Sunday 23 January 2022

Sharpe TV Series

 

Sharpe's Rifles was the first of the Sharpe television dramas, based on Bernard Cornwell's 1988 novel of the same name. It was first shown on British Channel ITV in 1993, the adaptation stars Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley and Assumpta Serna. It began a long series of successful and critically acclaimed television adaptations of the Sharpe novels. Filming took place in the Crimea, Portugal and England, during which Paul McGann who was the original actor cast for the role of Richard Sharpe, broke his leg and was quickly replaced with Sean Bean.

Richard Sharpe is a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, with Irish actor Daragh O'Malley playing his second in command sergeant, Patrick Harper. Sharpe and Harper are the heroes of the Sharpe series and most of the soldiers were from reenactment groups. 

Most of the episodes are based on the Bernard Cornwell 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, Spain and the two final episodes filmed in India. 

The series originally ran from 1993 to 1997 and all of the 16 series are available on DVD.

Sharpe's Rifles, Sharpe's Eagle, Sharpe's Company, Sharpe's Enemy, Sharpe's Honour,

Sharpe's Gold, Sharpe's Battle, Sharpe's Sword. Sharpe's Regiment, Sharpe's Siege,

Sharpe's Mission, Sharpe's Revenge, Sharpe's Justice and 

Sharpe's Waterloo  

In 2006, ITV premiered another two series Sharpe's Challenge, a two-part adventure loosely based on his time in India and Sharpe's Peril both are not based on any of Cornwell's novels.

From Sharpe's Waterloo


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