Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British television drama series starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, with Irish actor Daragh O'Malley playing his second in command Patrick Harper. Sharpe and Harper are the heroes of the "Sharpe" series of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books. Produced by Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for the ITV network, the series was filmed mainly in Crimea, with recording of other episodes in Turkey, England, Portugal and Spain. The two final episodes were filmed in  India. The series originally ran from 1993 to 1997. In 2006, ITV premiered "Sharpe's Challenge", a two-part adventure loosely based on his time in India, with Sean Bean continuing his role as Sharpe; part one premiered on 23 April, with part two being shown the following night. With more gore than earlier episodes, the show was broadcast by BBC America in September 2006. Filming of "Sharpe's Peril", produced by Celtic Film/Picture Palace, began on 3 March 2008 in India. The first part was broadcast on ITV and UTV on 2 November 2008, with the second part  shown a week later, although STV, the holders of the Northern and Central Scottish licensees of ITV, decided not to screen "Sharpe's Peril". "Sharpe's Challenge" and "Sharpe's Peril" were broadcast in the US in 2010 as part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic season. The complete series is available on VHS (excluding "Sharpe's Challenge" and "Sharpe's Peril"), DVD, Blu-ray, and iTunes. The Blu-ray and iTunes releases have been remastered in HD widescreen from the original filmstrips, with the former format available in a special collector's edition box set. Plot summary. At the beginning of  the series, Richard Sharpe is a sergeant in the 95th Rifles serving in Portugal during the Peninsular War in 1809. When he single-handedly saves the life of General Sir Arthur Wellesley from a group of French cavalrymen, Wellesley gives Sharpe a battlefield commission, appointing him a lieutenant. Sharpe is placed in charge of a detachment of elite "chosen men" of the 95th Rifles. Patrick Harper eventually becomes his best friend and is promoted to sergeant and later sergeant major. Wellesley and his various spymasters, first Major Michael Hogan, followed by Major Nairn, Major Mungo Monroe and Major General Ross , 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 to military skill) against an uncouth commoner raised from the ranks. He makes a number of dangerous enemies, such as French Major Pierre Ducos and Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, and encounters one from his prior service in India, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill. Sharpe's successes gain him steady promotion, and 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. He marries the Spanish guerrilla leader Teresa Moreno, with whom he has a daughter. Teresa is killed by Hakeswill. Sharpe then marries Jane Gibbons, who deserts him, squanders his money, and takes a lover. He finally settles down with Lucille Castineau, a Frenchwoman who passes away some time after Napoleon's final defeat. (However, according to The Starbuck Chronicles, another series of Cornwell books, she outlives Sharpe.) Casting. Initially, Paul McGann was cast in the title role; however, two weeks into filming  of the first episode in Ukraine, McGann injured his knee playing football and was forced to withdraw. When production started again a month later, Sean Bean was given the role because he was the only suitable replacement available at short notice. The first actor cast was Daragh O'Malley as Harper. Some actors have played multiple roles 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". Differences between TV series and novels. Differences exist between the TV series and the novels. For instance, in the books, Sharpe was said to be unusually tall (over 6 ft), was born in Wapping in London and has dark hair with a very noticeable scar on his face. Sean Bean is shorter, blond and, being from Sheffield, he speaks with a pronounced Yorkshire 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. Cornwell was so impressed with Bean's portrayal that, in novels written after the television series started airing, the issue of Sharpe's northern accent and roots was addressed by having him flee from London to Yorkshire when he is a teenager to avoid retribution for the murder of his employer over a woman. He also avoided referring to Sharpe's hair colour. While in the novels, Sharpe commands a group of roughly thirty riflemen, the series focuses on a  much smaller group of "Chosen Men", some of whom were invented for the series. The series's creations Harris and Perkins are introduced in later novels, notably "Sharpe's Battle" which takes place between earlier novels. These novels also feature Cooper, despite the character being killed off in the novel "Sharpe's Rifles". Harris (the educated rifleman) and Perkins (the youngest) 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 earlier in India during the Battle of Assaye while he is serving in the 33rd Foot, and he is rewarded with a promotion to ensign, rather than lieutenant. Owing to actor Brian Cox's illness, his character, Major Michael Hogan, was replaced with borrowed character namesakes from numerous novels to create three more exploring officers: Major Nairn, Major Monroe, and Major General Ross; this also removed the future death of Major Hogan by disease in "Sharpe's Siege". In the TV adaptation, Major General Ross catches malarial fever, but recovers. Teresa is introduced in the first  episode, but does not make an appearance in the books until "Sharpe's Gold". In "Sharpe's Challenge", set in 1817, Sharpe states that Lucille, the Frenchwoman with whom he has made a home in Normandy, has recently died of a fever. This is in contrast to the books, where Lucille is still alive in 1820. 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" (both the novel and the TV programme). 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". List of episodes. The episodes are listed by first airing date.