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 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, Boatswain
• Sean Gilder as Styles, Boatswain's Mate
• Paul McGann as Lieutenant William Bush (4 episodes)
• Jonathan Coy as Lieutenant (and later Captain) Bracegirdle (5 episodes)
• Simon Sherlock as Oldroyd (4 episodes)
• Ian McElhinney as Captain Hammond (4 episodes)
• Colin MacLaclan as Ship's Master Bowles (4 episodes)
• Chris Barnes as Finch (2 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 Denis Lawson, Anthony Sher, Ian McNeice, Andrew Tiernan, Samuel West, Christian Coulson, Cherie Lunghi, Greg Wise 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 (with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 but also in the original widescreen format in the UK). 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 (e.g. the recurring characters of Lt. Archie Kennedy, Matthews and Styles).

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

Production

Captain Pellew's ship, HMS Indefatigable is represented by the Grand Turk, a modern replica of the frigate HMS Blandford built in 1741. To represent Hornblower's ship, HMS Hotspur, the Earl of Pembroke, a civilian ship, underwent some conversion. The Baltic trading schooner Julia and the brig Phoenix of Dell Quay were used to represent the smaller vessels. No real 74-gun ship existed any longer at the time of production (the last one, HMS Implacable, was scuttled in 1949), so HMS Justinian and HMS Renown had to be recreated as models. For the first series a quarter of a 74-gun ship (one exterior side and three open sides to shoot live action on several decks) called the pontoon was built. Later live action on the quarterdeck or the gundeck below was shot on the actual HMS Victory. Eleven scale models, ranging from four-and-a-half to seven metres in length, were used for the battle scenes, with the largest weighed 3,000lbs, and made with working rigging and cannons that were fired by remote control. Shooting locations included the Black Sea and the Livadia Palace, Portugal and in England the former administration (Melville) building of the Royal William Yard and the Barbican, Plymouth.

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