Radio Times

• Episode 1/13 Will You Tolerate This?

  Robin of Locksley returns to England after five years away spent fighting in the Crusades. But he's shocked to discover just how much his home has changed. He challenges the new Sheriff of Nottingham over his hardline approach, which has cost the villagers dear, but is met with disdain. With four men facing the gallows, Robin must make a tough choice. Meanwhile, childhood sweetheart Marian gives him the cold shoulder.

  RT Choice (Alison Graham, 7 October 2006)

  It's hard not to feel that there was an awful lot of box-ticking when TV bosses discussed a new series of Robin Hood for Saturday tea time. A cute lead who looks like he might have auditioned for Busted for the teenage girls in the audience (tick); gratuitous shots of cleavage for the dads (tick); Richard Armitage in black leather and eyeliner for the mums (tick); and sword fights for little boys (tick). You see - something for all the family.

  Strangely, though, this is hardly stirring stuff. Jonas Armstrong as Robin is a pipsqueak of the type you'd send into the garden to play with his bow and arrow, just to get him out of the grown-ups' way. And what's the point of casting Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham if there's no chance for him to sink his teeth into the scenery?

• Episode 2/13 Sheriff Got Your Tongue?

  The Sheriff tries to bribe the people of Locksley to inform on Robin - and when that fails, he threatens to use violence. Robin and his friends, meanwhile, are at the mercy of Little John and his gang, former criminals who have faked their deaths and are hiding out in Sherwood Forest. When Little John hears there's money to be had turning Robin in, the temptation is just too great…

  RT Choice (Alison Graham, 14 October 2006)

  After last week's lacklustre opener, things start to pick up in Dominic Minghella's reworking of the legend when Robin joins forces with his Merry Men. Or, as they are known here, the Outlaws (as some kind of homage to Just William and his naughty pals, maybe?)

  They are a raggle-taggle group who, en masse, look like Mancunian indie rockers the Happy Mondays rather than a band of cheery fighting types all set to do good in the face of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (Keith Allen, who's found his feet in the role and is superbly, even cheekily, menacing).

  If you can ignore what I took to be a horribly clumsy attempt at drawing a parallel with current anti-terror laws, this is good tea-time fun, though parents of very young children should be aware that there are brief, potentially distressing, scenes involving the torture of villagers.

• Episode 3/13 Who Shot the Sheriff?

  A sniper's at work and the Sheriff narrowly escapes becoming a victim. Robin finds himself suspected of the murders and must join forces with the Sheriff in a risky plan to unmask the real killer. Marian, meanwhile, investigates some of the likely culprits: the chief archer Lacey and master-at-arms De Fourtnoy. But what part does the mysterious Nightwatchman play in events?

  RT Choice (David Butcher, 21 October 2006)

  "We are going to win hearts and minds!" declares the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham, as he vows to uphold law and order in the face of terrorism. Sorry, I mean in the face of Robin Hood's acts of "random, chaotic cruelty", as he puts it, but I think we all know what the writer is driving at here.

  It's all part of the subtle-as-a-thumbscrew subtext of this adventure yarn. The only problem with a Robin Hood: Prince of Pacifists angle is that our war-damaged hero ends up seeming bloodless in every sense. ("I am no killer!") He must be the first swashbuckler in history who never hurts a soul and shies away from a fight whenever he can. Still, at least Robin's Jedi-like powers allow him to steal into the sheriff's bedroom (and, amazingly, his moving carriage) at will, making for some nicely charged encounters.

  This [episode's] plot is lacking in tension (there's a blindingly obvious twist) but not in enjoyment, as Keith Allen (the Sheriff) and William Beck (Roy) steal their respective scenes and show the rest of the cast what acting looks like.

• Episode 4/13 Parent Hood

  The Sheriff kidnaps Roy and forces him to make a terrible choice: kill Robin, or see his mother hanged. Meanwhile, Marian pays the price for defying the Sheriff. The outlaws come across a baby in Sherwood Forest and try to track down the child's parents. Later, as Marian treats an injured Robin, the pair have a heart-to-heart about their past and what the future might hold.

  RT Choice (Sarah Dempster, 28 October 2006)

  Robin stumbles upon a baby in the Sherwood undergrowth. Within seconds, he's cooing about his "allegiance" to the mysterious tot, a development that results in lots of shots of the titular maverick engaging in swordfights while clutching said gurgler to his heaving, hessian-clad breast.

  It's all a bit silly, really, and there's the suspicion that Robin's new charge has been introduced solely to remind us, once again, that this is an altogether nobler, more sensitive brand of bloodthirsty itinerant felon. Thankfully, Keith Allen's magnificent sheriff is on hand to offer some much-needed dark relief.

• Episode 5/13 Turk Flu

  The Sheriff plans to use Saracen slave labour when his miners go on strike. Gisborne sets about putting down the miners' rebellion, earning himself a mortal enemy in the process. Robin and the gang plot to disrupt the Sheriff's plans, with the help of one of the Saracen prisoners. Meanwhile, there's excitement over the impending silver arrow competition at the Nottingham Fair.

  RT Choice (Alison Graham, 4 November 2006)

  I assume the writer has gone out of his way not to fill his version of Robin Hood with Ye Olde English dialogue. Sadly, his efforts not to be crusty turn some patches of this drama into a fancy-dress episode of Hollyoaks.

  It's good to see Keith Allen once more bringing some much-needed fun to this often po-faced series.

• Episode 6/13 The Taxman Cometh

  When the outlaws learn there's a mountain of money being stored at the castle, they're determined to steal the silver and redistribute it to the starving villagers. Meanwhile, a nun seeks sanctuary at the castle. Much to Gisborne's dismay, Marian herself decides to join her convent - perhaps less out of religious conviction than a desire to wrest control over her life from the men who would tell her how to act.

  RT Choice (Sarah Dempster, 11 November 2006)

  It's the sixth episode of this roaringly daft take on life in 12th-century Nottinghamshire, and anarchy has broken out in the wardrobe department. Where once the garb flaunted by Robin and his bow-pinging cronies appeared to have a slight connection to historical accuracy, it now makes them look like CBBC presenters on their way to a bracken convention.

  Things are no less bonkers elsewhere, with a storyline involving a dodgy tax inspector and a particularly fruitful haul of splutter-inducing dialogue. Thankfully, Keith Allen's on hand to take the edge off the nonsense.

• Episode 7/13 Brothers in Arms

  Robin saves another gang of outlaws from violent retribution, and there's surprise when it's discovered one of the men is Allan's long-lost brother Tom. But when he falls into the Sheriff's clutches, the gang must come up with a plan to save his life. Elsewhere, Gisborne discovers that Marian has betrayed him, and the Sheriff demands a high price for forgiveness.

• Episode 8/13 Tattoo? What Tattoo?

  In the wake of Gisborne and Marian's engagement, Robin and the gang gate-crash the celebrations. In the ensuing fight, Robin learns a disturbing fact about Gisborne. Djaq is captured and put to work by the Sheriff. The outlaws aren't about to give up on her, but Robin is distracted by the revelation about Gisborne. Can the gang pull off a rescue attempt without his leadership?

  RT Choice (Jane Rackham, 25 November 2006)

  Quite how this incarnation of Robin Hood ever manages to do any work on his redistribution of wealth project is beyond me.

  He spends far too much time standing around debating. Even during [a] punch-up with the traitorous Sir Guy of Gisborne (he's the Jean-Christophe Novelli lookalike sporting a black leather doublet and a clenched jaw), the outlaw talks so much, the rest of his merry men have time to infiltrate Nottingham Castle, attempt a rescue and return to Sherwood Forest before he stops yakking about king and country.

• Episode 9/13 A Thing Or Two about Loyalty

  Lambert, a scientist working at the castle, has invented an explosive powder. Worried about the Sheriff getting his hands on the potentially deadly concoction, Lambert hides the formula - but soon realises that the Sheriff will go to any lengths to uncover it. Elsewhere, Much falls in love with a servant girl, and Djaq disagrees with one of Robin's decisions.

• Episode 10/13 Peace? Off!

  Robin and the gang offer sanctuary to a traumatised Crusader. Meanwhile, Saladin sends Prince Malik to England to sue for peace - whereupon the Sheriff holds him to ransom. The Sheriff isn't the only one to spot an opportunity for financial gain, though. When they get wind of his plan, the outlaws set out to intercept the ransom payment. But they're in for a surprise…

  RT Choice (David Butcher, 9 December 2006)

  The Saracen version of Charlie's Angels drops by Sherwood Forest this week in a plot more than usually packed with absurdities. As ever, Keith Allen very nearly redeems the whole thing.

• Episode 11/13 Dead Man Walking

  Little John wades in to rescue his son when he's taken captive during a crackdown in Locksley - and ends up in chains himself. As the rest of the gang plan a rescue, the Sheriff has Alice, Little John's wife, arrested. The family are reunited in prison, where it becomes painfully clear that John's role as their provider and protector has been filled during his absence.

  RT Choice (Jane Rackham, 16 December 2006)

  [The Sheriff of Nottingham] might like to think about employing more soldiers to guard his castle. He seems to have only half a dozen, making it dead easy for Robin to evade capture and carry out rescue missions without the slightest hint of swashbuckling. Which is just what this series is missing. Let's hope the next episode will do better.

• Episode 12/13 The Return of the King

  Robin digs deeper into Gisborne's past, hoping to find evidence against him that will preclude his marriage to Marian. But he's shocked to discover Marian can see advantages in wedding the Sheriff's right-hand man. Robin and Marian's relationship is put to the test, but a tragedy brings the pair closer again. Elsewhere, Marian's father worries that the Sheriff is plotting to kill King Richard, while Allan and Will weigh up their options.

  RT Choice (Sarah Dempster, 23 December 2006)

  In a word: bonkers.

• Episode 13/13 A Clue: No

  Robin and his friends return triumphant from battle to grieve for Marian. Unexpected good news lifts their spirits, but Robin's euphoria doesn't last for long. Elsewhere Marian's father and like-minded lords prepare to make a stand against the Sheriff in support of the returning King. But Much realises these loyal men are in grave danger. Can the outlaws save Marian's father?

  RT Choice (David Butcher, 30 December 2006)

  After the ups and downs of last week's episode it's a reasonably rollicking plot, and it comes to a head with a piece of cartoon archery that allows the sheriff - and the series - to end on a high.

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