Michael Praed admits that in his ideal universe, he would both live and work entirely within a 20-mile radius and with the same people. For two years, his wish came true.
   Cast as Robin in the TV series Robin of Sherwood, he found himself part of a cast and crew who became very close as they worked on location throughout England. Fellow Robin of Sherwood actor Mark Ryan observes: "It's like a family. You all have your niggles with people. You get up in the morning, see the same faces, see them all day until 6:00 p.m. Go into the bar and see the same faces. Then, you fall over in the bar and see the same faces looking down at you and laughing."
   Michael Praed agrees. "We did get along tremendously well. It's funny. It doesn't always happen. I think people assume that if you're acting in the theater or in television or in a film, that everyone loves each other. And," he says emphatically, "it is very rare that you do get chemistry. It does sound trite and facile to say there was a big bond or something [between us all], but there really was. All these things happen by accident. In some respects, that's why the show worked so well. I should think, a large part of it - aside from the stories' brilliance - has to do with the way we all feel about each other."
   The Robin of Sherwood series took a different approach to the Robin Hood legend. Set in an England where magic still works, Robin is the adopted son of Herne the Hunter, the antlered God of the Forest, leader of the Wild Hunt. Herne has chosen Robin to fulfill the legend of the "Hooded Man" who will defend the Saxons against the Norman oppressors and, possibly, defend the old religion against the new, Christianity.
   Herne tells Robin, "The powers of Light and Darnkness have always been with you." "What do they want of me?" Robin inquieres. "Your life. Your strength." "What must I do?" "Act without thinking," he is told. With this kind of foretaste, it isn't unusual that Robin demosntrates an almost magical poer to find his way through the brooding greenness of Sherwood Forest. He can, at times, read a man's soul and ferret out the truth or untruth of what he is being told. He seems to have an uncanny instinct of "knowing" when to do something or which road to travel. Even more unnerving, he can sometimes "see" into the future.
   Praed's Robinis certainly "fey" - in the original sense of the word - enchanted, fated, doomed to death. Robin is almost too good to last and Praed plays him to the hilt. He brings an innocence to Robin, a believable vulnerability. For the most part, people can read Robin like a book, until Herne touches him. Then, suddenly, he is older than the oldest living being, wiser than Merlin, and Pread does it all by slightly altering his facial expression. It seems that this person truly is touched by the gods of a religion older (and crueller) than Christianity. Just as suddenly, he'll slip back into Robin, a man surrounded by his friends, his love (Marion), and his forest, secure in the place fate has chosen for him.
   Although Robin of Sherwood has mystical elements, there were many fights - all carefully planned - but Praed quickly found that not all plans work out. "In the first episode, I was fighting a stuntman, and I'm a notoriously bad puncher. I was trained in the theater-mode of punching. It's completely different than films. We're filming the first fight sequence and the stunt director, Terry Walsh, wanted me to punch the stuntman. Not wanting to say 'I'm not very good at this,' I said, 'OK, pal.' I was so nervous and eager to get this thing right, that I smacked the stuntman in the mouth! I didn't hit him very hard, but I knocked one of his teeth out. He had to go to the hospital. I felt so wretched. But stuntmen are brilliant, they never forget." His voice lowers dramatically, "They're like elephants.
   "We had a fight sequence about a week later and the stuntman was D.D. Powell, who was fourh-ranked heavyweight champion of Great Britain in 1950. The man eats children for breakfast. He's strong. Have you ever met people who are unbelievably strong? Terryfying. The scene's action was that I was on the floor and I had to be picked up and put against the wall. And then punched, Denny said, 'All right, Mike, I'll pick you up.' I said, 'No, no, Denny, go on, throw me!' He said, 'Are you sure?' And I said - this was mistake number one - 'Yeah, I'm all right, that's what I've got the pads on for.' I had elbow pads on and a back brace. He said, 'Arey you sure, Mike?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm all right.' The director said, 'Do you want to rehearse it?' I said, 'No, let's go for it.'"
   Praed shakes his head in disbelief that he could have set himself up so thoroughly. "Mistake number two! It was 'Action!' and all I can remember is, I saw these hands - " He holds up both hands menacingly in front of his face - "grabbing me. Denny picked me up as if I were this glass," pointing to a glass of water on the table, "and I took off! Whatch very carefully in the first episode what happens when I get thrown. I literally take off and hit the back of this stage - and it takes me so much by surprise. Then, Denny punched me and hit me! Just hard enough - and I thought I was going to die. I was determined not to show any pain. He had this glint in his eye, 'That'll teach you!'" The actor pauses for a moment. "I never hit another stuntman in my life."
   Once it was the magical elements that caused Praed - and the rest of the cast - some discomfort. "There was one episode, "Swords of Wayland," about a lady who invokes the devil incarnate. Kip [Richard Carpenter, the series' creator and writer] researched the invocations and incantations so they were quite accurate. As we were filming, weird things happened to the women in the cast. Three of the ladies crashed their cars. The others fell over, hurt themselves. There were about six or seven ladies involved and it was all too coincidental for me. We were filming in the crypt and I got really sick down there. I felt very strange. I happen to believe that anything is possible and I'm sure there is black magic. If you dabble in that - even harmlessly - I'm quite prepared to believe that something could happen as a result. It could be coincidence," he adds, "but it's interesting that throughout the entire series, injuries on such a scale never happened except on this one episode."
   There were some strange experiences off the set as well, Praed relates. "Mark [Ryan], Clive Mantle [Little John] and I went out for a dring in a disco. The first Robin of Sherwood series had just aired and we were all flush with excitement and dying to show our faces and - hopefully - somebody would recognize us. So, we went to the bar and we were preening, " he grins impishly, tossing h is head back, running his hand through his hair to artistically dishevel it, striking a pose - not at all reluctant to mock his own public image. "And therew as a woman - actually a midget, a tiny little thing - and she came up and said, 'You're Michael Praed, aren't you?' And I said, 'Yes!' 'I've seen you on television?' 'Yes, yes, I'm on the television!' And she said, 'Can I have a kiss?' And I said, 'Well, I'm no - ' The next second, these tiny little arms came around my neck! And all I can remember is this - mouth!
   "It was terrifying becaouse I got to this situation where I had to come up for air and still be polite. 'May I have my tongue back please?' This woman was literally, literally hanging around my neck. And Mark and Clive were laughing!"