Thursday, July 9, 2009

Chivalry! Charity! (and other virtues of Robin Hood)

Thanks to the beauty of Netflix, I've lately gotten WAAY into watching a BBC series called Robin Hood. It boasts all the expected characters, from the heroic outlaw Robin of Locksley, to his loyal band of misfits, to the notorious, deliciously-evil Sheriff of Nottingham, to the chaste-but-spunky Marian.
On a recent morning, I had 2 episodes left on the DVD I wanted to return that day, so I settled down to watch with my coffee. Of course, in wandered the children, drawn like moths to the irresistable lure of the TV screen. I fielded the inevitable questions: "whatcha watchin'?" "what's it about?" "who's that...is he a good or a bad guy?" (repeated for each person who came onscreen)" ETC. Although the 9-year old has read a Junior-Great-Books sort of retelling of the legend, I had misgivings about them actually watching the action. But after bringing everyone up to speed (which gave me time to review the show in my head as I described it to the boys), I realized the following: the events supposedly happened around 1200 A.D....therefore no cursing...no guns...very little "romance" (or exposed skin, for that matter)...LOTS of swordfighting...but only minute amounts of blood or pretend-wounds. This is practically-G-rated swashbuckling fun for the whole family! At least, that's what I told myself as the three of us glued ourselves to the end of Season One.
Like me, the boys are completely hooked. How do I know? No sooner had the credits rolled than Derek asked, "How soon can you get Season 2 here?" Anon, my son, anon!

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