Some thirty years since concluding their television adventures, the cast of ‘Robin of Sherwood’  have reunited thanks to a highly popular crowdfunding initiative.

The popular adaptation of the Robin Hood story, which ran for three seasons starring first Michael Praed, and then Jason Connery, was a big show for itv in the mid-80s, weaving the familiar outlaw legend with elements of pagan mythology. Sadly, it was cut short at the end of its third season due to financial problems behind the scenes.

This new two-part adventure, ‘The Knights of the Apocalypse’, was written by creator Richard Carpenter in 1989 as a way for the programme to return. While it sadly went unproduced in his lifetime, the surviving cast have come together for this audio production which is funding some of his favourite charities.

The story begins with Robin (Jason Connery) having a vision of Knights menaced by a spectral voice and then forced off a cliff by rivals, before moving into the familiar tones of Clannad’s haunting theme.

Through Robin, and then the Sherriff of Nottingham, we discover that England is a land in turmoil; thanks to a spat between the usurper King John and Rome, a Papal interdict has closed all the churches.

When a mysterious visiting Knight comes to Nottingham, the representative of a secretive cult, and Robin is summoned to his spiritual mentor Herne the Hunter, he discovers a terrible threat which has implications both for the country and for his own future.

CultBox retains some fond memories of the original television show and producers Spiteful Puppet have done a fantastic job in reuniting the original cast, all of whom seem to have relished reprising their roles, and recreating the authentic feel of the show.

The story is chock full of great character moments, with notes of romance for Connery’s Robin and Judi Trott’s Marion, and plenty of banter amongst the merry men, particularly from Ray Winston’s Will Scarlett and Clive Mantle’s Little John. This serves the audio format well, helping to smooth over some of the more difficult to translate action scenes which are rendered with impressive sound design.

Nikolas Grace remains tremendously over the top as the Sherrif, while among the guest cast, Anthony Head’s De Montbalm makes for an impressive villain much in the mould of his Uther Pendragon on Merlin.

The casting of Colin Baker as De Ridefort is a nice touch too, – feeling like a reciprocal appearance for Connery’s role in Doctor Who’s ‘Vengeance on Varos’. Genre favourite Terry Molloy also appears and in a lovely touch, the production even finds a role for former Robin Michael Praed too!

Whether you count yourself a fan of the original, or just fancy a rollicking good and immersive adventure story, we can heartily recommend this long overdue return to Sherwood Forest. Now, time to track down the DVDs and relive the original…

Released on 30 June 2016 by Spiteful Puppet.

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What did you think of ‘The Knights of the Apocalypse’? Let us know below…