Sherwood

The absolute A-team of British actors can be found in this crime series which is based on historical events in the mid-80s. Quality pays off!

The story shows us a rich gallery of characters in a former mining town, where what happened 30 years ago still simmers beneath the surface. The calm and seemingly harmonious surface hides both hatred and unresolved events. This culminates in a murder, and soon we are drawn into a very exciting investigation, with several side stories that give insight into the various characters. I found this to be both entertaining, engaging and exciting.

The first series of Sherwood was excellent, but unfortunately the second one is not up to the same standard.

It's set in the same part of the country, but much closer to the present day, dealing with more current issues.

One problem with it is that (unlike the first series) there's no mystery. It's not a whodunnit. The gruesome murders are shown in full so you know who killed who.

The second problem is that many aspects of the story just aren't plausible. The behaviour of the characters is not consistent, especially the young woman who goes along with something that she would never do in episode 2. Also there's a bizarre coincidence that the hunter and the hunted just happen to go to the same place and even the same cafe on the same day. And suppose the police wanted to hide away two black people somewhere that they would blend in and not be noticed, where would they place them? Rural Lincolnshire?? There's an unexpected twist at the end of episode 2, but again it's ridiculously unbelievable, so at that point I gave up.

Despite all this, the performances are brilliant, from all the cast. If you think of Monica Dolan as the comical cuddly Welsh lady from W1A, then I'm not being funny or anything, but her character in Sherwood will come as quite a shock.

A lot of dramas fizzle out after a few episodes but that is not the case with 'Sherwood'. Every episode is worth watching and as a drama overall this works. Well acted and with a good story this is one of the best and most consistent dramas the the BBC has produced for a while.

There are some very well known actors here with very little screen time which adds to the drama considerably. Joanne Froggatt, Alun Armstrong, Mark Addy, Lindsay Duncan and Stephen Tomkinson all appear briefly but with impact. This is well worth watching.

October 12, 2022 - I have to congratulate the creator of this series, James Graham, and his production company for producing this extremely good series. The acting, directing, writing, and production values are all excellent. The number of well known British actors in the production is amazing. This series shows that plots based on historical events can be somewhat informative and entertaining at the same time. It is an example of a truly quality production, in comparison to much of the cookie cutter "dramas" being produced currently. Dramas that are used to advance political and social agendas, with the desire to be entertaining being only of secondary importance. There is, I believe, a political message in Sherwood. However, I think that it is skillfully included, and is one that people of most political persuasions can agree with. Which is that governmental authoritarian overreach should always be resisted by the citizens of any democracy.

Inspired by real events this timely new drama series is set in present day Nottinghamshire where a murder seemingly has links to the miners strike of 1984 and the divisions in the local community it provoked.

This was an accomplished piece of television with everybody involved in front of and behind camera on song. Good production values all round, a great assembly of Northern acting talent old and new and a special mention for the brilliant script by James Graham.

Loved it from first to last. Congrats to all involved in making this, its a truly wonderful piece of drama that rings true.