September 27th 2008 - I like it on my soapbox!

Well, I've done it again or at least, been at it again.  Up on my soapbox I mean, and at least this time I maintained my weight loss so that I didn't fall through it!  Hooray ..

I've been spouting off about why should Gisborne deserve to go on living if as we all suspect, Robin must die at the conclusion of Season 3 because Jonas reminded one and all he had honoured his commitment to completing his intended 3 seasons before moving on to bigger and better things. And at this point, I will say that it is a pity the Heroine didn't give as much notice as to her intentions or the entire programme might never have been side-tracked the way it was and perhaps the obvious, hasty killing off Marian could have been avoided after all.  After this final season goes to air, if it concludes the way we suspect it is heading, that is to pursue Gisborne's story arch to the max. I took it upon myself to introduce a new thread for no other reason than I was, and still am, decidedly hostile over the apparent thought that Robin might die while Gisborne, remember, he's the snarling assassin, the evil baddie of the piece is still standing and my attitude is why the hell should that be so when the Star of the Show, The Hero, Robin Hood, the title-holder, and as we are reminded every now and then - the clue is in the title - why should he be killed off just because he did the decent thing and gave plenty of notice of his intentions?  But in the same vein, if tptb hadn't panicked at Lucy's obvious sudden decision to exit or whatever the real truth of that matter is, then perhaps the entire show would have been saved altogether.

My point here being that EVERYBODY must be aware of the legend of Robin Hood, there would be few who are not in this day and age, and for every adaptation of the legend right up until this current version, Gisborne has never been written to the forefront as he has now, whether it is as a result of the actor, Richard Armitage's popularity or not.  Other popular personalities, or the Star of any given show, has "died" for his art if and when required, whether starring as a Hero or a Villain, if the part required.  I can think of two De Niro parts where he "died" (1) The Mission and (2) Cape Fear and what a rotten baddie he was in Goodfellas and The Untouchables where I think he was responsible for the killing of a popular cop in Sean Connery's character (GULP)!!  Richard Armitage, whilst a nice young man and unknown to me previously, a popular personality, would undoubtedly be aware of the legend of Robin Hood as too, one would expect Foz Allan should be - one would - so why didn't Allan and his former Co-Producer write so much of the centre stage to the bad guy at the expense and love storylines of Robin and Marian especially at the risk of wrecking the show?  From the time Marian was introduced to the Greenwood, she was never in Gisborne's orbit at any stage and we are all aware how many versions have been filmed alone as well as all the Story Book versions too.  The Execs and writers were wrong to write Gisborne's participation in this story to the extent they have done and if not brought back on track, it could be the ruination of this version altogether.

Jonas's interview was withheld for all of about 13 weeks quite possibly because of the assumption his comments may give away spoilers as the show hadn't screened in America at the time, or at least, that would have to be the popular opinion as to why it was withheld that long, but in it he commented that the New writers did not know what to do with his character, Robin Hood now that they had taken Marian away from him.  The writers did not know what to do with Robin Hood in the story of Robin Hood!  What on earth are we dealing with here - a bunch of Morons - what hope do we have of any sort of happy ending, or for that matter, any decent ending of any kind especially if they write Robin going to meet his Maker (and Marian) in the Afterlife while Gisborne wanders off still snarling at one and all because of his guilt at all he's done and committed in the way of heinous crimes?  Not bloody likely.  This is totally unfair!  Naturally, most of the comments have been positive - easy - He doesn't deserve to live - and in two cases - "case closed".

As far as entertainment is concerned, we were promised the best and: we were delivered the best - in Series 1 - it was brilliant - the majority loved it so much we were all living in eager anticipation of each weekly episode.  Enthusiasm was very high and excitable, the cast and crew were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, thoroughly enjoying themselves more or less living out their own childhool dreams and how!  Okay, so Marian seemingly "died" and I thought "Nah! Didn't happen in legend" and never gave it another thought, particularly when the next day the new TV Week came out with pictures of her in her Wedding Dress for the next and final episode of Season 1.  Then S2 was a little darker, okay so R&M had grown up, getting over their differences and growing to love each other all over again, the stories were mostly fantastic, the humour not quite as evident, but the stand out point was how little the Gang were being used, how little dialogue they had except perhaps for Much, who came into his own brilliantly but Anjali Jay was heard on Special Features as only having one word to say in one episode and a conversation came up on the Forum Thread that Agents negotiated contracts for their Client/Actors on the basis they have their fair share of screen and dialogue, which in my book, was defininitely unfairly eked out and so it became more and more apparent, Gisborne was being given more of centre stage than the Hero especially where the Heroine was concerned and look where that incompetent storyline got them - her demise with one entire Season remaining to be filmed - The Heroine dead, the Hero grief stricken, and the baddie will no doubt be front and centre again, spiralling into the depths of despair when at this stage, no-one will give a damn, because he shouldn't have been in that position in the first place, not only that, he did not have any part of, or ideas about Marian in any previous other part of the legend.

So, for all the secrecy governing the remaining episodes, there is little reason or hope to think tptb have ever taken any notice of the Fans whatsoever when we reacted to Marian being taken out when least expected.  We can only hope (and pray like hell) that in actual fact, our concerns and heartbreaking disappointment have been duly and properly noted and with very little brainpower or imagination on the part of the official writers of the show, they hopefully have consulted our Armstrong Angels' brilliant and considerately written FanFics with any amount of ways and ideas to completely undo the damage created by the former writers and really speaking, it's basically only the final 10 minutes of Season 2 where it all stuffed up, they can bring this back on track by (here we go again) Robin's sun-dried imagination/mirage/illusion of the desert, Marian is alive and quite well, Gisborne, the dastardly villain, is not a murderer (on this one occasion anyway) and we can look forward after all to the beautiful love story ending as it should because, let's face it, the way they are going now would be a complete waste of time and money (theirs only - the Fans won't lose out) if they were to commission a Season 4 because they've stuffed it up to the extent that there'd be very few players left and those who do remain would probably quit the show in protest at the way they were all so very unfairly treated.  By the time I transcribed the Special Features way back when, it was obvious the exuberant enthusiasm was no longer evident.  And it also became glaringly evident when Jonas made his comments about tptb not knowing what to do with Robin Hood - in Robin Hood - that in spite of having new writers on board, it was Foz Allan who still held the reins over this version of - let us guess - Robin Hood - Nah!  Try for Gisborne's Chronicles or whatever ... Actually, if Foz Allan had been living in New Zealand when I worked for the Department of Trade and Industry, he would have been prosecuted by the Government of the day for Misleading Information for letting the public believe their Family Entertainment began as an undercover story for what finished up under an entirely different category.

It has never ceased to amaze fans one and all of the legend of Robin Hood how Writers over the years have written so many brilliant adventures accredited to one man in history/myth/legend, adapted from ballads sung by minstrels from as far back as the 12th century only to have this current version spoiled so much by one stubborn person who believes himself capable of re-writing that legend based on the popularity of the actor who portrays one of the least attractive villains of that history/myth/legend. And I'm not intentionaly knocking Richard Armitage's handsome good looks because after all, I did not cast him as the villain nor did I patronise his elevated status as only a villain over and above the selected, recognised Hero of the show in a very brilliant, if not more handsome, Newcomer who wasn't given the opportunity to shine, but shine he did anyway, in spite of the fact he was not given the credit he rightfully deserved as the Hero as such by people who underestimated his brilliant talent and I'm not afraid to say I think they will regret their decision, sooner rather than later.

I believe that most of the main stars have been short-changed, Jonas and particularly the Gang, unfairly treated as a result.  They gave their all to the fans for the success of this show and were absolutely brilliant in what was written for them but it was too much for one character and not enough for the remainder of the stars.

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September 12th 2008 - The clue is in the title!

With there being little or no news of any consequence coming from BBC, BBCA or TA regarding any advanced publicity on Robin Hood other than what has appeared in IMDb apparently not being the most accurate according to our super sleuths, and other seemingly inaccurate "News breaking stories" which are only adding to the angst we already feel, I have the impression that the majority of us are not too impressed at the storylines favouring Guy of Gisborne as opposed to Robin Hood.  I certainly am not in the slightest bit interested in Gisborne's background or storylines.  In fact, if that is the way it is going to be in Season 3, then I should imagine I won't be the only one who gives this show a complete miss, especially once Jonas Armstrong departs.  For that matter, there's a very strong rumour doing the rounds at the moment, that Jonas may only be seen in 12 of the 13 episodes because of the flashback to Gisborne's earlier days - who cares - I don't - let the creators and writers cop it because  - they were the ones who saw fit to introduce the story as Robin Hood, then followed Gisborne's uninteresting, brutal, sadistic story  -  the viewing audiences didn't!  This is not an attack on Richard Armitage who plays Gisborne just as the writers have written the character, very well indeed, and his ability and popularity has never been in doubt - it is just that the story is Robin Hood because the Creators/Writers so decreed it then deliberately turned it into the Tales or Chronicles of Guy of Gisborne, in my opinion, against their better judgement.  Even those people who would say we are whinging because of this, would have to be entirely honest by admitting we have a very distinct point to make as if they are really aware of the legend of Robin Hood, they already know that Gisborne has never, ever had played an overly lengthy part in the legend.  Of course, Gisborne has never, ever been portrayed perhaps by such a handsome and popular actor before, but that is no reason whatsoever, to minimise the importance of the rest of the show's entirely brilliant cast or their error in judgement of downplaying the part of Robin Hood with an even more handsome, drop dead gorgeous and extremely popular, rising young actor in Jonas Armstrong, who, had the story been properly written and presented, might have been prevailed upon to stay longer, but where was the incentive once they killed off Robin's sweetheart, Marian, after pushing her in the wrong direction to tell the tale which in all the legendary stories, never ever went in that direction - ever - in the first place! 

And the one thing that really angers me no end, is the remarks made by Foz Allan on the announcement of Jonas's departure from Robin Hood.  Something along the lines of "It has been a pleasure working with Jonas, etc. etc. etc". which to me smacks of the greatest load of hypocrisy I have heard yet.  If he had worked with Jonas more closely, or indeed, at all, and seen the talent and ability Jonas has so capably exhibited, the show might have been a million times more acceptable because it is clearly obvious to many of the millions of people who looked forward to what started out as the single most brilliant version of the legend yet, that Allan and Dominic Minghella went with Richard Armitage's Fanbase over the rising possibility that Jonas himself would have an immediate following of devoted Fans well before the finale as has been the case.  Unless the show is brought back to a somewhat more acceptable level and I don't mean for one second that Gisborne's redemption should be a feature because it would not be an ideal situation to bring back a sadistic, brutal and murdering, power hungry maniac and attempt to turn him into something resembling a "Saint" - heaven forbid - as his crimes are heinous and many, by his own admission which, in this, the Family Entertainment that was originally promised, is definitely not what most people would want their children to go on watching because of the terrible impression it has had on the children of those families, who did aspire to be like Robin and Marian up until the Creators and writers (questionable in their wisdom) saw fit to have the Heroine killed in such a horrendous finale.  I have been stating all along that it is too far fetched - entirely wrong to create an ending where Fans everywhere were totally devastated by the promotion of violence in what is supposed to have been A Family Show and with the interim period not going to air for over a year from that "Cliffhanger" ending if that is indeed, what it was meant to be, then it stands to reason that the majority of the Fanbases will drop severely through lack of interest.  And to downplay the Hero's role after one of the Producers exclaimed the show had to be held up during Jonas's recuperation after breaking a bone in his foot "because the clue is in the Title", that became a deliberate contradiction in terms of what followed, didn't it?

With all the dozens of stories relating to the Legend of Robin Hood emanating down through the centuries, this has got to be the only version where the Hero and Heroine haven't been allowed to shine throughout the entire production, which we are all feeling is an awful letdown.  There would not be too many people in the world today who are unaware of the legendary stories of Robin Hood and while this is the first to deviate from the legend by attempting to elevate Gisborne to questionable status as the unlikely redemption, this is wrong - so very wrong and it is to be hoped the creators and writers who started out so brilliantly, will see fit to bring this Production back on track for some sort of happy ending and I am hoping, very much, that with all the deafening silence surrounding the show at the moment - mid-September for a January screening - that common sense will prevail and perhaps the ending of Season 2 which no-one saw coming, will actually and eventually turn out to be a mirage in more ways than one.  It is no secret that I have felt all along, the last 10 minutes of S2.13 were an illusion of the worst kind in Robin's sun-dried imagination having found himself and his Gang in the situation the Sheriff put them in, and this in fact, was the cliffhanger, albeit too long in the interim, so that at some time during Season 3, Marian should be brought back to her rightful position by Robin's side for the happy ever after ending they and we, should have the right to expect, with the Sheriff and Gisborne carted off to the Tower of London (where they cannot easily expect to escape unlike Nottingham Castle) to await the King's decision on trial and conviction.  And once again, if the writers need any help there with further storylines, I strongly suggest they refer to the Armstrong Angels FanFiction because there are any amount of brilliant solutions to be found there in the JAF Forum.

It has been interesting to read the BBCA's Boards on where the legend should go from here as there are some suggestions favouring flashbacks to the childhoods and early days of Robin and Gisborne and this is where it is felt Jonas may not be in all 13 episodes, for the most stupid of reasons I feel.  Apparently it is talked about that Richard can play a younger version of Gisborne whereas how can Jonas do likewise?  What ???  Unbelievable!  Other than that gob-smacking revelation, there are some excellent ideas for further storylines but really speaking, they shouldn't perhaps be necessary if common sense prevails this time around.  One suggestion made was that could be Robin and Gisborne be - gasp! - brothers!  I mean, the irreplacable Kevin Costner version had Robin and Will Scarlett as half-brothers and that was far-fetched so it was thought - but please be to God - not Robin and Gisborne ....  

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August 23rd 2008 - don't creep up behind me and say boo!

Oh Boy!  Now that our beloved Yank mates have caught up with the rest of us, having viewed the finale of Season 2, and we're still in the midst of our extended grieving patterns once again or rather, all over again, there are signs that we are all coming round to whipping up some enthusiasm for Season 3 because, when it is all said and done, our Darlin' Jonas is still No. 1 Headlining STAR - at last the tabloids are crediting him properly - took them bloomin' long enough, didn't it?  But in the meantime, there still seems as though there isn't enough to carry on with until Season 3 airs in January 2009.  No doubt, we'll find something suitable to discuss between ourselves although we've all but worn out the obvious, Jonas's cute bum, his equally cute ears, his gorgeous blue eyes, his killer smile and THAT gap in his teeth which won't get him work in America!  What!!  Honestly, did any of you see that crappy remark made by - I forget who now - but I was suitably prompted to answer that with "What on earth has the gap in his teeth got to do with his brilliant acting ability?"  He should be so lucky!  I once had beautiful teeth until I started getting them chipped and broken and filled - the dreaded fillings, which made them look unsightly in close up whereas if I had had a small gap, my fillings would never have been evident.  Lucky Jonas!  I managed to have 2 front teeth smashed when I played Hockey and then had one hell of an argument with my Dentist when I wanted them extracted.  Anyway, this is beginning to touch on the criticism levelled at Jonas by some really, really strange and totally uncalled for comments bordering on ridiculous.  So, I will address that right now ..!

Thank goodness for the Armstrong Angels!  I think we all acquitted ourselves very well defending our Hero and quite rightly so too, from some of the singularly most outrageous comments I've come across yet.  So stupid I don't know why they were even published as it made the authors look completely ridiculous, childish and in some cases, downright jealous of Jonas's achievements.  In one of many instances, and I wasn't the only one either, I was prompted by something so completely ludicrous as to answer the writer of one piece of rubbish, that he or she could write what they liked as I seriously doubted Jonas would ever lose any sleep over their comments or silly misguided opinions and that we were entitled to bestow our affections on whomever we wished - that was our choice and our right, just as they could do likewise over their preferred choice and unlike them, we  would see fit to admire anyone deemed worthy of our affections.  Mind you!  I blame Richard Armitage for some of this as it's his fault because he plays Gisborne so convincingly brilliantly, we see fit to hate him, Gisborne that is, and unfortunately, his fans take offence by obviously believing our comments are directed at Richard, the lovely chap as opposed to Gisborne, the brutally, evil character he plays.  And this is where the problem arises - some people don't know how to differentiate between the actors' characters.  Anyway, I suppose there will always be that sort of behaviour where one team favours one actor more than another.  The new motto we choose to use now as quoted by none other than Jonas himself - onwards and upwards ....

I'm also really looking forward to the release of Book of Blood and despite it being classified as a horror flick - who cares, have you all read Lucky's blog which, apart from being hilariously funny (I'm not up with all the spoons and spatulas talk but can see if I'm to understand any of it, I should get up to speed on it), but I am extremely impressed with Clive Barker's description of the performances of the film's stars and the fact that it's going to be THE sexiest horror flick ever.  And while I'm not keen on horror flicks anyway (only don't creep up behind me and say "BOO" or you'll wish you hadn't!!) I won't have to rely on cushions or anything to cover my eyes - not when all that beauty is on screen in front of me - I can't wait.

A few blogs back I remember mentioning I had worked for the Shaw Savill Line, a British Shipping Company, in three of the Company's Offices here in Fremantle, Melbourne and Wellington in New Zealand for quite a few years, during which time, I travelled on the two popular passenger liners of that particular era.  Out of eight trips at sea, I paid for only two, the rest being at Company expense as I was expected to work on board if required (and I mean in the Purser's Office) but my first trip, being my first time at sea I was travelling alone and very, very nervous.  A lovely elderly couple approached me in the Forward Smoke Room one day where with an ever present drink in my hand, I had been listening to the Pianist playing some really fabulous music, and these people joined me and naturally, we started chatting (and drinking even more) when they surprised me by saying they didn't know how they would be received by me as I appeared to be arrogant and uppity and that I was wandering around the ship as though I owned it.  So when I collected my wits, stopped laughing long enough, I told them I did part-own the ship as I spent enough money in the Bars to lay a claim to ownership (besides I had a giant crush on the 2nd Barman anyway), I had worked for SSL and I wasn't really arrogant, just nervous and basically shy (well, yeah! I was shy once) as this was my first trip to sea.  I thoroughly enjoyed their company as they were wonderful people, English, and had some wonderful tales to tell me too so all in all, I was absolutely gob-smacked when they told me I wasn't arrogant after all and was really very, very nice.  And you wonder what the point of all this is:  Quite easy, I could easily relate to Jonas being nervous in his first big role because of his shyness and nerves, he felt he came across as being arrogant at the time, but in actual fact, it was his way of covering up how he was probably quite terrified at the thought of what he was about to undertake - his first big starring role and he equipped himself so brilliantly that he is well on his way to making his own mark on the Television and the Movie Picture Industry and I for one, can't wait to see that happen.

 I wrote to him a month or so ago when all this nonsense was in full swing, thanking him for his participation in making the Convention so memorable for all the Angels who did attend, and that I was thrilled to bits that his Mother and Colin attended on his behalf and how exciting that was for all of us attendees and non-attendees as it made for a wonderful weekend for everyone concerned.  I wished him well for his brilliant career, I said I didn't agree with Marian's demise and the way those in charge saw fit to take the legend but in spite of it, would support Season 3 because he and other Cast Members had asked us to and I mentioned that I hoped he would always remain as he is today, the beautiful young man he has become and I personally hoped he would never change - I stopped short of asking that he never have his teeth altered because he may not get work in America, but I remember how Cher and Celine Dion looked before Hollywood or whoever, suggested their terrible looking dental work - they had both had beautiful teeth in the beginning and whoever or whatever induced them to alter the shape of their natural teeth, had in actual fact, made them look more artificial.  Mind you, I have more confidence in Jonas's ability to do the right thing by himself and remain true to himself rather than bow down to any artificiality as dictated by the influence of Hollywood - sorry, but I cannot get over that stupid remark, and all I can remember was it was written by someone who insisted on writing in capital letters, no proper punctuation and shocking spelling - so that in itself should give you some clues as to the person (or clown) I am referring to.

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August 13th 2008 - Jonas we wish you well and those who don't can go to hell!

It's official!  It has now been confirmed by our Darlin' Bossman and the BBC that at the end of Series 3, Jonas is quitting Robin Hood.  Not news to us as he made it known way back in 2006 he was only prepared to commit to three Seasons and honour that commitment, he has done, admirably and very conscientiously and efficiently too, and now that all the gossip and innuendo and mystery and intrigue surrounds the remaining episodes and the announcement, however unlikely, that consideration could be given to extending to a fourth season, I personally fail to see how or why it would even be warranted now that the subject has gone on these Boards that Robin might die at the conclusion of Season 3.  That being the case, where can the story go from there?  I don't believe it would even be considered unless of course, the ending of Season 2 can be written off as a cliffhanger, nightmare illusion scene and that in actual fact, what we saw is not what took place at all, hence Robin's beloved Marian is not dead, the last 10 minute sequences we saw - did not take place except in the silly misguided Producers' minds, or one of the characters' (Robin himself perhaps) which has been alluded to, and on many occasions into the bargain, perhaps now (and once again) the results of Lucy Griffiths being released from the show at her own peril, because if this is the really, true version of the story, it is unfortunate that the responsibility for the uncertainty of the show's format or future, now rests upon her shoulders once again with her hasty and ill-advised decision to dash off (and in this case) early, right smack bang into the Hollywood Writers' Strike where it appears she has had only one project on offer since and that decision could very well cost her dearly which I sincerely hope, will not be the case.  She is too brilliant to risk damaging her prosperous career like this. 

There was a strong story on the Boards not so long ago that she was in talks with the BBC and Tiger and equally strong talk (rumour perhaps) that she was seen hanging around the set in Budapest just prior to filming the current remaining (?) 13 episodes.  And if there's no substance to any of this and Marian isn't included in any more of the stories, then Robin, without his One and Only True Love is floundering or as Jonas has stated in an interview, which was with-held for approximately three months before release, the writers have not figured out yet what or how to proceed with Robin's storylines now Marian has been taken away from him.  And on that basis, nobody would have blamed Jonas for pulling the pin early himself, because and I stress, this is only my opinion and before going any further, I reiterate, my opinion only, that Robin has been for some time now, not exactly holding centre stage of this version of Robin Hood.  I realise others share my opinion on this subject but I am speaking for myself only.  I don't believe Jonas has been given credit where credit is due nor do I believe he has been allowed to shine in his role as Robin the way he deserved.  And on hanging on to what he has stated as being obvious, it seems doubtful he will be given preference as the Title-holder of the show to shine again seeing as though the Producers, creators and artistic writers seem to favour - well!  they've blatantly made no secret of who they are favouring - one of the villains - and while he is brilliant at being one of the villains - he has been made "too far above his station" for want of a better expression, and as much as I detest the legend being side-tracked from the known and original stories, I fear this may be the downfall of this version, which until the disastrous ending, 10 minutes from the end of the Season, may well be its downfall, which while it won't do Jonas's aspiring career any harm whatsoever - we know and have every faith in his ability to go onwards and upwards to taking the World by storm with his ability to be the best and of that, I have no doubts whatsoever - move over all you has-beens - Jonas is on his way up.  If only we could put as much faith and trust in the Production team and writers of Robin Hood as I have in Jonas, then we would know where we stand and would ensure the success of Robin Hood for future generations.

I've never made any secret of the fact I believe this is the best ever - with the best actors in every one of their roles - and I am really distressed to think this won't entirely be the case when it's all over.  It could be brought so easily back on track - in fact, I'd have sacked all the so-called creative writers in favour of the brilliant Armstrong Angels who, since S2 ended, have written so many heart-warming alternatives to what we were presented with.  These stories have mended our broken hearts time and time again with what we believe should have been the way the stories should have been written in the first place.  I'd be prepared to state that they certainly would have been more acceptable to where it ended and all the uncertainty of how to carry on from where it is now.  Not to mention, there are even better alternatives of how to proceed with a darn-sight less uncertainty which hovers over the remainder of the show after all these months because apparently, the damage already created has cast doubts with the artistic, creativity of the future.  Wouldn't you think that any one amongst them would have come up with the suggestion that we can fix this, easy, but No!  They seem intent on just digging themselves into a deeper hole instead of fixing what the previous mob broke.  That in itself, would have been creative, just fixing their predecessors' mess up.  I'm afraid their lack of creativity is not exactly giving me reason to jump over the moon in excited anticipation - I have to ask - is it inspiring anybody else to hope for a better outcome?  All I want, all I have ever wanted since Darlin' Jonas's brilliant talent as a handsome heart-throb and first-class actor became evident, is absolute success for him first and my favourite, the best of British Legends, Robin Hood to go down for all time as the best telling of the tales of Robin Hood ever produced and I hate to say it, but it looks like the usually astute Poms (read BBC and Tiger Aspect included) have stuffed up big time on this particular occasion.

Jonas, I am pleased to say, is slated for bigger and better things, and I repeat one of my fellow Armstrong Angels sayings if I may, from Joanieb64 and I quote: 
           
            Jonas, we wish you well -- and those who don't -- can go to hell!

Before I complete this depressing missive (??), on many an occasion lately we have been given the opportunity to respond to some very unkind criticism of both the show and Jonas himself.  At first, I'd jump in feet first and defend my rights to my personal opinions and believe me, I've done that often enough and on a more recent occasion I was actually defending Jonas's acting ability against, of all things - the gap in his teeth!!  Some ridiculous troll claimed he wouldn't work in America based on the ........ I couldn't believe how stupid some people can be and bit back asking what on earth had the one thing to do with the other!  And on another occasion, I answered that Jonas was perfectly capable of planning his own career without any help from such idiots and would not lose any sleep over any silly criticism they may have to make, then I thought "hang on a minute, these idiots are baiting us to upset us" so from now on, I do what I think we should all do.  Do not dignify their ignorant claims by taking the slightest bit of notice of them, we only upset ourselves and as I've just said, Jonas knows only too well what he expects from his chosen career and he will succeed - make no mistake - he will not lose any sleep over silly inane remarks and neither should we.  He knows we support him wholeheartedly and always will.  These foolish people will only finish up making fools of themselves by opening their mouths to change feet. And then, my faithful, loyal fellow Armstrong angels, they won't need our help - no way - in making complete asses of themselves - because they will do that all by them-tiny-selves.  The Fools!


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August 5th 2008 - A cock-eyed optimist

Aha!  Something positive from our Darlin' Jonas - at long last, and the interviewer correctly classifies him as the Hero of Robin Hood, Robin Hood himself and not before time either!  People might have gotten the wrong impression from another well-interviewed, or over-interviewed source that Robin had been relegated to the back bench, and if Jonas's interview is anything to go by, the storylines approximately 13 weeks ago had reached stalemate as it seems that back then, they hadn't worked out what to do with the Hero because the creators/writers had deprived him of his one and only true love and possibly his place in the show.  This interview took place, we are led to believe, at the start of the American Season 2 screening way back on 26 April 2008 but was with-held and I have no doubts the excuse will have been to avoid spoilers for our beloved American Friends.  Now they are saying once again, that Lucy departed the show of her own accord when she claims it was the result of an "artistic" decision to write her character out.  Who do we believe?  The only person so far who hasn't tried to hoodwink anybody is our Star, Jonas Armstrong with his refreshing ability to speak up without fear of contradiction.  We all know we never have had any reason to doubt him telling it like it is but then, have they hoodwinked him under the circumstances?

Supposing and this is my idea, however cock-eyed you may think, supposing that by Jonas's admission the storylines were slow at that time as they were at a loss to know what to do with his character - THE HERO - due to the fact they had taken his Sweetheart away in a (very) cruel twist of fate - (read unauthorised twist of the legend acting under false pretences as "creative" or "artistic" license) and apart from plenty of action, they really hadn't worked out what to do with Robin Hood in the production of Robin Hood, and more than ever, that fired up my imagination to really believe they were going to go forward with the Gisborne line of redemption which I feared, would only gratify Richard's Fans and stray too far from the original legend.  Okay! as I said, I have a very over-active imagination and a very real devotion to supporting my fellow Armstrong Angels and Autos in their own creative efforts at writing up far better adaptations of stories already produced, in particular, the ending of Season 2 Episode 13.  Keep reading Folks!  This is becoming less far fetched the more I think about it.

If and this is a huge IF, as Jonas says, he wished Lucy well and expressed his desire her hopes panned out well for her, and she did this film U Be Dead and could arrange her filming schedule accordingly, if all the secrecy is to prevent Jonas himself discovering that Marian can be brought safely back to Robin in the forest perhaps halfway through or even later, they kept this under wraps so as to capture the surprise he would exhibit at seeing her again and can you imagine it yourselves?  It would have to go down in Movie and Television History for all time his wonderful natural ability to show exactly the right emotions at a time like this and how absolutely marvellous we would all feel having Marian back with Robin.   He will be grieving for quite a way through all the episodes, in fact there would never be another love for Robin and while he might pick up the pieces eventually and move on with his life, what is wrong with the writers using what creative artistic license they have in bringing her back from the Holy Land, with Will and Djaq after recovering from her injuries and going to the forest to reunite with Robin unbekown to Gisborne, if by this time, Gisborne is still alive.  I personally would be over-the-moon if this was the case as I'm sure Fans everywhere would be too,  I can't imagine a better solution to the predicament the new writers find themselves in following the disaster they have been left to clean up.  Mind you, if Jonas was made aware then or now even, that Lucy was available to come back in to the show and arrived unannounced in the forest with Will and Djaq bringing her home, he would still rise to the occasion with his brilliant ability to read every emotion and just to see that beautiful smile again would be reward enough to forgive and forget the shocking finale of Season 2 ever took place.  I must admit I telephoned the BBC in Glasgow only last night 5th August, to express as strongly as I could my complaint about writing Lucy out saying I hope they would attempt to bring her back and put the legend back in its proper perspective.

You can call me what you like, a raving nutcase, a Cock-eyed Optimist, a Dreamer (Sir Edward said it was good to dream), it won't worry me but I cannot bear the thought that because of what Jonas has said, this is looking dangerously like becoming the Guy of Gisborne show, seeing as they didn't know what to do with his character, Robin Hood.  And I don't want the show to fail because of the exceedingly brilliant portrayals of all characters even Richard Armitage's terrific evil bad guy, Gisborne.  Perhaps I've gone overboard suggesting the surprise be kept from Jonas but please don't question my enthusiasm.  Like everybody else, this is more than just another television show to me, I love it very much and I want what we were originally promised, the Family Entertainment show it started out so well with Series 1 and all its promises.  I have never questioned the writers' ability to write good episodes, just the direction they took unecessarily with all the BS that emanated from the bad decisions made.  My greatest wish is for this adaptation to be the best ever because of the wonderful commitment given by all those responsible for its creation and particularly Jonas and Lucy for giving their very best performance in one of the greatest love stories of all time, because, whether they actually did exist once upon a time or not, they are the Robin and Marian of all time.

As you can imagine, all this comes freshly back to mind now that Season 2 has just completed in America and all the grief, shock and horror at that ending is on our minds once again, making us hurt and angry at the apparent betrayal by the previous writers, who clearly didn't know when they were on a winner by letting this version go so far wrong in the last 10 minutes of the programme.  You cannot build up a rich, beautiful romance the way it came to be in more than 25 episodes only to destroy it by killing off the Heroine in the last 10 minutes because of a three-way triangle storyline which was severely overdone for far too long and should never have been allowed to put her in the path of an unstable psychotic person in the first place.  John Thornton might have been the perfect man to idolise in North & South, but I'm afraid Guy of Gisborne was not a person to be readily admired for his traits and that I'm afraid, I believe was the downfall of Robin Hood but it needn't be if the new writers are up for a challenge and bring the storylines to a far better conclusion than what it seemed Fans everywhere were facing.

And to finish my waffling - I think you'll all agree - Up The Mighty Armstrong Angels - and along with our beloved Boss - onwards and upwards.  Good on Ya, Jonas XXXX