The Sharpe serials, based novels of Bernard Cornwell, were some of ITV’s most acclaimed and successful programmes during the 90s and helped launch the career of starring actor Sean Bean. Sharpe was from an age where ITV were still known for serious dramas rather than the tacky reality shows and talent competitions that clog up the schedules these days.
Whilst not the best outing, 2006’s Sharpe’s Challenge still managed to attract more than seven million viewers which was quite remarkable considering it was an ITV show that didn’t feature Simon Cowell’s gurning face or Jeremy Kyle patronising the unemployed.
Sharpe’s New Rag-tag Band of Misfit Soldiers
The latest effort, Sharpe’s Peril, written by Russell Lewis and directed by long standing Sharpe helmer Tom Clegg, picks up where Challenge left off. Sharpe and Patrick Harper (Daragh O’Malley) travel across India to escort Marie-Angelique Bonnet (Beatrice Rosen) to meet her fiancée Major Joubert (Pascal Langdale).
Sharpe and Harper are due to take the ship from Calcutta to England but as they travel through the bandit-plagued badlands, they stumble upon a camp containing a rag-tag unit of the Crown’s troops - led by boy soldier Beauclare (Luke Ward Wilkinson). They are supervising the transfer of a suspected murderer to a court martial.
The group inadvertently comes across an opium trafficking ring which is being run by the ruthless Colonel Dragomirov (Velibor Topic), a traitorous officer from the East India Company. Sharpe must finally train his new misfit team to become proper soldiers to take down the corrupt colonel.
Sean Bean on Richard Sharpe
Sean Bean may be more known these days for playing stereotyped villains in Hollywood films (The Hitcher, The Island, National Treasure) but he is obviously having the time of his life playing Sharpe.
“Sharpe is a man who has gone through 25 years of a military career. He has seen a lot, some good and some horrific things,” he says in an ITV preview. “War is waged by governments and I think Sharpe has become disillusioned - he’s done his bit and just wants to get home."
A Welcome Addition to the ITV Schedule
British TV has long been associated with cheap sets and outdated special effects, but the thing that can be said about the Sharpe films is that they always hold up well visually. And while the films have been a bit sketchy over the years it’s still nice to see Sean Bean in a role which means he isn’t killed off before the credits. His untouched Sheffield accent, although not faithful to the original character, is also a joy to hear in what is essentially a period drama.
Nostalgia aside, Sharpe was still a welcome return two years ago and the fact that ITV are once again willing to air it in two of its precious primetime slots, instead of the usual populist bile, can only be a positive move. Long may it continue.
The two-part Sharpe’s Peril will be shown on ITV1 9pm on November 2 and 9 and will be released on DVD on November 10. A trailer can be viewed at the Sharpe Film website.
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