The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

Robin Hood and the Plight of the Arrow

By

“Robin Hood, Robin Hood
Riding through the glen.
Robin Hood, Robin Hood
With his band of men.
Feared by the bad,
Loved by the good,
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood” 

I’ve been singing the open song of “The Adventures of Robin Hood” since 1955.

That little ditty has been running through my mind since 1955. “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1959. In the fall of 2018 Amazon Pride streaming channel began showing the first two seasons. Matinée idol Richard Greene starred as dead shot archer and crusading knight Robin Hood, as the outlaw who ruled Sherwood Forest. I’ve been working my way through the 143 episodes ever since.

I’m a Scorpio with my birthday in November. Perfect timing. The series premiered on 26 September 1955 om CBS. By November 14th I had my own bow, with rounded, red plastic tips on my arrows. I purchased two more powerful fiberglass bows since. I used to shoot on “tight-wad hill” over-looking Cheney Stadium in the late 1960s and then shot on the soccer fields of Wilson High School. It was amazing that I never lost an arrow in the brush above the ball field, but the close cropped grass at Wilson devoured my missiles. I think they slid along the grass and then disappeared under the sod. I lived in fear that the mowing tractors would unearth the arrows and launch them into crowds of young students. I don’t believe anyone ever suffered a mower fired arrow wound, so I think I’m safe.   

Robin Hood premiered on 26 September 1955. By November 14th I had my own bow, with rounded, red plastic tips on my arrows.

I have really enjoyed the TV re-runs. The shows featured a number of blacklisted (McCarthy era’s communism scare) American writers, including Ring Lardner Jr., who were used under assumed names in writing many episodes of the first season. In two early episodes I recognized Leo McKern, who would later play the heavy in the Beatle’s feature length film, “Help” and then star as Horace Rumpole in the British TV show “Rumpole of the Bailey.” Also, making two appearances in Season 2 was Donald Pleasance. Pleasence played Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween, Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and RAF Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape. I’ve also recognized three of my favorite “Carry On” actors appearing in the series: Sid James, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw.

Making two appearances in Season 2 was Donald Pleasence, who also played Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween, Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice, and RAF Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape.

I wish that my family had owned a larger TV in our early days on South Ferry in Tacoma. Our first TV had a nine inch screen and then we moved up to a thirteen inch screen by the time Robin Hood and his merry men rode on to the scene. Watching my large screen TV from bed last week, revelation struck me that I had been holding my bow wrong all those years. I had no instruction so I just followed the example I thought I saw on TV. Perhaps, it’s a personal preference, but I rested the arrow shaft on my left thumb. From what I see on the big screen, the shaft should rest on the knuckle of the index finger. Perhaps, that’s why my arrows disappeared. 

Unlike my BB gun I never killed any birds or shot myself in the eye with an arrow. 

Watching my large screen TV from bed last week, revelation struck me that I had been holding my bow wrong all those years.

Comments

  1. OMG…I hadn’t thought about that show in forever. I, too, had a set of bow and arrows. Between the TV show and my mom having a “real” bow and quiver of arrows, given to her by my great grandpa, I was hooked! However, since my mom’s were real, I was not allowed to even touch them without her supervising me. They were very special to her. My great grandfather was half Indian and he had carried them with him from his village in the Dakotas to a little town in Kansas, where he met and married my great grandmother. Suffice it to say, they always had some mystical magnetism attached to them for me!

    Thanks, as always, for the memories!

  2. Jerri,
    Thanks for reading and commenting.
    I was a latchkey kid, so I allowed myself to touch whatever I wanted. . . and very carefully replaced.
    Like you I have native American blood, which showed up greater than I had expected in my DNA at 23andme. My mom was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma. My grandfather was probably half-Cherokee(?) or more.
    Before getting an archery set I created my own bow out of a madrona limb. I’m not sure what I used for arrows, but as Cub Scout, I would not have been one to sit idly by and be content only with a bow.
    Did you inherit the bow and arrows? Mounted on your wall?
    Thanks, again for reading and sharing.
    Don

  3. Don, do you have the DVDs or on what “channel” do you watch it? Not up with all the names for things to watch now – Netflix, Hulu, or what? I have the DVDs but they are not captioned, so it’s almost useless trying to watch them. I just loved Robin Hood and have seen all the various iterations Hollywood has come up with.

    Thanks, and now off to make some parsnip soup.

    Happy New Year,
    Jean Reddish

    • Jean,
      You’re so much like me . . . I have a box set of DVDs for Band of Brothers, but it’s not captioned, so consequently it only got watched occasionally. It’s on Amazon Prime streaming channel, so it’s my sleepy time accompaniment. I also use Robin Hood to start the relaxing effort. . . and yes, it is on Amazon Prime as well. I loved Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, but the definitive actor is Richard Greene.
      We watch Amazon as well as MHZ and Acorn. I love the series . . . right now into Corner Gas out of Canada, and Brokenwood Mysteries out of New Zealand.
      Thanks for reading and commenting.
      Don