Television series
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Other titles called The Scarlet Pimpernel: the 1934 film, the 1982 film.
A dashing English aristocrat leads a secret network smuggling French nobles to safety during the Revolution's terror. Richard E. Grant is perfectly cast as the charming fop hiding ruthless competence. It's swashbuckling adventure with genuine stakes, where disguise and wit matter as much as the sword. For anyone who loves clever heroes outwitting tyranny.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy period adventure where the peril of the Terror is real but the hero's foppish disguise is the real pleasure, and a love story runs underneath the disguises.
Skip it if you want suspense or historical grit, since this is a costumed romp that leans on charm and set-piece escapes rather than tension.
What it asks of you: Settle in for an unhurried evening of costume and conversation; it moves at a chatty, gentle pace and rewards you for keeping track of who is pretending to be whom.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Zorro
The same DNA: a privileged man playing bumbling dandy by day while fighting injustice by night. Same moral clarity, similar era, equally rewarding to watch intelligence triumph over brute force.
But It's campy in ways that won't suit everyone, and the production values feel distinctly '90s now—not bad, just dated.
Poldark2015
Another aristocrat caught between conflicting loyalties in a revolutionary age, using his position and charm as weapons. Beautifully shot, emotionally complex, with the same appeal of watching clever people outmanoeuvre their enemies.
But The first season takes time to find its footing, and the pacing is deliberately unhurried—not for viewers wanting constant action.
The Crown2016
Grand historical scope, intricate politics, and characters performing one role in public while wrestling with another in private. Stunning production and writing that rewards close attention to what's unsaid.
But It sprawls across decades with a huge cast, which means you're investing in multiple timelines and easy to lose track of who is who.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Scarlet Pimpernel
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
A Tale of Two Cities1989
Both use the Revolution as backdrop, but where Pimpernel rescues people from history, this shows you history's weight. One is triumph of the individual; this is tragedy of the inevitable.
The definitive adaptation of the French Revolution's human cost. Dickens understood the machinery of terror and sacrifice in ways fiction rarely touches. You watch compassion get ground down by history, not cleverness escape it.
But It's emotionally devastating and will not resolve the way you want it to. The tone is relentlessly grim—there's no winking charm here, only loss.
More like this (8)
Blackadder1983
Rapid-fire wit and a scheming hero using intelligence to survive circumstances beyond his control. Completely different tone—anarchic and hilarious instead of romantic—but the same satisfaction of watching someone be cleverer than everyone else.
But The first season is rough; most recommend starting with season two. It's very British sketch comedy, which simply doesn't land for everyone.
Les Misérables1998
Epic French Revolution storytelling with the same stakes and sense of moral urgency. If you want to understand the era in deeper, more heartbreaking detail, this miniseries adaptation is extraordinary.
But At nearly eight hours, it demands serious commitment, and much of it is bleak rather than swashbuckling—you're watching suffering, not adventure.
Alias2001
A spy hiding her true self from the world around her, constant double-bluffing, elaborate schemes that hinge on psychological manipulation. The adrenaline and pleasure of watching someone think three moves ahead.
But It's glossy 2000s spy-fi with increasingly baroque mythology that some find exhausting. The early seasons are strongest.
The Mask of Zorro1998
The most sophisticated swashbuckler of its era, with genuine chemistry, elegant action choreography, and real stakes beneath the romance. A masterclass in how to make costume adventure feel urgent and smart.
But Some find it too stylized or the tone too calculated—it's polished to a high shine, which can feel manufactured rather than lived-in.
The Count of Monte Cristo2002
A man methodically dismantling his enemies from the shadows, using preparation and inside knowledge rather than direct confrontation. Pure intellectual revenge fantasy with genuine emotional weight.
But The pacing is slow and contemplative, and if you're impatient with setup, it's heavy going before the payoff arrives.
Scaramouche1952
A rogue with a cause, double identities, sword fights, and romance in the French Revolution. Technicolor charm and sincerity that still reads as fun, with Stewart Granger in the role Grant would have admired.
But It's 70 years old and makes no attempt at gritty realism—if you need modern production values or darkness, this will feel archaic.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy2011
Both heroes are disguises—one hides competence behind frivolity, the other hides it behind bureaucratic blandness. Both win by being underestimated. But where Pimpernel is theatrical, this is monastic.
Cold War espionage stripped of glamour. Gary Oldman's Smiley is the inverse of Percy—invisible, austere, winning through misdirection and patience. Intelligent spycraft that trusts your attention and rewards silence.
But It moves slowly, speaks quietly, and gives you almost no music or action to lean on. If you want to *feel* excitement rather than *understand* it, this will frustrate you.
The Servant1963
Both are about masks and social position—how you perform a role to get power. But where Percy uses disguise to rescue the innocent, this shows you how the same tools can be used to destroy them. It's the dark mirror.
A power game where class position and social manipulation become a weapon sharper than any blade. Joseph Losey's masterpiece is an argument about performance and dominance disguised as a psychological thriller. Obsessive, beautifully made, genuinely unsettling.
But It's arch and slow, filmed in black-and-white, and the victory it depicts is deeply unpleasant. No heroism here—just corruption and the pleasure someone takes in corruption.
People
Cast
Recommended by
Home Fires, Zorro, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Man in the Iron Mask, Sword of Freedom, The Prince and the Pauper, Ivanhoe, Florence Nightingale