coding style - try, except

[RGK]

I'm still learning, so eager to see if there is some community wisdom 
about use of the try/except structures in this situation.

I find myself with some potentially risky stuff and wrap it in a 
try/except structure with good functional results, though my code leaves 
me a bit uneasy. Maybe it's just esoteric, but your input is appreciated.

Consider

   try:
     do something 1
     do something 2
     do something 3
     do something 4
     ...
     do something 25

   except:
     print "Oops something didn't work"


The risky things are just 1 & 2, and the others are not of concern, but 
are dependent on 1 & 2.  The alternative is to do:

   wentOkay = True
   try:
     do something 1
     do something 2

   except:
     print "Oops something didn't work"
     wentOkay = False

   if wentOkay:
     do something 3
     do something 4
      ...
     do something 25


Which seems a bit verbose, but likely the better approach.  Is there 
some other option I should be considering?

Any input appreciated :)

Ross.