be hanged for stealing flour, but is saved by Robin, whom he joins in the forest as an outlaw.

In contrast with the traditionally hot-tempered Will Scarlet, this incarnation is generally slow to anger, quiet, shy, and often a voice of reason. Because of his knowledge of carpentry, he often finds unique ways of helping the gang. He usually fights with two axes.

In "The Angel of Death", Will's father Dan is killed by the Sheriff. Mad with grief, Will sets out to poison the Sheriff in spite of the destruction of Nottingham that would result. Only after he is led to believe Robin is dying after drinking the poison does he relent.

In "A Good Day to Die" he and Djaq express their mutual love for each other; they remain in the Holy Land at the end of the second series.

[edit] Djaq

Introduced in the episode "Turk Flu", Djaq (played by Anjali Jay) is a Saracen who is being transported as a slave. Her true name is Saffiya, but she disguises herself as a boy by adopting her dead twin brother's name and appearance. Though Robin's outlaws are shocked when Will reveals that she is a woman, they permit her to stay.

Djaq's father was a physician, and she herself has considerable knowledge of medicine and chemistry, which she uses to serve as the group's medic and to create black powder. She expresses fondness for the entire gang of outlaws, even Allan following his defection. In "A Good Day to Die" she and Will express their mutual love for each other; they remain in the Holy Land at the end of the second series.

Djaq is not one of the traditional characters in the Robin Hood legends, although she does follow in the latter-day tradition of a Saracen character being added to the band of outlaws. (See Nasir in Robin of Sherwood from the 1980s, Azeem from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991, and Achoo from Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993). She is however the first female Saracen character to feature in this role.

[edit] Royston White

One of the original forest outlaws, Royston White is introduced at the end of the first episode as part of Little John's band, portrayed by William Beck. John and Roy originally dislike the others, but after persuasion accept Robin's leadership.

In the fourth episode, 'Parent Hood', Royston is captured, imprisoned and tortured by Sir Guy. The Sheriff arrests his mother Mary White and in exchange for her life Roy is instructed to assassinate Robin. He tries, but fails. In the gang's attempt to rescue his mother from being hanged at Nottingham Castle, Royston sacrifices his own life and is slain by the Sheriff's henchmen, while shouting "My name is Royston White, I fight for Robin Hood and King Richard".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rampton, James (2006-09-02–2006-09-08). "The Hood Life". TV & Satellite Week: 14–15. IPC Media. 
  2. ^ a b c Naughton, John (2006-10-07–2006-10-13). "Boyz in the wood". Radio Times 331 (4305): 12–16. BBC Worldwide. 
  3. ^ Bennett, Ray. "Robin Hood", 2006-10-06. Retrieved on 2006-10-14. 
  4. ^ Robin Hood's nemesis. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  5. ^ Kinnes, Sally. "Another string to Robin's bow", The Sunday Times, 2006-09-24. Retrieved on 2006-10-14. 

[edit] External links