The Diceman (TV series)
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The Diceman was a 1997 adventure travelogue TV series, commissioned by the Discovery Channel and produced by Little Planet Pictures.
A presenter-led adventure travelogue where presenter, along with cameraman and travelling companion set out to find out what life would really be like living and travelling in a totally random fashion, where every decision is made not by the self, but by the roll of a die. With no means of transport, just a small amount of money, a bag of necessities and their whole future dependent upon the throw of an ordinary six-sided green dice. It is a voyage of discovery like no other - it is the pleasure of getting there rather than the destination that is key - it is the people, the places and the chance encounters along the way that provide the content for each show - liberation, freedom, unpredictability is what it is all about - after all what is life but a lottery anyway! Each episode starts with the presenter and the cameraman drawing up a list of six options either chosen by themselves, or by the public - using the people around them at the time. These options could be for modes of transport, directions, places to visit, things to do, challenges or other objectives…it’s all up to the roll of that little green dice.
Each dice selection is then worked to a conclusion - a fresh set of options are drawn up every time a decision has to be made. The real appeal of the programme is that it is genuinely unpredictable…and that these guys really do live life by the roll of a die!
In the spring of 1997, commissioned by the Discovery Channel, production company Little Planet Pictures produced the first series, which saw presenter Russell Harris and Cameramen and travel companion Shaun Fenton travelling around the UK. Four 15-part series where eventually produced - a total of 60 programs..... clocking up some 32,000 miles, across 14 different countries, travelling on foot, by bus; taxi, bicycle, ferry, private aircraft, yacht, water taxi, airline, rickshaw, hire car, motorbike, hot-air balloon, or simply just hitch-hiking - spending nearly six months on the road in total. The dice was rolled some 400 times resulting in the pair doing some pretty bizarre things - everything from playing golf on the ice in Greenland to selling Pretzels on the streets of New York.
