Graham Gore is a character in AMC's The Terror. A lieutenant on HMS Erebus, he was one of the more senior officers in the Franklin expedition and one of the first casualties.
In the series[]
Gore is first seen in the evening after Erebus collides with an iceberg where he tells Sir John Franklin and Commander James Fitzjames that there is ice most likely caught in the ship's propeller. The next morning Gore along with some of the other officers accompany Henry Foster Collins as he puts on a diving suit to remove the stuck ice and afterwards Franklin instructs Gore to notify the engineers and to signal HMS Terror. Gore is later present at the officers meeting to decide whether or not the expedition should press on and he appears at the end of the episode after both ships become trapped in the ice and Sir John is giving instructions on what to do next (Go For Broke).
After being trapped for many months in the ice, Sir John orders Gore to lead a sledge party and look for the cairn that Sir James Ross left behind in 1834. Along the way he has a conversation with Doctor Henry Goodsir about an Inuit man who was brought back to Aberdeen some years before and when Goodsir volunteers to pull the sledge Gore has him relieve Thomas "Tom" Hartnell.
Upon reaching King William Island he speaks with Goodsir regarding the ice and praises Charles Frederick Des Voeux for his orienteering. Des Voeux notes how the Cairn has been left undisturbed by the Inuit and Gore suggests maybe it scares them. Goodsir remarks how isolated the location is and Gore asks him if he's feeling uneasy. Goodsir notes that despite being called a Doctor he's technically just an anatomist but Gore insists that's good enough to be a doctor in his mind. He and Des Voeux places a note inside the Cairn and Gore hopes English tea merchants from Canton will come across the message next.
After successfully locating the Cairn, Lieutenant Gore and Sgt. David Bryant go to another cairn while the others return back to camp. They return later that evening during a hail storm and believe a polar bear is stalking them. He learns from Charles Best that the camp was found in disarray when they returned. After Bryant accidentally shoots Lady Silence's father believing him to be a bear, Gore is chased down and mauled to death by the creature (Gore).
In the book[]
Gore is one of the most popular officers on either ship, and something of a protege to Franklin. He leads the land expedition which locates Sir James Ross' cairn and builds a new one. During the march back to the ships, Lieutenant Gore and the others encounter Lady Silence and her father, who is shot by William Pilkington; half an hour later, the Tuunbaq materializes out of the ice and crushes Gore to death in its claws. His body is brought back to Erebus with that of the shaman.
Trivia[]
The real Graham Gore.
- The remains of two sailors were recently recovered from Erebus Bay on King William Island. One of the bodies looks similar to Lieutenant Graham Gore and the other resembles ice master James Reid.
- Two books titled "Christian Melodies" and "A Manual of Private Devotion," a dessert spoon, and a dessert fork that belonged to Lieutenant Gore were recovered from Erebus bay in 1859.
- Most of Gore's role is accurate to what is known about the expedition. In real life, Gore was alive in June 1847, when he led the land party and left the "Victory Point note" in the cairn. He was dead by April 1848, when Fitzjames refers to him as "the late Commander Gore".
- Due to this, Gore's role in the series is almost identical to his role in the novel. Only his manner of death is different.
- Like several other characters, Gore fought in the First Opium War.
- Gore's grandfather, Captain John Gore, was part of the crew which discovered Tahiti, and later served under Captain Cook on a number of voyages, including an attempt to find the Northwest Passage.