When We Go to War is a 2015 television drama miniseries from New Zealand directed by Peter Burger. The series uses fictional characters to depict the impact of the First World War on New Zealanders at home as well as in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the Gallipoli Campaign and in Egypt. The series premiered in 2015, the centenary year of the Gallipoli campaign, with its first two episodes aired together during the ANZAC day holiday weekend.[1]
| When We Go to War | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by |
|
| Written by | Gavin Strawhan Briar Grace-Smith Rachel Lang |
| Directed by | Peter Burger |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Tom McLeod |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | DJ Stipsen |
| Editor | Eric de Beus |
| Production company | Jump Film & TV |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 26 April – 24 May 2015 |
Production
editThe six one-hour episodes were commissioned and broadcast by TVNZ. Each episode is framed around a letter written by one of six young men and women, who, in 1914 on the eve of World War I, are full of plans and dreams.[2][3][4] Studio filming was undertaken at Studio West in West Auckland.[5]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | N.Z. viewers (millions) [6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Bea's Letter" | Peter Burger | Gavin Strawhan | 26 April 2015 | 314,820 |
| 2 | "Manaaki's Letter" | Peter Burger | Briar Grace-Smith, Rachel Lang and Gavin Strawhan | 26 April 2015 | 314,820 |
| 3 | "Harry's Letter" | Peter Burger | Gavin Strawhan, Briar Grace-Smith and Rachel Lang | 3 May 2015 | 305,820 |
| 4 | "Awa's Letter" | Peter Burger | Rachel Lang | 10 May 2015 | 273,310 |
| 5 | "Charles' Letter" | Peter Burger | Gavin Strawhan | 17 May 2015 | 267,450 |
| 6 | "Cissy's Letter" | Peter Burger | Rachel Lang | 24 May 2015 | 284,840 |
References
edit- ^ Baillie, Russell. "TV review: When We Go To War's debut episode". NZ Herald. NZME. Publishing Limited. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Illuminate - When We Go To War". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ Roberts, Sarah. "Gallipoli drama to screen". Manukau Courier. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ Drinnan, John. "Media freedom under fire". New Zealand Herald. NZME. Publishing Limited. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Our Story". Studio West. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Ratings archives". Throng. Throng Ltd. Retrieved 7 August 2015.