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What's New
February 7, 2008
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's podcasting service is featuring an edited version of the award-winning documentary Ideas: Hunting for Robin Hood for download here. It should be online for about four weeks.
Also, the first season of the 1955 TV Series The Adventures of Robin Hood is finally coming to North American Region 1 DVD in a complete season set. Buy it here from Amazon.com at a really good price.
December 17, 2007
I've just added a new interview with Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell, the creators of a new online comic - Demons of Sherwood.
December 13, 2007
Unfortunately, Sherwood lost the bid for 50 million pounds. Plans to restore the forest will probably have to be scaled back, although restoration efforts will continue. Visiting the Sherwood Forest Trust site to find out how you can help.
December 9, 2007
The vote is on. Sherwood Forest has a bid to win 50 million pounds in a special UK lottery. Your vote could ensure the survival of Sherwood Forest for centuries to come. Robin Hoods old and new -- Kevin Costner and Jonas Armstrong -- have both publicly supported the bid and so do I. The forest is in danger, and does need money to survive. UK residents can call 0870 2424 603 to register their vote, but they can also vote at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk. The vote is technically only open to UK residents, although I don't know if the website notices which country you are voting from. More information can be found at the www.robinhood.co.uk website.
You might have noticed that the site has been up and down this week, and for a while it went through a time warp and turned into a 2005 version of itself. It's been a week of crazy technical screw ups that have prevented me from promoting the Sherwood vote as much I'd have liked. Sorry for all the chaos.
Recently, I added some PayPal links to the site. If you appreciate my website, feel free to donate a buck or two to its upkeep. Look at the green sidebar -- the TipJar isn't on every page. I left them off the kid-friendly Beginner's Guide, for example.
Finally, ComicMix.com features online comics, and this week saw the premiere of Demons of Sherwood by artist/co-writer Bo Hampton and co-writer Robert Tinnell. Expect some interviews up here about this new comic.
October 30, 2007
The folks at IESB have posted a script review of the first draft of Nottingham, the upcoming film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe. As I mentioned earlier, it sounds somewhat like the P.C. Doherty mystery novel Assassin in the Greenwood only far less sedate. Producer Brian Glazer recently said "Nottingham is the ‘Gladiator’ version of Robin Hood" over on MTV Movies Blog. The script review suggests the action takes place during Richard's captivity, but the MTV article states that the sheriff witnesses King Richard's death, placing the story a few years later. (Incidentally, King Richard didn't die on his way home from the Crusades but years later in France.) In articles circulating in various papers today, such as Scotland's Daily Record, Crowe notes "I'm a big Robin Hood fan and have been since I was a little kid." He went on to say "We'll have a look at the Hollywood mythology and how much of that is embedded in the psyche of people when they think of Robin Hood." And finally, "I tell you this - Richard the Lionheart won't be bounding up in the last scene and saving the day. Richard was a bloke who only spoke French. And who only spent six months of his 10-year reign in England. And besides, Richard Harris is dead." (The late Richard Harris played a nasty King Richard in Robin and Marian.
I'll have more news on this later, but Sherwood Forest has a bid in on the People's Lottery Giveaway. A victory would mean 50 million pounds to plant new trees, build a new visitor's centre and well, just revitalize one of Robin's homes. Brian Blessed, who played Robin's father in Prince of Thieves has publicly supported the bid. If you live in the UK, please consider voting for it. More information can be found at Sherwood: The Living Legend's bid page and www.robinhood.co.uk.
October 11, 2007
Rocket Robin Hood is coming to DVD. For those of you who didn't grow up in Canada, this 1960s animated series featured the adventures of Robin's 30th Century descendant and his intrepid band based on Sherwood Asteroid. An early episode features a time-travelling team-up with the original Robin. Later episodes are bizarre and produced by Ralph Bakshi (some episodes were recycled into his Spider-Man series). The San Diego Comic Con often shows episodes in their Worst Cartoons Ever panel. Buy them on Amazon.ca.
Rocket Robin Hood V1 Ep.1-26 and Rocket Robin Hood V2 Ep.26-52
October 6, 2007
I've been delaying publishing a review of the BBC/Tiger Aspect Robin Hood series, pending some discussions with the BBC Publicity department. But as the second series hits the UK airwaves tonight, I've decided that I have waited long enough. Read the Spotlight Review to find out what I thought was good and not so good about the first series (updates will follow in future weeks about the second series) and also a special feature article about the Crusades in the Robin Hood legend.
Also, the 2nd volume of Robin of Sherwood DVD has been released in North America. These episodes are from the third season with Jason Connery as Robin. You can order it on Amazon.com
February 1, 2007
Russell Crowe is to play the Sheriff of Nottingham in an upcoming movie where Robin is the prime suspect in murders. This isn't the first time the sheriff has been portrayed as heroic. An earlier example was the novel The Sheriff of Nottingham by Richard Kluger, although the ne'er-do-well Robin only had a minor role in that book. Robin was, unjustly, a murder suspect in the P.C. Doherty novel, The Assassin in the Greenwood. The new movie's script is by Ethan Reiff. I wish the new project well. Actually, I think Crowe would have been an excellent choice to play the tougher Robin Hood of the early ballads.
December 28, 2006
It's been a long time coming, but Robin of Sherwood will finally get a proper North American DVD release starting in March 2007. You can now pre-order the first set (all Michael Praed episodes) on Amazon.com. It will have nearly all the many special features as the European release, except for a Clannad video. I've updated a few of the pages to reflect this good news.
December 16, 2006
I've been away from the site for a while. While I have seen several episodes of the new BBC series, I did not write a review yet. I'll probably craft one for after the series finale. I did, however, add a brief mention of Djaq when talking of the Muslim band members in the Film and Fantasy section of my Wolfshead through the Ages page.
October 7, 2006
Well, I'm still working on my articles about my most recent trip. But today is a rather important day, as the new Robin Hood TV series starring Jonas Armstrong (the tapes were recovered) premieres on BBC One tonight. I hope it's enjoyable and introduces a new generation of fans to the Robin Hood legend.
Living in Canada, I won't see the episode for about a week or so (depending on when a very dear friend mails me a copy), but expect a lengthy review when I do see it. (I don't know if I'll review every episode, but I'll definitely cover a few of them in detail. I am especially looking forward to the episodes written by Paul Cornell, as I enjoyed his work on Doctor Who.) I also hope to have other special features related to the new programme.
But feel free to discuss the new show over at the Blue Boar Inn, I've created a special forum for the new series. I've also inserted a few references about the new show into my Wolfshead Through the Ages article about the history of the Robin Hood legend.
Oh, and you may have see some recent news articles talking about how American "historian" Stephen R. Lawhead has proved that the original Robin Hood was Welsh. Sigh. It's a sign of our times that newspapers are unable to tell the difference between fact and fiction. Lawhead's new book Hood is a novel, a work of historical fiction. I wish that reporters were able to make that distinction.
August 28, 2006
This morning, the British tabloids are reporting that HD master tapes for the new BBC Robin Hood series have been stolen and are now being held by Eastern European gangsters for a ransom of 1 million pounds. Cruel irony or publicity stunt? Here's the link to the Daily Mirror's article.
Meanwhile, I have added a couple of links for websites related to the new series. Hopefully it will make it to air soon. But if you want to watch something Robin Hood-related while you are waiting, I've added more videos to the Recommended Viewing page.
August 12, 2006
I recently flew to England to take part in a new BBC documentary about Robin Hood, which will be used to launch their new series. The interview was conducted at the 2006 Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest. I'll be expanding my Personal Journey section and even writing a spotlight about the Festival in the coming days. Meanwhile, I have added quite a few new photos to my Picture Gallery of Nottingham, Sherwood and the Festival.. And yes, obviously I have been in touch with the publicity folks for the new BBC series (due to air in September), and I hope to have some updates on that really soon.
The festival was showing a two-minute trailer for the new BBC series. It begins with (I assume) Little John asking "Are you Robin of Locksley -- Robert, earl of Huntingdon?" When Robin says yes, Little John replies "Good" and then punches our hero. Of course, there's some swordfighting and archery, and the trailer has something of a jokey manner.
March 22, 2006
More casting announcements have appeared in the Daily Mirror. 19-year old Lucy Griffiths will be Maid Marian, Keith Allen will cause trouble as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Richard Armitage will play Guy of Gisbourne. Filming should start soon.
Feb. 18, 2006
The Daily Mirror has announced the BBC's new Robin Hood - little-known actor Jonas Armstrong. The series will film in Hungary and air in the same pre-watershed timeslot as the new Doctor Who. I hope it is as creatively and critically successful as the new adventures of the Doctor.
Jan. 25, 2006
Today, I turned on the hotlink protection on my site. You see, a lot of blogs, dating profiles and idiotic skateboarding message boards have been loading images directly from my site. I'm stuck paying the bandwidth costs, and these sites don't even acknowledge me. Read up on bandwidth theft to understand this widespread problem. Things are a bit busy now, but I promise I will have an update by early February.
Jan. 3, 2006
Happy New Year! I started off the New Year by winning the 2005 Content Site of the Year Award from Vie's Inn of Wonders. It's quite an honour. You can read a brief interview with me here
October 27, 2005
I've added a few new links to the ballads of the Curtal Friar (Friar Tuck), Little John and Maid Marian directing them to other articles on my site about those characters.
October 25, 2005
The BBC has officially confirmed the new Robin Hood TV series. It will be written by Dominic Minghella, and produced by Tiger Aspect. They're still shopping for Robin Hoods, although earlier this year James McAvoy and singer Robbie Williams had been raised as possible Robins. A BBC news article can be found here.
And paying homage to past TV Robin Hoods, I added a bit more information on the famous theme song to my article on The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene.
October 23, 2005
My site was unavailable for a day and half as my webhost had some major problems. Sorry if you couldn't log on during that time. (Note to my webhost: People like it if you actually apologize for inconveniences.)
October 21, 2005
I've just won the Gold Award from Vie's Inn of Wonders, which is quite an honour. I've also added a brief summary of my experiences at the recent 2005 Robin Hood academic conference to my Personal Journey page.
September 24, 2005
Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the first UK transmission of the classic TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene. So, I've written Spotlight review of this fondly-remembered show.
August 22, 2005
I'm pretty busy at the moment working on my paper for the upcoming Robin Hood academic conference. However, my site has just won the Gold Site of the Month Lynx Award, which means I've added a new graphic to my Awards page.
August 4, 2005
I've just added a review of the 1952 Ivanhoe film starring Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor to the Spotlight of the Month section. It's only the first part in a series of Ivanhoe-related spotlights.
July 14, 2005
One of my favourite TV series of recent years has been the refurbished and re-invented Doctor Who. Its great success for the BBC has made the channel consider reviving other TV heroes of days past. In particular, a new Robin Hood TV series is being considered for the BBC's return to Saturday night family viewing. Commissioner of BBC Drama Jane Tranter remarks “Like Dr Who, we would try and reinvent it with a degree of modernity." I wish them well. Actually, much of what makes the new Dr. Who series tick would work very well for Robin Hood. The outlaw hero has become too safe in recent centuries, and he could use the kind of edge that Christopher Eccleston's Doctor has. But while Robin Hood needs some grit, you can't forget the humour. Even when he was brigand decapitating his foes, Robin had a sense of humour. Oh, and my choice for a TV Robin? I still say that Sean Bean would make a great Robin. (Oh, and pretty much television's first Robin Hood was Patrick Troughton who went on to play the Doctor.)
The Mirror.co.uk website reports that Dominic Minghella will write the series and that it might star James McAvoy. But given that the Mirror wrongly said the BBC has never done a Robin Hood TV series (the Troughton one, the 1975 The Legend of Robin Hood and Maid Marian and her Merry Men), that Errol Flynn was the first Robin Hood (forgetting about Douglas Fairbanks and the other silent screen Robins) and misspelled the name of some Robin Hood actors - well, I'd take the article with a grain of salt.
June 21, 2005
I was a bit hasty in my last update. Real life has got in the way, and the Ivanhoe spotlight is still being written. I think it will be worth the wait. I have just updated the Wolfshead Through the Ages section that mentions Ivanhoe, however.
Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of this site being moved to its new URL at www.boldoutlaw.com. There are still many websites out there that link to my old site. Sigh.
March 31, 2005
I've added a few new links to my Legendary Links section. I'm also working on a very lengthy spotlight about Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, which should be posted within a week.
March 16, 2005
It's been a while, but I've finally completed a new spotlight review. This one is on Princess of Thieves, a 2001 TV movie starring Keira Knightley as Robin Hood's daughter. The spotlight also contains information about other stories that feature Robin's offspring.
A few weeks ago, the British press announced that Nottinghamshire was shedding its Robin Hood image in favour of a slanted N logo. It's not the first time that a "we've got more than just Robin Hood" sentiment from Nottinghamians has been reported in the press as a "Robin Hood? We're so over him!" attitude. As someone who has spent a lot of time promoting Robin Hood and Nottingham, I feel a bit hurt. I come from a Canadian city that's similar to Nottingham in many respects, with a bit of unsavoury reputation across the country. I know that Hamilton, Ontario would trade its soul to have an internationally-recognized tourism icon like Robin Hood. I suspect the outlaw hero will reclaim his former place on Nottinghamshire tourism brouchures before too long. In the meantime, this gives Yorkshire tourism folks a chance to further their own claim on the legend.
December 19, 2004
I've added a bit about Robin Hood's traditional death dates to the Beginner's Guide page. Also, I have expanded the "Comic Books and Copycats" page of the Wolfshead Through the Ages section. I've mentioned the "Jaynestown" episode of the Firefly series where one of the smuggler heroes acquires an undeserved Robin Hood-like reputation. The western style of that science fiction show allowed me to segue into the various "Robin Hood of..." westerns starring Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, and also the Robin Hood qualities in the legends of Billy the Kid and Jesse James. I also added another political figure, the late Tooker Gomberg. As a mayoral candidate in Toronto, he once dressed up as the outlaw hero and aimed a suction cup arrow at the mayor. Gomberg got my vote.
October 20, 2004
I've just added The Debate Over Robin Hood Country. This features interviews with David Hinchliffe, MP for Wakefield, and Graham Allen, MP for Nottingham North, on whether the Robin Hood legend belongs to Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire.
September 28, 2004
I've just added a timeline for the television series, Robin of Sherwood. I originally wrote this for a mailing list several years ago. It has appeared on other websites, and so I thought I should add it to my own site.
August 6, 2004:
I've just added a new Spotlight review article on Antonia Fraser's Robin Hood, a children's novel from the 1950s. I'm still working on an extra-long spotlight for the film Robin and Marian.
Also, I have added some new information to the Wolfshead Through the Ages section, mostly about the Reginald de Koven and Harry B. Smith comic opera.
June 20, 2004:
What's new? A lot. Today sees the official launch of my new URL, www.boldoutlaw.com. If you've been to my site at the old location, some of the changes should be apparent. There's a green navigational bar at side now. I've added new sections such as How to Use This Site, a search engine and Site Map.
Also, I have posted three new interviews.
Elsa Watson is the author of the novel Maid Marian.
John Hartshorne was the Sheriff of Nottingham in 2003 - 2004, and has recently been installed as the city's Lord Mayor.
Izi Banton is the Park Manager of Sherwood Forest Country Park -- yes, the real Sherwood.
And I'm not finished improving the site. Coming in the next couple of days is a very indepth Spotlight on the film Robin and Marian, some additions to my Wolfshead pages and more.
As the Sheriff of Nottingham (in Robin of Sherwood) once said ... "it's not over. It will never be over."
Care to see what was new in years past? Visit the What's New Archive.
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