Lardner's Ring
Encyclopedia
Lardner's Ring is the ninth episode of series two of the BBC's Robin Hood series. It aired on Saturday 1 December, 2007, on BBC One
. Its title is presumably a tribute to the writer Ring Lardner, Jr., who was amongst the writers of the 1950s BBC television series The Adventures of Robin Hood
.
The Sheriff is furious at the messenger's escape. Chief focus of his wrath is a fool whom Gisborne had hired to entertain his guests. It is revealed that the fool had spoken with the king's messenger before the chase, informing him, quite innocently, that Gisborne was the new lord of Locksley and that Robin was an outlaw. As the Sheriff's men drag the fool away, he makes a number of "prophetic" predictions, including a warning about the "Ring of Lardner" spelling trouble for Prince John. It is assumed that the original messenger had told the fool about Lardner's ring prior to being chased off by Gisbourne's men.
Will and Djaq discover that Locksley Village is being scoured for Lardner's ring. They create a distraction that allows some villagers to escape, but Will is captured. Back at camp, Djaq tells Robin that "Lardner" might be an anglicisation
of "La Denah", a Saracen carrier pigeon
and Robin's message of reply will take only days to get back to King Richard. She wonders aloud how Richard could have gotten a Sultan's prized bird. Robin speculates that Richard might have made an alliance with the Sultan, but she worries that the Sultan has been captured, "And if they've got him, they've got everyone."
Meanwhile, the Sheriff plans to execute the fool and the captured Will Scarlet. Pretending to plead for mercy, the fool filches a manacle key off of Allan's belt. Allan notices but pretends not to. After the Sheriff leaves, Will and the fool escape.
Whilst the gang sets about composing a pigeon-sized message to the King, Robin and Marian ride off to the last place they had seen saw the King's messenger, correctly deducing that the only place he could have left Lardner was in the tree. Robin pulls out a rope and climbs, telling Marian not to follow, but she disobeys. Just as they reach Lardner, the Sheriff and Gisborne arrive. Surrounded, and trapped in the tree, with the men trying to set the tree on fire, Robin and Marian realise that unless they resort to desperate measures they will both die without warning Richard.
The Sheriff goes back to the castle, saying, "I have an idea." Meanwhile, Marian insists that Robin pretend to have been holding her hostage, saying she was captured on her way home. She says she will scream, but Robin says she would have cried out earlier. She says she could not if she was bound and gagged, so tells him to bind and gag her. He lowers the bound and gagged Marian from a tree on a rope, threatening to kill her. This is enough to make Gisbourne back off, making room for the outlaws, with help from the fool, to distract Gisbourne's men with a smoke screen. Robin gets a clear route of escape from the tree, but Marian decides she can be of more use in the castle. Robin gives her an engagement ring and they kiss each other goodbye. Gisbourne "rescues" Marian.
As the outlaws escape, Will releases the pigeon out in the open. Unfortunately, the Sheriff returns from his errand to the castle with a hunting hawk, which quickly dispatches the small pigeon. The Sheriff is smug and heads off back to the castle.
Back at camp, Robin is feeling despondent, having lost both Marian and Lardner. Will reveals that the pigeon that was killed had been a decoy, a spare prop bird provided by the fool. The very living Lardner is given the message on a ring around his foot and released into the open. The episode closes with a shot of the bird flying over Sherwood, carrying a message, "Prince John plots to steal your throne. Make peace--" these two words inserted by Djaq "--and come home immediately."
as an accelerant. As Guy mentions, Robin previously used pitch to set Gisborne on fire in the episode "Childhood."
Throughout season 1 and 2 small flirtatious moments between Will and Djaq can be spotted, it is only until the scene with Much's speech about honey in this episode that there is evidence that the gang are sensing a possible union between the two. Robin is told that Will and Djaq have gone to one of the villages to get honey, Much then hints "If that's what they've gone for. But why does it need two of them, hmm?"
catchphrase in Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines
.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. Its title is presumably a tribute to the writer Ring Lardner, Jr., who was amongst the writers of the 1950s BBC television series The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
.
Plot
A mortally wounded one-legged messenger from King Richard flees Locksley Manor and is pursued by Allan and Gisbourne's men. He manages to hide a wicker cage up a tree before suffering a bad fall. Robin and Marian arrive and drive off Allan and his men. With his dying breath, the messenger tells Robin that the King needs him to recruit more men to fight in the Holy Land and utters the word "Lardner." After Marian and Robin bury the messenger, Marian asks Robin if he would like to say a few words. Robin says that he would, but instead of giving a eulogy, he asks Marian if she will marry him. Marian agrees, and they form a plan, "Find Lardner", whom they assume to be another messenger, "warn King Richard, defeat the Sheriff, and then get married."The Sheriff is furious at the messenger's escape. Chief focus of his wrath is a fool whom Gisborne had hired to entertain his guests. It is revealed that the fool had spoken with the king's messenger before the chase, informing him, quite innocently, that Gisborne was the new lord of Locksley and that Robin was an outlaw. As the Sheriff's men drag the fool away, he makes a number of "prophetic" predictions, including a warning about the "Ring of Lardner" spelling trouble for Prince John. It is assumed that the original messenger had told the fool about Lardner's ring prior to being chased off by Gisbourne's men.
Will and Djaq discover that Locksley Village is being scoured for Lardner's ring. They create a distraction that allows some villagers to escape, but Will is captured. Back at camp, Djaq tells Robin that "Lardner" might be an anglicisation
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
of "La Denah", a Saracen carrier pigeon
Carrier pigeon
A carrier pigeon is a homing pigeon that is used to carry messages. Using pigeons to carry messages is generally called "pigeon post". Most homing or racing type varieties are used to carry messages. There is no specific breed actually called "carrier pigeon"...
and Robin's message of reply will take only days to get back to King Richard. She wonders aloud how Richard could have gotten a Sultan's prized bird. Robin speculates that Richard might have made an alliance with the Sultan, but she worries that the Sultan has been captured, "And if they've got him, they've got everyone."
Meanwhile, the Sheriff plans to execute the fool and the captured Will Scarlet. Pretending to plead for mercy, the fool filches a manacle key off of Allan's belt. Allan notices but pretends not to. After the Sheriff leaves, Will and the fool escape.
Whilst the gang sets about composing a pigeon-sized message to the King, Robin and Marian ride off to the last place they had seen saw the King's messenger, correctly deducing that the only place he could have left Lardner was in the tree. Robin pulls out a rope and climbs, telling Marian not to follow, but she disobeys. Just as they reach Lardner, the Sheriff and Gisborne arrive. Surrounded, and trapped in the tree, with the men trying to set the tree on fire, Robin and Marian realise that unless they resort to desperate measures they will both die without warning Richard.
The Sheriff goes back to the castle, saying, "I have an idea." Meanwhile, Marian insists that Robin pretend to have been holding her hostage, saying she was captured on her way home. She says she will scream, but Robin says she would have cried out earlier. She says she could not if she was bound and gagged, so tells him to bind and gag her. He lowers the bound and gagged Marian from a tree on a rope, threatening to kill her. This is enough to make Gisbourne back off, making room for the outlaws, with help from the fool, to distract Gisbourne's men with a smoke screen. Robin gets a clear route of escape from the tree, but Marian decides she can be of more use in the castle. Robin gives her an engagement ring and they kiss each other goodbye. Gisbourne "rescues" Marian.
As the outlaws escape, Will releases the pigeon out in the open. Unfortunately, the Sheriff returns from his errand to the castle with a hunting hawk, which quickly dispatches the small pigeon. The Sheriff is smug and heads off back to the castle.
Back at camp, Robin is feeling despondent, having lost both Marian and Lardner. Will reveals that the pigeon that was killed had been a decoy, a spare prop bird provided by the fool. The very living Lardner is given the message on a ring around his foot and released into the open. The episode closes with a shot of the bird flying over Sherwood, carrying a message, "Prince John plots to steal your throne. Make peace--" these two words inserted by Djaq "--and come home immediately."
Cast
- Jonas ArmstrongJonas ArmstrongJonas Armstrong is an Irish-actor, raised in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, best known for his appearances on television in the United Kingdom, where he played the title role in the BBC One drama series Robin Hood.-Career:...
... Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes.... - Lucy Griffiths ... Lady MarianMaid MarianMaid Marian is the wife of the legendary English outlaw Robin Hood. Stemming from another, older tradition, she became associated with Robin Hood only in the 16th century.-History:The earliest medieval Robin Hood stories gave him no female companion...
- Keith Allen ... the Sheriff of NottinghamSheriff of NottinghamThe Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice. For years the post has been directly appointed by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and in modern times, with the existence of the police force, the position is...
- Richard ArmitageRichard Armitage (actor)Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
... Sir Guy of GisborneSir Guy of GisborneSir Guy of Gisborne is a fictional character in the BBC television drama series, Robin Hood, based on a minor figure in Robin Hood folklore... - Joe ArmstrongJoe Armstrong (actor)Joe Armstrong is an English actor. He played Allan A Dale in the BBC series Robin Hood. He plays Hotspur in the forthcoming BBC production of Henry IV, Part 1 and he will appear in the film Closer to the Moon by Nae Caranfil...
... Allan-a-Dale - Harry LloydHarry LloydHarry Lloyd is an English actor. He played Will Scarlet in the first two seasons of the BBC drama Robin Hood which began in 2006...
... Will ScarletWill ScarletWill Scarlet was a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He was present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son.... - Anjali JayAnjali JayAnjali Jay is a British-Indian actress. She is best known for her role in the 2006 film Blind Dating and as Djaq on the first two seasons of the 2006 television series Robin Hood.-Biography:...
... Djaq - Sam TroughtonSam TroughtonSam Troughton is a British actor. He is the son of David Troughton and the grandson of Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton. His younger brother is Warwickshire cricketer Jim Troughton...
... MuchMuch the Miller's SonMuch the Miller's Son was, in the tales of Robin Hood, one of his Merry Men. He appears in some of the oldest ballads, A Gest of Robyn Hode and Robin Hood and the Monk, as one of the company.Generally he becomes an outlaw when he is caught poaching... - Gordon KennedyGordon Kennedy (actor)Gordon Kennedy is a Scottish actor. Kennedy grew up in Tranent, East Lothian, and attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh...
... Little JohnLittle JohnLittle John was a legendary fellow outlaw of Robin Hood, and was said to be Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.-Folklore:He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories... - Mathew HorneMathew HorneMathew Frazer Horne is an English actor, stand-up comedian, television presenter and narrator best known for appearing on several BBC sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably Gavin & Stacey portraying Gavin Shipman, The Catherine Tate Show, Teachers and Horne and Corden.-Early life:Horne was born...
.... Fool
Continuity
Gisborne threatens to burn down the tree in which Robin is hiding, using pitchPitch (resin)
Pitch is the name for any of a number of viscoelastic, solid polymers. Pitch can be made from petroleum products or plants. Petroleum-derived pitch is also called bitumen. Pitch produced from plants is also known as resin. Products made from plant resin are also known as rosin.Pitch was...
as an accelerant. As Guy mentions, Robin previously used pitch to set Gisborne on fire in the episode "Childhood."
Throughout season 1 and 2 small flirtatious moments between Will and Djaq can be spotted, it is only until the scene with Much's speech about honey in this episode that there is evidence that the gang are sensing a possible union between the two. Robin is told that Will and Djaq have gone to one of the villages to get honey, Much then hints "If that's what they've gone for. But why does it need two of them, hmm?"
Popular culture references
The Sheriff urges his men on with the line "We must catch the pigeon! Catch the pigeon now!" This is a reference to Dick Dastardly'sDick Dastardly
Dick Dastardly is a fictional character and antagonist who appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Dastardly's most famous appearances are main character in the series Wacky Races and its spin-off Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines...
catchphrase in Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines
Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines is a cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for CBS. Originally the series was broadcast as a Saturday morning cartoon, airing from September 13, 1969 to January 3, 1970...
.