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Who Shot the Sheriff?

"Who Shot the Sheriff?"
Robin Hood episode
01x03-WhoShotTheSheriff.PNG
The Sheriff orders De Fourtnoy to carry out more killings.
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 3
Directed by Richard Standeven
Written by Paul Cornell
Production code 103
Original air date October 21, 2006
Episode chronology
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"Sheriff Got Your Tongue?"
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"Parent Hood"

"Who Shot the Sheriff?" is the third episode of the 2006 Robin Hood television series, made by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC One. It aired on Saturday October 21, 2006 at 7.15pm. The title is a reference to the song "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley, which is also alluded to in the episode's dialogue when the Sheriff tells an assassin that he has in fact only shot a deputy. The casting of Kwame Kwei-Armah is an instance of colour-blind casting.

A Bailiff is assassinated by a mysterious archer. The villagers suspect Robin Hood is the culprit, and the Sheriff of Nottingham uses this to turn the people against the outlaws, while Robin suspects the mysterious Nightwatchman, who leaves food and medicines for the poor. Marian finds her friend Joe Lacey, who says he had been called out of retirement to work as a castle guard.

The Sheriff sends De Fourtnoy, the master-at-arms, to spread the word all around that Robin was the killer of the Bailiff. But when a young boy is also shot dead, the Sheriff realizes that Robin isn't the killer of either of them, but anyway tells De Fourtnoy to spread the word that Robin also killed the young boy, just to get all the villagers against him; although the Sheriff also tells De Fourtnoy to find the real assassin. The Sheriff later orders De Fourtnoy to kill 3 more innocent people, to blame on Robin, who is with his gang being chased by Gisborne and his hunting dogs. Marian meets with Joe Lacey again, and they talk about the past. She also finds out from him how to actually fire an arrow from a bow, properly.

Robin makes a deal with the Sheriff to catch the assassin, who is after the Sheriff, in exchange for calling off the dogs. Robin then visits Marian, and she tells him that she suspects De Fourtnoy for the killings. The next day, the Nightwatchman witnesses a castle guard (Joe Lacey) trying to kill the Sheriff. Robin and Much find the Nightwatchman and discover that it's really Marian. She tells them that the real assassin is Lacey (who lied to Marian about why he was on duty), and then Marian leads them to him. Lacey tells Robin that the Bailiff and the Sheriff allowed his sick wife to die, and that he killed the Bailiff out of revenge, and that he accidentally killed the young boy while trying to kill the Sheriff. Robin and Marian threaten to shoot him if he doesn't put the bow down, but Lacey shoots the Sheriff anyway, and Lacey is himself shot in the arm by Robin and Marian at exactly the same time. It turns out that Lacey killed the Deputy (incidentally the Sheriff's lookalike), and then the real Sheriff has Gisborne kill Lacey.


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