Sean Bean Week: Sharpe's Rifles

Welcome fine readers to Day 1 of Sean Bean Week and I hope we get off to a great start by viewing one of Bean's first ground and back breaking series based of the Bernard Cornwell novels (a novelization based on Peninsular War campaigns Sharpe's Rifles, the prequels Sharpe's Tigers, Sharpe's Triumph, Sharpe's Fortress, Sharpe's Trafalgar and Sharpe's Prey)  a young sergeant promoted to lieutenant commanding a handful of sharpshooters.  This is Sharpe's Rifles.

Hope those guns are loaded with blanks... this time.

Richard Sharpe: So... the Chosen Spoilers, eh?  Well, I didn't choose you. But I know you, you and your kind all my life.  All I know is how to fight. So if there's any man among you expecting a quick ramble through this war, now's the time.

Sir Arthur Wellesley (David Troughton of Bonjour la Classe, Sharpe's Eagle, A Few Short Journeys of the Heart, Underworld, Captain Jack and The Cafe) is the commander of the British infantry being pursued by the French when he is saved by a shavetail sergeant Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean of Patriot Games, Scarlett, Goldeneye, Airborne, Ronin, Equilibrium, The Lord of the RIngs: The Fellowship of the Ring and Troy).  Impressed with this young wily sergeant, Wellesley offers Sharpe a field promotion to Lieutenant and command of the "Chosen Men" some of the best sharpshooters formerly lead by Rifleman Patrick Harper (Daragh O' Malley of Texas, Sharpe's Seige, Sharpe's Justice, Grim Fandango and Cleopatra) and they both immediately loathe one another. Stuck in Portugal with no monthly payment, Wellesley has arranged a loan from the Rothschild household that was sent from Vienna but is overdue.  James Rothschild was said to have been traveling with this notice and has not been heard from in some time.

I'm telling you, that is the guy from Goldeneye.

Wellesley, Sharpe, his men and company commanded by Major Dunnett (Julian Fellowes of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, The Bunker, Angels, Damage, Tomorrow Never Dies and Monarch of the Glen) follows Rothschild's last known whereabouts and set out to find him.    The company is exhausted as Sharpe and his men are on recon trying to make heads or tails of this missing member of noble house.  Will they encounter heavy resistance?  Is there a trap lying in waits for them all?  Will they ever escape this accursed war?   Well give it a view and find out.  Rather good periodical work.

Just a few comments about the TV movie now.  Paul McGann (Doctor Who, Downtime, Fish, Queen of the Damned, Doctor Who: Shada, Collison, Luther and Art Is...) was chosen for the role of Sharpe but due to a football (Soccer for us yankees) injury, Sean Bean was given the role and McGann is a shorter fellow and the outfit was tailored to fit him so that is why it looks snug and open for Bean.

Author Bernard Cornwell was blown away by Sean Bean's performance as Sharpe that he changed the physical description of his own character to closely resemble the man in question.   Sharpe's 95th Regiment and the green jackets are factual and the direct ancestor of the Royal Green Jackets better known as The Rifles Regiment.

God's sake man, put a bra on.