WRITERS: Bev Doyle & Richard Kurti DIRECTOR: Graeme Harper
CAST: Jonas Armstrong (Robin), Lucy Grifiths (Marian), Keith Allen (Sheriff), Richard Armitage (Guy Of Gisbourne), Sam Troughton (Much), Gordon Kennedy (Little John), Harry Lloyd (Will Scarlett), Joe Armstrong (Allan-a-Dale), Anjali Jay (Djak), Rhys Meredith (Harold) & Raji James (Prince Malik)
An emissary from the Middle East arrives to negotiate peace with Prince John, but the Sheriff has plans to use him as ransom...The last episode written by Bev Doyle and Richard Kurti was the great The Taxman Cometh, so my expectations were high for their sophomore effort. Sadly, Peace? Off!, while containing some good ideas and fun moments, is a mess.
Robin Hood has always had a tendency to parallel the Crusades with current Middle Eastern issues throughout its stories, but this episode marks the most overt attempt yet. When Prince Malik arrives at Nottingham Castle to begin peace negotiations with Prince John, the outlaws find themselves fearing the arrival of this "Saracen sorceror" after discovering a ghoulish mask in his abandoned carriage.
Their discovery leads to the series' first dabble with the supernatural (an angle used often, to fantastic success, in Robin Of Sherwood) and for awhile the intriguing elements, including a hypnotized Crusader setting fire to churches, all indicate a silly but entertaining story is about to unfold. Sadly, once things are set in motion, it all quickly crumbles into nonsense after 20 minutes.
Basically, Doyle and Kurit's script begins to overload credibility (female ninja's) and contains unforgivable lapses in historical fact. Of course, it's easy to overlook these slip-ups and enjoy the show on a basic level, as it contains some entertaining fight scenes and the best use of Keith Allen's Sheriff in weeks, but is that enough? As a story, Peace? Off! just washes over you, testing your patience as its plot thickens into sludge.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the best aspect of Robin Of Sherwood was its pagan mythology, a fresh element that even appeared in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Quite why this new series shys away from a supernatural angle is ridiculous, as kids are far more interested in spooky stories than politics! I don't mean the series should start including witches huddled around cauldrons, but the 12th-Century was a more superstitious and fightening place than Robin Hood is showing us. Maybe we should get a taste of that occassionally.
The usual saviours of bad episodes, Lucy Griffiths and Richard Armitage, are mostly sidelined here, leaving Keith Allen to wring some entertainment in the latter moments as the cowardly Sheriff -- but it's not enough. Guest star Raji James, as Prince Malik, isn't very convincing, delivering stilted dialogue and looking faintly embarassed by everything. Rhys Meredith is better as "psycho" Harold, particularly in scenes alongside Sam Troughton, but even his performance is tainted by the climactic fight scene (army issue khaki? The costume department must have gone to sleep!)
Overall, the title Peace? Off! should tell you all you need to know! This episode is unintentionally hilarious in places, so there is entertainment to be had, but it's just disappointing to see a potentially interesting story shoot itself in the foot. All the actors seem to be trying (with the exception of the self-conscious James) but nobody can rescue a plot this messy.
A terrible disappointment given the potential.
