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On Television |
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 JONAS ARMSTRONG ...the darker, more realistic Robin Hood |
'Robin' leads the pack of
upcoming March TV gems
of TheColumnists.com
It’s a different
kind of hood, “Robin
Hood,” coming to BBC America. This
is not the Robin Hood of Kevin Costner’s 1991 big-screen
“Robin Hood Prince of Thieves,” or even the 1955 TV
series “The New Adventures of Robin Hood,” filmed in
England and
starring Richard Greene. And it's certainly not the swashbuckling
American version of 1938 with Errol Flynn.
No, folks, this Robin Hood is probably the screen version that
comes closest to portraying the reality of the legendary (we
don’t really know if he was real) man in tights, supposedly
a hero to common folks centuries ago in England. This was the
man who made the Sheriff of Nottingham gnash his teeth on a regular
basis.
Young British actor Jonas Armstrong (he’s 25) is Robin,
and Lucy Griffiths (she’s 19) is Marian, his on-again, off-again,
would-be girlfriend in this 13-part tale of how things were way-
back-when in England’s Sherwood Forest.
The plot is as old as time--good versus evil. Robin and his manservant
Much (Sam Troughton) have returned home from the Crusades in
the Holy Land. Looking for some peace and quiet in the lush English
countryside of his home, Locksley, instead they find people are
starving, the government and its leaders corrupt, and the citizenry
burdened with heavy taxes. Over all this rules the ruthless Sheriff
of Nottingham (Keith Allen) and his right hand man, the ambitious
bully Sir Guy of Gisborne (Richard Armitage). Guy also has an
eye for the ladies...Marian being his particular target.
As in any good-versus-bad tale, Robin decides it is up to him
to right the wrongs. Obviously, he can’t do it alone with
only his manservant Much, so he seeks out help. This help comes
in the form of some not so merry and not so upstanding men. In
fact, Robin’s cohorts are really just a few steps above
being outlaws: The ingenious Will Scarlett (Harry Lloyd), muscle
man Little John (Gordon Kennedy), liar and scamster Allan-a-Dale
(Joe Armstrong) and Djaq (Aljali Jay), a Saracen woman disguised
as a man.
This version of “Robin Hood” (filmed in Hungary) was
written and executive produced by Dominic Minghella and, though
its basic story outline is similar to the Robins that have come
before it, it’s not much like those tales. This thoroughly
enjoyable Robin Hood is grittier, action-filled, romantic, a
bit comedic at times and also a bit campy.
It’s well worth an hour a week of your time and should not
be missed.
A PEEK INSIDE NORTH KOREA
In the new program
"Explorer: Inside
North Korea" (March 5 at 9 p.m. Eastern
and Pacific on the National Geographic Channel, the series' "go-to"
girl, correspondent Lisa Ling, is on the road and in disguise
to bring viewers a look at the secretive
nation of North Korea ruled by Kim Jong ll, aka “Dear Leader.”
Ling is not the first American to get into the country. Last
fall ABC’s Diane Sawyer and her film crew turned up there,
monitored every step of the way by Korean chaperones (called
minders). This also happens to Ling, who got in by accompanying
a Nepalese eye surgeon, Dr. Sanduk Ruit, on his humanitarian
mission to perform 1,000 eye surgeries on blind--or nearly blind--North
Koreans in under 10 days.
Ling and her crew posed as members of Dr.
Ruit’s team, with him to document on film his medical procedures.
But Ling and her crew managed to film a lot more in the country
than just eye surgeries...often doing so under the noses of the
minders.
They also saw a lot more they couldn’t film...like people
without the basic necessities of life...food, water, cleaning
materials, basic medicine. Security was so strict that Ling’s
crew was not even allowed to film a statue of the Great Leader.
Had they done so, they would have been kicked out of the country.
North Korean defectors also get their say in this documentary,
including a concentration camp guard, a former advisor to Kim
Jong ll, and a soldier who defected to South Korea. All say the
same thing: There is no freedom in North Korea.
'AbFab' team reunited in new show
The name Jennifer
Saunders may not ring a lot of bells for the average American
TV viewer. But couple it with “Absolutely Fabulous”
and it should strike a chord with many. Saunders and her longtime
writing partner, actress Dawn French, created "AbFab,”
which co-starred Saunders and Joanna Lumley. It was a big hit
on both sides of the pond.
Now Saunders, French and Lumley are reunited in a new comedy
from the U.K., “Clatterford,” (Friday, March 9, on BBC America, 9 p.m. Eastern,
10 p.m. Pacific). It's set in a women’s club in Clatterford,
a small town in Devon.
Clatterford has its share of eccentrics,
including the outspoken old lady Delilah (an almost unrecognizable
Lumley) who rides a bike with training wheels around town; Saunders,
who plays Caroline, a horseback riding lady of the manor who
boasts of spending time with local celeb Madonna; local nurse
Sal (Sue Johnston) who has avoided joining the club like the
plague until her life changes abruptly and she needs somewhere
to go; and Rosie, (French) who sometimes suffers from a mental
disorder which brings out her not-so-nice alter ego. Add in some
other rather quirky characters and you have a picture of Clatterford.
This isn’t a hit-you-over-the head loud comedy. It’s
quiet and charming in an offbeat way. Much like the town of Clatterford
itself. But the main reason to watch is the high-power cast.
One doesn’t often get to see so many top British actors
in one small series--but you do in this one. Give it a try.
TUBENOTES
For those who were wondering, BBC America’s
“Footballer’s
Wives” will return in June with all
new episodes. And Joan Collins will be joining the cast of regulars,
including Zoe Lucker (Tanya) and Laila Rouass (Amber), to help
spice things up. As if things need to be spiced up any more!
And, yes, it’s true--there may be an American version of
the show coming. ABC has commissioned a pilot of the show, to
be called “Football Wives” on this side of the Atlantic,
which could land on the network’s fall schedule. Signed
on so far are Lucy Lawless (ex-"Xena" and most recently
ex-Cylon D’Anna on “Battlestar Galactica”) and
Gabrielle Union (of the short-lived “Night
Stalker” series). Lawless will play Tanya and Union will
play Chardonnay.
They weren’t called The Dark Ages
without reason. And just how dark were they? The History Channel
will answer that question in a documentary that covers the Dark
Ages --the period of time from the fall of Rome to the First
Crusade in a two-hour special “The
Dark Ages....When The World Resigned from the Human Race." It airs at 9 p.m.
Eastern on Sunday, March 4.
What happens on the homefront when men--and women--are away at war? Lifetime’s upcoming drama series “Army Wives” will look at a diverse group of women--and one man--who are left behind when their partners are at war. TV veterans Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell head the cast. The 13-episode series is set for a June premiere.
©2007 by Donna J. Plesh. The photo is courtesy of the BBC. This column first posted Feb. 26, 2007.
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