"Holding On" (1997) TV mini-series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 September 1997 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A complex, moving story of life in the big bad city, in this case London. The tragic, senseless, futile murder of a beautiful young woman...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Hope | Despair | TV Mini-Series | Teen

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

David Morrissey	...	Shaun (8 episodes, 1997)
Saira Todd	...	Claire (8 episodes, 1997)
Phil Daniels	...	Gary Rickey (8 episodes, 1997)
Ace Bhatti	...	Zahid (8 episodes, 1997)
Ellen Thomas	...	Florrie (8 episodes, 1997)
Freddie Annobil-Dodoo	...	Marcus (8 episodes, 1997)
Caroline Harker	...	Vicky (8 episodes, 1997)
Diane Parish	...	Janet (7 episodes, 1997)
Lesley Manville	...	Hilary (7 episodes, 1997)
Sandra Voe	...	Annie (7 episodes, 1997)
Rachel Power	...	Helen (7 episodes, 1997)
Frances Shergold	...	Frances (7 episodes, 1997)
Sam Kelly	...	Bernard (6 episodes, 1997)
Tim Woodward	...	Ken (6 episodes, 1997)
Treva Etienne	...	Lloyd (6 episodes, 1997)
Tilly Vosburgh	...	Gabby (6 episodes, 1997)
Ruth Sheen	...	Alice (5 episodes, 1997)
Jeillo Edwards	...	Aunt Gaynor (5 episodes, 1997)
Gabriel Woodward	...	Sam (5 episodes, 1997)
Sean Gallagher	...	Alan (4 episodes, 1997)
Annette Badland	...	Brenda (4 episodes, 1997)
Razaaq Adoti	...	Chris (4 episodes, 1997)
Badi Uzzaman	...	Shahid (4 episodes, 1997)
Paul Jesson	...	Lake (4 episodes, 1997)
Gabrielle Jourdan	...	Jemma (4 episodes, 1997)
Andrew Rajan	...	Hafiz (4 episodes, 1997)
Robert Morgan	...	Shaw (4 episodes, 1997)
Jack Beazley	...	Darren (4 episodes, 1997)
May Woodward	...	Chelsea (4 episodes, 1997)
Ellie Shergold	...	Page (4 episodes, 1997)
David Calder	...	Werner (3 episodes, 1997)
Joe Dixon	...	Eylot (3 episodes, 1997)
John Light	...	Kurt (3 episodes, 1997)
David Allister	...	Psychiatric Consultant (3 episodes, 1997)
Emily Hamilton	...	Tina (2 episodes, 1997)
Jan Harvey	...	Julie (2 episodes, 1997)
Peter Gunn	...	Len (2 episodes, 1997)
Fleur Mould	...	Sally (2 episodes, 1997)
Kate Lock	...	WPC (2 episodes, 1997)
Leslie Schofield	...	Claire's Father (2 episodes, 1997)
Philip Bretherton	...	Straun (2 episodes, 1997)
David Dixon	...	Nelson (2 episodes, 1997)
Kevin Squelch	...	Carp (2 episodes, 1997)
Ian Good	...	Chef de Cuisine (2 episodes, 1997)
Peter Halliday	...	Solicitor (2 episodes, 1997)

Runtime:

55 min (8 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Gary Rickey: I'm Gary Rickey!

A sprawling yet ultra-tight masterpiece, but....

Watching Holding On again, now it's finally appeared on DVD (albeit with a slightly edited end of part one, annoyingly) it has gone from being the best drama of the 90s to one that in many ways sums up all that was bad about the 90s.

It's a magnificent achievement, filled with incredible performances and poignant story lines, but there are one or two overall elements which for me slightly mar the end result.

Firstly, as with almost everything Marchant writes, the drama feels strangely cold. There is a serious lack of sympathy for any of the main characters: we feel for the more obvious targets such as Sally, Vicky and Tina, incidentally all beautiful young women whose world suddenly fall apart, but in particular the character of Claire is very difficult to warm to, as is Shaun. David Morrissey is clearly extremely talented and his descent into the depths is heartbreaking, but I didn't find it terribly believable that his ultra-scrupulous tax inspector would suddenly behave in such a manner, and Morrissey's performance in the early episodes is a little too Christopher Eccleston-like, rather too full of pomp and bluster.

Phil Daniels provides the weakest link in the saga as the character who holds it together. Not a great actor at the best of times, he is clearly here off the back of his success narrating Blur's Parklife, providing a ludicrous and grating voice-over which usually says absolutely nothing and shows all too clearly the risible influence of Britpop and Tarantino in its "profound words on trivial themes." Despite that, the closing monologue is brilliant and incredibly uplifting: therein lies another oddity about the series. It doesn't seem to make a single attempt to show the magic of London life, only its horror, and then after eight episodes of it suddenly ends telling us how, despite all this, it's a terrific place.

I was puzzled as to why we've not heard more from Fleur Mould who played Sally incidentally.

Despite these few nagging doubts, this is an incredible drama, and easily Marchant's best, especially in comparison with the equally unsympathetic but much less impressive Passer By. The camera work is brilliant throughout, Shergold fond of using single takes in the most technically demanding scenes. It does make me glad the 90s are over though: hearing songs like Design for Life in the background, and seeing a production so lacking in pity and so heavily influenced by Britpop makes me realise that, to me anyway, the 2000s are a better and more co-operative decade, with London in the grip of a more visible threat and yet strangely, feeling a nicer place too.