Remains of St. Pierre by Angelo Heilprin (United States, 1853-1907), 1902. Public Domain
On the lovely Caribbean island of Martinique, Mount Pelee erupted at 7:50 a.m. on 8 May 1902 killing 30,000 people most who were in the city of Saint-Pierre. Concern over the volcano had been growing due to is recent activity. In April explosions had begun at its summit. Numerous quakes, ash showers, and thick clouds of sulfurous gas affected the entire region. This caused many ground insects and snakes to come into Saint-Pierre causing serious problems for everyone and livestock. 50 people died from snakebites mostly children. As volcanic activity continued, water sources became contaminated with ash resulting in livestock dying. Outdoor activities near the mountain were cancelled and by May many were worried. On 5 May, a crater gave way sending a torrent of scalding water and pyroclastic debris into a river and burying workers at a sugar works. The lahar (the name for such flows) was traveling 62 mph (100 kph)when it hit the sea causing a small tsunami to flood the low lying areas of Saint-Pierre. By 7 May things were getting worse with more ash clouds and glows of reddish-orange being seen from the craters at night.
Many began fleeing into the city (it was believed safe from lava flows)while many were trying to flee. Those that did leave would realize later how lucky they were.
A large black cloud composed of superheated gas, ash and rock rolled headlong down the south flank of Mt. Pelée at more than 100 miles per hour, its path directed by the V-shaped notch at the summit. In less than one minute it struck St. Pierre with hurricane force. The blast was powerful enough to carry a three-ton statue sixteen meters from its mount. One-meter-thick masonary walls were blown into rubble and support girders were mangled into twisted strands of metal. The searing heat of the cloud ignited huge bonfires. Thousands of barrels of rum stored in the city’s warehouses exploded, sending rivers of the flaming liquid through the streets and into the sea. The cloud continued to advanced over the harbor where it destroyed at least twenty ships anchored offshore. The hurricane force of the blast capsized the steamship Grappler, and its scorching heat set ablaze the American sailing ship Roraima, killing most of her passengers and crew. The Roraima had the misfortune of arriving only a few hours before the eruption. Those on on board could only watch in horror as the cloud descended on them after annihilating the city of St. Pierre. Of the 28,000 people in St. Pierre, there were only two known survivors.
(How Volcanoes Work: MT. PELÉE ERUPTION (1902),Geology Department,University of San Diego)
It was the largest loss of life due to a volcano in the 20th century. And the only volcano in French history to cause loss of life (Martinique is a department of France). The city of Saint-Pierre was no more. The French warship Suchet found mostly ruins and corpses. Anything in the direct path of the pyroclastic flow was destroyed completely (about 8 square miles). Outside of that zone the damage was less and more people survived. Another eruption on 20 May would obliterate what was left of Saint-Pierre killing 2,000 most of whom were rescuers, engineers and mariners. On 30 Aug another eruption occurred causing more fatalities and a tsunami. It was the last fatal eruption of Mount Pelee. It would erupt again in 1929 but authorities evacuated so no lives were lost.
The city of Saint-Pierre was never rebuilt and small villages now exists where it once did. Mount Pelee has been quiet but is under constant watch and considered an active volcano.
Land of the Giants was a show with a simple theme of adapting Gulliver’s Travels to a science-fiction theme. Suppose you landed on a planet where everyone was similar but stood 72 feet taller than you? How would you survive and get back home, if ever? Irwin Allen thought it might be a good theme for a show and crafted this show on that premise. Taking place in 1983, a sub-orbital transport named Spindrift encounters a space storm and is transported to a mysterious planet of the giants. The passengers and crew are stuck on this strange world until they can find a way home.
The world the landed on was never named but similar to Earth. Technology was both familiar and different. They did not have space travel but had advanced technology like cloning, force fields, androids and small nuclear reactors. The people were human and the world similar in many respects (similar geography, animals etc) but its location was either in a parallel universe or another dimension since access was limited by a wormhole. Other sub-orbital spacecraft have crashed on this world and the series is bleak on this regard: none of them survived. So the survivors of Spindrift, which lacks the power to leave, are going to have to survive on this planet for a while. Aside from the giant scale of everything, the inhabitants are not helpful. Some are outright hostile or cruel, others are happy to use them for some purpose and betray them. An authoritarian government wants the little people rounded up since they are a threat.
Abernathy Round Tower in Scotland is 72 foot(21.94 meters) tall. This is how tall a person from Land of the Giants would be on our planet. Photo:Lis Burke(Wikimedia Commons)
Like all shows by Irwin Allen, one has to suspend disbelief and just go with the flow. After all 72 foot tall humans would be a problem owing to the Square Cube Law conceived by Galileo Galilei in 1638. It states that as a shape grows in size, its volume grows faster than its surface area. The result is that you would be crushed if you suddenly grew too tall and lacked the structural support for it. Animals in nature that are big develop enhanced skeletal frames and scaling so that they do not get crushed. This is why no Godzilla or King Kong can exist (unless they had evolved that way over time) by some weird radiation or genetic mutation. Only creatures that are in the sea can get enormous since the effects of this law do not apply (which is why you have huge whales, squids, and octopi) thanks to water. Humans that are exceptionally tall (caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland of the brain) suffer serious health issues in the circulatory or skeletal system.
If Irwin Allen wanted to be creative, he would have made them large but not in this way. Perhaps he would have made them more like 8 feet tall and would fit into legends of giants in mythology. Now that would have been interesting, Suppose a race of giants (exceptionally tall humans but not 72 feet tall) had been on Earth long ago. They came into conflict with normal size humans. For whatever reason, many are wiped out (you could tie it into Biblical stories) but a few remained like Goliath that fought David. Others that did survive ended up on this other world, in a parallel dimension. Part of the story would be finding out who they were, who brought them there, and perhaps their evil intentions of wanting to return to Earth. That would be more plausible and interesting than in making them so gigantic that even with a slingshot, David would have no chance against these giants.
Free roamers like to argue that in this other dimension the laws of physics are alerted or somehow the giants altered themselves genetically be so tall. Hogwash! At any rate each week the survivors were put in peril and eventually rescued themselves or sometimes a giant might aid them. There was no resolution by the time the series ended. They were still trapped and the future on this world of giants looked bleak. At least Gulliver was able to leave Lilliput. It seems the unlucky survivors of Spindrift are marooned unless Allen had thought of a way to get them home again.
Review: Hornblower:The Wrong War (aka The Frogs & Lobsters)
A&E
1999
100 min
This episode is based on The Frogs & Lobsters from the CS Forester novel Midshipman Hornblower. The story is based upon an actual historical event, The Battle of Quiberon (1795), in which French émigré forces landed in France with British assistance to fight the republican forces.
Summary
The British are assisting French émigré troops in attempting to overthrow the French Republic. Hornblower is tasked with accompanying Colonel Moncoutant, the Marquis of Muzillac, ashore and with blowing up a bridge. A unit of the 95th commanded by Major Lord Edrington is also accompanying them. However Republican forces overwhelm General Charette in the north and eventually head south to Muzillac forcing Hornblower and Edrington to retreat back to shore and the safety of Indefatigable.
Plot
Captain Pellew receives orders from Admiral Hood to take General Charette and his émigré troops to France where they will seek to overthrow the French Republic. Despite the fact that a copy of the plans has been stolen likely by French agents, Hood orders Pellew to proceed and forbids him from telling Charette about the theft. Pellew does not believe it has much chance of success and worries about the human cost. Hood simply says they will count up the cost later at leisure.
The 95th of Foot under command of Major Lord Edrington arrives accompanying a unit of French royalist troops. The French troops do not look as crisp and ready for battle as the 95th. The French troops that are going Muzillac which Hornblower is accompanying, is commanded by Colonel Moncoutant, the Marquis of Muzillac. He is also brings a guillotine to use when he arrives. Moncoutant appears pleasant enough but the guillotine is a foreshadowing of what is to come later. After arriving in France, Hornblower and his men take charge of a bridge and mine it with explosives. Meanwhile the former lord of Muzillac returns and is welcomed by its new mayor, a former linen merchant. Moncoutant does not accept his authority and tours his former home with the mayor, Hornblower, and Edrington. It is in a shambles and it enrages Moncoutant to see many of his prized belongings turned into kindling for fire. He later executes the mayor when he refuses to raise the old French flag and almost kills a young boy for singing the revolutionary song. He is stopped by Hornblower.
Moncoutant erects the guillotine and begins executing citizens, which sickens Hornblower. At dinner latter that night with Moncoutant and Edrington, Moncoutant offends Hornblower with his views on humanity. Hornblower takes offense and reminds him the common British sailor brought him over to France. Moncoutant teases him that he sounds like a republican. Hornblower leaves the dinner and meets the young woman who was serving the meal. She was the teacher before Moncountant closed the school down and was next to the boy who sang La Marseillaise that Hornblower saved earlier in the day. He escorts her home (the school) and stays with her to prevent French troops from entering (there is one attempt).
The next day brings signs of possible attack at the bridge and to the British troops nearby but it turns out to be a feint. Hornblower discovers wagon tracks indicating heavy laden carts had passed through with cannon. This is later confirmed by the school teacher. Up north where the main force landed, they have come under intense artillery attack and General Charette is killed. Master Bowles escapes dressed as a French Republican soldier and heads south. However the Indefatigable is becalmed requiring using a longboat to tow it back to the area where Hornblower landed. The ominous sound of cannon fire indicates to Pellew that Charette has fallen under attack by republican forces.
As troops start heading south, Moncoutant is too busy executing to listen to Hornblower’s warnings. Both he and Edrington realize they are on their own and prepare to withdraw hoping the Indefatigable will be there. Hornblower brings the school teacher with him since she was seen with him (and likely would be ill-treated as a result). However her ankle is injured while fleeing and she is killed on the bridge by republican troops. The bridge is blown up but Hornblower is in despair. The remaining French royalist troops with the British flee. Moncoutant does put up a defense of Muzillac but it is overwhelemed and is captured. He is then executed by guillotine as he shouts “Vive La Roi!”
On the beach they make a final stand against the oncoming French troops. Thankfully the Indefatigable shows up and scares them away with its cannon. All evacuate and Pellew meets with Hornblower. Hornblower is filled with grief over the death of the woman and the failure of the mission. He says they were not wanted. While he never says it, Pellew agrees. But he also points out that no matter what happens to them, they must be leaders and not crews see their grief.
Deviations from book
1. Hornblower was still midshipman as his promotion does not occur until the end of Duchess and the Devil.
2. Major Edrington was a major in 43rd Regiment of Foot, not 95th.
3. There was no female teacher that Hornblower became acquainted with. Nor did he have dinner with Colonel Moncoutant.
4. The fates of Charette or Moncoutant are not depicted.
5. Indefatigable was already on station so the evacuation was under fire but they were all able to escape but the major’s horse had to be killed as he could not take it with him.
Review
This is my least favorite adaptation from Midshipman Hornblower. This is because it falls into the simplistic trap of making it an antiwar themed episode which was not the point of the original story. From the beginning it is a cynical ploy to use French loyalist troops to put pressure on the revolutionary government in Paris. Pellew thinks the idea is foolish but Hood commits the British to the plan. Worse when a copy of the plan is stolen by French agents, Hood chooses not to inform Charette and orders Pellew to not speak of it either. Pellew is uncomfortable with the plan knowing it will likely fail. Hood seems unconcerned with the potential loss of life and says we can count costs at “our leisure.”
The British troops are shown as ordered, neat, efficient and well drilled. The French look shabby by comparison and obviously have not been well drilled for a while. While General Charette is a courteous gentleman, his second in command Colonel and Marquis of Muzillac Moncountant, is a façade. He is the stereotypical French aristocrat: aloof, dismissive of those beneath him, cruel and vain. He brings the guillotine with him to dispense justice but it is clear it is about vengeance. As soon as he arrives to secure Muzillac and finds his home ravaged, he kills the mayor for failing to fly the old French flag and nearly kills a small child who is singing La Marseillais. He closes down the school and puts the teacher to work in his kitchen. As he rails against the low born, Hornblower reminds him it was the common sailor that brought him over to France.
In the book, Hornblower was shocked by the executions he witnessed and that the polished French officers ordered them. But that was not the only shock he witnessed. On the way into Muzillac he saw French soldiers bringing fresh horses from farms. He also heard musket shots indicating they were probably shooting anyone who did not give them what they wanted. And a empty plough with a body next to it confirmed what was going on and that no one seemed to care. Now what he saw was not unusual for the time. Invading soldiers would often do just that and worse when they sacked towns and villages. Hornblower being at sea would rarely, if ever, see such things. So his shock is understandable.
The loss of the girl, who was not in the book, adds more to Hornblower’s despair at the invasion he thinks was wrong. He utters they were not wanted to Captain Pellew. Pellew agrees with him though he does not say it. And we are left in the end with the idea the whole affair was a way to get rid of some noisy French royals by sending them back to France to be killed. And killed they were because in the real invasion of 1795, it failed. A combination of scattered troops and divisions amongst the leaders caused the attempted rebellion to be crushed. 5,000 died in combat, 6,332 captured. Most of the captured officers and nobles were executed. It ended any attempt for royalist insurrection until the fall of Napoleon.
While I disagree with the scriptwriter’s interpretation of the story, the acting is very good.I think the actor who got the best lines was Major Lord Edrington (Samuel West). He came across as cool and confident in command. He respected Hornblower but also had a dry sense of humor about him. Moncontant was played by Antony Sher who played the unpleasant fellow well. He knew how to make him sound noble and pleasant on one hand, and then quite comfortably order executions with the other. Pellew (Robert Lindsey) had a difficult role of having to hide his misgivings about the expedition to his fellow officers and Charette.
I wish this had been a straight forward telling of a forlorn attempt to invade France in 1795 and Hornblower’s small part of it. Making it into a antiwar themed episode was the wrong approach. Sadly it begins a trend in future dramatizations of rewriting entire books to suit the scriptwriter.
Historical Notes
1. The Battle of Quiberon (1795) began on 23 June 1795 and was over on 21 July 1795. Though several ships were depicted, the actual Royal Navy ships participating were two squadrons of 9 warships, 60 troop transports that carried 3,500 carrying the French and British troops. The British sent men from the 90th of Foot, 19th of Foot, and 27th of Foot along with supplies for 40,000. Admirals Hood and Warren led the expedition. Warren encountered French resistance along the way but repelled it.
2. In the book, Edrington commands a unit of the 43 Foot. This regiment, formed in 1741, saw action in North America first in the French and Indian War and then the American War for Independence. For television it is now the 95th of Foot, which is a rifle regiment and wear the distinctive green jackets. Fans of the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwall and television series probably wondered why this happened. I suspect they probably wanted to toss a nod to the Sharpe novels but there is some credence to tying it into the 95th. In 1803 the 43rd with the 52nd and 95th became the Corps of Light Infantry under Sir John Moore. The unit itself was redesignated as the 43rd (Monmouthshire)Light Infantry. However at the time this story is taking place (1795), the 95th did not exist.
3. General François de Charette was never in England but helped plan the invasion. He was loyal to the old order unlike others who wanted a constitutional monarchy. He did not die at Quiberon and escaped. He was eventually captured, put on trial in Nantes, and executed by firing squad.
4. The character of Admiral Hood is based on Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport. From 1795-1800, he was commander of the channel fleet. And he did participate in the mission as noted already above.
5. The character of Marquis Moncoutant,Lord of Muzillac is fictional. Muzillac is the American equivalent of a township (in France a commune) that is part of an administrative division. It is the lowest level of administrative division. TripAdvisor has information about what to see and stay in or near Muzillac. There is an official site for Muzillac. (Note:The site is in French so you will need to use a translator if you do not read French).
6. Inaccuracy: Captain Pellew quotes a famous line from Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.” Except it was published in 1798 so Captain Pellew would not know of it in 1795.
7. Protocol error: The scene in which Pellew and Hornblower enter a long boat was wrong. Junior officers enter first and the most senior officer last. This allows the senior officer to exit first.
Hornblower: The Duchess and The Devil
A&E, 1999
93 minutes
This episode is based on Hornblower and Duchess and The Devil in CS Forester’s Midshipman Hormblower.
Summary
Hornblower is taking a captured French ship back to England with Duchess of Wharfedale aboard when Spanish ships appear and he is taken captive. While Midshipman Hunter plots escape, Hornblower helps Midshipman Kennedy recover from neglect. A failed escape attempt by Hunter puts Hornblower in solitary confinement. Later his heroism in saving Spanish sailors gains liberty for himself and his men.
Approximate date: Sometime after August 1, 1796. No exact date given in book or television series.
Plot
Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower captures the small French ship Le Reve and returns to Gibraltar. There he is informed he will take the ship back to England. Before that he must attend a important dinner with Sir Hew Dalrymple, the governor of Gibraltar. There he meets her grace, the Duchess of Wharfedale, who is of common birth unlike most ladies married to men with aristocratic titles. She was in Italy when the French arrived and made her way to Gibraltar. It turns out that Hornblower will be taking her back to England on his ship.
During the journey the find themselves not only in fog but surrounded by Spanish ships. They try a ruse by raising the French flag and even putting on French clothing. However the ruse is detected and Hornblower surrenders rather than risk the lives of the crew in a senseless battle with overwhelming odds against them. The Duchess decides to conceal the admiralty dispatches since the Spanish will not search her. After surrendering, they are taken to a nearby prison. The Duchess is also interned nearby awaiting transport out.
In the cell, Hornblower finds Midshipman Kennedy, whose longboat was set adrift by Simpson in The Duel. He looks bad and Hornblower tries to help him. Midshipman Hunter wants to escape but Hornblower orders him to wait until they can all go. But they gather intelligence in the meantime as to how many guards there are and other things. The Duchess is allowed by the commandant to visit Hornblower and walks with her while on parole. Hunter becomes suspicious that Hornblower is not interested in escaping anymore and starts plotting. Kennedy’s health worsens due to Hunter denying him food forcing Hornblower to ask for help. This is done and the Duchess helps out. Kennedy, in delirium, recognizes her and she is forced to admit she is not really the Duchess of Wharfedale but the actress Kitty Cobham. Hornblower is shocked since she is carrying important documents for his government.
Meanwhile a visiting French colonel, while having dinner with Don Masseredo, the Duchess and Hornblower, also recognizes her but does not unmask her in front of the commandant. Instead the Duchess decides to spend a romantic evening with the colonel. Hornblower is nervous but fortunately turns out okay in the end. Not long afterwards, she leaves but convinces the commandant to allow him to learn Spanish using the book Don Quixote and a lexicon. Meanwhile Hunter has decided to make his escape plans and convinces a number of them to join him. Matthews and Styles do not join in but Oldroyd does.
When the escape occurs, Hunter and his group make it out to the main area before being stopped. Hunter is shot but Hornblower pleads for their lives. The commandant wants to know who the plotters were not believing for a second that Hornblower would ever of approve of such an escape plan. Hornblower takes full responsibility and is put in the pit, a cell that does not allow a man to either lie down or stand up. Hunter, who was shot (and wants to die) has to watch from his cell Hornblower taking responsibility for his actions.
Not long after Hornblower is released, he sees a ship being chased by Indefatigable and strikes the nearby reef. The water is treacherous and a storm is raging. Giving parole for both himself and his men, he sets out to save the crew of the ship. The Duchess turns out to be aboard. Midshipman Hunter decides to swim away because of the guilt he has over what happened during the escape. They are rescued by Indefatigable and welcomed aboard. Pellew is not happy that the Duchess had the admiralty documents but also says Hornblower is no longer an acting lieutenant and has been promoted to Lieutenant Hornblower. Pellew asks Hornblower’s crew if they will honor the parole he made to the Spanish. They do and they all return (except the Duchess of course) to shore. Sometime later Hornblower is informed that the First Minister of Spain, in recognition of the heroism to rescue Spanish lives, that he and his men are to be set free. The commandant wonders if they recognize they are letting loose a man who will be a thorn in their sides. Hornblower smiles and tells the commandant he will endeavor to prove them right.
Deviations from book
*Hornblower does attend the dinner but not with Captain Pellew as his ship had not yet returned.
*The ship is captured but they did not attempt raising French colors or wear French uniforms. Hornblower tried evading in the fog but the Spanish frigates closed in and fired when the fog thinned out.
*The duchess admits she is Kitty Cobham aboard ship and does hide the admiralty documents. Also the maid she had is deleted for the television presentation.
*Midshipman Kennedy was not in the cell as in the book he was never cast adrift.
*There is no subplot involving Midshipman Hunter nor an attempted escape.
*His promotion to lieutenant occurs while imprisoned. The commandant informs him of the promotion and puts him in officers quarters and half pay.
*Kitty Cobham/Duchess of Wharfedale is not seen after after the ship is captured. She sends Hornblower a letter that the documents were delivered and wishes all is well with him.
*In the book he was imprisoned for two years but the dramatization makes it likely it was a six months or perhaps just short of a full year.
Review
Of all the adaptations from Midshipman Hornblower, this is my favorite. It takes the story and actually makes it better. The essential story is Hornblower captures a small French ship and is captured taking it back to England with the Duchess of Wharfedale aboard. She secretes important naval documents and ends up home in Britain while Hornblower is imprisoned in Spain. He is only released after he and his crew save Spanish sailors whose ship crashed on the reef nearby. So the writers had to come up with a way to make the story much better and interesting to fill 90 minutes or so of television.
The character of Midshipman Hunter was expanded greatly as a contrast between two junior officers. Hunter was the older midshipman that saw a younger man rise fast and having to take orders from him. While others considered Hornblower lucky, Hunter downplayed or questioned his methods like how he took Le Reve. Hornblower and his men had taken captive the shore party and dressed in their clothes so they could approach the ship and take it by surprise. But Hunter said, in front of Matthews and Styles, that the prize money might be denied if they knew about the ruse Hornblower used. He also thought him less aggressive in wanting to fight the French or in his desire to escape. Hunter further alienated himself with Hornblower through his dismissive attitude to Kennedy and his disobeying orders in the doomed escape attempt.
Bringing back Kennedy was odd though. His character is in some of the early stories but not much beyond that. We last saw him in The Duel where after an epileptic fit he had to be left in a long boat during a raid. Simpson cast his boat adrift and he floated into French hands. The only way he could be in Spain was that he escaped and headed there since it was an ally at that time. Alas probably by the time he made it, Spain was on France’s side and he was imprisoned. At any rate he was in bad shape and likely would have died without Hornblower’s help. Hunter was willing to let him die rather than bring him along.
Kitty Cobham/Duchess of Wharfedale was a clever character. She decided to impersonate the duchess so that she would not be ill-treated And she pulled it off both in the book and the televised drama. In the book, she told Hornblower before the Spanish came aboard Le Reve. While the men and officers would be searched, a duchess would not. Of course it came at a risk. If they ever suspected she was not a duchess, she would be arrested. And of course if they found the documents on her, she probably would be accused of being a spy and executed. In the book she was sent back to England and delivered the documents. The movie greatly expands her character by having her interned nearby while waiting transport to England (via Portugal) so she visits with Hornblower. Later she helps the very sick Kennedy recover. Unfortunately that is when he recognizes her as the actress. And much later the visiting French officer recognizes her as well but does not unmask her to Don Masseredo, commandant of the prison. She spends a night of romance with him which makes Hornblower uneasy. Yet as in the book she is loyal to both Hornblower and England.
Don Masseredo was never identified as such in the book, just the commandant of Ferrol prison who seemed pleasant enough. He did not speak English much and used an Irishman to do that for him (many Irish found jobs working or living in Spain during this period). Don Masseredo comes across as a gentleman but he is a Spanish army officer not to be trifled with either. The duchess uses all her skills with him to allow Hornblower parole and to bring fresh fruit (which Hunter despises and smashes them up). Another touch not in the book is after she left asking him to have Hornblower learn Spanish reading Don Quixote with a lexicon. Certainly the educated Hornblower would have known about the book as English translations had been around for a while. And it is considered one of the best Spanish books in all history and helping spread modern Spanish as well.
One of the nicer touches I liked was Hornblower’s promotion to lieutenant. In the book, the commandant informs of his promotion upon receiving notification from the British during a cartel. A cartel during this period was when enemies exchanged information and or prisoners usually by an agreement (informal or formal). It was much more satisfying to have Pellew deliver him the news when he was aboard Indefatigable. And Pellew did it with flair. When the duchess commended Acting Lieutenant Hornblower’s bravery, Pellew says:
I’m afraid he is no longer my acting lieutenant! As a result of exemplary gallantry in the fire ship attack on Gibraltar, an opinion shared by three captains no less. Captains who would not normally even agree on the color of the orange. His promotion was confirmed in last dispatches. He is now commissioned Lieutenant Hornblower.
An enjoyable episode to watch and the best of the Midshipman Hornblower adaptations.
Historical Notes
Sir Hew Dalrymple, 1st Baronet, by John Jackson, 1831 Image: Public Domain
*Sir Hew Dalrymple was a real person. He was not governor of Gibraltar during the French Revolutionary Wars but was Acting Governor from November 1806-August 1808. However his actions in Portugal as Commander of the Portuguese Expedition in 1808 resulted in his being recalled for an official inquiry and to never hold field command again. With the French forces under General Junot defeated and on the run being pursued by General Arthur Wellesley(later Lord Wellington), he was ordered to cease by Dalrymple. Dalrymple negotiated the infamous Convention of Sintra which allowed all the French forces in Portugal (29,900) to be evacuated back to France courtesy of the British Royal Navy. Worse they were allowed to bring personal articles and weapons as well. The Portuguese were outraged by the deal which allowed them to take items stolen from Portugal. It was seen as a disgrace back in London. While the inquiry acquitted all concerned, Dalrymple was eventually promoted (due to seniority) to full general and then quietly retired. He was formally denounced by the government. He then was made governor of Blackness Castle from 1811 to his death in 1830. In short, sent to the rear where he could due the least damage and put in charge of an ancient fortress used as a military prison during the Napoleonic Wars and not much else after that.
*There is no title of nobility for Wharfedale. In fact Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in the upper valley of the River Wharfe.
*Prize money was awarded when a navies in time of war seized merchant or military ships of the nation at war with. The British Royal Navy developed a series of rules about how it was to be done and was formalized in the Cruisers and Convoys Act of 1708. For merchant ships that were seized, the sale of cargo and ship would be the prize money to be divided up. Military ships (supply, dispatch and warships) were almost always purchased by the crown providing they were in good shape. Which is why, even with cannons that could sink ships at great distance, they would close in and take if they could. All ships that sighted the enemy craft that was captured were eligible for prize money. Money was allocated in eighths with the ships captain getting the most (which could make him very wealthy), along with admirals who ordered the orders, all the officers and crew got a share as well. Share money for the ordinary seamen could equal several years of pay. Privateers could seize enemy ships if they had a Letter of Marque granting that power but they also had to play by rules as well if they were to be paid. Those days are long gone and prize money is no longer awarded to naval officers who take enemy ships. They can be taken to a prize court and sold but the government gets the money now.
Hornblower: The Duel(1998)
aka Hornblower:The Even Chance A&E
93 minutes
Summary
This first installment of the A&E series covers the following short stories from C.S.Forester’s Midshipman Hornblower:
Hornblower and the Even Chance
Hornblower and the Cargo of Rice
Hornblower and the Penalty of Failure
Hornblower and the Man Who Felt Queer
Hornblower and the Man Who Saw God
This episode deals with Hornblower’s arrival on Justinian, his conflict with Midshipman Simpson, transfer to the Indefatigable, his captaincy of the Marie Galante (and its loss) and a major encounter with the French. It concludes with the duel between Hornblower and Simpson.
Plot
The starting year is approximately January 1793.
17 year-old Horatio Hornblower arrives on HMS Justinian and meets Captain Keene, who is not well. Keene knew his father (a doctor) as a patient of his. His fellow midshipman chide him on his age and not starting sooner. Meanwhile senior Midshipman Simpson returns to everyone’s regret after failing to pass his examination for lieutenant. He is a bully,tough on Hornblower and rules the other midshipman through fear and intimidation. He comes to particularly dislike Hornblower because he does better than him in navigation classes.
During a game of whist on shore waiting for a merchant convoy to arrive, Simpson accuses Hornblower of cheating because he wins. Hornblower challenges him to a duel, which is accepted, but on the day of the duel Midshipman Clayton(who had become friends with Hornblower) knocks him out and takes his place. Hornblower arrives after the duel to find Clayton mortally injured. Just after he dies it is learned that England and France are now at war (setting the date sometime on or after 1 Feb 1793 when France declared war on England).
Hornblower and other midshipman (and some crew) are transferred to HMS Indefatigable captained by Captain Sir Edward Pellew. In his first meeting with Pellew, he tells Hornblower that he judges a man not by what he hears but what he sees. He is referring to the report of the duel and the fact that Hornblower had someone else stand in for him. Hornblower tries to defend his old captain when Pellew is critical of the conditions that led to the duel but reminded that a ship captain is responsible for everything aboard his ship.
The taking of the Marie Galante, a small merchant ship, gives Hornblower his first command. Unfortunately he discovers later that a cannon shot caused a small hole under the waterline resulting in the ship taking water. They try to plug it up but the cargo–rice–swells causing damage to the ship. They try dumping the rice over the side but to no avail. The small prize crew and the French seamen have to get on long boat and hope for the best. The French eventually take command and the captain wants the compass and charts. Hornblower tosses the compass overboard but the confidant French captain says he will get them to France. Time passes and they are no closer to land than before and the French seamen are angry. Hornblower had kept the coordinates in his head and knows they merely turned around are going parallel to the coast. Fortunately the Indefatigable appears and they are all rescued. The British seamen report Hornblower’s exploits to the crew while he reports to Pellew as to what happened. Pellew is not upset and ultimately says it was better for France to loose the rice rather than Britain to profit from it.
The Justinian is sunk in battle by the Papillon and one of the survivors picked up is Midshipman Simpson. Pellew decides they need to capture the Papillon to take it out of French hands. So he plans a daring raid in which the ship will be seized at night. During that raid, Midshipman Kennedy has an epileptic fit and has to be left in the boat. Meanwhile Simpson cuts the line setting it free and fires on Hornblower hoping it will kill him. It does not and he charges Simpson with attempted murder to Lieutenant Eccleston. Unfortunately both Lieutenants Eccleston and Chadd would die right after that when the ship is raked with enemy fire. Eccleston gives Hornblower command with his dying breath but Simpson tries to take command, and is stopped when Bowles accepts Hornblower’s authority.
Hornblower steers Papillon to where the French are battling the Indefatigable. Their ship is still showing French colors so they are not fired upon. They fire on the French ships giving the Indefatigable a better chance of success. It works and Pellew commends his actions but wants to know he came in command of Papillon. Which leads to a fiery exchange in Pellew’s quarters with Midshipman Simpson. He denies the charges and calls Hornblower a coward. Pellew counters that Hornblower cannot be called a coward considering his heroism in combat. Simpson maintains he is a coward for refusing to defend his honor. Pellew, who ordered Hornblower not to duel, lifts the restriction. At the duel, Simpson purposefully does not wait out the count and fires injuring but not killing Hornblower. Hornblower points the gun in the air and fires saying Simpson was not worth it. Simpson grabs a knife and attempts to attack Hornblower while his back is turned. But a bullet fired by Captain Pellew hits him in the chest killing him on the spot.
Pellew later says he dispensed justice reminding Hornblower he judges by actions not words. Hornblower is grateful but Pellew reminds him that he has fought his duel but not to fight another.
Historical note: The character of Captain Sir Edward Pellew is based upon a real life figure, Edward Pellew,1st Viscount Exmouth. He was a real naval hero of his day, did command the Indefatigable early on in the wars with France, and rose to the rank of Admiral. Likewise the ship HMS Indefatigable was a real ship that served during the wars with France with a distinguished record that included capturing 27 prize ships. Pellew commanded the HMS Indefatigable from 1794-1799 during the French Revolutionary War period.
Deviations From Midshipman Hornblower
*Captain Keene ordered the guns tampered with so the duel between Simpson and Hornblower would be satisfied but no one would be killed. Clayton does not stand in for Hornblower.
*It is Keene who arranges the transfer to Indefatigable because Captain Pellew needs a good whist player. And it offers more opportunity for advancement. And possibly to get Hornblower off the ship after the duel so he and Simpson will not serve on same ship.
*The events on the Marie Galante are mostly the same with minor deviations. They were forced to abandon ship but the are not rescued by the Indefatigable, but by a French privateer. The Indefatigable catches sight and pursues but the ship is too fast. So Hornblower lights a fire that forces the captain and crew to spend time putting it out. That allows the Indy the time to catch up and seize the ship. Pellew inquiries about the fire but Hornblower does not take credit for it.
*The Justinian was not sunk by the French so Simpson never comes aboard. Thus he was not part of the raid on the Papillon. It was another character that had a problem that had to be knocked out to keep quiet. During the escape the boat was cut loose and left drifting into France.
*There was no battle at the end where the Papillon, under Hornblower’s command, saves the Indefatigable. Nor is there a second duel between Simpson and Hornblower.
Review
Although it deviates substantively at some points, the essential outline of the stories remain. However it is curious the scriptwriter choose to focus on the duel. Duelling was indeed common amongst naval officers (army as well) but was frowned upon by religious leaders and the general public. By this time, the use of duelling pistols had become the accepted manner. Since they were single fire weapons, you had only one chance to fire and possibly kill your opponent. Which is why the story is called the Even Chance by the author. From what I read, many duels were resolved by an apology to the offended party. Honor was satisfied and both went on their ways. That was not always the case especially if there was serious issues of honor involved. Midshipman Simpson was not about to apologize for his accusation that Hornblower cheated at cards and was quite happy to accept the duel. Being the older and more experienced of the two, he figured he would win. Plus he was a nasty and cruel man who wanted to kill Hornblower.
Captain Pellew believed the problem lay with Captain Keene for not running his ship right. Hornblower tries to defend him but Pellew reminds him that a captain is responsible for everything that goes on his ship. That in a nutshell is exactly the lesson Hornblower has to absorb and in a large way the entire episode. An officer is responsible for everything that goes on in his department but the captain is responsible for the entire operation from top to bottom. The fact that a bully like Simpson got away with what he did on Justinian shows what happens when discipline is lacking. A sharp lieutenant would have noticed Simpson’s ways and reigned him in or put him up for the captain’s review. Hornblower would command the Marie Gallante and loose her because of a hole on the side under the waterline. In the book he felt the sting of failure for not being able to save the ship and its cargo.
When he returns and reports what happens to Pellew, he faces no harsh criticism (the same as in the book). Pellew also noticed how the men respected him after the return. He learned how to lead and earn the respect of those who serve with them. An important lesson especially back then when sea duty could be long, with awful food, and of course away from any amenities. The only solace for most sailors was the daily rum ration. Water did not last long in the barrels (it turned bad and nasty things began growing in it) which is why beer and alcohol took the place of water at most meals.
Pellew’s taking of the Papillon was a daring plan to rob the French of a powerful ship of the line. And it worked both in the book and in the televised dramatization. Except they added more tension with Pellew under attack from other French ships. In the book Pellew was not foolish enough to engage with other French ships where he could be surrounded, yet the tv version had him in this predicament. This was done, no doubt, so that Hornblower could save the day as the surviving officer of the raid to take the ship (Simpson was under lock and key at this point for trying to kill Hornblower earlier). Still it makes for riveting television and one cannot fault the scriptwriter for wanting to highlight early Hornblower’s courage and daring that he became noted for in the books.
All in all this first installment of Hornblower series is exciting and riveting at times. Some characters are more developed then in the book and continue on through the series for continuity purposes. Ioan Gruffudd plays the part of Hornblower well and actually understands Forrester’s depiction of the character. Robert Lindsay is also excellent as Captain Pellew. People with sharp eyes will recognize Jamie Bamber (Midshipman Kennedy) who went on to play Lee Adama on the new Battlestar Galactica. His character is cast adrift in this episode but returns in Duchess and The Devil. The series would use Pellew’s character more than the book did (he appears mainly in the early books) giving Hornblower a mentor that would offer some needed guidance.
The acting is superb as well as the sets (one of which is replica ship of this period for the Indefatigable). One certainly gets the feel of a ship of the line back then. And why, if you could avoid it, you ran from serving in the Royal Navy as a seamen. There was nothing romantic about it. It was hard work under strict discipline with food that was not that good (even in port!). Worse were long sea voyages where as food ran low you existed on a narrow diet of salted foods, hard tack (look that up!), and rum. A superb first outing for Hornblower and well worth watching.
Battle Of Trafalgar (1805) by William Lionel Wyllie(1851-1931) Image: Public Domain
Horatio Hornblower is the titular character in a series of novels written by C.S. Forester about an officer in the British Royal Navy set chiefly during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). He first appeared in the 1937 book Beat To Quarters(The Happy Return in UK) as the captain of HMS Lydia on a secret mission to Central America. Spain is allied with France and he is to make contact with a leader who will lead a rebellion. It turns out to be a madman who calls himself “El Supremo.” He captures a Spanish ship, the Natividad and reluctantly must hand it over to him. Later though he learns Spain has switched sides and now is with Britain. So he now has to stop the madman who has command of a formidable Spanish warship. And he also picks up a distinguished passenger: Lady Barbara Wellesley. She is the (fictional) younger sister of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had gained prominence in India and commands the British troops in Spain and Portugal. The tension between the two would be part of future stories.
The Hornblower books entertained old and young alike with vibrant characters and good storytelling. And of course a far dose of adventures against the enemy both on land and sea. The books were not written in chronological order so Forester went back and wrote books about the younger Hornblower to fill out his career. When put together, they take us from when he was a lowly midshipman all the way up to becoming Admiral of the Fleet. You also get a fair dose of what it was like to run ships back then. And why many, if they could, avoided naval duty due to the harsh conditions, cramped quarters, and often long sea duty. You get fully developed characters in the novels, not just cut-up figures placed in the novels for no better purpose than to fill a gap.
Back then there was no naval academy (nor one for the army either) so aspiring officers signed on as midshipman to be trained. Hornblower, coming from a modest background but decent education, had no wealth or mentor. So he would have to do it all himself. The Royal Navy, unlike the British Army, did not allow the purchase of officer commissions so promotions were either by merit or by family connections. Hornblower was driven to prove himself though he often had doubts about his abilities. He also often withdrew to himself making him incomprehensible to even his closest friends. Yet he was a daring, resourceful, and loyal officer who gained the trust and loyalty of his crew and officers. He also had problems with the draconian punishments he was required to do under regulations. In one case he helped a former steward of his, who assaulted another officer, to escape. Gene Roddenberry drew upon this character to develop Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek.
Captain Horatio Hornblower(1951) starring Gregory Peck is an excellent adaptation of Beat To Quarters, Ship of the Line, and Flying Colours. Forester apparently had a significant role in keeping the script from becoming the ordinary swashbuckling movie. It gets high marks to this day for its action and surprising introspection. There were some radio performances done as well of the books. More recently there was a British television series Hornblower which ran on ITV in the UK and A&E in the U.S from 1998-2003. The high points of these dramatizations were using real ships and an excellent cast. Ioan Gruffudd played the role of Horatio Hornblower. However while it is drawn from the Forester novels, the stories were altered, changed, and in some cases rewritten making them very different from the source material. There is nothing more disappointing than to see a great Forester novel hacked up in this manner. So while the television series has high marks in sets and acting, it gets low marks in adapting the original work. That is why the 1951 movie still stands in my mind as the better screen adaptation.
The Hornblower books, in chronological order:
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower Lieutenant Hornblower Hornblower and the Hotspur Hornblower and the Atropos Beat To Quarters Ship of the Line Flying Colors Commodore Hornblower Lord Hornblower Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Check your local library for the Hornblower novels. Many booksellers do carry them as many online sellers like Amazon (disclosure-I am an Amazon Associate). Netflix does have the dvd versions of the movie and television series. They can also be purchased from Amazon as well.
If you want to dip your toe into the Hornblower novels, I think Beat To Quarters is still the best one to read first. I really sets the tone that the later novels will follow. The earlier stories fill in much detail about his early career. The Midshipman book is really a collection of short stories, many of which were the basis of the first episodes of the television series
Some Historical Trivia
*The British Army of this period had to recruit. Each regiment sent out recruiting parties to get lads to sign up. All promotions, ranks, and rates were regimental. Any general army rank was brevet, only your regimental rank counted in the end.
*The Royal Navy had severe recruitment problems. The best sailors were on merchant ships. They got paid better and less strict discipline. The Royal Navy had the power to press able bodied men (called impressment) into service. They would await the arrival of merchant ships and then take the crews as soon as they got off. Or they would scour the major port areas–pubs, lodgings, gaming houses etc–of eligible men. They preferred those with sailing experience but would take non-sailors if they had too.
*The practice of impressment also occurred at sea. The Royal Navy could stop a British ship and take some of its crew into naval service. But what got them into trouble was conscripting American citizens on those ships or stopping an American ship and taking some of its crew. That led to the War of 1812. The practice ended in 1815.
*Shanghaiing is the disreputable practice of crimpers and ship owners to kidnap able bodied men to work on merchant ships. They would get them drunk or drug them and them get them aboard ship before they could do anything about it. And then they were stuck.
*The ranks in the British Royal Navy during this period were (lowest to highest)midshipman,lieutenant,commander,captain,commodore,and admirals. The rank of ensign was an army rank (today’s 2nd Lieutenant). There were no official junior ranks such as lieutenant junior grade or lieutenant commander. Today midshipman is now reserved for naval academy cadets and ensign is the lowest naval officer grade. During this period, date of commission was how seniority was determined. The youngest commissioned lieutenant was the junior lieutenant while the oldest commission made him the senior lieutenant. The problem with this system was inflexibility and led to promotion of officers who might otherwise not deserve it.
*Many navy officers during this period would be put on half-pay during the brief periods of peace that occurred. Admirals and lieutenants had to live on half pay. Okay if you were already from a wealthy family but Hornblower found it very difficult. Playing whist, which he was good at, brought extra money. It was worse for the common sailor. They got nothing and had to find a berth, if they could, on a merchant ship.
I have been re-watching the re-imagined series so I can add a bit more to this section on Battlestar Galactica.
1. The Low Tech Problem
One of the major differences between the original and newer BG is how futuristic technology is employed. Most sci-fi fantasy shows or movies love to show future tech. Star Trek is the most well known with using warp drive, phasers, shields, communicators and bio-beds to name just a few. And they came up with a unique idea to demonstrate how that futuristic society became the worker’s paradise:replicators. As long as the base materials were in the unit, you simply told it what you wanted and it made it for you. A medium rare steak with baked potato? No problem. Need construction materials? The industrial replicator would produce it for you.
The problem with the re-imagined series is that it seriously downgraded future tech making it incongruous. The 12 Colonies were a spacefaring civilization with the ability to cross vast distances by hyper jumping (the faster-then-light drive or FTL). Yet their weapons technology was primarily missiles (nuclear and conventional), guns, bullets, assault weapons and other conventional items. Likewise the Cylons were similarly constricted in using the same types of weapons. While they developed organic ships by the time of the 2nd Cylon War, their weapons tech remains virtually the same as the 12 Colonies. It is hard to accept that either race, as advanced as they appear to be, would not develop more advanced space weaponry. Babylon 5 used hand guns but they did not use bullets but phased plasmas gas(ppg) rounds that were just as deadly as bullets but avoided the problems of firing bullets inside spaceships or stations (the danger of compromising the bulkhead resulting in decompression). The Cylons nuked the 12 Colonies (the pilot indicates nuclear but later likely neutron since buildings are left standing)which means they had to manufacture lots of nukes rather than developing a more planetary approach to wiping out humanity.
The 12 Colonies had advanced space technology but still drove cars, jeeps, trucks and used cell phones. It is one thing to understand why Galactica was basic tech (to prevent Cylon hacking into the ship’s computers) but relying on paper? You would think that at least Commander Adama could record his logs or put them on a tablet like device. It saves space since paper records can be bulky and require storage. I applaud Moore for his desire to be realistic and gritty but by downgrading the tech as he did, he made it incongruous. Sort of like having advanced computer tech but still reading by kerosene lamps in your home.
2. The Mystery of Starbuck
Many were understandably upset with Starbuck being predestined by God. Predestination is a religious belief that God has mapped out what he wants to do. Not everything is predestined, just the big stuff so God does not worry about whether you have a pizza or lasagna for dinner. It goes to the heart of the re-imagined series: that the essential elements were part of God’s plan. Not everything but the important stuff. God knew the Cylon’s would nuke the 12 Colonies so he long ago put in motion plans to counter it and guide people to Earth (the 2nd one since the first was nuked in an earlier Cylon war). And Starbuck was part of that plan. It appears she was given visions of how to find the Cylon Earth and later through music to find the new Earth making her more like a prophet. Until she died and was apparently resurrected.
Resurrection used in fantasy or science fiction is to fit a purpose but not fill a plot hole. Gandalf the Grey became Gandalf the White thus more powerful than Saruman. In Starbuck’s case, she really did die as her body was found on Cylon Earth. That is a clear departure from what resurrection usually is. Jesus came out of the tomb, Gandalf was sent back, and John Sheridan was given energy by Lorian in Z’ha’dum to go back and tell what he learned of the Shadow/Vorlon conflict. The point is the body was resurrected. It would have been better to find the viper with no body in it. That would make more sense that God of Galactica decided to bring her back. Instead she really did die so she was not really resurrected in the true sense of its meaning. Which is what shocked Leoben. Adding more problem is what Baltar found: her DNA was on the dog tags from the body on Cylon Earth. She was not a clone but clearly she was re-created by a higher power in a mortal form. She was likely some kind of angel sent back on a mission with her memories but not of what she really was. Some speculate she might have been a Lord of Kobol. That is possible but that means that there is connection between Lords of Kobol and God of Galactica. Perhaps that is the case but for Starbuck, she was just a manifestation of God’s divine plan to fill a plot hole that the writers created for themselves.
3. The Cylon Earth/Colonial Cylon Connection
You have to wonder why those sacred scrolls got it so wrong as to not mention the 13th tribe was Cylon. Everything pointed to them being human, and the Tomb of Athena indicated that they (the 12 Colonies)likely came from Earth. Moore realized that was a mistake but they could not erase or get around it. After all, why would the 13th Tribe look up at the sky and see their twelve brothers if they were not human? More astonishing, if the mythology is correct, is that humans made Cylons (possibly to create life of their own) on Kobol. They rebelled and eventually they left to live in peace on another world. And they left 2,000 years before the exodus of humans from Kobol. So we have a timeline that goes like this:
1. Humans evolved on Kobol and lived in peace with their gods.
2. At some point humans got advanced enough to build mechanical workers.
3. These machines rebelled at being slaves, possibly a war erupts. The Cylons depart and settle on a planet called Earth.
4. 2,000 years later humans are forced to leave Kobol possibly due to a conflict or the degradations of humanity. They are ordered to leave and never return. Athena kills herself over the departure of mankind.
5. Humans settle on the 12 Colonies but whatever technology they had is either purposefully set aside or lost. They start over.
6. Cylon humans on Earth reproduce like humans so resurrection technology becomes obsolete. Like their human counterparts, they appear to be polytheists. At some point they too create mechanical workers apparently forgetting why they left Kobol. Their robots rebel but both sides are wiped out except for Final Five who were warned by messengers. They depart for 12 Colonies to warn them but takes 2,000 years to make the journey.
7. Scientists on 12 Colonies create Cylons and begin using them for all kinds of work, even military. They rebel and war ensues (12 years). The Final Five arrive and agree to help centurions evolve, armistice signed.
8. 40 years later Cylons declare war on humans and destroy 12 Colonies. 50,000 escape with Galactica. Less than 40,000 would survive the journey to new Earth (the 2nd one).
It is abundantly clear there is a force behind what happened on Kobol, Cylon Earth, and 12 Colonies. The helmet found on Cylon Earth is similar to the ones in the 12 Colonies (though different). That indicates there is something manipulating the creation of similar robotic life. Whether it is a fallen Lord of Kobol or something akin to Count Iblis of the original series is unclear. What is clear is that this being is no friend of mankind and wants it to suffer. Perhaps the goddess Eris would be the perfect fit here. She brought about the Trojan War by manipulating her fellow Olympians (Hera, Athena, Aphrodite) and Paris. Moore probably did not want to delve into this so he fashioned the great unconscious where different peoples end up doing the same things because, well, it exists in some perfect form (like Plato’s world of forms). Yet it has to be someone behind it all. If Moore went to the trouble to lay out that God of Galactica is working its divine will, then there is likely a being that opposes God. Call it Lucifer, Satan or Eris, but something is working to constantly make sure the outcome is destruction for mankind and Cylons. Remember the human Cylons were wiped out as well on their Earth. Which means the being behind it is not playing favorites. And considering what we saw of Cavil, had he completely won and all humans had died at some point those Cylons would have been eliminated as well through their own civil war.
Of course it all goes back to Kobol. Whatever really happened there set the stage for this cycle of creation and destruction. A cycle that has to be broken if the human race has any chance at all to survive in the Galactica universe. And since the centurions are out there, it lays the stage for the next human/Cylon conflict. Unless of course they simply came back and wiped out the settlers on Earth. Which would explain why 150,000 years later there is no trace of them ever existing on our Earth.
[Update 12 Mar 2014-A friend commented the God of Galactica reminded him of Q on Star Trek:The Next Generation. Q (played by John De Lancie)was an entity with god like abilities that meddled in human affairs causing problems for Captain Picard. The Q could alter the laws of physics, hurl ships over vast differences, create fantasy situations for humans to live through for their amusement and many other things. If you make them Lords of Kobol, it sort of fits. A group of supremely advanced beings that decide to be like gods to humans. Some Q are benign, others indifferent, and some hostile. Possibly after humans left Kobol they went away to other worlds in the universe and perhaps one or two hang around just to see what the humans are up to. And perhaps enjoy being a deity to humans and causing mischief as well. And when a supreme being says it is beyond good and evil (as Baltar says it is), that is pretty telling clue this God of Galactica is not exactly what many think it is all. And a Q would certainly fit the bill.]
Poster for Battlestar Galactica (1978) Richard Hatch (L) as Captain Apollo, Lorne Greene (C) as Commander Adama, Dirk Benedict (L) as Lt. Starbuck Image: Universal Pictures, All Rights Reserved.
In the rankings of fan favorites for science fiction/fantasy tv there are two main categories: the good and the awful. The rest, as John Kenneth Galbraith notes, fall into that third category of “guilty pleasure.” It is admittedly a subjective category but allows one to express that some shows had something worthy of watching but failed in its delivery. And the original Battlestar Galactica fits into that mode. Derided by many as a rip off of Star Wars (which itself blended elements of many known motifs and the famous Japanese movie The Seven Samurai), it still maintains a loyal following to this day even after the re-imagined series has run its course.
Series creator Glen Larson was a master of timing from all accounts. He had many shows under his belt that were based upon successful movies. Although the seeds of Battlestar Galactica were thought about before George Lucas came along, the popularity of space adventures meant the time was right for something different. And Battlestar Galactica offered to do just that. About the same time there were popular writers arguing that extraterrestrials visited Earth in its distant past leaving their mark in ancient civilizations. His show would combine both a space opera aspect and feed into that theme. The opening credits had this narration to offer up this tease for the audience:
There are those who believe…that life here began out there, far across the Universe…with tribes of humans…who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians…or the Toltecs…or the Mayans…that they may have been the architects of the Great Pyramids…or the lost civilizations of Lemuria…or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man…who even now fight to survive—somewhere beyond the heavens! (There was a slightly different ending for the movie version .)
With big money behind the effort at ABC and Universal, the show drew good acting talent along with people who worked on Star Wars like John Dykstra (although he would leave the series later due to conflicts about the quality of the episodes). Lorne Greene (of Ponderosa fame) was cast as Commander Adama. Richard Hatch as Captain Apollo, Dirk Benedict at Lt. Starbuck, Maren Jensen as Adama’s daughter Lt. Athena (a bridge officer), Terry Carter as Colonel Tigh, Lew Ayres as President Adar, Ray Milland as Sire Uri, and John Calicos as the treacherous Count Baltar, and Wilfred Hyde-White as Sire Anton. During the season other famous actors would appear such as Fred Astaire, Bobby Van, Ray Bolger, Randolph Mantooh, Lloyd Bochner, Edward Mulhare, and Patrick Macnee (who played Count Iblis and was the voice of the Imperious Leader along with the opening narration in many episodes). Jonathan Harris lent his voice to the Cylon Lucifer.
Synopsis Battlestar Galactica (BG)is set in either a distant part of our galaxy or another one (the BG writers were awful about many astronomical terms and their meaning) in a binary star system where twelve planets make up what is called the Twelve Colonies of Man. The names of the colonies are from the Zodiac. They are an advanced spacefaring civilization and descended from a mother civilization called Kobol. Although they speak English, much of their vocabulary is radically different from our own in key ways. For instance centaries instead of hours or yahren instead of years. Terms or names infer a connection to our own mythology (names like Apollo, Athena for instance). The colonies are united in a political union though its exact nature is not clearly defined but has an elected president (in this case President Adar) and the Council of Twelve which are leaders selected by each colony to serve as advisors to the president and possibly head up important areas of government. Commander Adama is the senior Colonial Fleet officer (his exact title is the complicated commander-in-chief instead of Fleet Admiral or Chief Fleet Operations).
The Colonies were at war with Cylons but a peace treaty is about to be signed. The Cylons were a sentient reptilian species that decided to create humanoid robots to serve their needs. Over time these robots became sentient and replaced the original Cylons who are believed to be extinct at this point in time. Their cosmic view of an ordered universe meant humans have no place in it. By extension that would also mean other sentient life might be considered a threat making the Cylons a grave threat to any race they encounter unless they were a more advanced civilization. In a future episode (War of the Gods) we learn that Count Iblis, either a fallen Lord of Kobol or Satan, is behind the Cylons. Which means the Cylons are part of a larger plan in the BG cosmos. The war lasted close to a millennia and President Adar is delighted mankind will at last have peace. Adama is unsure but demurs to Adar. Unfortunately Adama was correct. It turns out to be a ruse. A routine patrol led by his son Captain Apollo and another son Lieutenant Zac find a Cylon tanker and a large Cylon task force. Their discovery prompts the Cylons to attack sooner then intended but it has devastating results. Only Adama’s ship was prepared since he decided to run a battle drill. The other battlestars are unable to launch their fighters and the Cylons are fully prepared to use kamikaze tactics to destroy the battlestars. While this battle is going on, the Cylons move their large ships to attack the colonies directly. All the planets come under attack. We learn in a future episode that Baltar sabotaged the planetary defense platforms. Adama did take Galactica to Caprica but is unable to stop the holocaust that occurs. A lull in fighting allows Adama to collect survivors into whatever transport is available and lead a convoy away from their home system.
220 ships manage to make it with about 50,000 survivors scattered amongst them. They stop at Carillon, which is an old tylium mine, to get supplies and other needed things. However it is now being run by the Ovids (a sentient insect species that runs the resort) and there is a resort where many humans are living it up. They have no idea the colonies have been wiped out. The mine is huge but the official report (d0ne by Baltar’s people) downplayed it. Astonishingly the new Council of Twelve, with the repulsive Sire Uri as member (who was found hoarding food earlier), wants to disarm and live on Carillon! Unfortunately both the Ovids and Cylons get in the way. Turns out the Ovids have cut a deal with the Cylons. The Ovids happen to like how humans taste (literally) so keeping them around for food serves the Cylons nicely. However the Cylons have a small outpost on the planet and when that gets discovered (along with learning the Ovids like to consume humans), a gun battle ignites the tylium in the mine. Meanwhile the Cylons show up and a clever ruse by Apollo and Starbuck forces the Cylon ship closer to the surface where internally it is getting ready to blow. It does taking with it the Cylon fleet and its emperor (called the Imperious Leader) with it.
So where does the fleet go now? Well Adama suggests finding the 13th tribe, which according to scripture, went to a planet called Earth. He does not know its location (unlike the Adama in the re-imagined series that lied that he knew)but believes it is their best hope. And so the Colonials set off on their voyage of discovery and each episode, narrated by Adama ends:
Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last battlestar, Galactica, leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest…a shining planet known as Earth.
Meanwhile Baltar is spared (in the theatrical version he is beheaded) setting him up as the main protagonist for the series. In the following episode, he is given a Cylon ship and Lucifer to find Galactica.
Critique
Overall the pilot (Saga of a Star World) is not bad. It earned top ratings on television and the theatrical release also did well. Comparisons to Star Wars aside, the show offered something different. A distant but related colony of mankind that lost its home worlds and now seeks Earth as its new home. Their adventure to find Earth offered more opportunities to show their culture and history. Not to mention what they learn on their journey to Earth. So it was a promising start but has it problems. Special effects wise the pilot was well done but later on in the series, those special effects got reduced down to recycled footage to keep costs down. Supposedly the cost per episode was $1 million dollars, which was considerable back in 1978.
One of the big complaints is how the civilian government is always wrong and Adama always right. Critics are right to point this out as a problem. President Adar is a naive in trusting the Cylons and leaving the colonies unprotected by bringing all the battlestars. The new Council of Twelve is always inept and foolish while the military is always right.It began in the pilot when, after the destruction of their home worlds, the Council of Twelve wants to disarm and live in peace. That is such a nonsensical position to begin with. When the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941, there was no doubt in most people’s minds what needed to be done. Nor in Congress or in the presidency. War was declared and America went to war. It hunkered down, got the resources moving, and went out to challenge the Japanese (and later the Germans). Those that advocated against war were relegated to a corner where they could talk amongst themselves. No one wanted to listen to them.
Critics say the show advocated fascism but I doubt that was in Glen Larson’s mind. Rather this is an example of lazy thinking and not understanding the implications of what the characters were implying. In short, bad script review. Worse was the total misuse of terms like galaxy, sector, quadrant throughout the series. Then there are the cliché driven episodes that really stank. Since they rushed to series, they relied upon using western themes hoping to fill out the schedule. And they really botched it about what happens in space. You can go up, down, right and left. A planet with a huge pulsar cannon can be easily avoided without having to remake, Galactica style, the Guns of Navarone. Since fire cannot burn in space (no oxygen), the episode Fire In Space was a nod to Irwin Allen. And trying to put out a fire with water would be likewise useless (it would freeze). The re-imagined show got that part right by having the affected area vented to space.
The did however manage to produce some stand out episodes that overall still made the series compelling. Lost Planet of The Gods took us to Kobol, Living Legend found another battlestar and its well known Commander Caine had also survived, War of the Gods introduced Count Iblis and the mysterious beings of light, and Hand of God had Galactica turn around and take on the Cylons and at the same time receive an interesting message that had traveled thousands of yahrens to get there (the moon landing). Some of the lesser episodes were not totally bad like Baltar’s Escape or The Man With Nine Lives in which Chameleon (played by Fred Astaire) might be Starbuck’s father (turns out he was but wanted it kept secret). And the ratings, overall for the entire first season were not totally bad. But ABC cancelled it despite its strong ratings (and some better ideas for a second season) likely because of the cost. And so ended Galactica.
Not quite. Perhaps because they realized they erred or the stars aligned properly, they decided to bring it back. Unfortunately that was Galactica 1980. Larson really lost his mind on this venture taking with it any loyalty of fans with it. The show had Galactica arrive at Earth in our time frame (totally contradicting the original series) and was a total mess. No one who liked BG liked Galactica 1980. It quickly went down in ratings and then a merciful dump into trash bin where such shows as My Mother The Car are tossed into. From that point on, I doubt many BG fans ever trusted Glen Larson again.
The Re-imagined Series
The SciFi(SyFy now)miniseries and series was a wholesale reinvention of the BG story. Ron Moore, who worked on Star Trek:Deep Space Nine was an executive producer with David Eick. Glen Larson is listed as a consulting producer. The show ran from 2004-2009 and received good ratings though they slipped in season three and four. It was received critical acclaim in many places as well. Many in the classical BG community were disappointed it was not either a continuation of the original BG series or a remake of it. The series was darker and more gritty in tone, not unlike Otto Preminger’s excellent 1965 World War II movie In Harm’ s Way. In that movie nearly all the major characters had significant flaws.
In the re-imagined series, there are significant changes. First, the Cylons are a creation of man. They were created as robots to serve them in a variety of tasks and rebelled. Second, the series fleshed out the religion of both humans and Cylons. Humans were polytheists who worship the Lords of Kobol, whose names are chiefly drawn from the Greek pantheon though Egyptian, Roman and even Norse ones appear as well. Cylons were monotheists (worshiping one god). Like the original series the humans are descended from a mother civilization that came from Kobol. Unlike the original series, on Kobol they co-existed with their gods until they had to leave. It is unclear exactly what these Lords of Kobol really were. Were they really deities, a highly advanced race that benevolently tried to help humans, or humans that had become like Bodhisattvas?
This dueling theology (polytheism vs monotheism) made the show interesting along with the conflicts between the military and civilian leaders. We also learn in season 2 where Earth is and, as it was revealed at that time, there could be only explanation for how this information was displayed: that humans had come from Earth setting the whole thing in the future. However that turned out not to be the case at all. By the end of season 4 we learned that the 13th tribe that left Kobol 2,000 years before the departure of the colonials were humanoid Cylons and settled on not-our-Earth. There they learned to procreate naturally without the need of resurrection technology. But alas they also created mechanical robots who rebelled and the resulting war killed everyone leaving that Earth a desolate wasteland for Galactica to find. There were five survivors (the Final Five) who were warned about the destruction, used resurrection technology to save themselves, and set off for the colonies to prevent them from mistaking the same mistake. They got their too late but did end the war and created the new Cylons (Cavil etc). In the finale, after the destruction of the Cylon colony, Starbuck enters the coordinates realizing a song she heard her father play has the information. And then they arrive on Earth II, our Earth it seems. An Earth that already has a tribe of primitive humans genetically compatible with them. The colonials decide to settle, give up all their technology, and start anew. The Cylon centurions are given their freedom to head out into the cosmos and the remaining Cylons decide to stay on Earth. Adama selects areas around the globe for people to settle in. 150,000 years later we see New York City and a man (Ron Moore) reading a news story about the finding of a mitochondrial Eve, which is Hera Agathon, born of a Cylon mother and a human father. Messenger counterparts of Six and Baltar speculate on whether it will turn out as before but Six thinks they will make it by the law of averages.
The finale was controversial. It not only misused what mitochondrial Eve is, it made it abundantly clear that a supreme being was behind everything from the beginning. In short, none of the characters had any free will. They were living out what this deity wanted, Cylon and human. And only a supreme being make another Earth and make it compatible for the colonials. The colonials desire to somehow make a change never materializes because there is no evidence they ever existed on this Earth. They also gave up everything for a simple basic existence, which defies logic considering how dangerous that is considering the threats they know exist. Aside from diseases they have never dealt with before they would have a hand to mouth existence living on what ever they are able to grow, catch or raise. Another troubling thing is that, if there is a supreme being involved, the same bad thing happens over and over again. It happened on Kobol, on the humanoid Cylon world, and in the Colonies of Kobol. It is like a lab experiment, with only variations on a theme. Either mankind is doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again, or perhaps there is another element that is sort of hinted at. Perhaps there is a fallen Lord of Kobol or Lucifer that exists as well that somehow manages to help muck up what ever this supreme being tries to do.
A mess is what it is and Moore, like Larson, has earned wrath from the fans who may not trust him again. Why Moore choose this route is anyone’s guess. If the original series can be blamed for sloppy writing and poor thinking, one can argue Moore over thought this series. It would be one thing had from the start if a supreme being was calling the shots and have them deal with it by trying to circumvent the design. But that is now it was laid out for most of the series. Babylon 5 had its principal characters challenge the Vorlons and Shadows to stop trying to make the universe in their image. It forced them to leave when they learned none of the younger races would be part of their grand plans. That might have had a chance on this Galactica had it been shown the Lords of Kobol, in competing factions, were behind much of went on.
Final Thought
The possibility of a movie based on the original series is still out there. Glen Larson owns those rights and has indicated a script is being done. And if reports are accurate, will link to the re-imagined series. Since the shows took place in different eras (the re-imagined show thousands of years ago, and BG thousands of years from now)it is possible to link them. It would be interesting to see how that turns out. Till then those of us who enjoy the guilty pleasure of watching the classic BG can do so thanks to it being out on dvd. It is also available on Netflix (dvd and streaming as of this date). Battlestar Galactica was one of those shows that ought to have succeeded. But a combination of bad writing, incoherent thinking, and costs all conspired to ruin a promising show. It had its moments, like all guilty pleasures do.
End Notes
1. For those wanting to delve deeply into classical BG, I highly recommend John Kenneth Muir’s book An Analytical Guide To Television’s Battlestar Galactica(McFarland & Company, 1999). It is available through Amazon in hardcover and paperback editions. Also check your local library as well. Muir gives the series a through examination going through all its good and bad points. John Muir has a website and a blog.
2. There are numerous websites about Battlestar Galactica. But a good place to start is Battlestar Wiki. The site has detailed information about the classic series, the re-imagined series, Caprica, and Blood & Chrome.
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