Sharpe meets his squad of. riflemen. __ In the Peninsular War, a British sergeant is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle company.
The books are great and the show is amazing, its a little ambitious for its budget at times especially when they try and portray huge battles with liek 25 extras but its a great show with great characters.
I like how, whilst Sharpe does find the classic 'sleeping sentry', Tongue was also there cleverly using the sleeping sentry as a distraction. They may be drunk, but they're not incompetent.
Yeah. Brilliant. Until a squad of French sneak up on their position that is. Then perhaps they'll be regretting having a sleeping sentry. Well... they won't be able to regret it for long at least since they'd all be sleeping for a lot longer than they intended.
@@henryposadas295 well, yeah, they're introduced as 'the finest shots in the King's army' and demonstrate that every single time they're in battle. They just needed an officer who inspired loyalty in them
And yet Harper and the men spend the next half hour of the show giving him a hard time. All because he wasn't born into privilege, but he has twice the ability of anyone who was.
@@Justicar2503 With respect, I'm not so sure. I seem to remember that even when one of the other men pointed out that Sharpe could have had him shot, Harper still mutter he wasn't a "proper officer." I think it WAS Sharpe's commitment to the mission that won them over, but I think their initial dislike was equal parts what you said and the men just not seeing him as worthy of leading them.
@@evilpants I had a manager once, who was - it has to be said - pretty crap at doing the job that I and my colleagues did. But not ONCE did he fail to 'fight our corner' if he believed we were right! "Horses for courses" I believe they call it! :-)
That's being an junior officer worth his brass. They may have hated sharpe on their first meeting but by the end, they would've followed him into hell itself if he asked them to.
The best JOs and NCOs solve problems at the lowest level possible. A fellow mechanic and myself messed up our torque specifications on a job. He could have blown it off or could have hemmed us up on not following proper procedure. Instead, he had us give department level training on proper torque technique - word was the mechanics had to learn how to fasten nuts and bolts. Suffice it to say, I got the point and would double check my specifications and I actually did learn a bit about fastener strength and identification.
thats british army for you... where officers bought their comisions and looked down on those which got promoted into ranks... compare it with French Napoleonic army where most of marshals were former rank and file...
@@JaM-R2TR4 It still wasn't without class discrimination, even if indirect. French Officers were often promoted due to literacy, and almost all the literate soldiers were middle to upper class. about 75% of rank and file were illiterate.
@@ContagiousCure but you need to take into accout the era - French officers were not getting their promotions due to privileges like in every other European country at that time... Thats what i found quite ridiculous when people try to bash Napoleonic France, yet forget to compare it to every other nation of that era... they cant compare 1800 Napoleonic France with modern day armies, or 1800 Napoleonic France with modern day Liberal Democracy country.. In terms of political systems, Napoleonic France was the most liberal government in Europe at that time..
1:02: "Sleeping on sentry is a shooting charge. If I catch you again, I'll do it myself." As a wise man once said, "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."
@@TheBendermen Yes, yes it was. And played by the same actor. Although, this is the only character that Sean Bean plays that I recall surviving to old age....at least in the books.
There were officers who did not drink for religious reasons, but that usually meant the soldiers under their command were forbidden to drink as well. The officer thought it was a test of character, but soldiers in war need some outlet.
Really shows why they despise officers from the ranks. Sharpe being a sgt before being commissioned only knew how to act like a sgt not an officer. Love how in the series he starts learning to conduct himself as an officer and gentlemen.
That's what's great about this series. The officers' lack of respect for a man who was *not* trained to be an officer is not entirely without merit. There are ways in which an officer *should* conduct himself, which common soldiers are not taught. Sadly, there were many an officer who did not live up to that standard either. Moreover, they forget that one who rises through *merit* is often not beyond teaching, as some officers ultimately do over the course of the Sharpe continuity
There was also a huge difference in class and station between enlisted soldiers and officers since an officers commission could be purchased. Usually only the nobility and the wealthiest could afford to purchase their commission while becoming an NCO or being promoted from the ranks required time, skill, and considerable talent.
Well, it was his fault. They don't know him and suddenly he's on top of you, while you're sleeping. Natural reaction to attack him. You aren't going to assume he's an officer. He should have introduced himself better.
If anyone didn't noticed > The captain gave a slight nuanced nod to Sharpe after the Major dismissed everyone, a nod which seems like a nod of respect.
I noticed it also. Whenever he read Sharpe's orders stating that he was promoted for distinguishing himself and looking Sharpe over a few times you can tell he's impressed-and can see a good officer in the making.
@@crispinjulius5032 French Calvary ambush later on in the episode, Sharpe and the rest of the bunch were just coming upon the scene as he (The captain) tried to defend the colours. He was being pulled away by another soldier as the French tried to kill them which allowed Sharpe to save them and the later scenes to happen.
I had forgotten how young Sean Bean was in this series. I guess he has played the grizzled old veteran in so many films at this point that my mind essentially has him type-cast.
@@zemaniak22 they weren't that hard to get, battlefield pickups, former officers that have been disgraced etc. Plus remember in that period an officer could be trained and raised within the unit with no real oversight from the Army as a whole
@@Briselance No, but you'll notice that the design of his uniform matches that of the other commissioned officers, plus the red sash on his waist. The other mens' uniforms are a little more plain.
There should be one last Christmas special in which a retired Sharpe gets run over by a runaway hay wagon so we can finally get the Sean Bean character closure we've come to expect.
To be fair I don't think Sharpe had any insignia designating him as a lieutenant that would have saved a lot of trouble when he first meets his chosen men.
Takes the blame for his new troops, without hesitation. the looks they flash around as he does so, that's the groundwork for becoming the greatest leader of His Majesty's soldiers the Empire has ever seen!
The guy who plays Harper is my dad's cousin, Darragh O'Malley, he's also the guy who yells "ponce" in the film Withnail and I. Really interesting guy, his dad was the government minister who brought in free education in Ireland, and his mum was the person who the poem/song 'Raglan Road' is about. Great to see his performance here
I know!!!!Laughed my Catholic ass off!!!!!~Many, many catholic soldiers, Irish, English , Scottish and welsh , have served in British military service.
Such an amazing scene. Notice he gives Harper his best brandy back right after he tries shivving him. Sharpe knows that brandy maybe the only reprieve the squad has. Then takes the blame when any other officer probably would have had Harper shot for striking an officer. And doesn't major Dunnett have one of those Teacher's pet faces you wanna punch
Not so hard to. I met one of my best friends and closest comrades during a little skirmish outside a bar when we both wore the uniform. I won't tell you his name but we all called him "Big Country". He was a 6 foot 5, corn fed bastard from Oklahoma. Both of us had one too many, words were said, and we stepped outside. We went blow for blow, no one gaining the upper hand I then remembered about the roll of quarters I had. I distracted him with quick left jabs then threw a loaded haymaker to the jaw. He just stopped and looked at me. Then he started laughing, here I am thinking "Oh, f**k, it didn't even faze him. I am so dead". He said that, that was the hardest anyone hit him in a long time. We went back in and he bought the next round. After that we were thick as thieves.
they covered so much, careful what you wish for. I wouldn't want to see the day Sharpe finds out napoleon is his long lost twin, or however it would jump the shark lol
They did two movies afterwards which covered a bit of Sharpe's time in India, both during and after Napoleon's rule. Sharpe's Peril and Sharpe's Challenge.
Great TV. But after watching the show I read the books. Fantastic reads, and it's a shame they had budget restraints for the TV show. All the battles look like small skirmishes between a hundred or so, max, but when you read the books, it tens of thousands
@Clint Rockfist think that's normal because the director and producers already knows him. IMO All business advertise new jobs internally before advertising to the general public.
It's so good for men and woman. Personally, watching Sharpe walk towards us it great. But....when he walks away.....that uniform still looks really really good. And that smile could melt a cannon barrel down. He's gorgeous and such a man
When I was young in my teens my older Brother, mother and father used to watch this. I always wondered why they liked it and didn't think much of it. I started watching it recently and it's one of the best things I've seen. Sadly my mother and brother are both passed and my father has dementia so it reminds me of them too.
The cast in Sharpe was fantastic, Major Dunnett, played by Julian Fellows who would later win an Oscar for his screenplay for Gosford Park and create and write a little tv show called Downton Abbey.
Even before Vietnam, the officers in green had the sense not to wear rank insignia in case they were spotted by enemy snipers... or recognised by their own troops.
I've binge watched every episode 4 times now, maybe upto 5 years between times. Swashbuckling with mostly buckling. Hornblower was good and ive watched them 3 times but it's nowhere as down and dirty as this series. Great characters you get to know.
Yes good description....down and dirty. That also applies to the books. We smell the blood, gunpowder and swear. And even his relationships are so real
And read the books. So we'll research. Sharpe can be very brutal, like the back of an aze. His lousy start to life made him tough. It also taught compassion. The books are so detailed. And he has so many more adventures.
So who else is here because the algorithm decided to shotgun blast Sharpe clips all over their recommends despite having never once heard of this series before?
If you love Sharpe and want to watch it all the time, just join the Rifles and get a posting to the Falklands. Without doubt you'll spend most your time on Onion Range watching Sharpe.
Sean doesn't like hats. Neither does Sharpe. Always strikes me when they are hiding somewhere and look up to check something, those tall shakos show up, up, up, til finally their eyes are over the obstacle and can see. Meantime the bloody tall shako is up high and handsome telling the enemy "Hi, I'm hiding here"
Major was the highest rank a man without noble antecedents could aspire to in the British army of the Napoleonic era. You had to have income appropriate for the rank, and if you were a man of limited means, you couldn't afford the mess costs, uniforms and horses you needed as a field officer. After the end of purchase of rank, Sir William Robertson rose from cavalry private to Field Marshal[they were called "privates", not "troopers" until after the Great war.].
