Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Series

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought the 4 individual seasons of this series at a higher price, and felt it was worth over $40 for all of them. This is a great old-fashioned series which has aged very well. The stories are all nice little adventures that still play out quite well in the modern era. There is minimal violence and the actors are all very good in their roles. After watching all of the episodes, I'm impressed by the variety of stories that were told. Obviously, the endings are pretty happy, but that doesn't have to be seen as a bad thing.

Note that the series is in black and white, and there is some sound volume and quality fluctuation, but nothing that makes it hard to understand or unwatchable. If you like charming old adventure movies, I'd strongly recommend buying this collection.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD was a half-hour British TV show designed for American export. Its target audience was children, so "Robin" aired on the CBS-TV network, Monday nights at 7:30. The series lasted four seasons, from 9/26/55 to 11/12/60. Cast members of "Robin Hood" often appeared in multiple roles and regular characters were at times portrayed by different actors.

In MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT's complete series box, the first three 39 chapter seasons are contained on 9 single-side recorded discs. The 26 episodes of season #4 have been compressed onto two DVDs.

REGULAR CAST (all seasons)
Robin Hood: Richard Greene
Prince John: Donald Pleasence; Hubert Gregg (3)
Little John: Archie Duncan (1-4); Rufus Cruikshank (1)
Sheriff of Nottingham: Alan Wheatley (1, 3-4); John Arnatt (2)
Friar Tuck: Alexander Gauge
Sir Richard: Ian Hunter
Maid Marian Fitzwater: Bernadette O'Farrell (1-2); Patricia Driscoll (3-4)
Will Scarlet O'Winchester: Paul Eddington

ACTORS PORTRAYING MULTIPLE CHARACTERS:
Alfie Bass, John Baker, Peter Bennett, Patricia Burke, Kenneth Cope; Harry H. Corbett, Nigel Davenport, John Dearth, Paul Eddington, Max Faulkner, Willoughby Gray,Neil Hallett, Paul Hansard, Martin Lane, Simone Lovell, Edward Mulhare, Shaun O'Riordan, Philip Ray, Anne Reid, Michael Ripper, Leonard Sharp, Tony Thawnton, Patrick Troughton, Victor Woolf, Terry Yorke

SYNOPSIS for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD:
While he is off fighting the Crusades, King Richard charges Robin and his men with the protection of his kingdom. Robin's chief protagonist is the wily Prince John.

ALSO FROM MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT:
Although no sign of restoration is apparent, transfer quality of MCE's public domain TV show films is uniformly good. Another interesting British-made television program from this era is SHERLOCK HOLMES - The Complete Series, also available from MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT at a bargain price.


For a list of all episodes, including original airdates and guest actors,
see COMMENT #1, link for which is located directly below this review.

This TV series has hung in my memory over 40 years, obviously my first introduction to english culture, long before seeing Errol Flynn in the big screen version of Robin Hood. This is an early review of this series, mind you, before seeing the 90 or so remaining episodes. No matter. If you like "I, Claudius, " and "Poldark," you must see this wonderful black-and-white introduction to the British standards of locale/studio dramatizations. With adult eyes, I am amazed at the way the writers avoided trampling the Hollywood scene cliches to this fable, realizing they had more time to add depth and imagination to this Robin Hood, maintaining its plausability along the way. For instance, how did Robin gain leadership over the men of Sherwood Forest? He earned it, reluctantly, by displaying a deeper wisdom in proving himself. Having seen the early (1929)silent Fairbanks "Robin Hood," shot in romantic hues of light and dark, with spare period furniture,it is apparent to me now that the British team of craftsmen may have had that in mind in their location shooting.The noblemen do speak more eloquently than the peasantry, but each has their code of honor or dishonor accordingly. If you have kids and would like to introduce them to the harmless myths like Robin Hood that will remain with them years later, this is a great introduction like Life 101. Episodes will pit greed against obligation; obligations to king or the gang; right versus might. Loyalty to the gang or the family. There is clearly a logic and rationale upon which each episode hangs. We are rational beings is what Robin Hood argues throughout and that right gets contested and we must be fit for that contest daily.There is a greater need for this moral fable today, wouldn't you agree? Richard Greene as this TV Robin Hood, makes clear from the start the importance of words, honor, loyalty; our priorities; and that they fit our actions in determining the outcome of our affairs. And, of course, 90 or so episodes later, we think we have viewed a harmless fable. After college, we call it philosophy without text-editing crib sheets. Of the many reasons to admire this series, the one most impressive is how well this series holds up to the TV period dramas 25 years later.

Having never seen this series on television and with only reviews as a guide, I purchased all 143 episodes and braced myself. What an absolute joy this turned out to be. Charming characters, distinctive good guys and bad guys, interesting stories and all with a little touch of romance. After watching nearly half the episodes, the series has still not yielded one bad episode or lost any of it's charm. Each episode is a 25 minute upbeat investment that makes you feel good and positive. As an added bonus some of the first episodes have snippets of commercials from the 1950's imbedded in the opening. Great stuff.

The sound quality is respectable, and aside from the black and white tones lightening or darkening slightly with each episode or occasionally taking on a greenish hue, this is highly watchable. The local peasant characters, the castles, the sword fights, and the knights in their period costumes make for a television series that you will look forward to watching. America has westerns and the British have their medieval romps. Robin Hood is a gem that gets the highest recommendation.

You know how you feel drawn to programs that make you feel like you're spending time with good friends? The Adventures of Robin Hood DVD series with Richard Greene are just that. These are the shows you want to watch every day as opposed to the ones you only watch once in a while. There's just something about the English countryside setting, medieval time period, superb acting, and well written stories which beckon my 14 year old son and I to spend our afternoon with Robin Hood and his band of merry men, Maid Marian, and yes, even the Sheriff of Nottingham. This is entertainment the way it should still be; wholesome, glorifying: chivalry, respect, and morals--unlike the amoral trash they pass as entertainment these days. I'm very happy to have found this series and that it is made available to us. We have all four seasons. I wish there were more!!

My 5-star rating takes into consideration (1) other television programs during the same time period and (2) how well the programs teach moral/ethical values, in a way that is not 'preachy' to children.
I would emphasize that these episodes are aimed toward children, and therefore adults with IQs over 120 might find these episodes tedious.

Each episodes is approximately 25 minutes. Episodes were interesting, humorous, and well-written. While not overly intelligent, they make much better television entertainment than most shows on TV today in terms of values.

Therefore, I would recommend this collection for individuals with children who dislike the TV programs (for children) today. These Robin Hood episodes do teach values to children and should be interesting. [For example: I have a brother in 4th grade who detests BBC classics like Pride & Prejudice, Bleak House, Oliver Twist, etc. However, he loved these episodes of Robin Hood.]

Of course, the episodes are black and white, and the special effects are quite poor. (ex: The actor who plays Little John wears wears shoes with about 10 inch soles to make him appear taller.) However, I do not really believe the lack of special effects harmed these episodes.

Also, if you wish, you watch many episodes on YouTube to see and hear for yourself before purchasing.

However, at over 3,000 minutes, I believe this collection is certainly a good deal.


Also recommended:

Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford's Sherlock Holmes

I would like to state that this series was just as I remembered it. This was a time when television entertainment was wholesome, family oriented and most of all showed the values of life. Something entertainment of today lacks

I found the dvd for the first season in a discount store five-dollar bin. Came home, watched one episode, and suddenly remembered all the best feelings I experienced as a kid, fifty something years ago. I'm pretty sure this show had a lot to do with pushing me toward the Church, but I'm funny like that. Sure enough, AMAZON carries all four seasons. I've ordering sets for all my Godchildren and Grandchildren.
"They handled all the trouble on the English country scene [seriously? "scene"?] and still found plenty of time to sing!" They didn't just sing in their extra time, mark you---they FOUND the time!
"Yo, Robin! We gonna have time to sing before we hold up the Sheriff?"
"Oh, we'll FIND the time to sing, Little John!"
I loved those guys---I still do. No better bang for the buck, anywhere.

One of the best shows of the 50's is alive and well. No one has done Robin Hood any better than Richard Greene and none ever will.
Some episodes have some sound problems but that's probably to be expected with such old footage. I am just glad to have this stunning series available.

For the price, the set is fairly good although it is apparent that very little restoration was done by the company(Mill Creek / 2009 Version). The famous opening Robin Hood song ( I was looking forward to that) was cut from the beginning of each episode so this set should be listed as partially edited with little, if any, restoration. Perhaps a fully restored, unedited, version will eventually be released of the entire series.