The New Adventures Of Robin Hood - The Complete
First Season (1997/Warner DVD Set)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: D
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD set can only be ordered
from The WB Shop at the website address provided at the end of the review.
To prove
just how played out Robin Hood is, you do not have to see the Ridley Scott/Russell
Crowe feature or think about what a joke Mel Brooks made of the character in
his unfunny feature film (based on a supposedly funnier TV show), but go back to
1997 and see how the bad it can get on TV.
In an attempt to recast the myth in the Xena/Hercules mode,
which was very successful in syndication at the time, The New Adventures Of Robin Hood - The Complete First Season attempted
to mimic the success of those shows and somehow lasted four seasons.
This one
was so awkward that they changed the lead in the middle of its run, with
Matthew Porretta (Beverly Hills 90210) as Robin, Anna Galvin (TV’s The Sentinel) as a tough, ready-to-fight Marion and they even got
Christopher Lee to show up in some episodes.
Like Xena, it is jokey, silly, makes the outdoors look phony, has bad
writing, goofy fighting and lacks storylines with any credibility, memorablilty
or point. There is nothing interesting
to see, the digital effects are extremely dated and all 13 hour-long shows are
here on 4 DVDs.
Of
course, this seems like the time to issue the show since the Scott’ Robin Hood may be the last big
production for a while (though BBC still has their hit Robin Hood series going that Warner also distributes as of now) but
the show looks so cheap that event he costumes all around seem more comical
than they should be. Unless you are a
severe completist or your curiosity is beyond belief, there is no reason to
bother with this set, but you can now see it for yourself either way.
The 1.33
X 1 image on all the episodes are soft throughout and are apparently finished
on old analog NTSC video. There are
detail issues and color is odd throughout.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has very faint Pro Logic surrounds and can
be a little harsh throughout, so be careful of playback volume. There are no extras.
As noted
above, you can search for and order this DVD set exclusively from The WB Shop
at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
- Nicholas Sheffo
