Take another chance...

Introduction

When approaching series one of this show, I was wary due to having fond childhood memories of the show. As I mentioned before, sometimes your memories get trampled all over by that decision to revisit them, and you find that something you loved now makes you cringe.

Luckily that wasn't the case. So I was looking forward to series two.



For those of you who haven't encountered it, Chance in a Million centres around Tom Chance (superbly played by Simon Callow) who is a man who is plagued by coincidence. These coincidences don't just happen once in a while. They happen all the time. Tom went to a hotel to meet a blind date called Alison. Through one of these coincidences, he met another Alison (played with a deft touch by the wonderful Brenda Blethyn) who was at the same hotel to meet her long-lost cousin, who was called (you've guessed it) Tom. Eventually they worked out what was going on, but not before striking up a firm friendship which continues for another seventeen episodes.



Series two continues where series one left off, and consists of:-

The Taxman Cometh
For Whom The Bell Tolls
The Lost Weekend
And What Shall We Do For A Ring?
Winning Streak
Naming The Day

Video and Audio

A standard full frame transfer of a typical piece of 1980s (largely) studio-bound television. This is not something that has been lovingly restored, just brought up to scratch and released. It looks as you would expect TV of this era to look.



A DD2.0 stereo transfer, which is the original mono replayed over both channels. Nothing special, but nothing wrong with it.

The only thing that will probably annoy you is the cheese-stuffed swing-lite theme tune, 'Taking A Chance On Love'. It gets on my nerves. And when the DVD goes back to the menu and it plays over and over, it really annoys. And then your wife comes in the room and wonders what the hell you are watching.

Extra Features

You would expect nothing given the age and relative obscurity of the title, but there are extras here.



As well as the photo gallery (never really seen the point of them), we have commentaries on selected episodes from Simon Callow and the writers Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen.

Conclusion

Many sitcoms don't age well. But due to the surreal nature of this one, and the brilliant performances of the two main actors, this one has fared pretty well. Yes, some parts are a little dated, and the pace is a little slower than we are used to nowadays, but it's still good fun to watch this show. Series two is just as good as series one.



Tom Chance has certain way of speaking. Cuts out unnecessary words. Eschewing articles and personal pronouns. Sentences shortened. Excess dialogue? No need. This is one of the main attractions of his character, the quirky, eccentric Englishman. And when faced with the quiet, warm, yet also slightly wild librarian Alison he still remains true to himself.

Both characters are portrayed with such joy and skill, and it really brings them both to life. Ten years later, Brenda Blethyn played Miriam Dervish in Outside Edge (one of the few funny ITV sitcoms), and there was so much of Alison in that character it was scary!

If you have fond memories of this show, you'll be very happy to watch it again on DVD. And if you fancy an old-fashioned 1980s sitcom, this was one of the best, particularly recommended for any fans of Callow or Blethyn.