The Examination For Lieutenant
Encyclopedia
The Examination for Lieutenant is an episode of the British television series Hornblower
. It is loosely based on part of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
. It was released on DVD in the United States under the title The Fire Ships.
, Captain of HMS Indefatigable
decides to put his protégé, Horatio Hornblower
, forward for the examination for lieutenant
. Leading up to the exam, Hornblower faces many challenges.
Spain
has made peace with France
and is no longer an ally of Britain
- Spanish ships, although technically neutral, begin to attack British ships. Wreckage from one supply ship has already been found by HMS Indefatigable. Indefatigable finds three survivors; among them is Captain "Dreadnought" Foster, a famously heroic officer who influences the ambitious Hornblower.
Spain's actions have deprived the Gibraltar
fleet of its supplies leaving the captains no alternative but to cut rations by half. This leads seaman Bunting (Andrew Tiernan
) to commit theft, as his friend has died of scurvy
and he fears going the same way. He was caught by Hornblower, reprimanded by Pellew and punished by being made to run the gauntlet
.
Soon a Mr Tapling from the diplomatic service
arrives, and he and Hornblower head ashore to Oran, on the North African coast, to buy grain and cattle for the fleet. Soon it is discovered that this is a plague town and so Hornblower is appointed captain of the Caroline, a transport schooner, and spends his three weeks of mandatory quarantine
at sea with the rations. Bunting had tried to escape in the longboat and get to shore but had been caught again by Hornblower, and now was his prisoner. Hornblower, short of hands on the Caroline but also keen to redeem Bunting, gives him a chance to prove his worth. Later, while they are ashore to load water, they are attacked by Spanish soldiers, and Bunting tries to escape again. Hornblower catches him, but Bunting forces Hornblower to shoot him.
They return to the Caroline to discover that Captain Foster has arrived in HMS Dreadnought and has sent a boarding party to take cattle from the Caroline, which is still under quarantine. Hornblower manages to stop the boarding party just before their boat reaches Dreadnought, and he requests that Foster send both the meat and the boarding party back to the Caroline. Foster refuses and he appears angry with Hornblower.
They return to HMS Indefatigable at Gibraltar, and Hornblower attempts his exam. He appears to be failing until a fire ship
sails into the anchorage, and Hornblower and Foster go aboard and steer it clear of the fleet. Pellew remarks on Hornblower's courage and he is allowed to keep his rank until the next exam. Indefatigable sails off into the distance.
Hornblower (TV series)
Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
. It is loosely based on part of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return, was published in 1937.-Plot introduction:Horatio Hornblower...
by C. S. Forester
C. S. Forester
Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
. It was released on DVD in the United States under the title The Fire Ships.
Plot
Sir Edward PellewEdward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
, Captain of HMS Indefatigable
HMS Indefatigable (1784)
HMS Indefatigable was one of the Ardent class 64-gun third-rate ships-of-the-line designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
decides to put his protégé, Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
, forward for the examination for lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Leading up to the exam, Hornblower faces many challenges.
Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
has made peace with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and is no longer an ally of Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
- Spanish ships, although technically neutral, begin to attack British ships. Wreckage from one supply ship has already been found by HMS Indefatigable. Indefatigable finds three survivors; among them is Captain "Dreadnought" Foster, a famously heroic officer who influences the ambitious Hornblower.
Spain's actions have deprived the Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
fleet of its supplies leaving the captains no alternative but to cut rations by half. This leads seaman Bunting (Andrew Tiernan
Andrew Tiernan
Andrew James Tiernan is an English actor.-Theatre:Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year Diploma in Acting at the Drama Centre London run by Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren...
) to commit theft, as his friend has died of scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
and he fears going the same way. He was caught by Hornblower, reprimanded by Pellew and punished by being made to run the gauntlet
Fustuarium
In the military of ancient Rome, fustuarium or fustuarium supplicium was a severe form of military discipline in which a soldier was cudgeled to death...
.
Soon a Mr Tapling from the diplomatic service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...
arrives, and he and Hornblower head ashore to Oran, on the North African coast, to buy grain and cattle for the fleet. Soon it is discovered that this is a plague town and so Hornblower is appointed captain of the Caroline, a transport schooner, and spends his three weeks of mandatory quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
at sea with the rations. Bunting had tried to escape in the longboat and get to shore but had been caught again by Hornblower, and now was his prisoner. Hornblower, short of hands on the Caroline but also keen to redeem Bunting, gives him a chance to prove his worth. Later, while they are ashore to load water, they are attacked by Spanish soldiers, and Bunting tries to escape again. Hornblower catches him, but Bunting forces Hornblower to shoot him.
They return to the Caroline to discover that Captain Foster has arrived in HMS Dreadnought and has sent a boarding party to take cattle from the Caroline, which is still under quarantine. Hornblower manages to stop the boarding party just before their boat reaches Dreadnought, and he requests that Foster send both the meat and the boarding party back to the Caroline. Foster refuses and he appears angry with Hornblower.
They return to HMS Indefatigable at Gibraltar, and Hornblower attempts his exam. He appears to be failing until a fire ship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
sails into the anchorage, and Hornblower and Foster go aboard and steer it clear of the fleet. Pellew remarks on Hornblower's courage and he is allowed to keep his rank until the next exam. Indefatigable sails off into the distance.
Cast
- Ioan GruffuddIoan GruffuddIoan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
as Midshipman Horatio Hornblower - Robert LindsayRobert Lindsay (actor)Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
as Captain Sir Edward Pellew - Ian McNeiceIan McNeiceIan McNeice is a prolific English screen, stage, and television character actor.-Early life:McNeice was born in Basingstoke in Hampshire. McNeice's acting training started at the Taunton School in Somerset, followed by two years at the Salisbury Playhouse...
as Mr. Tapling - Denis LawsonDenis LawsonDenis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
as Captain 'Dreadnought' Foster - Paul CopleyPaul CopleyPaul Mackriell Copley is an award-winning English actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Copley was born in Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, and grew up beside a dairy farm there. His father, Harold, was involved with local amateur dramatic productions, as were the rest of his family...
as Matthews - Sean GilderSean GilderSean Brian Gilder is an English stage, film and screen actor, he is also a playwright.Gilder was born in Brampton, Cumbria, England. He is best-known for his portrayal of Paddy Maguire on Shameless from 2005 to 2010, and as Styles on Hornblower...
as Styles - Andrew TiernanAndrew TiernanAndrew James Tiernan is an English actor.-Theatre:Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year Diploma in Acting at the Drama Centre London run by Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren...
as Bunting - Ian McElhinneyIan McElhinneyIan McElhinney is an actor and director.-Personal life:He is married to playwright/actress Marie Jones. Together they started their own company, Rathmore Productions Ltd.-Filmography:-External links:...
as Captain Hammond