The Chase, a British comedy series from 2006, recently arrived on Acorn TV. Currently only the 8 episode first season is available. There is a 12 episode second season, but Acorn doesn’t have it now. It’s about a family of veterinarians and the people who work in their clinic. Maybe if season 1 brings in enough traffic, Acorn will acquire season 2.
The Chase is from creator Kay Mellor, who has created quite a lot of good drama on British TV. That’s what drew me into giving it a watch. If you enjoy British TV, watching this one is a good bet for you.
The series is a family drama developed thematically around the various secrets that people keep from each other. The main family all live in a big house attached to a veterinary clinic in Yorkshire. It’s a crammed house full of mayhem, people all talking at once, lots going on, and the drama of the underlying secrets.
George (Keith Barron) is the family patriarch and owner of the clinic. He meets a new woman named Claudie (Michelle Holmes). He marries her, leaves the clinic and the mortgaged house to his two daughters and plans to go to Malta. Plot twist, he doesn’t go and ends up still living in the house. Like everyone else in this series, Claudie has some big secrets.
George’s daughter Anna (Gaynor Faye) is married to Tom (Nicholas Gleaves). They have four kids. Moving into this crowded house is Anna’s sister Sarah (Nicola Stephenson), who has been practicing on small animals in a London clinic. She moves back home and her first initiation to the job is a large animal. These vets work on horses, cows, sheep, dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, even snakes. They do it all.
Other important characters include cousin Fiona (Heather Peace). Fiona has a child whose father is a big secret all through season 1. Drama, I’m telling you. Rick (Reese Dinsdale) is another vet at the clinic. He’s married to the gawdawful Deborah (Janet Dibley) but is secretly in love with the nurse (Sunetra Sarker). Drama, I’m telling you.
The series is soapy and energetic with equal measures of comedy and drama. It’s all the kind of harmless mayhem the Brits excel at. If you take a look, let me know what you thought of it.
I was happily surprised by the number of women directors in this 2006 series. The first series included Susan Tully, Juliet May, and Jennifer Perrott.
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