Maid Marian and Her Merry Men - Series 1 and 2 (4 discs)

Region 2 UK Imports

BBC

Each set presented in a standard dvd case containing 2 discs each, along with an 8page comic with each set. Each series presented in a slipcase.

Media excellent condition with slipcases showing minimal shelfwear

Running time: 146 minutes each series. Special features include Quizes, Karaoke, Commentaries and more.

Maid Marian and her Merry Men is a British children's television series created and written by Tony Robinson and directed by David Bell, airing from late 1989 to early 1994. The show was a partially musical comedy retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, placing Maid Marian in the role of leader of the Merry Men, and reducing Robin to an 'incompetent' ex-tailor.

The programme has been likened to Blackadder, not only for its historical setting and the presence of Tony Robinson (as well as early, uncredited, script editing work being undertaken by Richard Curtis), but also for its comic style. Many of the show's cast, such as Howard Lew Lewis, Forbes Collins, John Rapley, Ramsay Gilderdale and Patsy Byrne, had previously appeared in various episodes of Blackadder alongside Robinson.

Many of the plots featured, included or revolved around spoofing particular things, including films such as Jurassic Park and It Came from Outer Space, and television programmes, including The Crystal Maze and the long-running televised fundraisers Children in Need and Comic Relief. There were also frequent references to other Robin Hood incarnations, most notably ITV's Robin of Sherwood (and in particular that series' theme song by Clannad, "Robin (The Hooded Man)" is lampooned in the episode "The Whitish Knight") and the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The latter actually features Howard Lew Lewis (Rabies) among its cast.

Protagonists

Maid Marian (Kate Lonergan): a passionate and idealistic freedom fighter and de facto leader of the "Merry Men" (though this is never recognised by anyone outside the group). She is by far the most intelligent of the gang, but often lets her idealism blind her to reality, most notably the rest of the gang's incompetence. She also is not very patient, but will always defend anyone who she feels is wronged. She often has mud in her hair.

Robin of Kensington (Wayne Morris): an extremely vain tailor and a yuppie. Came to be seen as the leader of Marian's gang by accident, and remains so because he sees it as a cool image to cultivate. His most significant contribution to the outlaws was nevertheless to insist that they all wear green "to co-ordinate with the trees".

Barrington (Danny John-Jules): the resident Rasta Merry Man, who would often rap during the episodes' songs. He sometimes acts as a kind of semi-omniscient narrator (in a similar manner to Alan-a-Dale in more traditional versions). Barrington's name may be a reference to Jamaican musician Barrington Levy, due to his 1980 album titled Robin Hood.

Little Ron (Mike Edmonds): a very short, aggressive and violent Merry Man who usually faces the wrong way in ambushes. A parody of Little John. He is the second strongest Merry Man of the group, beaten only by Rabies.

Rabies (Howard Lew Lewis): another Merry Man, very strong, and very stupid, although with his heart in the right place.

Antagonists

King John (Forbes Collins): who also played John's brother, Richard the Lionheart, in the episode "The Whitish Knight", and Queen Eleanor, Guy of Gisbourne's mother: a violent and unstable monarch. He is narcissistic and insecure, and becomes very angry at the thought of being unpopular with the peasants. His brother, who was thought to be a wise ruler who would bring England back to a Golden Age, is identical.

The Sheriff of Nottingham (Tony Robinson): a devious plotter obsessed with collecting taxes. Given the first name 'Arnold' in the episode "Keeping Mum", ostensibly only to produce a later pun (Arnold being a suburb of Nottingham). While he is dedicated to stopping Marian, they sometimes find themselves in sympathy with each other regarding the complete stupidity of everyone else.

Gary and Graeme (Mark Billingham and David Lloyd): guards of the King's castle, and the Sheriff's henchmen. They are "bestest mates" and extremely affable, but in the tradition of clever villains with idiot sidekicks, not very clever most of the time. They are often very friendly with the Merry Men, who tend to return the sentiment except when Gary and Graeme are doing what they are paid for. Graeme has a (never seen) brother called Kevin. Graeme tends to enjoy things like torture and teasing the villagers more than Gary does, though Gary will challenge Graeme for the chance to do executions. Gary is shown as completely devoted to his job, to the point of obsession; when sacked, he refused to leave the Sheriff's side and carried on as though he had not been fired.

Guy of Gisbourne (Ramsay Gilderdale): King John's wet-behind-the-ears nephew, who has come to live with him at the insistence of his mother, the king's older sister, Queen Eleanor. A village idiot, and mummy's boy, Guy is widely held in contempt by the heroes and villains alike. He is aged 27 but seems to have a mental age of about 5, and has an imaginary friend and occasionally dresses in a tutu. He is forever talking gibberish to himself and making irrelevant and meaningless interjections during the baddies' councils. King John does not want to be saddled with his nephew, but obeys his sister's orders out of fear that she will "do that nasty thing with the pencils" to him, just as she used to when they were children.

"Rotten" Rose Scargill (Siobhan Fogarty): rival to Maid Marian and both Marian's best friend and worst enemy. She is Robin Hood's biggest fan.

Series One: 1989 (with songs featured also mentioned)

How The Band Got Together: "Mud" (sung by Barrington)

Robert The Incredible Chicken: "The Story So Far" (sung by Barrington); "The Sheriff's Excuse" (sung by Barrington)

A Game Called John: "Pancake Day" (sung by Barrington)

The Miracle of St Charlene: "Gotta Get Across" (sung by Barrington, Marian, Robin, Rabies and Little Ron)

The Sharp End of a Cow: "Popular" (sung by the Peasants)

The Whitish Knight: "The White Knight / The Whitish Knight" (a take-off on "Robin (The Hooded Man)", the theme song to the ITV series Robin of Sherwood)

Series Two: 1990

The Beast of Bolsover: "Ambush" (sung by Barrington)

The Worksop Egg Fairy: "What Is Happening Here?" (sung by Barrington); "Bop for an Egg" (sung by Barrington and the Peasants)

Little Brown Noses: "Against The Law" (sung by Barrington); "Colin's Release Song" (a take on Band Aid; sung by Marian, Robin, Barrington and Rabies)

Rabies in Love: "Rabies in Love"; "Wedding Today" (sung by Nettle and the Peasants)

Rotten Rose (Part One): "Robin Hood" (a take-off on Bananarama; sung by Rose, Gladys and Cowpat)

Rotten Rose (Part Two): "Rotten Rose" (sung by Barrington)