149 The Black Arrow

First  watched  : Uncertain

This   ITV  drama  ( 1972-75 ) was  based , for  its  first  series  at  least,  on  a   not  very  well  regarded  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  novel  set  in  the  War  of  the  Roses,  and  concerned  a  disinherited  young  nobleman  Richard  Shelton  taking  revenge  on  his  enemies  by  joining  with  a  band  of  outlaws,  the  Black  Arrow  fellowship. My  clearest  memory of  the  series  is  the  villain  played  by  William  Squire  ( Hunter  in  Callan )  getting  one  in  the  neck   after  which , untethered  from  Stevenson  , it  rather  dwindled  into  a  pallid  version   of   Robin  Hood. A  strong  cast  also  included  Play  School's  Gordon  Rollings  as  the  gang's  Friar  Tuck  figure, a  young  Nigel  Havers  and  Sally  James  unveiling  the  cleavage  soon  to  be  a   memorable  feature  of  Tiswas.