Horatio Hornblower (TV series)/Awesome

Books

• Midshipman:
  • Hornblower and the rest of the men under his command are recaptured by the French after the ship they've commandeered sinks. The Indefatigable is sighted on the horizon, but the French ship is much faster. So what does Hornblower do? He lights the ship on fire. And then refuses to take credit for it as a self-inflicted punishment for losing the French ship.
  • Volunteering to help Spaniards save their men, then not going back with the British. To make up for it, he is set free by an order personally signed by the Prime Minister of Spain.
• Ship of the Line: Hornblower's Heroic Sacrifice of his ship. He manages to cripple two out of the three French ships before he had to abandon ship.
• Flying Colours: Hornblower, Brown, and Bush's escape from the French. In the snow. At night. And Bush is an invalid at the time. Later they sneak out of France by recapturing a British ship from the French.
• Commodore has too many candidates to count, as does Beat to Quarters.
• Many in Lieutenant Hornblower. Of note are Hornblower's ability to maneuver his superiors into attacking the fort, figuring out how to heat cannonballs, and leading the boarding party to recapture the Renown after it has been taken over by the Spanish.
• Hotspur: The chase with the frigate Loire. Hornblower manages to pull off more than one Batman Gambit against the French captain without ever having met the man--all he has to do is observe the Loire's maneuvers. He even puts the huge warship in a defenseless position at one point so that his little sloop can fire a broadside unopposed!

Hornblower TV series

• The Tear Jerking moment when Archie sacrifices everything to save Horatio from being executed.
• Captain Sawyer and the boy who he had repeatedly beaten near to death stand united at last and make one final stand.
• Captain Pellew shooting Jack Simpson, who, apparently not satisfied at having cheated during his duel with Hornblower, was attempting to stab the latter in the back. Pellew's coolness as he fires and Horatio's stunned and impressed expression make it that much more awesome.

Bowles: Exceptionally fine shot, if I may say so, sir.
Pellew: You may, Mr Bowles. You may.

• "The Duchess and the Devil": Hornblower and co rescuing the Spanish sailors from a reef. In the middle of a storm.
• In "Even Chance," Horatio, in charge of a captured French ship, rescues the Indefatigable with a ploy so sudden and brutal that Pellew actually feels sorry for the enemy.

Pellew: My god! Poor devils.

• In "The Duel/The Even Chance," Horatio tossing the compass over the side of the jollyboat after the Marie Galante has sunk.

"Fish for it."

• Archie defending Wellard after Randall mocks his authority, reminding everyone firstly that Wellard is in fact an officer and also that Archie will not let him get mistreated if he can possibly help it.
• Hornblower's examination for lieutenant in The Fire Ships, starting from the time the examining board takes note of the cannon shot. Climbing on a wooden ship full of fire and steering it away from your home ship more than makes up for his utter failure at the hypothetical problem posed to him in the actual exam.
• Hornblower, who is afraid of heights, runs out along a yardarm forty feet above the deck to loose a sail. Bush, who can't swim, calmly hangs onto the ship's anchor as the rowboat sinks under him (and eventually with him). An officer in HMR Navy has a duty and phobias and survival instincts can all go to hell, thankyouverymuch.