Chances (TV series)  Chances is an Australian evening soap opera, produced from January 1991 to 1992. It initially told the story of the average middle-class Taylor family whose lives are transformed by winning $3 million in the lottery. Later episodes however diverged considerably away from the series’ original premise. "Chances" was commissioned and broadcast by the Nine Network. An original two hour pilot was made in 1989 but this was not aired. It took a further two years before "Chances" was given the green light in 1991, and went into production as a two-hour a week series. As a result of this, many of the original 17 roles in the series had to be recast due to the unavailability of the original actors who played them. Principal cast members included John Sheerin and Brenda Addie as lead characters Dan and Barbara Taylor, and Jeremy Sims as their mischievous son Alex. Deborah Kennedy was Dan's divorcee sister Connie Reynolds, Tim Robertson played Dan's shady brother Jack, Anne Grigg was his bored house-wife Sarah, and Michael Caton was the family neighbourhood friend Bill Anderson. There were also many other members of the extended Taylor family making up the large ensemble contract cast including Cathy Godbold as Dan and Barbara's rebellious youngest daughter Nicki, Mark Kounnas and Simon Grey as Connie's teenage sons, and Rhys Muldoon and Leverne McDonnell played Jack's elder children respectively. Originally, creator Lynn Bayonas pitched the show as a family-oriented drama; however to help ensure the program's success, Channel Nine asked for nude scenes and risqué elements to also be included in the series. Initial publicity for the show focused on the sex angle, and it was for this that "Chances" was chiefly known. At the APRA Music Awards of 1991, Chances won Television or Film Theme of the Year. The show aired on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, but early ratings proved disappointing, resulting in several cast purges that saw most of the original 17 characters written out of the series, reducing the core cast to six, and now focusing mainly on guest characters. First to go were Yvonne Lawley (who played Heather McGlashen), Kimberley Davenport (Charlie Gibson), Anne Grigg (Sarah Taylor), and Cathy Godbold (Nikki Taylor). By the end of the year, Natalie McCurry (who played Rebecca Taylor) was axed for refusing to sign a nudity clause in her contract; at the start of the second season in 1992, Connie Reynolds (Deborah Kennedy) and her family (Mark Kounnas; Simon Grey) were also written-out; Jack Taylor (played by Tim Robertson) was killed-off, so his remaining family (Rhys Muldoon and Leverne McDonnell) moved away.