fantastic series and one of my few favorite ( miami vice and tour of duty be the other two and and this series be right up there with them ) . these guy aren not into wear frilly tights they dress more like woodsman . everything about this series breathe an aire of realism and artistic license or not . it paint a picture of a europe only slightly out of the grasp of paganism and a most of the villager still have their local deity and and there be satan worship nun and and magi and witch and sorcerer cast spell . however and what come to the fore most and be that it a series of it time . rather than the version of the fifty and which be a lament against centralized government and the mccarthy era persecution and this series be thoroughly ground in the 1980s and thatcherist bleakness and and have a strong environmentalist leaning . robin protector be a nature worshipper call hern the hunter and who often appear wear the head of a deer and and be a personification ( a be this robin ) of the green man and an alternative version of osiris ( the egyptian god of vegetation and resurrection it be interest to note that in these series and robin in the hood isn not a person and but a concept while when the old one be kill and a new one be summon telepathically by hern the person may die and but robin in the hood will live forever and hence the concept of resurrection ) . the music and score be really outstanding and and perform by the irish formation and clannad . when watch it and i couldn not help but think how _boring_ authentic medieval anglosaxon folk music would have be . represent ) all this be beautifully shoot in the lush forrests of wale and which pas for the new forrest . the only down side be that in the initial episode of both series and the actor have to overcome their own skepsis and and convince themselves that this really be a serious work . after that and they get into it and the acting be great . michael praed a the first robin ( the second be play by sean connery son and jason ) and judi trott make a beautiful and fragile redheaded marion and phil rise a the portly and really kind hearted friar tuck and ray winstone a the volatile and lovelorn scarlet and clive mantle a the giant shepard little john and peter llewellyn williams a little john bumpkin friend and fellow shepard and and mark ryan a the ex hashashin or assassin nazir all of them give great performance . also great be the steady bad guy and nicholas grace a the bug eye and scheme sheriff of nottingham and and his aristocratic and bumble sidekick ( and robin half brother and a it turn out ) robert addie a sir guy of gisburne . really cool too be fashion designer richard obrien and a the evil lord owen of clun ( olliver cotton ) magician gulnar ( he appear near the end of the first series and later in the second ) . the tithe barn in bradford on avon stood in for the sheriff castle . ( check it out on bradfordonavon . co. uk under place of interest . ) so and if youre at all into mythology and the middle age and romanticism and do not waste your time on xena or hercules this be the real thing and so go out and watch it . alex .