Robin of Sherwood: "The King's Fool"

It's 26 May 1984, and time for the Season 1 finale of Robin of Sherwood.

Robin (Michael Praed) rescues a Norman knight (John Rhys Davies) from bandits in Sherwood. The following morning the knight reveals himself to be Richard Lionheart, King of England, returned from his ransomed captivity in Germany, When the King pardons Robin and his men, and Sir Guy of Gisburne is disgraced, it seems as if everything is going to end happily for once - but how long can this new peace last?

In many traditional Robin Hood stories, the arrival of King Richard signifies the end of the narrative: his arrival back in Britain heralds a return to the normal order, and a restoration of justice and fairness for the people. As a result it's not a surprise to see Richard turn up in this season finale. What is a surprise is where the episode goes from there: this isn't the noble, people-loving king of legend. This is Richard Lionheart, a militaristic absentee monarch whose only interest in returning to Britain was to raid its coffers for more war money.

Robin of Sherwood: "Alan a Dale"

It's 19 May 1984, and time for more Robin of Sherwood.

Robin and his outlaws come across Alan a Dale, a musician who has fallen in love with a local baron's daughter - only to see her unwillingly engaged to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Happy to take any opportunity to disrupt the Sheriff's plans, Robin sets up a scheme to rid him of his bride and her lucrative dowry.

Alan a Dale has been part of the Robin Hood mythology since about the 17th century, but when developing Robin of Sherwood creator Richard Carpenter elected not to include him in the Merry Men - instead choosing more obscure characters like Much the Miller's Son or complete inventions like Nasir. In a way it's rather pleasant to see him unexpectedly pop up five episodes in. This is the only episode in which he appears, but he's a welcome guest character to have.

Robin of Sherwood: "Seven Poor Knights from Acre"

It's 12 May 1984, and time for Robin of Sherwood.

Shortly after an encounter with a wandering thief in the forest, Robin Hood (Michael Praed) and his band of outlaws are attacked by a group of seven knights on horseback. Friar Tuck (Phil Rose) identifies them as members of the Knights Templar: religious zealots best known for mass murders in the Middle East. When the Templars successfully capture Much (Peter Llewelyn Williams) Robin is forced to negotiate and retrieve their stolen religious icon.

Like "The Witch of Elsdon", "Seven Poor Knights from Acre" feels as if it's been pitched at a slightly younger audience that the opening two-parter. I suspect it's all a part of the series attempting to find its feet. Here we've got a fairly simplistic story, but unlike "Elsdon" it's a story that still feels rather entertaining and is certainly much better told.

Robin of Sherwood: "The Witch of Elsdon"

It's 5 May 1984, and time for Robin of Sherwood.

In the Nottinghamshire village of Elsdon, an innocent woman named Jennet (Angharad Rees) is falsely convicted of witchcraft. To earn her freedom, she agrees to help lay a trap for Robin Hood (Michael Praed) and poison his entire band of outlaws.

As Robin himself tends to say, 'nothing lasts forever'. That includes the quality of the series it seems, as things take an unexpected but definite nose-dive with this third episode. Subtlety is gone, depth has left the building, and what's left is some pretty tedious one-dimensional characterisation. Will Scarlet (Ray Winstone) is particularly ill-served by the script, which takes his character from aggressive attitudes and violent tendencies to puppy-dog eyes without any sort of proper justification.

Robin of Sherwood: "Robin Hood and the Sorcerer, Part II"

It's one hour later on 28 April 1984, and time for part 2 of "Robin Hood and the Sorcerer". The first two episodes of Robin of Sherwood were originally broadcast as a made-for-television film, whereas internationally and on the official DVD releases it's been split out into two 50-minute episodes. That's how I've recently rewatched them, and correspondingly how I've elected to review them.

Sir Robert de Rainault, the Sheriff of Nottingham, uses the stolen silver arrow of Herne the Hunter as bait to lure Robin Hood into a trap. When that attempt fails, with Robin winning an archery tournament and reclaiming the arrow, the devil-worshipping Simon de Belleme comes to the Sheriff with an offer to kill Robin for him, taking Maid Marian as his captive in return.

This second part falls broadly into two halves. The first sees Robin infiltrate Nottingham to compete for and win Herne's arrow. The second sees Robin travel to Belleme's coastal keep to rescue Marian. It's testament to the strength of the episode that each half is fairly different in tone - one fairly light and adventure-based, and the other quite dark and foreboding - yet both fit together remarkably well as a single episode.

Robin of Sherwood: "Robin Hood and the Sorcerer, Part I"

It's 28 April 1984 and time for Robin of Sherwood.

Years after his father was killed in an attempted rebellion, Robin of Loxley (Michael Praed) and his best friend Much are captured by soldiers for poaching the king's deer. After escaping from Nottingham Castle with a group of outlaws, Robin is confronted by the god-like figure Herne the Hunter and discovers his destiny to defend England and its people from those who seek to oppress them.

Robin of Sherwood is, for me, a high water mark for Robin Hood adaptations. It was an iconic series of 1980s British television, for a number of reasons, and for me it's one of the most distinctive and effective tellings of the Robin Hood myth I've ever seen. It works because it treats the myth with an uncharacteristic seriousness, and because it blends medieval adventure with outright fantasy. This isn't just a story of a bunch of forest-dwelling outlaws robbing from the rich: it involves pre-Christian British mythology, demon-worship and witchcraft, magic, illusion and golems. It's pretty much exactly how one should approach this kind of well-worn story: bold ideas, a fresh angle and a well-honed, high-class production.