Maid Marian And Her Merry Men - Series 4 Details

Blackadder For Kids - Exceptional Viewing For All Lovers Of Whimsy, Silliness & Satire

This show could be described as 'Blackadder For Kids'. It features the same theatrical style of slightly pantomime acting that gives the impression of watching a live performance rather than an edited recording that made Blackadder so distinctive. Maid Marian is both written by and stars Tony-Baldrick-Robinson so this probably comes as no surprise. The humour is undeniably silly, just as a good stage comedy should be. Given Tony's background in History documentaries, and shows like Time Team, there’s also a lot of light hearted but credible satire of historical and modern day culture to snigger at. The continuous deliberately out-of-place references to modern day phenomena that no Middle Age person should really know about are quite endearing. The Merry Men's 'Maze Of Mystery' (a woodland version of The Crystal Maze) and the villagers irrationally xenophobic reaction to the medieval Channel Tunnel are particular high points in series four.

The Merry Men: a dwarf (Little Ron) of superhuman strength, a big, dumb but soft Rabies, a vain/vapid Robin, a cool/suave black merry man (Barrington) who kicks off most of the weekly musical numbers and Maid Marian (the brains of the outlaws). The King’s loud, aggressive and greedy in a studded fingerless leather glove kind of way. The Sheriff (Tony Robinson) is intelligent and always trying to better his lot in life but is ultimately limited by the whims of the king. The Sheriff’s 2 guards are nice but dim so, accepting their role in life, follow the Sheriff’s cruel orders. There’s also the delightfully camp, child-in a-man’s-body-that-no-one-want-to-play-with, classically sadistic (but has teddies embroidered on his tunic) king’s nephew, Guy. The mud-wallowing villagers are a cheerful send up to the gullible, superstitious crowd-mentality of middle-age (& probably modern day too) middle England. Mud is their main food-source and they happily believe eggs come from the Worksop-Egg-Fairy denying any connection with chickens.

Undoubtedly a large part of this programs appeal is to those who saw it originally as a young-un and can watch it with nostalgic glow. However, don't think this means this program is dated or cliquey in any way. I personally loathed the average children's comedies/dramas when I was younger (particularly those deriving drearily unimaginative storylines from everyday children’s lives) but this show was one of the very few exceptions. Anyone who enjoys children’s comedy that’s slightly more sophisticated than the average tripe (which usually feels dated before it’s even aired) that you find on children’s channels should love this program.

As a side note this is also the second great legacy of Danny John-Jules ('Cat' in Red Dwarf: a show that also shares the tongue in cheek theatricality of Blakadder/MaidMarian) and anyone who’s a fan of his RD role should enjoy his portrayal of the dread-locked Merry-Man 'Barrington' just as much.

Any child with an ounce of taste should love this show but I’d recommend this series to intelligent people of any age who still value their inner child and can laugh at the sillier things in life.