Hornblower (TV series)

Hornblower
DVD Cover
Format	Drama
Created by	C. S. Forester (stories and characters)
Directed by	Andrew Grieve
Starring	Ioan Gruffudd Robert Lindsay Paul McGann Paul Copley Sean Gilder Jamie Bamber
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	3
Production
Producer(s)	Meridian Broadcasting
Running time	120 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Original run	1998 – 2003

Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

The series ran from 1998 to 2003 and starred Ioan Gruffudd in the title role. It was produced by the British broadcaster Meridian Television, and was shown on ITV in the UK and A&E Network in the U.S.

Cast

• Ioan Gruffudd as Horatio Hornblower
• Robert Lindsay as Captain (and later Commodore and Admiral) Sir Edward Pellew
• Jamie Bamber as Lieutenant Archie Kennedy (5 episodes)
• Paul Copley as Matthews, Bosun
• Sean Gilder as Styles, Bosun's Mate
• Jonathan Coy as Lieutenant (and later Captain) Bracegirdle (5 episodes)
• Simon Sherlock as Oldroyd (4 episodes)
• Chris Barnes as Finch (2 episodes)
• Colin MacLaclan as Ship's Master Bowles (4 episodes)
• Paul McGann as Lieutenant William Bush (4 episodes)
• Lorcan Cranitch as Wolfe (2 episodes)
• Philip Glenister as Hobbs (2 episodes)
• Julia Sawalha as Maria Mason (2 episodes)
• David Warner as Captain James Sawyer (2 episodes)

Other well-known actors have appeared in guest roles, including Anthony Sher, Ian McNeice, Andrew Tiernan, Samuel West, Christian Coulson, Cherie Lunghi, Greg Wise, Ian McElhinney and Ronald Pickup.

Episodes

The series consists of eight made-for-television movies, which are notable for their high production values. All were later released on DVD. In the US, the series was retitled Horatio Hornblower, and some of the episodes were known by different titles. The eight movies cover the events of just three novels (Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower, and Hornblower and the Hotspur), and various alterations and additions are made to the source material. Hornblower's ship, the Indefatigable, is represented by the Grand Turk, a modern replica of the sixth-rate frigate HMS Blandford built in 1741. The Baltic trading schooner Julia was used to represent all the smaller vessels. Eleven scale models were used for the battle scenes, with the largest weighed 3,000 lbs, and made with working rigging and cannons that were fired by remote control.

• The Even Chance (AKA: The Duel) Released in 1998
• The Examination for Lieutenant (AKA: The Fire Ships) Released in 1998
• The Duchess and the Devil Released in 1999
• The Frogs and the Lobsters (AKA: The Wrong War) Released in 1999
• Mutiny Released in 2001
• Retribution Released in 2001
• Loyalty Released in 2003
• Duty Released in 2003

Awards

• Emmy Award (1999) for Outstanding Mini-series
• Emmy Award (1999) for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Mini-series or a Movie

Cancellation

Ioan Gruffudd had shown interest in participating in more Hornblower films, and on 20 February 2007, he discussed the possibility of a big-screen version of Hornblower, and was attempting to gain the rights to the books by C.S. Forester. He was quoted as saying "A&E decided that since it's such an expensive venture to make these movies for television, they're not going to make any more at this point. So it's down to me, I think, to try to bring it back to life."

External links

• Hornblower: The Even Chance at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: Mutiny at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: Retribution at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: Loyalty at the Internet Movie Database
• Hornblower: Duty at the Internet Movie Database