Does anyone else find this Hornblower episode a bit boring? I loved all the others and I could re-watch all the others but this one...I have no desire to re-watch it because it was slow and nothing much happens in The Duchess and the Devil...
shareIt wasn't my favorite - getting captured, the unreasonable midshipman who should have been considering a career change at this point in his life. Also, not too keen on the duchess though others seemed to like her.
shareOn the contrary--- the weakest of the series, in my opinion, seems to be The Fireships--- they're on a boat battling the elements for nearly the entire movie, and although some of the actors gave moving performances, there isn't a whole lot of substance to this episode.
The Duchess and the Devil is my favorite. The story is intriguing, and Jamie Bamber's performance is just to-die-for wonderful!!
I agree with Lesbasbleu. This is my fave. Fireships was the weakest, IMHO (although it was pretty damned funny in places).
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I agree with you fireships ( the examination etc...) was great but "the duchess and the devil" is not a weak ep .the part with the prison was good , hunter trying to find a way to escape and horatio waiting for something, failing with his men. Shrek,life in prison about 1795 was miserable and you can't watch an ep about prisonner of war without the prison scene. I like the scene in the "sick room " between archie and horatio, the 2 actors played it beautifully,horatio feeling guilty about archie's "illness" and trying to bring him back to life.
I think I agree with the OP. 1999 wasn't Hornblower's best year, both this one and Frogs and Lobsters weren't very appealing.
shareI actually like 'The Duchess And The Devil' and 'Frogs and Lobsters' the best, oddly enough. I like all of the films though.
"Nothings gonna change my world!"
Maybe it wasn't as action packed but the character relationships(as in all the Hornblower episodes) were excellently done. I especially like the escape scene and Hornblower's struggle trying to find a way to keep his men together and failing miserably - ultimately taking the responsibility for their mistakes. This is a good movie...it has depth and holds a purpose in the series by developing Hornblower's character.
shareI like this ep because it has more comical moments than others - Hunter lecturing Horatio on how to carve exotic meats, the Duchess has a lot of good lines, Hornblower's sardonic humour when he knew his boat was doomed to be captured...
Also, it has some nice character moments - I guess it is the most character driven episode of the lot. The Duchess giving Horatio a reality check about how he should respect her for putting her country before her "pride", hinting that a woman's honour doesn't depend on virgnity - that was a great moment. And Archie's such a great tragic character - Horatio looking after him was sweet, and then him being inspired to help Hunter.