Maid Marian And Her Merry Men was a children's Sit Com made by The BBC, based on Robin Hood and written by Tony Robinson, [[AuthorAvatar who also played the Sheriff]]. Considered by some to be Blackadder's ''Younger Cousin'' series.
!Ye Goodies
!! Maid Marian
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->'''Played by:''' Kate Lonergan
The heroine and titular character; a passionate revolutionary who wages a constant war against tyranny and injustice -- or at least tries to, in spite of the well-intentioned "help" she gets from her rather incompetent band of Merry Men. She's probably the smartest character on the show, frequently functioning as the OnlySaneWoman, though even she can get some strange ideas when it comes to what outlaw heroes are supposed to do.
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* ActionGirl: Not quite as action-y as she would ''like'' to be; she spends more time organizing charity events than freedom-fighting. Nevertheless, she is very competent and skilled, and can more than hold her own in a fight.
* DeadpanSnarker: She gets ''really'' creative when thinking up insults.
* {{Flanderization}} (Started out as a well balanced Type B {{Tsundere}} but by season 4, [[JerkAss she was always angry about something.]])
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Well, she has her less-than-nice moments, but she has a strong sense of justice and compassion for the poor and needy, and works tirelessly to help those less fortunate than her.
* TheHero: A unique take on Maid Marian of legend, in that she is the clear hero of the show and the leader of the outlaws.
* ImportantHaircut: Gets one in the last season, because [[RealLifeWritesThePlot her actress Kate Lonergan had her hair cut for a stage play she was in between seasons three and four, and there wasn't time to grow it back.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Has entirely noble intentions but is quite snarky due to everyone she knows being an idiot.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Masculine girl to Robin's feminine boy.
* OnlySaneWoman: Though not completely without her quirks or follies, she generally takes on this role.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Her allies aren't the brightest bunch.
* WideEyedIdealist: She has traces of this, though the world lets her down every time.
!! Robin "Hood" of Kensington
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->'''Played by:''' Wayne Morris
The biggest hero and most ruthless outlaw in all England -- or so people think, thanks to various mishaps and misunderstandings. In reality, Robin is a vain and cowardly fool who worked as a tailor before circumstances forced him into the life of an outlaw. He is (at least in Marian's eyes) the stupidest and most useless of the Merry Men, though he does occasionally make himself useful; for example, it was his idea that the Merry Men all dress in green so as to "co-ordinate with the trees."
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* BornLucky: He's obscenely lucky and frequently receives credit for things he didn't do.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's legitimately skilled at textile work, which is his actual job.
* CampStraight: He's very effeminate but shows interest in the ladies.
* TheCastShowoff: Actor Wayne Morris is a good singer, so it follows that Robin sang a lot of the songs on the show.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He ''does'' have his moments, though they're rare.
* TheDandy: Very fashion-conscious and always tries to look his best. Interestingly enough, this seems to build up under his reputation as a great hero, as he is pretty good at dressing up to make himself look dashing and suave.
* TheFace: His actual function on the team. He's handsome, charismatic and has a naturally inspiring presence but is otherwise useless and relies on the efforts of the rest of the group to accomplish anything.
* FakeUltimateHero: Only the other Merry Men see him for the foolish coward he really is; to everyone else he's the greatest hero in the land. Partly this is pure accident and partly because he thinks it's a cool image to cultivate.
* TheFool: Extremely naive and gullible; he wouldn't have lasted five minutes as an outlaw if it hadn't been for a near-unbeatable combination of dumb luck and Marian's quick thinking.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his selfish and self-centered nature, he's really quite soft-hearted and kind, even towards his enemies.
* TheLancer: A pompous fool who gets all of the credit, in contrast to the competent but ignored Marian.
* LargeHam: He's quite the thespian.
* TheLoad: His contributions to the team are pretty minimal, and he's frequently a hindrance.
* LovableCoward: Despite his reputation as a fearless hero, he would rather just run and hide when danger approaches.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Feminine boy to Marian's masculine girl.
* TheMunchausen: With a heavy accent on MilesGloriosus.
* NonActionGuy: While he occasionally pulls his weight, he tends to cower during conflict.
* SmallNameBigEgo: It's not uncommon for him to let the praise of the people go to his head and begin thinking he's as awesome as everyone says.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: Robin is the only character in the show to avert the LimitedWardrobe trope; especially after the first series. He has a ''lot'' of different outfits and seldom wears the same one two episodes in a row. Probably {{Justified|Trope}} in that he is a tailor by trade, and is repeatedly shown to be very fashion-conscious.
* UpperClassTwit: He ''wants'' to be one, he's adopted the mannerisms of one, he tries to dress like one, and he's borderline obsessed with royalty and the upper class... but even before he became an outlaw, he was very much a commoner.
!! Little Ron
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->'''Played by:''' Mike Edmonds
An AffectionateParody of Little John; Little Ron is the smallest but scrappiest of the Merry Men. He's known for his violent outbursts, and basically joined Marian because it seemed a good way to get into more fights.
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* TheBigGuy: The best and toughest fighter on the team by far.
* FearlessFool: Little Ron owns no fear or respect for anything and is usually the first to charge into danger (though he does occasionally get confused and charges in the wrong direction).
* HairTriggerTemper: It doesn't take a lot for him to lose his temper and attack...
* HiddenDepths: ...though occasionally he can be incredibly sneaky and subtle, pulling off some impressive {{Batman Gambit}}s in order to reach his goals.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: As demonstrated when he was entering a song contest. He still came in second place, though, sine Rabies was the head judge.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: He's the most effective fighter in the group, and has on several occasions simultaneously taken on two or three people twice his size, and won with no difficulty.
* TheWorfEffect: Invoked in the episode ''The Beast of Bolsover,'' where the titular "Beast" defeats a charging Little Ron with no apparent effort, causing the rest of the Merry Men to quickly agree that none of them has a chance.
!!Barrington
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->'''Played by:''' Creator/DannyJohnJules
The Merry Men's resident [[DreadlockRasta Rastafarian]] who also occasionally functions as the series' AllKnowingSingingNarrator. He's a cool, laid-back sort who seldom worries about anything and is probably the smartest of the Merry Men, bar Marian.
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* AllKnowingSingingNarrator: Not in every episode, but in a notable number of them, Barrington will be in the opening scenes performing an expositionary song or rap.
* TheCastShowoff: Like Wayne Morris, Danny John-Jules is a good singer, which is probably why Barrington gets the most solo songs.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not quite on the level of Marian or the Sheriff, but he's definitely on a solid third place.
* DreadlockRasta: In the middle-ages, no less. The other characters specifically refer to him as a "Rastafarian" on several occasions.
* FourthWallObserver: Even outside his narration songs, he'll sometimes cast an aside glance to the camera and make an offhand comment towards the viewer.
* JiveTurkey: Especially in the early episodes, but it's definitely present in the later ones as well.
* MellowFellow: Known as the "cool" member of the Merry Men, it takes a ''lot'' for him to get excited, angry or upset about anything; he reacts to most things with the same laid-back cheerfulness.
* TheSmartGuy: Though he generally reserves his brains for quipping.
!!Rabies
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->'''Played by:''' Howard Lew Lewis
The biggest, strongest and slowest Merry Man, Rabies is much like a [[ManChild naive child in an adult man's body.]] He's usually two steps behind everyone else and seldom has any idea what's going on, though he will occasionally display a bit of SimplemindedWisdom, even if he mostly doesn't use it in any particularly practical way.
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* TheDitz: Opinion varies on whether Rabies or Robin is the stupidest of the Merry Men, though Rabies is more frequently at a loss as to what's going on.
* DumbassHasAPoint: Happens occasionally.
-->'''Marian:''' There's no such word as "can't," Robin!\\
'''Rabies:''' ...Yes, there is!
* DumbIsGood: There's no denying that he's probably the sweetest and kindest character on the show.
* DumbMuscle: Not much of a fighter, and is completely outclassed in this respect by Little Ron and even Marian, but when it comes to pure physical strength he's second to none.
* GentleGiant: Extremely big, freakishly strong, and really a big softy.
* LazyBum: Often shirks work and is the most likely to fall asleep on the job. The very last episode of the series, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Forest", even had Marian and Barrington sing about it:
-->Well, you're so lazy (lazy, yes you are)\\
You drive me crazy (laziest by far)\\
Every time I look at you, your eyes start to close,\\
You sleep for days on end and then go back for a doze,\\
You even fall asleep when you're blowing your nose, \\
'Cause you're so lazy.
!Ye Baddies
!!King John
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->'''Played by:''' Forbes Collins
The violent and unstable monarch of England, who has NoIndoorVoice, no manners and no gratitude. He spends a good deal of his time tyrannizing his people, his employees and just about anyone else he can think of, and the remainder of the time yelling at them -- with perhaps a the occasional minute devoted to wondering why nobody likes him.
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* AxeCrazy: Though he's more roar than bite, he's such an ''awful'' lot of roar that even his amount of bite is considerable.
* BadBoss: Just ask the Sheriff.
* BigBad: A parody of the trope. He's the tyrannical king who oppresses the people, and traditionally the BigBad or the Myth/RobinHood mythos, but in the context of the series comes across more as an overgrown schoolyard bully. His worst behavior and revenge are usually directed towards the Sheriff.
* TheCaligula: A kid-friendly example.
* CatchPhrase: ''"UNDERSTAAAND?!"'' Always roared out at the top of his voice, and always said after he's barked an order and/or delivered a threat to the Sheriff.
* JerkAss: It appears to be a family trait.
* KickTheDog: All the time, especially if the "dog" is the Sheriff, though sometimes, if he's in a good mood or [[RuleOfFunny if it's funnier,]] he'll just PokeThePoodle or even PetTheDog.
* LargeHam: Forbes Collins [[ChewingTheScenery clearly has great fun with this role.]]
* SurroundedByIdiots: One of the reasons why he's always so angry.
!!The Sheriff of Nottingham
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->'''Played by:''' Creator/TonyRobinson
King John's devious, scheming and [[ChewToy much put-upon]] stooge; he basically acts not only as Sheriff and tax collector but as the King's personal servant and attendant as well. He is without question the most intelligent and competent bad guy in the series, but thanks to a huge unlucky streak and the Merry Men's ability to pull off schemes at the very last minute generally ends up losing.
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* AuthorAvatar: A villainous ButtMonkey example, but there is clearly a lot of Tony Robinson (who of course created and wrote the series) in the character.
* DeadpanSnarker: Oh, how much.
* DirtyCoward: His biggest AchillesHeel; he'll back away from ''any'' fight he's not one hundred percent certain to win.
* TheChewToy: He's the most abused character in the series, bar none.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Arnold, as revealed in the season three episode, ''Keeping Mum'' [[note]] possibly FridgeBrilliance given that there is a town in Nottinghamshire called Arnold[[/note]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: He can be very polite and charming when he wants to be, but he'll always drop the act almost immediately after he's gotten what he wants.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To King John -- though ''hyper''competent is perhaps pushing it a little.
* MadLibsCatchPhrase: "...Wait a minute! Wait a [random adjective] minute!"
* OnlySaneMan: He is to the bad guys what Marian is to the good guys. Though they're antagonists, they do occasionally find some common ground in reacting to the stupidity of everyone else.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: In later seasons.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Even more so than King John.
* VillainProtagonist: In several episodes, particularly in the later seasons.
!!Gary & Graeme
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->'''Played by:''' Mark Billingham (Gary), David Lloyd (Graeme)
Two guards at the King's Castle (at times it seems like they're the only two guards employed by the King) who function as the Sheriff's bumbling {{Sidekick}}s. They both have cheerful and sunny dispositions and are far more friendly and affable than him.
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* AffablyEvil: More affable than evil, really. They'll cheerfully and without regret aid in oppressing the villagers, stealing, cheating or lying, carry out executions for small offenses (and argue about whose turn it is to get to swing the axe), but they're always friendly and smiling, completely lacking in malice.
* AntiVillain: With a side-order of PunchClockVillain. Unlike the genuinely-nasty Sheriff, they really ''are'' just doing their jobs.
* BumblingHenchmenDuo: The Sheriff's near-identical incompetent minions. Occasionally forming a not-too-successful TerribleTrio with their boss.
* TheDitz: Not the sharpest knives in the drawer, even by the standards of this series.
* TheDividual: Though not actually related, they have a bit of a Twindividual thing going on; they are always together and almost identical in behavior and mannerisms.
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Because DumbIsGood.
* SeinfeldianConversation: Prone to these when they're left alone (and even sometimes when they aren't, despite the Sheriff's constant orders to shut up); they'll go off on the oddest tangents.
!!"Rotten" Rose Scargill
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->'''Played by:''' Siobhan Fogarty
Marian's old schoolmate and former best friend. Their friendship ended when Rose "stole" Marian's boyfriend, beginning a feud that ended with them both getting expelled from school. Rose is almost as cunning and sneaky as the Sheriff is, though even more selfish; she will do almost anything for even the slightest personal gain. She describes herself as Robin's biggest fan.
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* BitchInSheepsClothing: She puts on a big show of sweetness and friendliness in front of people but will think nothing of stabbing them in the back once they take their eyes off her.
* BrainyBrunette: With the possible exception of the Sheriff, Rose is probably the smartest of all the villains.
* {{Jerkass}}: Of the recurring villains, she probably has the least redeeming qualities -- even King John can on a rare occasion PetTheDog just because he's in a good mood, but Rose ''always'' has a selfish motive and never does anything for anyone unless she's also secretly using them.
* ManipulativeBitch: Her greatest talent is to manipulate and use people.
* RivalTurnedEvil: She was Marian's rival back in school.
* StalkerWithACrush: To Robin.
!!Guy of Gisborne
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->'''Played by:''' Ramsay Gilderdale
King John's spoiled, bratty and completely brainless nephew who was sent to live with his uncle by his mother, who had decided it was about time he went out into the big wide world and lived a little. He is the only person on the show the King does not dare to mistreat, for two reasons: His mother pays quite handsomely for the expenses, and if she found out that her son wasn't happy, she would do [[NoodleIncident "that nasty thing with a pencil"]] to King John.
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* TheDitz: The fact that he manages to make Gary and Graeme look sensible and intelligent should tell you all you need to know.
* ManChild: He's in his late twenties, but he acts like he's five.
* MommasBoy: His very first scene in the series features him with his head on his mother's lap and complaining about how scary it is to have to leave her.
* ThePrankster: A version of this; he loves pulling pranks, though they're always ''extremely'' simple, often based on some IncrediblyLamePun, usually directed at the Sheriff and/or King John, and always repeated ad nauseum because thanks to his mother's demands his victims can't stop him from pranking them, nor can they refuse to fall for the same trick for the fiftieth time.
* RoyalBrat: He has a much sunnier disposition than most examples of the trope and is unusually good-humored about set-backs (in some episodes he even comes across as very sweet), but he's got the entitlement and insensitivity, constantly demanding special treatment and threatening to "tell Mummy!" if he doesn't get his way.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Well... for a given value of "wholesome." He certainly doesn't mind dressing up in very feminine clothes, or to atttend a dance class wearing a pink tutu and rather excitedly asking if he can be the Sugarplum Fairy.
!!Much, the Mini-Mart Manager's Son
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->'''Played by:''' Philip Wright
A smooth-talking ConMan who can sell you ''anything'' as long as you can pay for it -- if it exists, he can get ahold of it (or at least a reasonable facsimile of it) for you. If it ''doesn't'' exist, he'll sell it to you anyway and then be gone long before you discover that he's tricked you.
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* CatchPhrase: He's got two. "I'm only an outsider, right, and shut me up if I'm speaking out of turn" whenever he's about to make an extra daring suggestion, and "Cost ya, mind," said after every sales pitch.
* TheCharmer: There's no denying he has a way with the ladies -- Rose is instantly smitten and Marian, while initially skeptical of him, quickly warms up to his charms.
* ConMan: He'll do business with anyone -- and he'll ''cheat'' anyoyne too.
* HonestJohnsDealership
* LovableRogue: Complete with a Cockney accent.
* ShipTease: With Marian.
* SnakeOilSalesman
* WildCard: He'll do business with anyone, long as the price is right.
!!Gavin
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->'''Played by:''' Josh Maguire
A new recruit for King John's guard and part of the "government training scheme"; in fact he was the only one who let himself be recruited. He fits in remarkably well with the rest of the guards and is often praised for his intelligence and his brilliant ideas.
He's four years old.
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* TheAce: Treated as one in-series by Gary, Graeme and (to some extent) King John, fulfilling the role of AlwaysSomeoneBetter to Guy. Only the Sheriff sees how absurd this is.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: To a degree. During his time as a soldier he seems to treat the entire thing like a friendly game more than anything else.
* TheSmartGuy: Parodied. He's hailed by Gary and Graeme as a great ideas man, but his ideas are all based around kid logic -- such as frightening the enemy into submission by showing them a scary drawing of a witch or putting fake bugs in their beds, or climbing up a tree to pour water on their heads so they'll have to go home and change out of their wet clothes.
* ThePrankster: Though we never actually ''see'' all that many of his pranks, he's clearly better at them than Guy is.
* TheVoiceless: He doesn't have a single spoken line. Presumably, he speaks off-camera, since Gary and Graeme relate his ideas to the King and the Sheriff.
!Ye Peasants
!!Gladys
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->'''Played by:''' Hilary Mason
Possibly the most prominent of the inhabitants of the village of Worksop, Gladys is the resident Wise Woman (though she's the first to admit she's under-qualified) who occasionally dabbles in witchcraft. She's an old friend of Barrington, who calls her his "main man," and has picked up quite a bit of his slang. Or maybe it's the other way around?
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* CoolOldLady: She's a doddering and confused old woman who isn't the smartest, but she's laid-back, helpful and even resourceful. Of all the villagers, she's probably the most likely to actually be useful to the Merry Men.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Barrington. Already in the very first episode they're clearly old friends and very chummy with one another.
* LethalChef: She's a little inconsistent about it; sometimes her cooking isn't ''that'' bad... but most often it is. It doesn't help that she generally uses rats and mud as the main ingredients.
* JiveTurkey: She has definite traces of it anyway, especially when talking to Barrington.
* WitchDoctor: Played with in a couple of episodes; for the most part she's just portrayed as a LethalChef, but a few of her recipes actually do have magical properties, such as the Sleepy Seed Cake -- a great cure for insomniacs but with weird side-effects like turning the eater into a clone of Music/PaulMcCartney.
!!Snooker
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->'''Played by:''' Robin Chandler
Along with Gladys, Snooker is the main peasant character in the show, and acts as a sort of leader and spokesman for the villagers, in many ways being the "voice of the common man."
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* ComicallyMissingThePoint: He has a tendency to do this. Either because he's too LiteralMinded or because he's just TheDitz; he frequently misunderstands what people are talking about or what's going on.
* GenericGuy: For the village of Worksop, anyway; despite being the villager who gets the most screen time he's remarkably unremarkable.
* TheFool: Like most of the villagers.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: If the plot demands a villager with a specific job (a shopkeeper, a driving instructor, a takeaway chef, etc.), that villager will be Snooker. Nobody ever comments on this.
* PunnyName: His name was revealed in the end of the third episode for the sole purpose of a joke, when the Sheriff (as a mocking reward for a favor he'd done him) gave him some wooden balls, some sticks and a wooden triangle and told him that he could become rich and famous if he made a game out of it and named it after himself.
!!Little Girl
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->'''Played by:''' Kellie Bright
A young village girl who featured in the first season. She's definitely smarter than your average villager, and is fully aware just how stupid the others are.
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* ChildrenAreInnocent: Averted. She's young, but she's ''extremely'' cynical.
* TheCynic: She doesn't have much faith in anyone or anything.
* DeadpanSnarker: Most of her dialogue consists of biting comments.
* NoNameGiven: She's the only character in the show who is never named; the credits only refer to her as "Little Girl." (Then again, given the intelligence level of the villagers, that may very well be her actual name.)
** Rumor has it that Tony Robinson was originally going to call her "Chlamydia" or "Cystitis," but wasn't allowed by the BBC.
* OnlySaneWoman: To the rest of the villagers. Not that they pay her much mind.
* SurroundedByIdiots: She's usually in a foul mood whenever she's on-screen, mostly because someone else is being stupid or overbearing.
!!Nettle
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->'''Played by:''' Kerry Potter
A young village girl who featured in the second season, and probably the most intelligent of all the villagers. She's a good friend of Marian.
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* ADayInTheLimelight: Never a main character in the series, but she has a much larger role in the ''Rotten Rose'' two-parter, where she's actively involved in the plot and even comes up with the plan of the week.
* DeadpanSnarker: She's got a snarky remark for every occasion.
* OnlySaneWoman: She's the only character in the show who will occasionally play this to Marian.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute:
** She looks and acts much like an older, less grouchy version of Little Girl.
** She herself got a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in the third season, named Haley.
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