The Last Chancers

TV series or program

The Last Chancers
Genre	Sitcom
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Original release
Network	E4
Release	November 21, 2002 (2002-11-21)

The Last Chancers is British television sitcom, originally a one-off show screened under the Comedy Lab banner at 11:40pm on Thursday 21 November 2002. The show was later developed into a five-part series which was broadcast on E4 in December 2002. Currently the Channel 4 website has one series consisting of eight episodes listed.

History

The show was initially screened under the Comedy Lab banner. Stephen Merchant directed the initial screening, which featured the actors Adam Buxton and Steve John Shepherd. Channel 4 subsequently slated the show for production in two instalments.^[1] Tony MacMurray and Buxton wrote The Last Chancers series.^[2] The show is a comedy drama.^[3]

Cast

Adam Buxton - Johnny
Steve John Shepherd - Paul
Kevin Bishop - Dan
Patrick Driver - Brian
Tony MacMurray - Alex
Alice Lowe - Claire
Joe van Moyland - Tom

Crew

Tony MacMurray - Writer
Stephen Merchant - Director
James Harding - Executive Producer
Richard Osborne - Executive Producer
Sally Martin - Producer

Reception

In a mixed review, Rupert Smith of The Guardian wrote, "Any programme that involves puking, guitar solos and incredibly stupid drummers is always going to get a thumbs-up from me, but I wished The Last Chancers had decided whether it was vicious satire, feelgood comedy or laddish high-jinks."^[2] Referring to Valerie Edmond, The Sunday Times television critic John Dugdale criticized the show, writing, "Underused on TV since The Crow Road, Edmond is a welcome signing; but the comedy's problem is its hero, who suffers as many humiliations as Brent and Alan Partridge but lacks their compelling and richly imagined awfulness."^[4]

The Independent's Thomas Sutcliffe praised the show, calling it "quite strongly reminiscent of Peep Show, with its anti-climactic rhythms and loser slapstick, but good enough not to suffer by the comparison".^[5] In a positive review, Gabrielle Starkey of The Times said the show is "well observed and written", "funny", and found every character to be "well-defined and instantly recognisable without being total cliches".^[6]

References

^ Potton, Ed (18 December 2004). "Something to bray about - Our pick of the festive TV". The Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Rupert (23 December 2004). "Rock bottom". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ Ridgway, Imogen (22 December 2004). "Last chance saloon for pub rock hopefuls". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ Dugdale, John (12 December 2004). "The Last Chancers - Pick of the day". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ Sutcliffe, Thomas (23 December 2004). "Last night's television: Yes, I'm beginning to see the light - Light Fantastic BBC4 The Last Chancers C4". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ Starkey, Gabrielle (11 December 2004). "The Last Chancers - Multichannel Choice". The Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.