WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN?

The BBC has decided to axe Robin Hood after three series, 39 episodes, and a tragical finale followed by less than 2 million viewers (which is not the only thing tragical, characters die too...) « The decision signals the end of a brief renaissance in Saturday evening television made for a family audience in the wake of BBC1's successful revival of Doctor Who, four years ago » writes the excellent website of the as excellent The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/02/robin-hood-bbc-tv-drama).

« Many of the Saturday evening dramas being axed will be replaced by talent shows and reality programmes, which attract huge audiences but are much cheaper to make » goes on The Guardian, naming the two ITV major casualties of the year, Demons and Primeval, with Who and Robin Hood, as shows "supposed to herald a return to the glory days of TV, when families sat down together on a Saturday night to watch British dramas". Actually Demons will be remembered as a creative fiasco and a total waste of the incommensurable talent of Philip Glenister. And the end of the costly Primeval after a terrible third series, along with the renewal of Lewis, is a signal that ITV wants a smaller but better drama lineup and leaves the "f" word to the BBC. Franchise, we mean.

Let's face it, Robin Hood had its share of problems: the ratings, the shooting in Hungary, its star leaving the show, the fact that it was no Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986) in a genre that will not be the same after Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. And its conception in the wake of the Doctor Who franchise, like Merlin. It seems that the hypothetical fourth series of Robin Hood was meant to be closer to Who in conception terms, with writer Sally Wrainwright consulted by the Beeb: « The BBC has asked me to take over Robin Hood in a way Russell [T. Davies] does on Doctor Who » declared the creator of At Home With the Braithwaites (2000-2003) to The Stage (http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/23033/exclusive-wainwright-to-reinvent-bbcs).

Technically at least Robin Hood and Merlin are not remakes, rather the "reinvention" (that word, again...) of old myths. But before recession calmed down projects to emulate the modern version of Doctor Who and its profits, the trend was to search with frenzy every back catalogue available in quest of the new Gallifreyan cash cow. Without credit crunch there would be all the revivals you can imagine: Department S with Stephen Fry as Jason King investigating on "CSI meets Fringe" cases. Robert Glenister as John Steed in a reinvention of The Avengers. Or Grant Show and Billie Piper in Dempsey & Makepeace (with Ross Kemp as Spikings)... The possibilities were infinite.

« Recession forces end to renaissance in TV dramas », writes The Guardian. Well, the quest for "franchisable" shows was already slowing down the creativity of television fiction in the UK. Maybe Torchwood: Children of Earth and its five-episode story will show us that less can be more in recession times. British Television is the home of Martina Cole's The Take or of The Fixer. There is no John Mercer action figure yet but these shows don't play in the "fun for the whole family" category. Saturday evening family audiences need a new and strictly original show, not a franchise wannabe chaneling the revenues of the Who licenses.

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/06/channeling-elvis.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/06/have-faith-in-itv.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/06/primeval-walking-with-dinosaurs.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/02/doctor-who-writers-tale-bbc-books_18.html