Chancer 

A business adviser uses all means necessary to help his friends out of financial ruins. However he has a moral code. Also, his unresolved family past won't leave him alone.

Stars:

Clive Owen, Simon Shepherd, Susannah Harker

Cast

Series cast summary:
Clive Owen	...	Derek Love / ... 20 episodes, 1990-1991
Simon Shepherd	...	Piers Garfield-Ward / ... 20 episodes, 1990-1991
Susannah Harker	...	Joanna Franklyn 19 episodes, 1990-1991
Leslie Phillips	...	James Xavier Blake / ... 18 episodes, 1990-1991
Peter Vaughan	...	Thomas Franklyn / ... 17 episodes, 1990-1991
Ralph Riach	...	Stebbings / ... 15 episodes, 1990-1991
Caroline Langrishe	...	Penny Nichols 13 episodes, 1990
Benjamin Whitrow	...	Robert Douglas 13 episodes, 1990
Lynsey Baxter	...	Victoria Douglas 12 episodes, 1990
Matthew Marsh	...	Gavin Nichols 12 episodes, 1990
Stephen Tompkinson	...	Markus Warton / ... 12 episodes, 1990
Cliff Parisi	...	Lunchbox 11 episodes, 1990
Robert Glenister	...	Colin Morris 11 episodes, 1990
Andy Linden	...	Dink 11 episodes, 1990
Paul Barber	...	Gerald 11 episodes, 1990
Maureen Glackin	...	Lorraine 10 episodes, 1990
Karen Archer	...	Vanessa 9 episodes, 1990-1991
Sam London	...	Tom Nichols 9 episodes, 1990
Cathryn Bradshaw	...	Sonya Morris 9 episodes, 1990

Storyline

A business adviser uses all means necessary to help his friends out of financial ruins. However he has a moral code. Also, his unresolved family past won't leave him alone.

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Taglines:

He's rude, arrogant, ingenious, unprincipled -- and utterly charming.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 1990 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Television, ITV - Independent Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min (20 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Second Sight (1999)

User Reviews

Clive Owen

For me, and some others, all you need to see in a cast is the name Clive Owen and you're sold. That being the case, I rented "Chancer" from Netflix.

It's my understanding that this series was a hit but that Owen left it when he hit the big time.

Owen plays a young man who loses his job due to insider trading and turns to using his skills to help out an ailing company. He becomes involved with the family, their business associates, and ultimately it affects his personal life and decisions he makes.

One problem I had with this is -- everyone raves about the music. The music is great except if you watch it the way I did, which is a bunch of episodes at a time. You get so sick of that piano theme you're ready to vomit. It's played every two seconds.

Owen is fabulous, very young here (26), and he's everything - romantic, cagey, duplicitous, heroic, a heel, a con man, capable of love and tears. And did I mention he's gorgeous.

He's surrounded by an unbelievable cast, which includes Leslie Phillips, Peter Vaughan, Susannah Harker, Louise Lombard, Simon Shepherd, Michael Kitchen, and Caroline Langrishe.

Very moody series, dark, with an '80s feels to it. Someone who saw it 20 years ago stated it's probably very dated now. Not really. There are still greedy bankers, failing businesses, and wheeler-dealers. And thankfully, there's still Clive Owen.