Chance in a Million

"Chance in a Million" was a gem and it is sad that it has never been repeated.Tom Chance (Simon Callow) accepted the twists fate threw at him with unflinching cheerfulness and it was a pleasure trying to anticipate what could go wrong next.

His long suffering fiancé Alison (Brenda Blethyn) always meekly hoped for the best, enduring the most ludicrous of mishaps.

I often wondered if it wasn't rerun because its principal actors went on to greater things and having joined the ranks of "luvvies" they didn't want reminders of where they started from.

If true, this would be a shame because it was an excellent series.

One of the finest British TV comedies. Superb performances from both Callow and the very versatile Brenda Blethyn. Each episode managed to combine the most far-fetched coincidences with beautifully crafted dialogue, resulting in mini masterpieces. Blethyn's portrayal of librarian Alison Little should have dispelled all ideas of them as stuffy old maids! The Library Association really should have signed her up as a recruiter. It just baffles me why this hasn't been released on DVD yet. There are enough examples of the typical weak sort of stuff that passes for sitcoms being produced on DVD - time for some real quality. If there are no recordings in the archives the culprit should be hunted down and forced to watch endless episodes of Sorry.

Currently watching this again, on Forces TV, it is brilliant, 'coincidentally', it's hilarious. Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn are fantastic together, the scripts are totally mad. Pull up a chair and watch this 80's extravaganza of misunderstanding and coincidence.

Quirky isn't really the word for this excellent, if dated, sitcom (I say dated because I'd forgotten how often Brenda Blethyn gets her it off, it was the 80's after all). Brilliant performances from the two leads, Simon Callow & Brenda Blethyn. You can really see the roots of other programmes like One Foot In The Grave etc in this. Currently (May 2022) being shown on BritBox, worth the price alone for this masterpiece.

When considering the junk that does make it to DVD, why, oh why, has this been overlooked for so long? It is superb and certainly not another twee safe little 'middle-england' sitcom where it is compulsory for EVERY actor's line to be funny then followed by canned laughter. I'm sorry but true comedy isn't like that - genuine workable comedy is best with stooges to bounce things off. Come on - there are 18 true gems lying in a vault being ignored. No wonder people pirate things from home-made video copies - I cherish the 6 episodes I taped direct from the TV but would love a DVD boxed set of all 18 in higher definition. Put my name top of your list for a copy and please, please, hurry - 'before one of us dies' to quote a well known comedian - more than 20 years has elapsed now! Brenda Blethyn and Simon Callow went on to star in much bigger productions but the magic blend of their comedic skills married to a surreal script with it's manic obsession for co-incidence is simply genius - I would urge people to seek out surviving tapes - you won't be disappointed.