Robin in the hood

I have vivid memories of settling down to watch Sunday night television with my family when I was a kid. Yes, it was Sunday Night Disney, but as I got older, my family was collectively sucked into the traditional Sunday night series on the ABC: To Serve Them All My Days, A Horseman Riding By, and The Duchess of Duke Street were highlights. (I also remember getting my first glimpse of The Sex Pistols one Sunday night on the ABC around the same time. Talk about as far removed from the story of Louisa Trotter as you could get; in that first viewing, they were really shocking - and thrilling.)

I had a taste of those Sunday nights in my own house last night, when we sat down with our kids to watch the first episode of Robin Hood (produced by the BBC, and screening in Australia on the ABC at 7.30pm on Sundays). Yes, it has been updated for a modern audience, but something felt very comfortable and familiar about this new adaptation of the legend of the outlaws in Sherwood Forest. It wasn't just because this is a story that we know well; it was something to do with the pace of the series, which has at least 13 episodes in which to tell the tale.

This update is great fun, told with lots of energy and humour. The characters have been updated for the noughties, with the goodies being just a little flawed, and the baddies very bad indeed. It looks great too - the costuming in particular is fantastic. The kids loved Robin Hood (well, the older two did - the youngest one got bored and played with his Lego instead), and we enjoyed it a great deal.

Looks like we have a new Sunday night ritual.