Post by foresthermit on Jul 19, 2023 21:03:40 GMT
I was rewatching the "Electric Theatre Show" documentary about Robin of Sherwood last week, and Paul Knight said something that interested me. Discussing the upcoming Robin of Sherwood, he said that among the show's features was an "element of Sword and Sorcery."
So what's "Sword and Sorcery", I hear some of you ask? It's a type of fantasy fiction.
The late horror and fantasy writer Karl Edward Wagner gave a definition of "sword and sorcery" fiction in a 1977 reprint of Red Nails, a collection of Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard. In the introduction, Wagner defined sword and sorcery (which he also called "epic fantasy") as "a fascinating synthesis of horror, adventure, and imagination, ” displayed to best effect in “a universe in which magic works and an individual may kill according to his personal code".
Two years before Robin of Sherwood was first broadcast, a film, Conan the Barbarian, was released. Loosely based on Robert E. Howard's stories, it was directed by John Milius, and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Conan the Barbarian was a box-office hit, although most reviewers disliked the film. But what Conan did do was popularise the term "sword and sorcery" among the public. Articles about Conan and other fantasy films of the time, like Dragonslayer, Excalibur, The Dark Crystal, The Sword and the Sorcerer and Krull all described these films as "sword and sorcery."
Now imagine Richard Carpenter and Paul Knight discussing their plans for Robin of Sherwood. They're aware of film and TV trends, and they know Conan and Excalibur have been commercially successful films. They want a "unique selling point", something that'll make their Robin Hood story different from the many other versions. They look at all these films and say they want to introduce magic to the Robin Hood story, to create "a fascinating synthesis of horror, adventure, and imagination". They want to make Robin a sword-wielding (and bow-using) hero who battles evil sorcerers, like the ones featured in the films mentioned above.
For instance, look at Simon de Belleme. He wouldn't look out of place alongside Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, or Morgana in Excalibur.
Lots of good ideas went into Robin of Sherwood - it's why the show is still so fondly remembered today, after almost four decades. But the magic ingredient? Sword and Sorcery....in Sherwood!
So what's "Sword and Sorcery", I hear some of you ask? It's a type of fantasy fiction.
The late horror and fantasy writer Karl Edward Wagner gave a definition of "sword and sorcery" fiction in a 1977 reprint of Red Nails, a collection of Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard. In the introduction, Wagner defined sword and sorcery (which he also called "epic fantasy") as "a fascinating synthesis of horror, adventure, and imagination, ” displayed to best effect in “a universe in which magic works and an individual may kill according to his personal code".
Two years before Robin of Sherwood was first broadcast, a film, Conan the Barbarian, was released. Loosely based on Robert E. Howard's stories, it was directed by John Milius, and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Conan the Barbarian was a box-office hit, although most reviewers disliked the film. But what Conan did do was popularise the term "sword and sorcery" among the public. Articles about Conan and other fantasy films of the time, like Dragonslayer, Excalibur, The Dark Crystal, The Sword and the Sorcerer and Krull all described these films as "sword and sorcery."
Now imagine Richard Carpenter and Paul Knight discussing their plans for Robin of Sherwood. They're aware of film and TV trends, and they know Conan and Excalibur have been commercially successful films. They want a "unique selling point", something that'll make their Robin Hood story different from the many other versions. They look at all these films and say they want to introduce magic to the Robin Hood story, to create "a fascinating synthesis of horror, adventure, and imagination". They want to make Robin a sword-wielding (and bow-using) hero who battles evil sorcerers, like the ones featured in the films mentioned above.
For instance, look at Simon de Belleme. He wouldn't look out of place alongside Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, or Morgana in Excalibur.
Lots of good ideas went into Robin of Sherwood - it's why the show is still so fondly remembered today, after almost four decades. But the magic ingredient? Sword and Sorcery....in Sherwood!
