The Examination for Lieutenant

The Examination for Lieutenant
Written by	Mike Cullen
Directed by	Andrew Grieve
Starring	Ioan Gruffudd Jamie Bamber
Country of origin	United Kingdom USA
Original language(s)	English
Release
Original release	1998
Chronology
Preceded by	The Even Chance
Followed by	The Duchess and the Devil

The Examination for Lieutenant is an episode of the British television series Hornblower. It is loosely based on part of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester. It was released on DVD in the United States under the title The Fire Ships.

Sir Edward Pellew, Captain of HMS Indefatigable decides to put his protégé, Horatio Hornblower, forward for the examination for lieutenant. Leading up to the exam, Hornblower faces many challenges.

Spain has made peace with France and is no longer an ally of Britain – Spanish ships, although technically neutral, begin to attack British ships. Wreckage from one supply ship has already been found by HMS Indefatigable. Indefatigable finds three survivors; among them is Captain "Dreadnought" Foster, a famously heroic officer who influences the ambitious Hornblower.

Spain's actions have deprived the Gibraltar fleet of its supplies leaving the captains no alternative but to cut rations by half. This leads seaman Bunting (Andrew Tiernan) to commit theft, as his friend has died of scurvy and he fears going the same way. He was caught by Hornblower, reprimanded by Pellew and punished by being made to run the gauntlet.

Soon a Mr Tapling from the diplomatic service arrives, and he and Hornblower head ashore to Oran, in Ottoman Algeria, to buy grain and cattle for the fleet. Soon it is discovered that this is a plague town and so Hornblower is appointed captain of the Caroline, a transport schooner, and spends his three weeks of mandatory quarantine at sea with the rations. Bunting had tried to escape in the longboat and get to shore but had been caught again by Hornblower, and now was his prisoner. Hornblower, short of hands on the Caroline but also keen to redeem Bunting, gives him a chance to prove his worth. Later, while they are ashore to load water, they are attacked by Spanish soldiers, and Bunting tries to escape again. Hornblower catches him, but Bunting forces Hornblower to shoot him.

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