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Dominic Minghella on Robin Hood clichés - Radio Times, October 2006 |
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John Naughton asks the series writer which of the legend's much-loved clichés have made it into this version.
JN: Will Robin fight Little John
with a staff on a narrow bridge
over a river?
DM: No. 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.
Will the Outlaws (formerly the
Merry Men) communicate with
subtly disguised bird calls?
Almost never. Now and then there's
a whistle, but there's no horn and
there's no daft calling.
Will Robin split the shaft
of a rival's arrow in an
archery competition?
No, but we do have an archery
contest and Robin actually
helps someone else win it.
We have incredible archery.
Our world is 90 per cent
grounded in reality and 10 per
cent fantasy, but without
ridiculous archery it wouldn't
be Robin Hood.
Does anyone ever slap his thigh
and say "Zounds"?
No, and no again. Most of the time
they talk in believable medieval and
we're trying to avoid faux-medieval.
Do the Outlaws ever arrive
unexpectedly in a glade by
swinging on a vine?
No. There's a little bit of Robin
dropping down from a window
ledge, but no ropes. Or vines.
Do we ever hear crowds shout, "Long live
King Richard, down with King John"?
No. Our guys are supportive of the king and ambivalent
about his decision to go to war, but they believe when
he comes back all will be well in England. There's no
King John. The Sheriff of Nottingham represents him.
Does Robin ever disguise
himself as an old man?
There's a lot of disguise, but I don't
think we have him as an old man.
Do the Sheriff's men, heavily clad
in armour, ever get in each other's
way on a spiral staircase and thus
allow one of Robin's gang to escape
from their clutches?
Not exactly, but the flavour of that
is definitely there.
Will we hear
sing-songs in
dappled woodland
glades?
No. Much
would like to
take time out for
a song, but Robin
never lets him.
Will any arrows land with a thud
in a tree trunk inches from
someone's head?
Yes. Absolutely every episode.
That's our stock in trade.
**
Now take a look at our full Robin Hood guide.
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