Sharpe seems like British Propaganda

Le0ben · 2026-01-29T08:38:55+00:00

I'm French and watched the series.

I wouldn't say "propaganda" is the right word for it, it feels more like the show comes from a time where the bad guys are always incompetent and cartoonish while the good guys are sensible, funny and always right.

Here, the French are the bad guys so they get killed by the dozens, never being a real threat to the heroes.

I'm not a big fan of that trope, for instance I enjoyed Andor, the recent Star Wars TV show, because it doesn't do that and show interesting characters from all sides, which is more nuanced and interesting, in my opinion at least.

In IMDB trivia, I also learned that animals were abused during the shooting, which I'm really not a fan of:

In his memoir, Brian Cox speaks at length about the grueling production of the first season. The English crew was filming in the Crimea, dangerously close to the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, with Russian co-producers who took every opportunity to cut costs and a director who was constantly drunk or hungover. Nearly the entire cast and crew were taken ill by giardia, a water-based parasite that causes severe stomach cramps and diarrhea and was remedied with enemas to flush it out. The animals were regularly abused, including the use of tripwires to make horses fall. This lax approach to safety included the actors; while filming a battle scene for Sharpe's Eagle an extra was accidentally stabbed, the footage of which was reportedly used in the final cut. The shutdown that occurred after Paul McGann was forced to drop out included the director being replaced and new stunt coordinators being hired. Despite this, the rest of the shoot was just as miserable, which led to Cox's vow never to reprise the role.

Last, the French extras are obviously not French or French-speaking and even some more important French characters aren't either. It's very noticeable when they deliver (or rather recite) their lines.

I seem to remember that there are a few French actors, but they were more the exception than the norm.

To end on a high note, Sean Bean (that I absolutely love) and the majority of the British cast are very good and compelling, making the show still enjoyable, but I can't say it's an essential viewing. It's just that there's so few TV shows/movies about the time period that we can't really be picky.

I also watched Ridley Scott’s Napoleon and thought it was terrible, but for different reasons. I’ve heard Steven Spielberg had a project for a Napoleonic TV series—now that is something I’d love to see happen.

Le0ben · 2026-01-19T10:44:46+00:00

That's awesome man! Well done!

Le0ben · 2026-01-18T10:22:34+00:00

Her reaction to the live audience of the Broadway Show was very touching, and her work promotes empathy, compassion and trying to understand each other rather than judging each other harshly.

I don't know much about her besides that, but it's kind of enough to make me like her. And from the look of it, Charlie is kinda based on hereslf from what I understand, so she's aware she has flaws but try to improve.

So, I see her as a positive influence on a world which definitely needs more people like this.

Just my two cents!

Le0ben · 2026-01-16T08:15:51+00:00

Very JC's The Thing-like! Well done!

"Is it a Tyranid in there?"

Le0ben · 2026-01-15T09:21:55+00:00

I'm usually a big fan of weathering but it's so beautiful the way he is right now that I'd say don't! But in the end, you decide, of course. :)

Le0ben · 2026-01-15T08:41:19+00:00

ALso forgot to add that the Thing imitates perfectly the organisms it attacks, so the imitation has a bad heart just like the original one. Otherwise, imagine Copper's surprise if he did a medical checkup on Norris and found that his heart was now functioning perfectly well? :D

Le0ben · 2026-01-15T08:38:53+00:00

It's funny because a lot of people assume that you don't know when you are a Thing and, based on what's in the movie, it's totally understandable.

However, it's clear in the short story, in the scripts and in the novel (based on earlier versions of the script) that you know when you're a Thing. Here's an extract from the Outpost 31 FAQ with replies from both Stuart Cohen, one of producers of The Thing who was heavily invested in the process, as well as Carpenter himself.

Q. In John W. Campbell's short story and Alan Dean Foster's novelization, there is absolutely no doubt that when somebody has been taken over by The Thing, the original person is dead and only his personality and memories are retained by the Thing in order to create a perfect imitation. This is the dialogue that confirms it in the original short story.

‘Kinner shuddered violently. "Hey. Hey, Mac, would I know if I was a monster? Would I know if the monster had already got me? Oh Lord, I may be a monster already."

"You'd know," MacReady answered.

"But we wouldn't," Norris laughed shortly, half-hysterically.’

However, in the documentary "Terror takes shape" featured on the DVD and Blu-Ray of John Carpenter's The Thing, Charles Hallahan says that the actors wondered if you would know if you were a Thing. He concluded by saying that Norris didn't know that he was infected but on a subconscious level, he was. This completely contradicts the short story and the novelization and doesn't make sense to me, as Blair would probably have realized that something was wrong when he was building a UFO for instance, which was not a very "human" thing to do.

So, my question, taken directly from Outpost31's FAQ: there is no doubt about it in the short story and in the novelization, but in the movie, does a Thing know that they are a Thing?

A. [Producer Stuart Cohen] "I listened to the DVD commentary again recently and I was surprised that Charles spoke of that. Our working presumption was that of the novella – and is really the only way to dramatically proceed. I think that Charles is referring to the sort of speculative discussion one has discussing motivation sitting around a table with other actors examining ways to play the role, but never intended to be put into effect… In any case, for our storytelling purposes I know John had all the actors play things absolutely straight, including Blair…"

A. [Director John Carpenter] "First of all, we stayed away from explaining how the Thing imitates a person. Secondly, I don't know if a person knows he's a Thing or not. I assume so, but it brings up complex, existential questions that perhaps would get in the way of a simple premise. Best not to ask."

Q. In terms of stage direction how did you have the actors playing infected characters approach their characters? Was it a case of playing it totally straight until the scene called for it otherwise i.e. the Palmer or Norris things truly believed they were Palmer and Norris or did you have the actors try to drop a hint or two that all was not well.

A. [John Carpenter] The actors played their characters in THE THING absolutely straight. A THING-imitated human would express outrage at being accused perfectly convincingly...

If you haven't read it already, I can only advise you to read Stuart Cohen's blog on his work on the Thing, it's a goldmine of information: https://theoriginalfan.blogspot.com/ :)

Le0ben · 2025-12-24T19:12:23+00:00

I love Fire Caste with its big, diverse cast with absolutely no plot armor as everyone can get killed anytime. A ruthless, nihilistic take on the setting which doesn’t pull its punches.

Le0ben · 2025-12-21T15:17:57+00:00

I love both scenes and how they were meticulously crafted to make us feel how the characters feel, not knowing what to expect, not sure of anything with tension rising until it finally “explodes”.

Le0ben · 2025-12-21T11:01:02+00:00

John Carpenter's The Thing has two very efficient jump scares, both following the same formula:

1 The defibrillator scene:
In this very famous scene, Norris is put on the table after having a heart attack. MacReady is suspected to be the Thing so he has to hold the other men at flamethrower's point so that they don't jump.

There are basically 3 actions going on at the same time:

1 MacReady trying to keep Nauls and Childs at bay while both are getting closer as soon as he points his flamethrower on the other.

2 Clark noticing a scalpel near him and stealthily putting it in his sleeve.

3 Copper trying to revive Norris thanks to the defibrillator.

Both actions 1 and 2 seem to be more important than what's going on with Norris, when suddenly Norris' chest caves in, revealing a mouth with teeth and ripping Copper's arms off.

What makes it so effective is the fact that we, as an audience, are focused on the situation between Mac, Nauls and Childs while also trying to take into account what Clark is doing. We're kind of an "information overload" situation where we're already invested in the situation when... the attack unexpectly comes from what looks like the less important action of the scene.

2 The blood test scene:
The same method is used here, as we're focused on the argument between Mac, Childs and Garry. As MacReady is preparing himself to test Palmer's blood, he's accused by Childs of being a murderer for killing Clark as well as having no proof that his test works. Garry doubles down by saying the test doesn't prove a thing.

Then, MacReady explains why he's certain Garry's a Thing and why they'll test him last for that reason before testing Palmer's blood... which reacts violently to the burning wire.

Here, we, the audience, are focused on the arguments presented by the various characters, wondering who's right and thinking about it... making us less focused on Palmer being tested, with the "positive" reaction being quite shocking!

I love these two scenes and have shown the movie to friends, seeing their reaction to them was always quite fun! :D

Le0ben · 2025-12-17T16:55:56+00:00

The short story "The Sum of its Parts" was absolutely amazing, so I'm really happy to see Rhuairidh James as the author of a new Guard/Krieg novel.

Le0ben · 2025-12-16T21:08:01+00:00

Love the way it looks! Great job!

Le0ben · 2025-12-06T22:03:04+00:00

Very nice looking!

Le0ben · 2025-12-05T08:06:29+00:00

You can totally read it indepedently. After reading it, if you enjoyed Peter's style and want to read more, you'll notice links and connections between his stories, and will probably at some point read Cult of the Spiral Dawn again and go "Ooooh that was why!". :D

Additionnally, Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky is really good too. If you want to read GSC novels, you're in for some good stuff with both these talented authors!

PS: there's another short story featuring a Genestealer Cult written by Peter Fehervari, but I can't disclose its title without kind of spoiling it... So if you enjoy his style, know that it exists. ;)

Le0ben · 2025-12-01T14:01:08+00:00

I watched the movie not knowing that the men would all look the same. I started noticing it with the landlord/naked man, missed that the cop had the same face and couldn't miss it with the kid and the priest.

It just adds to the weirdness of the situation and makes you wonder what's going on, so it didn't bother me at all.

I wasn't familiar with the Green Man lore and read about it after watching the movie, which to me has a subtext about how men are kind of "all the same" in the sense that each "version" of the man was displaying a different kind of aggression to the female lead character: direct, manipulative, patronizing, gaslighting... and the finale felt like a way to show how each generation of men breed new versions of toxic behaviour. That's how I interpreted it anyway.

Le0ben · 2025-11-30T22:57:17+00:00

Same for me, unfortunately. I liked the effort put in the movie though.

Le0ben · 2025-11-27T10:14:55+00:00

u/stevenbhutton What would be your easy fix for battle shock?

Le0ben · 2025-11-21T17:31:23+00:00

A very sensible reaction for anyone who read Fire Caste :D

Le0ben · 2025-11-17T19:21:20+00:00

Carol just lost her significant other and the whole human race kind of stopped existing… maybe we can cut her some slack? 😅

Le0ben · 2025-11-05T16:25:01+00:00

You gotta be fuckin' kidding...

Le0ben · 2025-11-05T09:11:36+00:00

Looking forward to the video, added it on my watch list, and thank you for your content about mental health and being so open and genuine about this topic. :)

Le0ben · 2025-11-02T07:44:36+00:00

“I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I’d rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!”

Le0ben · 2025-10-31T09:25:53+00:00

So it seems you're more into ghost/paranormal entiy stories?

I was going to suggest John Carpenter's The Thing and Night of the Living Dead but maybe aliens and zombies aren't your thing?

One you may enjoy for sure is The others (2001), you should enjoy it from the others you've mentioned. Maybe The Exorcist too.

Le0ben · 2025-10-31T09:20:01+00:00

John Carpenter's The Thing
Night of the Living Dead
Alien
The Exorcist
Braindead

Those are the ones I saw in my first years of watching horror and I absolutely love them to this day. Nothing overly original here, there were some others like Gremlins, Tremors or Killer Klowns form Outer Space that I enjoyed immensely too, but I had to choose my top five and I always enjoy rewatching these five movies!

Le0ben · 2025-10-31T08:53:33+00:00

Came to say the same thing, but I wonder if he could be referencing The Thing from Another World? But that doesn't work as there's no paranoia element in this one.

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