aid Marian and Her Merry Men

History & Overview

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Tony Robinson as the Sheriff, Wayne Morris as Robin, and Kate Lonergan as Marian (image copyright © BBC)

Robin and Marian are aided by a "ruthless band of freedom fighters" once described as "a Rasta, a wally, and a bearded avacado". The Rasta is Barrington (Danny John-Jules), super-cool and the most intelligent Merry Man next to Marian. "Wally" is a simple if accurate description of Sherwood's strongest and stupidest man, Rabies (Howard Lew Lewis), apparently born in a pigsty and raised by pigs. The final reference is somewhat hard to explain without going through the plot of the episode, but the "bearded avacado" is Little Ron (Mike Edmonds). Unlike his traditional namesake Little John, Ron is, in fact, very little - but he is also the most insanely violent man in Sherwood.

The Merry Men's mission is to free the oppressed villagers of Worksop from King John (Forbes Collins), a nasty piece of royal work who is essentially a childish bully. It is the Sheriff of Nottingham (Tony Robinson), however, who is their most cunning foe, even if his plans are nearly always ruined by King John or the stupidity of Gary (Mark Billingham) and Graeme (David Lloyd), his two guards.

"Ye Baddies" were joined in series two by Guy of Gisbourne (Ramsay Gilderdale), the King's nephew, sent to stay with John as a way of introducing him to the real world (which he has apparently never met); although Guy is twenty-seven, he has the mind of a particularly obnoxious six-year-old. In a two-part episode at the end of the second series, we meet one of Robin's biggest fans and an old friend of Marian's; "Rotten" Rose Scargill (Siobhan Foggarty). Rose is completely selfish and ruthless, and worse, almost as devious as the Sheriff.

The introduction of these two new characters gave new motivation to "Ye Baddies" and introduced new conflicts into the program. King John is constantly on the look-out for ways to be rid of Guy, but also must strive to keep him happy on pain of Queen Elinor doing "that disgusting thing with a pencil"... Rose and Marian are in constant friction; Rose will cheat, steal from and betray Marian for her own ends, and the Merry Men are frequently on the wrong end of her dealings with the Sheriff.

Marian (Kate Lonergan) and Robin (Wayne Morris) successfully obscure Rabies (Howard Lew Lewis) and Barrington (Danny John-Jules) in this publicity shot from series two (image copyright © BBC)

The peasants of Worksop are generally the focus of every episode; it is they who are predominantly in need of the Merry Men's assistance. Despite their vital importance, however, there are only two who play a major part in most episodes; Gladys (Hilary Mason) and Snooker (Robin Chandler) represent the cream of Worksop...or at least, the stuff that floats to the top...

By the third series, the King's dungeon had aquired the regular presence of Weasel (John Dallimore), previously one of the Beast of Bolsover's henchmen (The Beast of Bolsover), and in series four he was joined by Walter. Dungeon scenes ridculing King John's inability to terrorise these two became a regular joke, and formed a key part of the plot in The Wise Woman of Worksop. The only other villagers who have played important roles have been children, most notably Nettle (who appeared in most of series two). Hayley played a similar role in They Came From Outer Space.

Each episode features at least one song; originally, these songs told part of the story and were sung by Danny John-Jules as Barrington, and short four-line verses were used to bridge scenes in the first two episodes. They were occassionally performed by the cast members themselves in later episodes, but more often other artists' voices were dubbed over the top, with the actors miming along (providing yet another opportunity for in-jokes). Danny John-Jules continued to sing intermittently, but Wayne Morris was most prolific, always performing Robin's songs himself.

The songs were often accompanied by parodies of cliche ridden dance routines; indeed, the songs and even the episodes themselves often parodied anything and everything, from television darts coverage to Star Trek. Many of the jokes stem from modern topical references, sometime without even altering the facts to fit the 1190s. For example, Gladys refuses to miss her neighbours because she has to know what's happening on Ramsay street, the GCSE (General Certificate of School Education, record of high-school level of acheivement) is often referred to, and the Worksop-Scunthorpe Tunnel will be finished on July 6, 1996.

The first series was a more-or-less complete story cycle of how the merry men formed their band and gained noteriety, and is (very loosely) based on the more traditional story of Robin Hood. Later episodes were largely self-contained, and each series was made up of six episodes. A Christmas special was made for 1992 but not broadcast until 1993 (see the entry for details), and series four boasted an extra seventh episode, Voyage to the Bottom of the Forest, in which the Merry Men are transported into a parallel universe.

David Lloyd has informed me that the Maid Marian team are trying to get a new series off the ground, possibly as an animated series, or to write a screenplay together. So keep your fingers crossed for them! :)