There’s not really much to say about the new Sharpe story that started on telly last night. It seems to be a mash up of the three India books (Sharpe’s Tiger, Sharpe’s Triumph and Sharpe’s Fortress). The prologue was straight from Triumph and even set in the right year -1803, whilst the rest was bits and pieces from all over mixed up and moved to 1817 (to keep the episodes in their own chronological order; to excuse the older looking Sean Bean; and to get Harper in there somehow). Killing Lucille off screen presumably to free Sharpe up for a tumble with the generals’ daughter (who was displaying some gratuitous naked breasts on ITV1 at 9:30pm on a Sunday). Sean Bean doesn’t really need to act to play this part does he? And Toby Stephens makes a very good posh villain, possibly better here than in Die Another Day.
In other words, business as usual - good low brain escapism.
I wonder if they’ll do Sharpe’s Devil at some point? It’s the one full length story actually set after Waterloo and as the remaining novels are all tied to historical events set much earlier (Trafalger, Copenhagen, Torres Vedras) that would be difficult to muck about with as was done here.
tired
