Robin Hood: Season One (Blu-ray) + Robin
Hood: Season Two (DVD/BBC Home Video)
Picture:
B+/B- Sound: B/B- Extras: B Episodes: B-
Forget
everything you know about stuffy British television, Robin Hood is here to steal the small screen. For a series that only premiered less than
two years ago Robin Hood manages
shoot past many of its competitors with is use of detailed and adventurous
storylines. Jonas Armstrong plays the
captivating and charismatic Robin Hood in this new BBC adventure series that
has captured the minds of many as it takes a classic tale to the next
level. Robin Hood is a mesh of action, adventure, drama, and light hearted
comedy all tied together with a fine use of intelligent plots and
dialogue. Unlike many Robin Hood films
and television series of the past, the series manages to nicely balance the
conglomeration of elements without coming off as overly stuffy or serious.
The
character of Robin Hood in this new BBC series is not your typical hero. Robin is gritty and rough around the edges,
but at the heart of the character there remains the classic ‘rob from the rich,
give to the poor’ mentality. The series
has the arrogant Robin and his cohorts written a bit sexier and stylish than
many viewers may remember from the storybooks, but the intensity and passion
that is behind each episode makes the untypical character atmosphere seem all
too right. The Sheriff of Nottingham is
played by the extremely talented Keith Allen, who plays the sarcastic and
malicious role to an extreme. The
Sheriff’s corrupt rule is what drove Robin Hood to be the man he has become, in
the absence of King Richard (due to the crusades) the land of England has
fallen into a very poor state. The greed
of some has destroyed the lives of many and Robin Hood (though he may not know
it) is starting to set things right.
Robin Hood: Season One established the characters and
villains very well as Robin’s men were continually put through a series of
hardships and trials that would bring them closer together as their deeper
sides were put on full display for the audience. But for as much as Robin Hood and his
villainous counterparts are focused on and developed, it seems as though
Robin’s band of merry men is presented as an underdeveloped stereotype torn right
from the pages of history. The character
development is not bad, it is just not enough; sacrificing emotion and
back-story for adventure and action.
Robin Hood: Season Two, however, manages to make up for Season One’s shortcomings and heighten
all the aspects that already made the series great. In Season
Two the series took a slightly more violent turn, changing from Robin’s
brand of trickery to allowing the characters to flat out kill. This is not to say the series is a
‘gore-fest’ by any means, but instead the series has a more liberal use of
violence that gives it serious and powerful edge. The ‘live by the arrow, die by the arrow’
dramatic and adventurous violence is a welcome component to an already captivating
series. For as much as Season Two kicked up the violence,
action factor the series also managed to more finely tune the deepness of the
series. The characters are now more
focused with deep rooted emotions that swell and seem to burst all at once.
Whether
it is in battle or over the death of a loved one, Robin Hood: Season Two portrays each character’s strengths, while
making their character flaws fully apparent as well. The men don’t blindly follow Robin to the end
of the earth as children’s books have always portrayed. The men are heated, angry, rough, and exist
on a much deeper level that has yet to be revealed. Maid Marian is also a more central character
this season as she dirties her gloves in the many dealings of her number forest
dweller, Robin Hood. The are traders and
thieves among the…ummm…traders and thieves, but these traders look to bring
down Robin Hood and his men. The series
is griping from beginning to end and in no way will disappoint. The plethora of twists and turns go right up
until the final episode of the season and will leave viewers anxiously waiting
for Season 3.
The
technical features of the DVD release of Robin Hood: Season Two are on par with
that of the Season One release. The picture is presented in 1.78 X 1
Widescreen that is enhanced for 16 X 9 televisions. The picture quality is a slight upgrade from
the Season One DVD with cleaner,
brighter colors and a crisper image; there are some detail issues that should
be improved, but they are minor. The
sound is once again presented in a less than stellar Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
that is nice as it embodies the series well, but lacks the ‘pop’ that this
action heavy series should contain. The
surrounds are never fully used, but there overall the sound is crisp.
The
extras of Season Two are less than that
of those found on Season One, but
are still hold some value. The extras
include two featurettes that go into detail on two of this seasons characters
Marian and the other featurette on Edward.
There is also a brief audio commentary and more importantly a ‘Beneath
the Hood: Making of Robin Hood: Season 2’ featurette. The featurettes are nicer than the
commentaries, giving solid detail into the creative process of who the writers
think the characters should be and in what direction the series is going. Overall, a nice set of special features.
The
technical features on the Blu-ray edition of Robin Hood: Season One are far superior to those of last June’s DVD
release. The picture has been upgraded
to a High Definition 1080i/VC-1 still in its 1.77 X 1 Widescreen
presentation. On the Blu-ray the colors
are vibrant, the image is extremely crisp, and there are no light/dark issues
to be seen. Where as the dark scenes are
not perfect having a certain degree of noise, it is still an impressive picture
presentation overall. The sound quality
on this set, however, is a sad disappointment.
The sound is only presented in a slightly crisper Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround that is comparable to the DVD release with its short comings. No true upgrade for the sound here, sadly.
The
extras are the same as the DVD release and are presented in standard
definition. To read more about the first
season and it’s DVD’s technical features and extras please refer to the link
below:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5702/Robin+Hood:+Season+One+(2006/BBC
All in
all, this is a good series that will only get better with time.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
