Chances (TV series)

Chances is an Australian prime time soap opera which aired from 29 January 1991 to 3 April 1992 on Nine Network.^[1] The show was initially pitched by production company Beyond International, as a straightforward drama revolving around a middle-class family whose lives are transformed when they win $3 million in the lottery. However, the network requested raunchier, more erotic storylines in the vein of Number 96 and The Box, with contractually-obligated nudity and sex scenes. Later episodes diverged considerably from the show's original premise, with increasingly bizarre plots involving man-eating plants, devil worshippers and neo-Nazi cults.^[2]

The show has developed a cult following.

Chances was first made as a two-hour pilot in 1988, but it remained unseen until the show's DVD release in 2021. With the exception of The Flying Doctors (1986–1993), the Nine Network had suffered a solid decade of soap opera flops that had failed to build an audience, including Taurus Rising (1982), Waterloo Station (1983), Starting Out (1983), Kings (1983), Possession (1985) and Prime Time (1986). As such, Chances was shelved in 1989, however after the network's latest soap attempt, Family and Friends (1990), was canceled after just eight months, Chances was given the green light.

The series was produced by Beyond International whose only previous successful works had been the program

The series that cost $11,000.00 per episode to produce was recording losses, however the company, keen to get a stranglehold in the industry, continued producing the series despite their ill fortune.[2]

The cast includes

Chances originally aired on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 8:30pm. The pilot episode dealt with the build up to Rebecca's wedding to David Young (Rodney Bell), which ended with his shocking death in a car crash. As the family dealt with the fallout, they are interrupted with the announcement that Dan and Barbara had won the lottery. In a contentious bid to try and help ensure the program's success, network executives requested sex scenes and other risqué elements to be added to the series, which creator Lynn Bayonas was initially opposed to.^[3] The raunchier premise went ahead, which the initial publicity surrounding the series capitalised on.^[4]

The show was a modest success on its premiere night (with the first two episodes aired a two-hour special), however subsequent ratings proved disappointing. Early storylines included the return of Eddie Reynolds (Dennis Miller), Connie's estranged husband, which ends in his murder; the breakdown of Jack and Sarah's marriage, which leads to Sarah seducing her sexually confused nephew, Chris, causing a family scandal; police constable Philippa's illicit relationship with bent cop Geoff Bradbury (Gary Day) and his subsequent murder; her new house mate, eco-warrior, Charlie Gibson (Kimberley Davenport), who becomes pregnant to either Alex or Ben. The standard soap storylines were interspersed with randomly inserted seduction sequences, usually involving Alex, which filled the network quota of nudity and sex. Actor Jeremy Sims described the show as "Home and Away with the odd cutaway of some tits". As the ratings floundered, the writers ramped up the drama with the revelation that Alex's father was Jack, not Dan. As the repercussions of that bombshell settled, an explosion on The Sail Away yacht sees Dan and Bill lost at sea. Bill is found but tells Connie he believes Dan is dead, which Barbara overhears. Shell-shocked, she wanders into the grounds of the hospital car park. Jack runs outside after her when both are hit by a speeding car. They end up in hospital with serious injuries, while Dan is found alive and well, washed up on a beach.

This dramatic attempt to save the show didn't work, and after six months of poor ratings, the show's budget was cut and production halved to one hour a week on Tuesdays at 9:30pm. Starting with episode 61, which aired 27 August 1991,

• Kimberley Davenport as Charlie Gibson (episodes 4–60)
• Patsy Stephen as Angela Sullivan (episodes 61–127, recurring episodes 2–60)
• Molly Brumm as Stephanie Ryan (episodes 70–90)
• Gerard Sont and John Atkinson as Cal Lawrence (episodes 79–127, recast from episode 115)
• Karen Richards as Madeline Wolf (episodes 88–127)
• Stephen Whittaker as Sven Loader (guest episode 63) and Sean Beckett (episodes 92–127)
• Abigail as Bambi Chute (episodes 89–113)
• Katherine Li as Lilli Lo (episodes 115–127, recurring episodes 90–114)
• Lawrence Mah as Japanese Man (guest episode 64) and Bogart Lo (episodes 115–127, recurring episodes 89–114)
• Danielle Fairclough as Wanda Starcross (episodes 115–127, recurring episodes 97–114)

• Rodney Bell as David Young (episode 1)
• Diana Davidson as Anna Novak (episodes 45–47)
• Alwyn Kurts as Aubrey Nash (episodes 49–52)
• Tiffany Lamb as Brandy (episode 72)
• Anne Rigby as Sister Mary Luke/Genevieve Olsen (episodes 72, 86, 92)
• Liz Burch as Sally Kirk (episode 73)
• Neill Gladwin as Ted E. Baer (episode 75)
• Briony Behets as Dr Christine Marquette (episodes 76–77)
• Jeff Phillips as Frankie Kelly (episode 82)
• Richard Morgan as Michael Tranti (episode 84)
• Katrina McEwan as Faith Matthews (episode 85)
• Helen Scott as Carol Hawkins (episode 85)
• Brett Swain as Jared (1 episode)

At the APRA Music Awards of 1991, the theme song for Chances, performed by Greg Hind, won Television or Film Theme of the Year.^[10]

At the 1992 Logie Awards, actor Jeremy Sims was nominated for Most Popular New Talent for his role in Chances, but lost out to Kym Wilson for her roles in both A Country Practice and the mini-series, Brides of Christ. At the time, both Sims and Wilson were in a highly publicised relationship which lasted several years.^[11]

A year after its Australian debut on 4 March 1992, Chances began airing in the United Kingdom on

Chances was also shown on Russian television. However, the series was taken off the air after members of the Russian Orthodox Church objected to a scene showing a naked woman saluting a swastika.^[13]

The show was screened on Channel 2 in New Zealand for nearly a year, but was moved to a later timeslot, and eventually dropped due to low ratings.

Bayonas also tried to sell Chances to American broadcasters, however the only interested network was the Playboy Channel, which Bayonas declined.^[9]

Chances was first released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in three 2-disc volumes, which focused entirely on the show's later, more fantastical era. In 2021, ViaVision Entertainment released the entire series in two collections, the first across 16 discs, the second across 17.

As detailed in ViaVision Entertainment's DVD release, there was no "episode 78" produced, thought to have been accidentally skipped over in error. The 77th episode marked the end of a production block, with the next block resuming from "episode 79". This led to all subsequent episodes to be numbered incorrectly, with the final 126th episode being listed as "episode 127".