''The Alice'' is an Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

created by

Justin Monjo Justin Monjo (born 1963, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and actor, best known for his work on ''Farscape'' and penning the Farscape movie in 2014. He is the son of children's author F. N. Monjo III and the great-great- ...

and

Robyn Sinclair Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, '' Robyn Is Here'', which produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

. It is set in the central

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

town of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

. The made-for-TV movie was followed by a regular TV series, which proved less popular than the film and was cancelled by the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. The entire series and the original TV movie have since been released on DVD.

Plot

The approach of a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

has drawn various people from all directions to

, an Australian town in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, nearby which is the best point for observation. Toby Delaney and his partners are expecting a bus-load of German tourists, but a

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

driver destroys their hotel. He improvises an 'adventurous bush trip' for them, even though he has no experience with 'bush foods'. He serves them Tim Tams, which he claims to be flavoured with

Witchetty grubs The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub) is a term used in Australia for the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths. In particular, it applies to the larvae of the cossid moth '' Endoxyla leucomochla'', which f ...

. Matt Marione, a medical student with an interest in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, takes

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. O ...

from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, but leaves the train at an unscheduled stop to search for a rare outback plant. He is left behind when the train leaves, and survives only by the intervention of a mysterious Aboriginal elder who seemingly appears from nowhere and vanishes the same way. Toby Delaney eventually finds and rescues him. Connor 'The Pelican' Gregory, a fanatic runner and hillclimber jogs all the way to the eclipse site, accompanied by Helen, his unenthusiastic wife and her grumpy friend in their motorhome. He is killed when he falls over a cliff. His wife is suspected of his murder by the local police, but nothing can be proven. Former rock musician Jack Jaffers, who deserted his band's reunion to revisit the hotel where they had their first successful gig, joins them. He is so mesmerised by the scene that he plans to buy land there and rebuild the hotel where they performed (which is now derelict).

Cast

Jessica Napier Jessica Napier (born 13 April 1979) is a New Zealand-born actress based in Australia. She has appeared in a number of feature films, including ''Love Serenade'', ''Blackrock'', '' Cut'', ''City Loop'', ''Angst'', '' The Illustrated Family Docto ...

– Jess Daily *

Erik Thomson Erik Thomson is a Scottish-born New Zealand-Australian actor. He is known for playing Hades in the television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', ''Xena Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules'', Dr. Mitch Stevens in '' All Saints'' a ...

– Jack Jaffers * Caitlin McDougall – Helen Gregory *

Simon Burke Simon Gareth Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre. Biography Simon Burke began his career at the age of 12, starring in Michael Cove's ''Kookaburra''; a painful look at a dysfunctional wo ...

– Patrick *

Patrick Brammall Patrick Brammall (born 30 March 1976) is an Australian actor and writer. He is best known for his roles as Sean Moody in the ABC comedy '' A Moody Christmas''; as Leo Taylor in Series 5 of Channel Ten's ''Offspring;'' and as Sergeant James H ...

– Matt Marione *

Roxane Wilson Roxane Wilson (born 1965) is an South African actress best known for her roles in ''Water Rats (TV series), Water Rats'', ''Stingers (TV series), Stingers'' and ''The Alice (TV series), The Alice''. She was born in Durban, South Africa to an It ...

– Ellie Delaney * Brett Stiller – Toby Delaney * Andrew McFarlane – Hugh Delaney *

Anne Louise Lambert Anne-Louise Lambert (born 21 August 1955) (also credited as Anne Lambert) is an Australian actress whose acting career began with her role in ''Number 96'' in 1973. She is well known and quite popular since her role of Miranda in the Peter Wei ...

– Heaven Daily *

Luke Carroll Luke Carroll is an Australian stage, television and film actor. Education Carroll attended Marcellin College Randwick and graduated in 1996. Television and film Carroll started out in guest roles in some Australian shows, including ''The Flyin ...

– Michael Anderson

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alice, The Australian drama television series Nine Network original programming Television shows set in the Northern Territory Australian action films Films set in the Northern Territory Australian road movies 2000s road movies Films shot in the Northern Territory 2004 films 2000s English-language films