Robin Hood
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Robert, Earl of Loxley, originally a noble, became known as Robin Hood, an outlaw in 12th century England. He was the leader of a band of thieves known as his "Merry Men" which included Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlett, and Alan-a-Dale. (AUDIO: Wildthyme at Large, TV: Robot of Sherwood) It was suggested by some academics that he might have been the Earl of Huntingdon. (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
The sanctuary of Robin Hood and his Merry Men was the tree Major Oak in the Sherwood Forest outside Nottingham. (TV: The Last Oak Tree) By one account, Robin was secretly serving the Head, and he hid his higher pitched voice. (AUDIO: Wildthyme at Large) In his last incarnation, the banished Time Lord Astrolabus told the Sixth Doctor that Robin Hood had been one of his past identities, as well as Zorro. (COMIC: Voyager)
Legend
In legend, Robin Hood was a courageous 12th century outlaw, expert archer and swordsman, who lived in Sherwood Forest with his band of Merry Men. He was said to have robbed from the rich and given all his proceeds to the poor, while being hunted by the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Some academics and historians believed that the legend of Robin Hood must have been based, at least in part, on an actual person from history. (PROSE: A History of Humankind) Indeed, various individuals claiming to be Robin Hood have been encountered by the Doctor and their associates. It would appear from these encounters that the legend of Robin Hood might therefore not be based on just one individual, but many. (PROSE: The Thief of Sherwood, The Immortals, AUDIO: Wildthyme at Large, TV: Robot of Sherwood)
Biography
According to one account, Robin Hood met the First Doctor and his companions Susan, Ian and Barbara. They discovered that Ian Chesterton was a perfect double of Robin Hood. Robin died during an attempt to assault the Sheriff of Nottingham's castle. (PROSE: The Thief of Sherwood)
According to a second account, after Iris Wildthyme placed her memories within a Memory Crystal, she befriended Robin Hood. She travelled to the 21st century to her old friend Thomas Daley, to entrust him with the Crystal, before she left with Robin and his Merry Men.
In the Greenwood, Little John told Robin that in his absence, Maid Marian and Friar Tuck had been captured by the Sheriff, so he took Iris and her bus to the castle in exchange for Marian and Friar Tuck. Leaving the bus outside, Iris and Robin were escorted inside by Normans. They're taken to a dungeon, where Robin (in his natural, higher pitched voice) revealed that he is actualy under the employ of the Head. The Head arrived, where upon he forced Iris to pilot her bus to the 21st century, so he could take the Memory Crystal from Tom. The Head was thwarted by Panda, and this version of Robin was returned to his native time. (AUDIO: Wildthyme at Large)
According to a third account, a sceptical Twelfth Doctor brought Clara Oswald to Sherwood Forest in 1190, in an attempt to disprove Hood's existence.
They immediately met Robin upon their arrival, and helped him defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham and a group of robotic knights. The Doctor accessed the ship's database and discovered a wealth of information on the legend of Robin Hood. Throughout the adventure, the Doctor was convinced that Robin was actually a creation of the robots to give the people hope, but eventually learned that he was in fact real. While Robin learned that he would be remembered as a legend and not a man, he was content with this fate. He also reminded the Doctor that they both came from similar backgrounds and had a similar fate: men born into wealth and privilege who were so moved by the plight of the weak and oppressed that they took up the life of an adventurer to help those who can't help themselves. He also showed that, like the Doctor, he didn't consider himself a hero, but believed that by pretending to be one, he could inspire others in his stead. Upon leaving, the Doctor reunited Robin with his lover, Marian. (TV: Robot of Sherwood)
Undated/unchronicled events
Robin Hood taught the Doctor how to shoot a bow and arrow, and the Fifth Doctor used this knowledge to fight U'thai's warriors. (PROSE: The Immortals)
When facing a virtual recreation of Robin Hood, K9 hinted it had met the real Robin Hood in his first incarnation. (TV: The Last Oak Tree)
Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline where Polly Wright was manipulated into interfering with temporal nexus points, Polly accidentally saved Robin's life when she kneed him in the groin, causing him to duck and miss a sword cut aimed at his head. (PROSE: That Time I Nearly Destroyed the World Whilst Looking for a Dress)
Legacy
Astrolabus claimed to have been Robin Hood. (COMIC: Voyager)
"Robin i' the Hood" was one of the characters from folklore whose face was worn as a mask by a member of the Pageant. (PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask)
In the 1890s, there was a Robin Hood pantomime staged at the New Regency Theatre. (AUDIO: Swan Song)
Tegan Jovanka had seen Robin Hood films on television. (PROSE: The Immortals)
As one of the people she had met during her travels with the Doctor, Robin Hood was included in a series of notes written by Clara when she was planning to confess to Danny Pink via phone call about her adventures with the Doctor. (TV: Dark Water)
In Monte Carlo in 1966, Peri Brown compared the cat burglar Lady Lillian Hawthorne to Robin Hood as she arranged for the items that she stole to be sold and the money given to worthy causes. (AUDIO: The Veiled Leopard)
In the 1990s, a villainous Sorceress based in a stone circle in Sherwood Forest used magical illusions of Robin Hood to lure children to her lair so she could absorb their life force. The case was investigated by P.R.O.B.E., with Liz Shaw and Louise Bayliss eventually foiling her plans by confiscating the grimoire which gave her power. (HOMEVID: Sherwood Sorceress [+]Loading...["Sherwood Sorceress (home video)"])
In 2022, Juliet-178 briefly merged with Robin Hood when Auteur brought life to all of the fiction contained within the Cupid Archives. She used the time to give to the poor. This was reversed after Herodotus-724 managed to expel Auteur from the Cupid Homeworld. (POEM: Auteur and the Homeworld [+]Loading...["Auteur and the Homeworld (poem)"])
In 2050, a museum containing the Major Oak programmed a virtual reality Sherwood Forest and a virtual reality Robin Hood.
As a child, Jorjie Turner believed she would marry Robin Hood when she grew up. (TV: The Last Oak Tree)
Behind the scenes
- Patrick Troughton was the first actor to play Robin Hood on television, in 1953.
- A TV series adaptation of the legend of Robin Hood was produced by the BBC, running from 2006 to 2009, as a 13 episode Saturday night drama in the same vein as the contemporary revival of Doctor Who. The two shows shared a number of cast and crew members, including writer Paul Cornell, actors Richard Armitage, Harry Lloyd, Clive Standen and David Harewood.
- Michael Praed and Jason Connery played different versions of Robin Hood in the 1980s television series Robin of Sherwood. William Russell also guest starred in an episode. Paul McGann auditioned for the role of Robin of Loxley in the third and final season, but was deemed too short.
