Sharpe's Challenge and Sharpe's Peril

For a 5 on Friday I did a few weeks ago, I mentioned that the opening theme music to the Sharpe series is way up there on my list of favorites. In fact, everything about the Sharpe series is way up there on my list of favorites.

Sharpe is based on the series of books which follow Napoleonic-era British soldier Richard Sharpe, written by the awesome Bernard Cornwell.


Tom Clegg directed all sixteen of the 2-hour film adaptations of Cornwell's books, starring the sigh-worthy Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley.

I've been so grateful, these past two weekends, for PBS Masterpiece's broadcasts of the latest two Sharpe's.










Sharpe's Challenge, 2006

This one I'd seen before, but I can never get enough of Sharpe.


















It features Toby Stephens in a rather dastardly role, whom I've also enjoyed in many other productions, including his role as the rotten Prince John in season 3 of BBC's Robin Hood.


















It also introduces the very handsome Karan Panthaky as a rajah not quite of age, and who is at the mercy of his regent, his late father's foremost concubine and her lover, played by Toby Stephens.

Here's the trailer:



Sharpe's Peril, 2008























I was delighted to find Raza Jaffrey in this one, who played Zaf in seasons 4-6 of Spooks/MI-5.























I was also happy to see David Robb appearing as Major Tredinnick. He looks like this when you can get a close-up:


















I saw him in another PBS Masterpiece broadcast back in grade 11 (that's 1981, if you're wondering) in The Flame Trees of Thika and have always admired him since then - especially his gorgeous voice, which is why he obviously does a lot of voice work.


















And you can't beat the joy of seeing a recurring character like Simmerson show up, played with elitist relish by Michael Cochrane. He has appeared in 5 of the 16 Sharpe films.


















There's lots of challenge in these two stories for our intrepid hero. And amazing stuntwork by dreamy Sean.














And did I mention peril? Did I mention I can never resist a hero in chains?

NOTE: There is a 30-second leader at the beginning of this trailer.



Both of these films are available on DVD, and Sharpe's Peril will be rebroadcast on Saturday on PBS.

Five No-Fail Inspirations When I Write

This past weekend I had three days off, and all to myself. It's not often I get such a luxury. And what did I do with those three days?

I wrote 4000 words of my English-gardener-transported-to-Van-Diemen's-Land story.

Since I 'cast' all of my characters, once I've got them settled in my mind, writing about the English gardener means having Ewan McGregor on the brain. I often turn to a file of photos I've got on my computer featuring my inspiration actors. Most of the time they're still shots from different films they've been in, with the actor caught up in an emotion that's central to the major scenes from my own story.

And watching scenes from the films themselves really helps. I 'download' the way the actor moves, the way he speaks - and my own character just takes off inside my mind.

Here's a little peek into my inspiration for the five stories I've got on the go. Not all at once, of course. They take turns.

















The first character who came to me was Guthrie Carmichael, a Scottish gamekeeper on an earl's estate in the 1820's. Once I felt I knew him well enough, I cast him as English actor Sean Bean.

My character has similar coloring to Sean Bean, but Guthrie has gray eyes instead of Sean Bean's blue ones. And I don't let the actor's English nationality get in the way of my character's Scottish background.

Here's a backstory poem I wrote from Guthrie's point of view. It really gets to the heart of his motivation:

Gold That Burns



The second character who came to me is Robbie Flynn, the English gardener in 1840's Cheltenham. I cast him as Scottish actor Ewan McGregor.

You see how I don't let the actor's nationality affect the way the character comes to me... English-actor-inspires-Scottish-gamekeeper, Scottish-actor-inspires-English-gardener.

In a bizarre bit of trivia, the estate where Guthrie the Sean-Bean-gamekeeper is employed is set near Crieff in Scotland. This was worked out before the gardener story came to me, before I started looking up info about Ewan McGregor. And yet Crieff is where Ewan McGregor hails from.

Here's a backstory poem from Robbie's point of view:

For Helen He Would Do It


The next character that came along was Jock MacKeigan, a highland clansman fighting the English in 1746. I cast Scottish actor Robert Carlyle for this character. First match of actor nationality to character background!

A very recent poem posted for last week's Poetry Train gives a glimpse into Jock's tough, fearless fighter:

Take One More With Him



















A magnificent character who came to me is the Dark Ages vampire, Peredur. By the time Peredur came to me, I already knew he would be 'played' by Gerard Butler. Peredur is Welsh, but Scottish Gerry will do fine. Just fine.

Although I didn't specify that this poem was from Peredur's point of view, I think I can share this secret with you now:

The Red Joy At Last


Last but emphatically not least is my latest arrival, Scorpius, chamberlain of Lady Elinor's keep. He appeared to me in the guise of English actor Richard Armitage. Scorpius is a paranormal/fantasy character, so Richard's English background is a total plus.


Here is Scorpius' backstory poem:

How Can I Ache For What I Never Had

Who are your favorite inspirations?