The Thief of Sherwood

"Robin Hood is a myth."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 06

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands in the dungeons of Nottingham Castle. Ian and Susan are capture and brought before the Sheriff. The others are captured by bandits and taken to Sherwood Forest where they discover that Robin Hood is Ian's double. The Merry Men elect to rescue Ian and Susan but the attempt fails and Robin is killed. The Doctor saves Susan from execution by posing as a monk. Ian gives away all of Robin's loot.

Verdict

The Thief of Sherwood was quite an extraordinary adventure! Unique doesn't even begin to describe it. It was essentially told as reviews and previews with fictional news bulletins from the likes of the Radio Times and Doctor Who Magazine which was something great and just so different. I definitely approved. I'm not sure how this story would be dealt with in terms of being canonical and that's actually something quite difficult to get my head around. It is essentially a story about a story that never aired. So, I say that the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara feature but in reality, how can they really be in an adventure that never took place? It was such a barmy concept, and I absolutely loved it. The idea of a Robin Hood story in the First Doctor era, right between The Reign of Terror and Planet of Giants, is fantastic and I think a blend of fiction and history would have worked so well as it would have been quite distinct from the other historicals of that first season. There was no fictional value in the likes of An Unearthly Child or Marco Polo, for example. That excludes the TARDIS and what not of course. What I liked even more was the prospect of Ian being Robin Hood's double so it would have seen William Russell playing a dual role like we saw William Hartnell later do in The Massacre. I think he'd have shone as Robin Hood. I loved that even though this wasn't a telling of what I'm sure would be a fantastic story - I've tweeted Jonathan Morris to see if this can get an audio release! - it was clear that the Doctor was dismissive of Robin Hood being a real person. Of course, the man who was actually Robin Hood would die in part five with Ian continuing his legacy and becoming the myth that we all know and love today. I thought that would have been a lovely touch. Maid Marion having been played by Anneke Wills was another great anecdote and I liked how it appeared in the Virgin Publishing section. I could have probably done without William Hartnell having a line gaff as that's a little bit of a cheap knock and slightly cliche, but it didn't alter how much I enjoyed the story. The dialogue triumphs were superb, but I just love the idea of an author revering his own work within that very work! Ahh, there's something great there. I know the intentions were not at all pompous but it's a little humorous in my estimation. It seems sad that some of these episodes would be missing, but wouldn't it have been cleverer to say that they were all missing? I think a trick was missed there as it would have been that little bit more realistic. It was still wonderful to read though. I really liked the Time Team section and it seemed so different to that of the DWM team today. The little descriptions of each part were very good in telling the outline of the whole story, even if they did just follow on from the presumed cliffhanger without leaving much room for a 25 minute episode. Regardless, this story just left me wanting to see the adventure so much and I can't quite believe that it doesn't exist! Overall, wonderful and whacky.

Rating: 9/10