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.

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.

With one of the greatest TV casts put together since State of Play, this series promised to be interesting. But the first episode has surpassed my hopes -- the essential background to this drama is brilliantly sketched as we are introduced to the large range of characters, and it is beautifully written, shot and performed. It was so gripping I watched it twice, not wanting to let it go, and counting down the hours to tomorrow night. If it is half as good, the week between episodes 2 and 3 will seem an eternity.

We need much, much more drama like this.

Set in a small mining village of Annesley adjacent to Sherwood Forest near Nottingham, this series partially recreates the true story of the unusual cross bow murder of local retired miner Keith "Froggy" Frogson although depicted as fictitious Gary Jackson (Alun Armstrong). Set against the backdrop of the hugely divisive 1984 miners' strike, the village was home to many local miners who broke from the National Union of Mineworkers' famous protracted and often violent fight with Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government, hellbent on breaking the power of dominant trade unions, by crossing picket lines and working the local mines. Striking local miners never forgave the "scabs" in their midst and tensions still simmered beneath the surface decades later.

The series features a veritable 'Who's Who' of fabulous British acting talent and contains many flashbacks to 1984 to various incidents between then young police officers and striking families with complex relationships 40 years on now strained by the investigation. The suspected murderer terrorizes the village with random arrow attacks whilst hiding out in the very forest made famous by Robin Hood lending a compellingly surreal mythological backdrop to the extensive manhunt.

The acting across the board is of universally excellent quality and the plot, character development and pace are fantastic with a gripping and compelling pace that makes for great binge worthy viewing.

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.