The most frustrating thing about being an American who loves British television is that so many shows that I’d like to see are not available in this country, or some only have a limited number of seasons on Region 1 DVD. And, of course, almost always by the time I’ve gone through a few episodes of a show, I’m hooked, which makes it all the more frustrating. For example, I only saw 50 of the 91 episodes of Waking the Dead. And now, The Chase, 20 episodes produced, yet I can only see 8. And episode 8 was one bugger of a cliffhanger!
The Williams family runs the Chevin Chase Veterinary Clinic in Yorkshire. Patriarch George, upon marrying his second, and much younger wife, Claudie, decides to retire and leave the business to his two daughters, Sarah and Anna. After their mother died, Sarah moved to London. But now, with Anna expecting her fourth child and Dad’s impending retirement, Sarah is forced back to her hometown to help run the struggling veterinary practice.
This show can best be described as a soap opera. Infidelity runs 
rampant in this family. Sarah is concerned that her brother-in-law, Tom, has slept with her cousin, Fiona. Sarah’s relationship with her boyfriend David falls apart when she finds out he’s been cheating on her. Co-worker and fellow vet, Rick, is married to Deborah, a shrew of a woman, but he’s got feelings for his assistant Clare.
Gossip, back-stabbing, misunderstandings, and overall tension between characters abound in this show. Though the care of animals does play a part in each episode, it takes a back seat to the drama between the human characters.
It took me a bit longer than usual to get into this show, to get to know and become interested in the characters and what might happen to them. But eventually I did, enough to be disappointed in not being able to see any more than the first 8 episodes.
MAIN CAST:
Gaynor Faye – Anna Williams
Nicola Stephenson – Sarah Williams
Nicolas Gleaves – Tom Bedford
Heather Peace – Fiona Jones
Michelle Holmes – Claudie Williams
Janet Dibley – Deborah Johnson
Reece Dinsdale – Rick Johnson
Rachel Davies – Margaret Wright
Sunetra Sarker – Clare Burnes
Liam Garrigan – Matt Lowe
Keith Barron – George Williams
Total Seasons: 2 (20 episodes)
Seasons Available on US Formatted DVD: 1 (8 episodes)
In Production: 2006 – 2007
Viewer Discretion: Some adult situations
I’m just a guy with a poetic reply…
So that’s the Chase,
It’s like a race,
To see who’ll lose face,
And fall from grace.
I can’t embrace,
That kind of case,
And its fast pace,
Like stars in space,
So it’s a soap,
Which has no hope,
I just can’t cope,
With that slippery slope.
It must be so frustrating that you never get to see all series of programmes in their entirety. The Chase isn’t my kind of thing, but the cast list is pretty impressive
I’m an Anglophile, too, and have experienced your frustration of not finding British shows on Region 1 dvd (I’ve even emailed BBC to complain- hey, we want to watch your shows!!!). I even tried watching bits & pieces of “William and Mary” on YouTube- talk about an exercise in futility! Have you tried Amazon or Hulu? I’ve had a little bit of luck with them ((I’m connected through a Roku device). I pay for Amazon Prime ($79/yr.) and have found more BBC shows on there than on BBC America (BBC America is a misnomer, I feel, since they show less British tv than my local PBS channel). I’ve been able to watch some shows for free since I have Prime, and some are available at a small fee per episode. I’m currently watching Hugh Laurie’s “Fortysomething” and, before that, the entire “Ballykissangel” series. I haven’t searched my Roku much to find other channels offering British TV, but they just started a Roku search feature which searches all of their channels, so I may find some shows that way. Unfortunately, I did a search and couldn’t find “The Chase.” I hope I’ve been of some help. I’d be happy to hear any other ideas. It just surprises me in this age of live-streaming that we just can’t zap BBC programing into our homes or PC’s. Are you listening, media outlets?
I agree that BBC America is showing less and less British TV. And what’s with that show Copper? Doesn’t even take place in Britain. Is it just on BBC America because the actors are British? Ugh. I’ve been able to find a lot of shows on Netflix, both streaming and DVD. I’ve been happy with that. There are so many shows I have yet to watch that are available via Netflix. I blogged about Fortysomething, by the way. Thanks so much for reading and raising your voice for British TV!
I’m an Anglophile, too, and have been frustrated at the lack of British shows on Region 1 dvd’s ; I’ve even emailed BBC about it (hey! we want to watch your shows!). I can’t believe in this era of live streaming, that we can’t just zap BBC programing into our tv’s or PC’s (are you listening, media outlets?). At one time, I even watched bits & pieces of “William and Mary” on You Tube- talk about an exercise in futility! I have had a little more luck with Amazon & Hulu (which I watch through my Roku device). I pay $79/yr. for Amazon prime, which enables me to watch many shows & movies for free- or for a small fee per episode. I am currently watching Hugh Laurie’s “Fortysomething” and, before that, I watched the entire “Coupling” and “Ballykissangel” series, among others. I have BBC America through my cable, but I get more British shows on my local PBS channel than I do through them. Roku just started a service where you can search all of their channels in one entry, but I haven’t tried it yet to see what other British programming is available. Unfortunately, a search of “The Chase” came up empty. If anyone out there has any ideas, I wouldn’t mind hearing them.