Chancer – Series One
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: B
In what
could have been another hit like the Roger Moore version of The Saint, Chancer began in 1990 and was a big hit, then immediately went
downhill and was cancelled thanks to the departure of a new face: Clive Owen.
The show involves the upscale Douglas Motors Company, who has an awful
fire that damages their facilities.
Enter Stephen Crane (Owen), who comes up with a ton of money to keep the
company afloat and keep its prestigious legacy going. H owever,
he has attached strings to the deal, including a few that allows him to keep a
good bit of money that is not his.
What the
company does not know is that Crane had such a shaky history with the bank he
worked at that they have let him go. As
he savors his new plans, old enemies are soon on to him and his former boss
(Leslie Phillips) is especially interested, though Crane does what he can to
hold them all off. Getting involved with
the car boss’ daughter Victoria Douglas (Lynsey Baxter) only complicates things
further. Peter Vaughn also stars.
When I
first saw the show back in 1990, I was hoping it would be a big hit, then
wondered where it disappeared to.
Seventeen years later, we all know.
This first season offers 13 hour-long shows, which were apparently shown
as a mid-season replacement for a series that was over and/or cancelled. Acorn has packaged the 4 DVDs in four
slender-cases boxed and as Owen’s star continues to climb and climb, this will
become a hotter and hotter item. Catch
it soon.
The 1.33
X 1 image may have been shot on film, but these are older analog transfers and
it shows. Fortunately, this is a nicely
shot show and the softness is tolerable.
Hopefully, the film elements survive when its turn for digital High
Definition rolls around. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono fares a bit better, sounding like a good production for its
age, though the audio has its ups and downs.
Stills and text cast filmographies are the only extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
