One problem

The recent film version of 'The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe' reminded me of a similar problem with the previous BBC version of the same story - the great battle in the BBC 80's version is more like a 5-a-side punch-up in fancy dress.
(I still love the BBC version though, it's just another case of having to get your head around the idea of a huge battle being done by a tiny proportion of the numbers that *should* be there.)

It would be nice to see Sharpe given a bigger budget (especially if they could stretch to doing 'Trafalgar', which I imagine would be rather expensive, all those ships to squeeze in and so on...), but as it is, I guess they did the best they could with the funds available. Maybe if they axed all the endless reality shows etc, there would be more to spend on good drama. :\

I think they got away with it more in Challenge than they ever did in the old series, not only was the budget slightly bigger and the effects slightly better, they were not depicting a real battle. In the book Sharpe takes part in battles like Talavera and Waterloo, huge battles with thousands of Men on each side. so I believe it was more obvious in the older episodes that their budget was small.
however In challenge you only see the folorn hope go forward which was generally made up of between 50 and 100 men, and then the men fighting inside Feregur itself. I think the numbers of men on each side worked a lot better. I think this is also helped by the fact Sharpe himself is not leading them and is on a different mission. in the old episodes when Sharpe, as a Major was leading the South Essex a single Batallion Regement of 1000 men, his 50 men looked a litte far fetched. xD

Personally I'm mystified as to how people can be so bothered by the number of extras... it's a very simple and obvious fact that they can't hire hundreds of extras for each army! I mean, the cost is incredible... for a days work an extra will be paid about $300. Then to add onto that you have catering, costuming, props, the salaries of however many assistant directors are needed to co-ordinate, the fact that it's a battle scene so you need choreography, that money adds up quick, not to mention the money going to those poor sods doing casting. The end result is that one hundred extras on one day is the max, and I don't think it's a problem.

John Tams' music and Tom Clegg's direction, not to mention the performances, inevitably gives such a stirring feel to events that all that matters is the spirit of the battle - not what you can physically see on the screen.

And, besides, when Wellington tells Sharpe he has a company of 100 men at his command, I believe him. Never mind if it's Sweet William and 20 extras.

(And HOW can you have any problem with the Battle of Badajoz in Sharpe's Company? That sequence is just AMAZING!)

I suspect the problem is that you have too many paperclips up your nose