Much Of A Muchness

If there is one of Sam's roles that I am going to talk about more than any other then it has to be Much in the new BBC adaptation of Robin Hood. Despite having seen him before (Alien Vs. Predator, Spirit Trap) it's as his role as Much that I really like Sam Troughton. Not to mention it's an ongoing thing, so it makes me chattering on about it that bit more relevant.


First off I'm going to deal with that demon of modern Film and TV which is the 'comedy sidekick'. I loathe comedy sidekicks. I loathe them with all my being. The amount of potentially good movies that have been ruined for the sake of a few bad jokes is unbelievable and I always thought that any character built for this purpose was a curse.

I am now slowly having to eat my words.

This is because (as anyone who watches the new Robin Hood will know) Much is, of course, the comic relief. The plucky sidekick. The butt of most jokes. And the one who falls upside down into a ditch within the first ten minutes of the program. Not that I mind that - slapstick is one comedy add on I'll always have a soft spot for. But the rest...?

Well I have to say I'm warming to it. Maybe it's because Much is played as a very loveable character, despite his many faults, or perhaps it's cos he's played by Sam Troughton. I'm sure my judgement is now well and truly blurred on that account. But I don't think it's just that. I think it has a lot to do with the writers and how they chose to handle his character.

For a start he is annoying, there's no doubt about that, he even seems to annoy Robin at times. But his annoyance doesn't feel too overplayed or staged. He doesn't repeat things in an annoying voice to get attention. He doesn't constantly need rescued. Ok that's a lie, he gets rescued in the very first episode... but after that he's a perfectly useful member of the team. And he's not the only one who gets the humorous lines.

Not to mention the very interesting twist the writers chose to insert into the first episode where Much (a character already established as the comedy sidekick) is the very first character to have a serious mental breakdown scene. It's short - just a minute or so of tears in the bath - but it really stuck with me. As you can tell. Afterall, I'm still talking about it five episodes later. The point was it was different; it wasn't the hero torn up by the strains of his many heroic deeds and inner turmoil. It was the aide, a secondary character who you would expect to have next to no depth beyond what he needs to appear human. And that made not only Much but the whole series more interesting for me.

Of course it's yet to have any moments equal to that... a lot of the show is fairly shallow and when it does attempt depth (mostly in the not-so-subtle political references scattered in between fights) it does not handle it particularly well. Certainly not with any style. But I think - and hope - that this will change. It would only take a little bit of really good writing and some improvements to the dialogue and it could take the audience by storm... and let's face it, what else is there to watch on telly at the moment?