A television series created by
Mel Brooks,
Norman
Stiles, and
John Boni and aired on
ABC. The series starred
Richard
Gautier,
Dick Van Patten, and
Bernie Kopell.
In the mid-1970's, no name had more comic clout than
Mel Brooks. Having had two hit movies Blazing Saddles
and Young Frankenstein, Brooks turned his eye to developing
a television series. The result was When Things Were
Rotten, a send-up of the Robin Hood legend.
Beginning in the fall of 1975, When Things Were Rotten
starred Richard Gautier as the egotistical Robin Hood.
Amongst his Merry Men were two psuedo-stars of the
1970's and 80's, Bernie Kopell as Alan-a-Dale prior
to his medical mission aboard The Love Boat and
Dick Van Patten as Friar Tuck before he appeared
on the heart-warming series Eight is Enough.
The series humor was pure Brooks, including conga lines,
men dressed as women, and modern references galore. The
series did not do particularly well in the ratings and
only lasted a few months. Fans of the series had a serious case of deja vu in the
early 1990's when Brooks brought to the big screen his other
Robin Hood parody, Robin Hood: Men in Tights.