History Series / HoratioHornblower

** Captain Keene and the crew of the ''Justinian'' are stated to have e died offscreen when the ''Justinian'' is sunk. In the novel, this does not occur, and their fate is unrevealed after Hornblower is transferred to the ''Indefatigable''. Likewise Mr. Simpson never runs into Hornblower again and a second duel never occurs.

* DeathByAdaptation: Bracegirdle, Hownblower's fellow midshipman in the book, shows up in ''Hornblower and the Atropos'' as an admiral's flag lieutenant, which Hornblower muses could have been his own fate if life had been less kind. In the series, he's the Indy's first lieutenant and disappears until season three, where, now captain of a ship (which he ran aground), he is hit by an exploding howitzer shell while taking part in a dangerous mission (to save his reputation after running his ship aground).

!!The episodes of the Mini Series:

''Hornblower'' is the umbrella title of [[MiniSeries a series of television drama programmes]] based on [[Literature/HoratioHornblower C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower]], a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The miniseries, which ran from 1998 to 2003, stars Creator/IoanGruffudd in the title role and is produced by the British broadcaster Meridian Television, and shown on Creator/{{ITV}} in the UK and Creator/AAndE in the US.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: In "Munity", the Spanish fire heated shots on the ''Renown'' that is aground near a Spanish fort. They manage to get the ship afloat and sail off. However in "Retribution", the ''Renown'''s crew seizes the Spanish fort and now it's Spanish ships that sail away. Hornblower suggests using heated shots. The Spanish surrender. In "The Frogs and the Lobsters", meanwhile, the French Marquis spends a significant portion of the episode on a head-chopping spree in the town square, courtesy of his own personal gullotine. At the end, when the Republican army takes back the village, they stick him in the same guillotine and gleefully pull the lever.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: In "Munity", the Spanish fire heated shots on the ''Renown'' that is aground near a Spanish fort. They manage to get the ship afloat and sail off. However in "Retribution", the ''Renown'''s crew seizes the Spanish fort and now it's Spanish ships that sail away. Hornblower suggests using heated shots. The Spanish surrender.

* BeautifulDreamer: In "The Frogs and the Lobsters", Hornblower watches Mariette (his French crush for the episode) sleep. There are two French Royalist soldiers who seem too eager and want to have their way with her, so Horatio throws them our and offers Mariette to stay. She agrees, they kiss and she goes to sleep, but innocent Horatio just watches her from a chair.

* CluckingFunny:
** When a French royalist soldier aboard the ''Indefatigable'' tries to take an officers' chicken and cook it for himself and his buddies, the lower-deck seamen are infuriated. Horatio tries to settle the matter and tells them that nobody explained the rations issues to the French. Styles then inconspicuously attempts to take the chicken for his pals, and Horatio must reprimand him and orders him to put the chicken back.
** When Moncoutant returns to his château, he's horrified to find out that peasants have been living there, using his paintings as fuel and raising their animals in his rooms. When a frightened chicken, poor thing, runs through the room, jumps on the table and clucks aloud, he does not find it funny. Viewers do.

** Major Edrington. A British [[BlueBlood aristocrat]] of TheProudElite, smirking GentlemanSnarker and excellent soldier. He ranks as major. He wears an awesome read coat uniform and a NiceHat. He has excellent horse-riding skills and is quite proud of his men who he believes mirror his own abilities.

** Midshipman Wellard is a teenager, has delicate, soft features and very fair complexion, dark eyes and dark hair. He's a male version of RavenHairIvorySkin beauty, and he doesn't get tanned, even though he's aboard the ship and they sail in the Caribbean. He's not very tall and has a slim figure. Plus he looks quite dashing in his middie uniform and with his NiceHat.

* DiesWideShut: Averted for every important character whose face is visible when they die. With the exception of Series Three's villain, they all slowly unfocus to stare glassy-eyed at the ceiling.

* DoomedByCanon: In "The Wrong War", Horatio participates in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_France_(1795) Quiberon expedition]], a real campaign by the British and French royalists that ended badly.

* ZippingUpTheBodybag: Given the setting of Wooden Ships and Iron Men, it's no surprise that this is done by sewing the deceased sailors' up in their hammocks with needle and thread.
** The last stitch would go through their nose to make sure they were dead, and there would be a cannonball in the shroud to mae sure they sank.

''Hornblower'' is the umbrella title of [[MiniSeries a series of television drama programmes]] based on [[Literature/HoratioHornblower C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower]], a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The miniseries stars Creator/IoanGruffudd in the title role and is produced by the British broadcaster Meridian Television, and shown on Creator/{{ITV}} in the UK and Creator/AAndE in the US.

* Series One:
** "The Even Chance" (AKA "The Duel"): Midshipman Horatio Hornblower is given his first assignment in the Royal Navy, where he quickly draws the ire of his immediate superior
** "The Examination for Lieutenant" (AKA "The Fire Ships"): Acting-Lieutenant Hornblower must prepare for his exam while dealing with a supply shortage and the plague.
** "The Duchess and the Devil": Hornblower is captured by the Spanish, befriends a Duchess, and reunites with an old crewmate.
** "The Frogs and the Lobsters" (AKA "The Wrong War"): Freshly-minted Lieutenant Hornblower and the ''Indefatigable'' are assigned on a mission to restore the French monarchy, a mission which could be doomed from the start.
* Series Two:
** "Mutiny": Hornblower, on trial for mutiny, recounts the events which lead to the insane Captain Sawyer being removed from command.
** "Retribution": The trial continues with the account of an attack on Spanish privateers and a prisoner mutiny, but if Hornblower's name is to be cleared, it will come at great cost.
* Series Three:
** "Loyalty": The Peace of Amiens reduces Hornblower to poverty, but he reunites with his friend Bush and gets a new ship to keep an eye on the French.
** "Duty": Hornblower discovers that Irish spies in the Navy are plotting to free their country... with the help of Napoleon.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: The producers [[ShownTheirWork did some research into how names were historically pronounced]], and made sure that Maria's name was pronounced similar to the modern Mariah, as it would have been pronounced in that setting, rather than like the Spanish pronunciation of Maria.

* TheDarknessBeforeDeath: One of the depicted deaths has a pair of would-be Prohibition-era bootleggers unwittingly drink pure methanol, which metabolizes into formic acid in their bloodstreams and leads to death by organ failure. For one of the bootleggers, his eyes are the first organs to shut down, caused by the buildup of formic acid in his retinas.

* ConspicuousCGI: The weather and explosions in Series 3. One of the rain scenes looks realistic, except that the lighting on the actors makes it clear that they're filming on a sunny day.

* CharacterDerailment: Horatio is supposed to be a calculating genius who puts duty before everything else, but in The Frogs and the Lobsters, he TookALevelInDumbass, falling madly in love with a Frenchwoman he’s known for two days. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t result in his running off in the middle of battle, trying to bring her back to England, and ultimately [[spoiler: getting her killed.]] He’s back to normal by Season 2, however.

* BlatantLies: Hornblower, ironically enough for TheCaptain, is stricken with sea sickness every time he puts to sea. At one point, he makes a flimsy attempt to blame this on eating "a bad egg at breakfast". Lieutenant Bush goes along with it and replies “there’s nothing worse.” In this particular case Horatio was simply that nervous at his pending nuptials.

* CharacterDerailment: Horatio is supposed to be a calculating genius who puts duty before everything else, but in The Frogs and the Lobsters, he TookALevelInDumbass, falling madly in love with a Frenchwoman he’s known for two days. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t result in his running off in the middle of battle, trying to bring her back to England, and ultimately [[spoiler: getting her killed. Fortunately, this all takes place before Pellew can get wind of whatever Horatio was planning. Unfortunately, the audience is still stuck wondering where Horatio left his brains.]] He’s back to normal by Season 2, however.

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: When Mariette and Horatio flee from Muzillac, trying to reach the strategically very important bridge and the British troop. Revolutionaries' forces advance on the bridge as well. As they run, Horatio holds and supports Mariette because she has hurt her leg. She is then suddenly shot at her back. Horatio is heartbroken, holds her in his arms, caresses her face and keeps cradling her despite the fact that the bridge is under fire.

* CharacterDerailment: Horatio is supposed to be a calculating genius who puts duty before everything else, but in The Frogs and the Lobsters, he’s made to TakeALevelInDumbass, falling madly in love with a Frenchwoman he’s known for two days. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t result in his running off in the middle of battle, trying to bring her back to England, and ultimately [[spoiler: getting her killed. Fortunately, this all takes place before Pellew can get wind of whatever Horatio was planning. Unfortunately, the audience is still stuck wondering where Horatio left his brains.]] He’s back to normal by Season 2, however.

* CharacterDerailment: Horatio is supposed to be a calculating genius who puts duty before everything else, but in The Frogs and the Lobsters, he TakesALevelInDumbass, falling madly in love with a Frenchwoman he’s known for two days. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t result in his running off in the middle of battle, trying to bring her back to England, and ultimately [[spoiler: getting her killed. Fortunately, this all takes place before Pellew can get wind of whatever Horatio was planning. Unfortunately, the audience is still stuck wondering where Horatio left his brains.]] He’s back to normal by Season 2, however.

* NarratingTheObvious: The series was sometimes guilty of this trope, especially in the first instalment. For instance, in "The Even Chance" Styles thanks Mr Hornblower and salutes him. Hornblower realizes his men start to respect him and feels a sudden urge to state out loud what Styles just did: "A salute! Well, that's a start, I suppose."

** "The Duchess and the Devil": The Duchess does not take well the sailing at first, and when Horatio asks her to give him company at dinner, she just prefers her bucket and sends him away.
** In "Duty", Hornblower is heard throwing up in his cabin before his wedding. Bush just stands there, waiting for him and smiling.

** When Horatio first comes aboard the ''Justinian'', he's very seasick. As Archie introduces him to the other midshipmen, he cannot hold it any longer, runs away from their table, and throws up aside.

* BlatantLies: Hornblower, ironically enough for TheCaptain, is stricken with sea sickness every time he puts to sea. At one point, he makes a flimsy attempt to blame this on eating "a bad egg at breakfast". Lieutenant Bush replies that it is the most likely explanation. In this particular case Horatio was simply that nervous at his pending nuptials.

* CharacterDerailment: Horatio is supposed to be a calculating genius who puts duty before everything else, but in The Frogs and the Lobsters, he falls madly in love with a Frenchwoman he’s known for two days. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t result in his running off in the middle of battle, trying to bring her back to England, and ultimately [[spoiler: getting her killed. Fortunately, this all takes place before Pellew can get wind of whatever Horatio was planning. Unfortunately, the audience is still stuck wondering where Horatio left his brains.]] He’s back to normal by Season 2, however.