The Chase: Season One DVD Credits:

Region: 1

The Chase: Season One DVD Release Date: 12th May 2008

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The Chase: Season One DVD Review:

The Chase is about the world of Chevin Chase, a family-run veterinary practice in Yorkshire, where sparks fly and backstabbing is all part of the business. When George Williams (Keith Barron) announces his retirement, his pregnant daughter, Anna (Gaynor Faye), is left to pick up the pieces of the struggling practice with her estranged sister Sarah (Nicola Stephenson). Surrounded by a multitude of animal illnesses, the staff must also contend with problems of their own as tensions mount, personalities clash and dark secrets are exposed.

The premise for The Chase admittedly sounds rather silly. As if soap operas weren’t silly enough, someone thought to create one about veterinarians? Well, if they have soap operas about normal hospitals (General Hospital), I guess it was only a matter of time before someone created one about animal hospitals. After all, there’s all sorts of sentimental drama that can be milked from a premise about veterinarians looking after sick animals, seeing as animals are often capable of gaining our strongest sympathy. I just hoped there wouldn’t be any of the doctor/patient relationships that you can find on General Hospital because that might have crossed the line.

And you know what? Maybe it was the involvement of an adorable animal cast, or maybe it was the fact that British actors can magically lend a greater sense of seriousness to the subject matter, but I actually enjoyed the show more than I expected. It’s still got all sorts of soap opera silliness to be sure, but within those confines, it’s actually reasonably entertaining and, dare I say, endearing.

Although I mentioned the animal and British elements in a semi-joking way, I actually think they were responsible for swaying me. Maybe it’s my biased American point of view, but the British actors make all of the soap opera sentimentality easier to swallow. Maybe it’s the accents, maybe it’s the underplayed line readings, but the British cast makes everything seem more grounded and multi-dimensional. The focus on animals also does a lot to distract from the show’s soap opera flaws. I found myself caring a lot more about animal patients under the surgeon’s knife than I normally do about humans in the same situation on these types of shows. Go figure.

Although The Chase managed to win me over more than other soap operas might, it still can’t escape its soap opera trappings. The scripts are obvious and the characterizations are over-the-top. A lot of the character interactions are unrealistic and chuckle-inducing, and the storylines and expected twists are usual soap opera fair. Rest assured that all of these flaws are in place, they’re just a bit easier to swallow in The Chase than they might be in other soap operas.

There are no extras to be found on this 2-Disc DVD set.

The Chase doesn’t do enough to actually make me wholeheartedly like it, but as far as soap operas go, I enjoyed myself more than usual. If you’re a fan of soap operas, and especially if you’re an animal lover, then I would say that you should check this one out.

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The Chase: Season One DVD review written by: Anthony Berk