| House of Bond | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Sarah Smith |
| Directed by | Mark Joffe |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Paul Bennett |
| Running time | 2 x 75 mins |
| Production company | CJZ |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nine Network |
| Release | 24 April – 25 April 2017 |
House of Bond is an Australian two-part drama mini-series about the life of business tycoon Alan Bond which was produced in 2016 and aired on the Nine Network on 24 and 25 April 2017. [1] [2] [3]
House of Bond is a dramatised account of the life of Alan Bond, from the 1960s to the 2000s. [4] Part One details Bond's prominence as a property investor and entrepreneur finishing with his greatest triumph as head of the syndicate that won the 1983 America's Cup. Part Two sees him expand on a global scale before his hubris saw his empire spectacularly falling down, becoming embroiled in a number of WA Inc scandals including the bailout of the Rothwells Bank and the stripping of Bell Resources.
The series was criticised as "appalling" by Alan Bond's widow Eileen Bond. [6] His family released a statement, claiming it was "inaccurate and sensationalised". [7] Diana Bliss's brother Graeme, meanwhile appreciated Rachael Taylor's sympathetic portrayal of his sister believing she would be pleased with the series. [8]
The series was generally well received. The Age and TV Week named the series 'Pick of the Week'. TV Week gave it 5/5 saying 'Adrienne Pickering is wonderful as the lively Eileen'. The Age called it 'luxurious and ambitious'. [9] News.com.au called 'a 'riveting' yarn.' [10] Debi Enker in The Sydney Morning Herald said it 'has the quality of a Shakespearean tragedy...' and 'captures the flash-and-dazzle of the era and offers some insight into a singular and spectacular rise and fall.' [11] The Daily Telegraph called House of Bond a "flop", [12] and the series received a 2.5 star rating from TV Tonight [13]
The mini-series averaged 657,000 across the five mainland capital cities on its final night winning its timeslot and increasing its ratings on the previous night.
| No. | Title | Air date | Timeslot | Overnight ratings | Consolidated ratings | Total viewers | Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | Viewers | Rank | ||||||
| 1 | Part 1 | 24 April 2017 | Monday 9:00pm | 613,000 | 11 | 135,000 | 8 | 748,000 | [14] [15] |
| 2 | Part 2 | 25 April 2017 | Tuesday 9:00pm | 657,000 | 11 | 120,000 | 10 | 777,000 | [16] [17] |
The series was released on DVD by Universal Home Video on May 11, 2017. [18]