Do or Die is a 2001 British Australian TV mini series that was broadcast in England in April 2001 and in Australia in July 2001.[1][2][3]
| Do or Die | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Rowan Woods |
| Written by | Christopher Lee |
| Produced by | John Edwards Lavinia Warner |
| Starring | Kate Ashfield Tom Long William McInnes |
| Cinematography | Martin McGrath |
| Edited by | Shawn Seet |
| Music by | Edmund Butt |
Running time | 240 minutes |
| Country | Australia/England |
| Language | English |
Plot
editSamantha returns to Australia to find her sick son's biological father.
Cast
edit- Kate Ashfield - Samantha
- Tom Long - Michael Tyler
- Hugo Speer - Nicholas
- William McInnes - Daryl Quint
- Patsy Palmer - Claire
- Martin Sacks - Jimmy Grattan
Production
editThe mini series is a coproduction between Australia's Seven Network and Britain's BSkyB.[4]
Reception
editDo or Die's first episode was beaten in the ratings by A Perfect Murder and then the second episode was beaten by coverage of the Wimbledon men's final.[5]
Writing in the Age Debi Enker says "It's easy to focus on the men in Do or Die, for even though it starts out as a mother-and-son story, the drama rapidly develops into a battle of wits involving three cunning and determined men who go to war, with a woman and a sick child between them. The sting in the tale is that, as the representative of law and order, Quint is so dislikeable that you find yourself barracking for the alleged bad guy."[6] Kerrie Murphy of The Australian wrote "apart from the occasional lull in plot, Do or Die is well written. There are some genuine moments of intrigue and, for the most part, you don't see the answer coming, or if you do it's not until the last minute."[4] The Chronicle Herald's Pat Lee wrote that it "is not much above a soap opera, but it's a fun one with all the elements in place."[7]
Awards
edit- 2001 AFI Awards
- Open Craft Award - Shawn Seet, for Editing - won[8]
- Best Mini-Series or Telefeature - nominated[9]
- Best Direction in a Television Drama - Rowan Woods - nominated[9]
References
edit- ^ Simmons, Lisa (5 July 2001), "A working holiday to die for", The Gold Coast Bulletin
- ^ Yeaman, Simon (4 July 2001), "Bad to the bone", The Advertiser
- ^ Palmer, Martyn (21 April 2001), "Home & away - Interview", The Sun
- ^ a b Murphy, Kerrie (5 July 2001), "Past the key to the future", The Australian
- ^ Sprawson, Eleanor (19 July 2001), "It's sheer murder out there for local mini-series", The Daily Telegraph
- ^ Enker, Debi (5 July 2001), "Thrilling plot to die for - PREVIEW - Talkingpoint", The Age
- ^ Lee, Pat (30 August 2002), "Tangled up in a Do or Die situation; Showcase mini-series an intriguing puzzle with many pieces", The Chronicle Herald
- ^ "Fed: Full list of tonight's AFI award winners", Australian Associated Press, 15 November 2001
- ^ a b Enker, Debi (8 November 2001), "Seven flirts with AFI relationship", The Age