IF YOUR LIFE WAS ON THE LINE, WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO?

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL'S NEW SERIES "DO OR DIE" GIVES THE "DO'S" AND DON'TS" OF SURVIVING REAL DISASTER SCENARIOS

Using Caught-on-Tape Moments, We'll Put Your Instincts to the Test

New Series Do or Die Premieres Thursday, Jan. 2, at 10 & 10:30 PM ET/PT on National Geographic Channel

(Washington, D.C. - Dec. 12, 2013) Life happens fast. And in an instant, disaster could strike. A poisonous snakebite, a rushing tsunami, a skydiving mishap or a brake failure. When the choices you make mean the difference between life and death, what would you do?

On Thursday, Jan. 2, at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, National Geographic Channel presents the compelling new series Do or Die. In each episode, we tell the stories of real people caught in desperate situations, and offer viewers the choices these individuals faced in their struggle to survive. Through caught-on-tape moments and CGI, Do or Die is virtually at the scene of a life-or-death situation. But before finding out how the hero survives, viewers can put their own instincts to the test by evaluating three survival options for each scenario - two of which could be deadly.

We give you the facts that will improve your odds of survival the next time you're in a Do or Die moment. With only a few seconds to react, would you make it out alive?

Premiere episodes include:

Do or Die: Raging Bull Premieres Thursday, Jan. 2, 2013, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT Run for cover as an enraged fighting bull lunges into a crowd of spectators. Learn about the bull's 360-degree vision and how crowd noises can raise a bull's heart rate, making it even more ready to strike. Then, see what happens when a stuck gas pedal propels a terrified woman down the road at nearly 120 mph. Would you use the emergency break, jam the car into neutral or turn off the engine? Finally, experience a vacation gone horribly wrong as a mammoth wave washes over a pair of unsuspecting tourists on a treacherous breakwater.

Do or Die: Disaster in the Sky Premieres Thursday, Jan. 2, 2013, at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT Hold tight as a skydiving accident pries you from your parachute harness as you plummet back to Earth from 13,000 feet. What would you do: get to your partner's ripcord, spread your arms like an eagle or grab your shins and hang on for a wild ride? In the next scenario, try to rescue a man after a motorcycle accident pins him under a burning car. And engage in hand-to-hand combat with an angry octopus that has one of its powerful tentacles wrapped around your only source of air.

Do or Die: Choking to Death Premieres Thursday, Jan. 9, 2013, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT Act fast to save a friend who chokes on a cupcake during an eating contest. Would you perform mouth-to-mouth, begin abdominal thrusts from behind or use the heel of your hand to hit her on the back? Next, struggle to stay alive when a thrilling wingsuit BASE jump takes a turn for the worse. When you are 50 stories above the ground, wearing a wing suit and seconds away from slamming into a stone wall, can you act fast enough to survive? And test your mettle against a killer fish when a thrashing, 600-pound marlin leaps onto your yacht.

Do or Die: Killer Tsunami! Premieres Thursday, Jan. 9, 2013, at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT Try to survive the rushing torrent of a tsunami from the driver's seat of your car. The life-or-death options to consider: abandon the car and swim to safety, climb atop the car or roll up the windows and steer the car like a boat. In the next encounter, free a terrified victim locked in the jaws of the fiercest predator in the Arctic - a polar bear. Does the tree branch you are using to pry open the beast's mouth stand a chance? And fight to stay alive after falling into a tree well - one of the deadliest traps a snowboarder can stumble into.

Do or Die is produced by Base Productions for National Geographic Channel (NGC). For Base Productions, executive producers are John Brenkus, Mickey Stern, Eddie Adams and Marcus Kayne. For NGC, executive producer is Richard Wells; vice president, production & development is Charlie Parsons; senior vice president, production & development is Noel Siegel; and president is Howard T. Owens.

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Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 48 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.