SOURCE: Mason, M. S. “‘Hornblower’ Strikes Blow for the Good Guys.” Christian Science Monitor (2 April 1999): 18.

In the following review, Mason discusses the 1999 A & E Hornblower series and reports on an interview with the star, Ioan Gruffudd.

It's rare these days to find old-fashioned virtues tacked on to young male characters in the movies or television—virtues like honor, moral courage, and chivalrous defense of the vulnerable. Yet those things are still attractive, even self-evidently desirable, especially when attached to a dashing young hero like Horatio Hornblower.

The A&E network's four-part miniseries (April 4, 11, 18, and 25, airing 8 to 10 p.m.) is based on C. S. Forester's rousing nautical story Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (1950). The novel was based on a series in “The Naval Chronicle,” a monthly magazine published from 1790 to 1820.

The Welsh star of the TV miniseries is Ioan Gruffudd (pronounced yo-IN Griffiths), a young actor who will also appear next...