Sharpe (TV series)
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| Sharpe | |
|---|---|
| Approx. run time | 100 min. |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Written by | Bernard Cornwell (novels) Eogan Harris Russell Lewis Colin MacDonald Charles Wood |
| Directed by | Tom Clegg |
| Starring | Sean Bean Daragh O'Malley |
| Music by | Dominic Muldowney John Tams |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | 5 May 1993 – 2 November 2008 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books. Produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network, the series was shot mainly in Turkey and the Crimea, although some filming was also done in England, Spain and Portugal.
In 2004, as part of ITV's new set of drama, ITV announced that it intended to produce new episodes of Sharpe, in co-production with BBC America, loosely based on his time in India, with Sean Bean continuing his role as Sharpe. Sharpe's Challenge is a two-part adventure; part one premiered on ITV on 23 April 2006, with part two being shown the following night. More gory than earlier episodes, the show was broadcast by BBC America in September 2006.
At a book signing in Bath on 11 October 2006, Bernard Cornwell revealed that there were plans by ITV to film two more episodes. Filming was supposed to start in April, but was postponed due to the resignation of ITV's chief executive, at which point production was pushed back to September. However, Sean Bean was unavailable due to other commitments, so production has been postponed once more. When asked about the stories, Cornwell said that he believed that they were producing two new stories specially for television. It was announced that filming Sharpe's Peril, produced by Celtic Film/Picture Palace, began on 3 March 2008 in India.[1][2] The first part was broadcast on ITV1 on 2 November 2008 with the second part shown a week later. Sharpe's Challenge and Sharpe's Peril are scheduled to be broadcast in the US in 2010 as part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic season.
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[edit] Plot summary
At the beginning of the series, Richard Sharpe(Sean Bean) is a sergeant in the 95th Rifles serving in Portugal in 1809. When he singlehandedly saves the life of General Sir Arthur Wellesley (David Troughton in the first two films, then Hugh Fraser for the following films) from a group of French cavalrymen, Wellesley gives Sharpe a battlefield commission, promoting him to lieutenant. Sharpe is placed in charge of a detachment of the 95th Rifles - a group of elite riflemen ("chosen men"), among them Sergeant Patrick Harper (Daragh O'Malley), who eventually becomes his best friend.
Wellesley and his various spymasters, first Major Michael Hogan (Brian Cox), followed by Major Nairn (Michael Byrne), Major Mungo Monroe (Hugh Ross) and Major General Ross (James Laurenson), find Sharpe to be an extremely capable and cunning officer and give him progressively more important tasks. Despite their backing, he has to fight against the strong prejudice of aristocrats (who often owe their army positions to money and social connections rather than military skill) against an uncouth commoner raised from the ranks. He makes a number of dangerous enemies, such as French Major Pierre Ducos (Féodor Atkine) and Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson (Michael Cochrane), and encounters one from his prior service in India, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill (Pete Postlethwaite). However, Sharpe's successes gain him steady promotion. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, at the Battle of Waterloo, he is Lieutenant-Colonel Sharpe.
Along the way, Sharpe has a number of romances. During the course of the series, he marries the Spanish guerrilla leader Teresa Moreno (Assumpta Serna), with whom he has a daughter. Teresa is killed by Hakeswill. Sharpe then marries Jane Gibbons (Abigail Cruttenden, Bean's real-life wife for less than three years), who deserts him, steals his hard-earned money, and takes a lover. He finally settles down with Lucille Castineau (Cécile Paoli), a Frenchwoman who passes away some time after Napoleon's final defeat, leaving Sharpe free once more. (However, according to the Starbuck Chronicles, another series of Cornwell books, she outlives Sharpe.)
[edit] Casting
Initially, Paul McGann was cast in the title role; however, two days into filming of the first episode, McGann injured his knee playing football and was forced to withdraw. By the time production was ready to start again, Sean Bean became available and took on the role.
Author Bernard Cornwell was so impressed by Sean Bean's performances that he dedicated one of the novels, Sharpe's Battle, "to Sean Bean".
Several actors have played different characters in the series. Peter-Hugo Daly portrayed first Sergeant Rodd in Sharpe's Gold and then Bickerstaff, another unruly sergeant who dislikes Sharpe. Julian Fellowes played Major Warren Dunnett in Sharpe's Rifles and also the Prince Regent in Sharpe's Regiment. Tony Haygarth was "Marshal" Pot-au-Feu in Sharpe's Enemy and Sir Willoughby Parfitt in Sharpe's Justice.
[edit] Discrepancies
There are some differences between the series and the novels. For instance, in the books, Sharpe was born in Wapping in London and has dark hair. Sean Bean is blond and, being from Sheffield, he speaks with a pronounced Sheffield accent. Sharpe is revealed to have been born in Keighley to local woman, Lizzie Sharpe in Sharpe's Justice; this contradicts the books which often state his mother was a London "Cat Street whore" who died in the Gordon Riots. In novels written after the television series started airing, the issue of Sharpe's northern accent and roots is addressed by having him flee from London to Yorkshire when he is a teenager to avoid vengeance for a murder of an employeer, which unsurprisingly was over a women.
The television series uses the term "Chosen Men" for all of Sharpe's riflemen, though in the novels it is correctly used to mean corporal and appears far less. The series also focuses on a core group of riflemen, some of whom were invented for the series. The series creations Harris and Perkins are introduced in later novels, notably Sharpe's Battle which takes place between earlier novels. Confusingly, these novels also feature Cooper, despite the fact that the character had been killed off in the novel Sharpe's Rifles. Harris (the educated rifleman) and Perkins (the youngest rifleman) share characteristics with Cornwell's originals Tongue and Pendleton, and appear together with them in later novels.
In the first TV episode, Sharpe is a sergeant in the 95th Rifles in Portugal when he saves Wellesley's life. In the books, this occurs in India during the Battle of Assaye, while he is serving in the 33rd Foot. The television series also differs in the fact that Sharpe was already a commissioned officeR by the time he was posted to Portugal in the novels.
The Novels centre around the exploits of Richard Sharpe, above and beyond the call of duty and under the wing of First Major Michael Hogan, however due to actor Brian Cox's illness the television series borrowed charatcter namesakes from numerous novels to create three more exploring officers, Major Nairn and Major Monroe and Major General Ross, this also removed the future death of Major Hogan by disease in later novels. Instead this was used in the T.V. epiosode sharpe's Siege, whereby Major General Ross catches fever but thanks to Sharpe's then on-screen fiance manages to make a recovery.
In one of the most recent episodes, Sharpe's Challenge, Sharpe states that his latest lover, Lucille, has died, something never mentioned in the books. It should also be noted that the characters of Sergeant Bickerstaff and General William Dodd are killed off in this programme. Sharpe's Challenge is a composite of the three prequels that are set in India, creating a number of inconsistencies, since the TV version is set after the events at Waterloo. Bickerstaff's counterpart in the books is Hakeswill, who is killed off in Sharpe's Enemy, which is why the rivalry between Sharpe and Bickerstaff is a little forced.
Harry Price is shot and apparently killed in Sharpe's Company, when in the book the character killed is Captain Knowles; however Price, played by a different actor, is alive and well in Sharpe's Waterloo.
It is important to note that most of the Television Series draws only minor plot references from the Book Series, the two share similar plots but very little substance. The novel Sharpe's Rifles was written at the same time as the sister episode but as filming developed the book was only half done, this lead to the end of the Television episode taking a completely different path to the novel but ending with much the same conclusion.
[edit] List of episodes
The episodes are listed by first airing date.
| # | Episode | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sharpe's Rifles | 1993 |
| 2 | Sharpe's Eagle | 1993 |
| 3 | Sharpe's Company | 1994 |
| 4 | Sharpe's Enemy | 1994 |
| 5 | Sharpe's Honour | 1994 |
| 6 | Sharpe's Gold | 1995 |
| 7 | Sharpe's Battle | 1995 |
| 8 | Sharpe's Sword | 1995 |
| 9 | Sharpe's Regiment | 1996 |
| 10 | Sharpe's Siege | 1996 |
| 11 | Sharpe's Mission | 1996 |
| 12 | Sharpe's Revenge | 1997 |
| 13 | Sharpe's Justice | 1997 |
| 14 | Sharpe's Waterloo | 1997 |
| 15 | Sharpe's Challenge | 2006 |
| 16 | Sharpe's Peril | 2008 |
[edit] Cast and crew
[edit] Chosen men
| Actor | Character | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Bean | Lieutenant–Colonel Richard Sharpe | 1993–1997, 2006, 2008 |
| Daragh O'Malley | Regimental Sergeant Major Patrick Harper | 1993–1997, 2006, 2008 |
| Michael Mears | Rifleman Francis Cooper | 1993–1995 |
| John Tams | Sergeant Daniel Hagman | 1993–1997 |
| Jason Salkey | Sergeant Harris | 1993–1997 |
| Paul Trussell | Rifleman Isaiah Tongue | 1993 |
| Lyndon Davies | Rifleman Ben Perkins | 1993–1995 |
[edit] Supporting characters
[edit] Production team
- Directed by: Tom Clegg
- Produced by: Malcolm Craddock, Muir Sutherland
- Writing credits:
-
- Novels: Bernard Cornwell
- Screenplays:
- Eoghan Harris (8/16)
- Charles Wood (3/16)
- Russell Lewis (3/16)
- Nigel Kneale (1/16)
- Colin MacDonald (1/16)
- Patrick Harbinson (1/16)
[edit] See also
- 95th Rifles
- South Essex Regiment
- "Over the Hills and Far Away", the theme song of the series
- Over the Hills & Far Away: The Music of Sharpe, companion album
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Sharpe news". The South Essex. http://www.southessex.co.uk/news/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ "Sharpe's Peril". Compleat Sean Bean. http://www.compleatseanbean.com/sharpesperil/sharpesperil.html. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sharpe (TV series) |
- The official SharpeFilm.com website
- Celtic Films Entertainment, co-producer of the TV dramas
- Sharpe Appreciation Society
- The Video Diaries of Rifleman Harris
- Trailers, Audio Clips, and Plot Summaries
- The Russian Sharpe Site
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