Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 19 hrs ago
Gene Roddenberry Wrote an Unmade Robin Hood TV Pilot in 1967
In 1967, Gene Roddenberry wrote a pilot for a Robin Hood TV series while Star Trek was airing its second season.
Roddenberry is best known for creating Star Trek, but he was also exploring projects in other genres.
He wanted a more modern Robin Hood, somewhere between hero and antihero, rather than the traditional, idealised figure.
In a letter, he said he was trying to find how far he could change the character without losing the legend's value.
The pilot was never made, and little is known about its script or plans for casting and stories.
The script is not readily available, and no outlines or treatments are known to be around.
The idea reflects an ongoing challenge for storytellers: updating familiar characters without losing what makes them enduring.
Gene Roddenberry wrote a pilot for a Robin Hood television series in 1967, according to David Alexander’s authorized biography.
The proposed series was titled “Robin Hood.”
Roddenberry wanted to recast Robin Hood as a more modern, antiheroic figure.
The biography includes a letter in which Roddenberry discussed the challenge of updating the legendary hero.
The pilot was not made, and the article says little else is known about it.
- Who
- Gene Roddenberry wrote the pilot.
- What
- He wrote a pilot for a Robin Hood television series that was not made.
- When
- 1967.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- He wanted to update Robin Hood for a contemporary audience, avoiding a traditionally “wimpy” heroic portrayal.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Writer
- Gene Roddenberry
- Pilot title
- Robin Hood
- Year written
- 1967
- Source of account
- David Alexander’s authorized biography of Roddenberry
- Proposed portrayal
- A modern Robin Hood with antiheroic qualities
What people are saying
By a strange coincidence, your letter came at a time in which I was preparing a pilot in the 'Robin Hood' area, and was at the moment wrestling with the problem of hero and antihero.
I realized that Robin Hood could not succeed in today's market if he were the wimpy 'St. George and England!'-type hero and yet how far could I go in the other direction without completely destroying the value of the legendary figure?
I think I have the problem solved, but it would be fun if you were here so I could sit down over coffee and discuss the questions involved.