Holding On

A sprawling multi-stranded series, this programme contains some of the best acting from an ensemble cast in a UK drama, with top class writing and direction to match. Now it's finally had a DVD release it's been wonderful to find that my memory of its brilliance wasn't incorrect - it's still relevant today nearly ten years on, and also very refreshing to see London used in a way other than the usual travelogue images of Routemaster buses and Big Ben. The closest the UK has come to Altman's Short Cuts, something the series itself alludes to in the first episode, I reckon this is easily up there with some of the most classic shows from the past 20 years and I'm so pleased it still holds up well.

As the producer of Holding On I can now confirm that the BBC are at last issuing the whole drama as a 3-disc DVD set in the UK summer 2005. Please tell your friends. Go out and buy! I don't know how heavily it will be publicised. Thanks to those who lobbied if that's what made it happen. They do listen eventually. Everyone who worked on it is very proud of it and now it can have a life beyond the one transmission it received in September 1997 (slightly overshadowed by the death of a certain princess I remember!) Will there ever be a drama of such ambition again on British TV? And who'd have guessed that David Morrissey would end up opposite Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2?

If you ever get the chance to see this show I cannot recommend it highly enough. Written by the brilliant Stephen Merchant the story revolves around the lives of several people whose lives are unknowingly intertwined on the streets and underground of London. It may be 20 years old but remains one of the finest dramas the BBC has ever made.

Why the BBC has not yet put this out on video, let alone DVD (there was some great camera work) is beyond my comprehension. It resurfaced the magnificent David Morrissey in my brain as a superb actor and for that alone I am grateful to those who made the series happen. Dubbed "Our Friends in the South" on first appearance, as it followed hard on the heels of that other great BBC series, it soon commanded its own fanbase. I can still see in my mind's eye the scene in the travel agents with Morrissey when his world truly begins to come undone, all moral certainty abandoned in an instant. I crib this from a Guardian review of the time - and thank you to whoever wrote that, I still keep the cutting at home. But nevertheless even before I had read the review of that episode that scene had been haunting me and I had been driving everyone insane that day whittering on about how stunning it was.

The coming together of characters and stories is something that derives from 19th century literature (think Dickins if nothing else) but in the cinema and television drama is rarely done well. "Magnolia" would be the main other example of this kind of connected narrative that comes off.

If you saw it, I expect you will know exactly what I mean by raving about Morrissey. If you did not see it, hassle the BBC to put it out again on video/DVD if not repeated on the channel (and try to tell them that putting it on the damn cable channels as yet cannot constitute a proper repeat).

'Holding On' clearly demonstrates the devastating toll, that modern day living imposes on it's society. We are blessed with an eight part mini series, that interludes the trials and tribulations of London's inhabitants. Sticking the knife in as deep as he can, Tony Marchant's screenplay, provokes your mind with traumatic scenes of anguish, desperation and utter self absorbtion.

Two seperate murders occur; one that involves a mentally ill white man who, unprovoked, viciously stabs a young woman to her death-while the other is carried out by a stressed out taxi driver, who maliciously kills a young black man, as he slams his car door into his head, repeatedly (which resembled Vinnie Jones' scene in 'Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels' but comes across with a much heightened, shocking realism). Highlighting the fact that the two victims are of different race was purposeful; this is in fact one of the most harrowing aspects of 'Holding On' as it tackles a very controversial subject INJUSTICE. The bereaved family of the young back man suffer a double injustice, for they have to come to terms with not only losing him, but falling at the hands of the British Judicial system, which imposes a laughably short prison term to the murderer.

There's so much to keep your mind occupied, as the series moves along intertwining the characters together, covering the emotions from every individual. Strong elements of symbolism run deep into the heart of each one of the issues covered; from mental illness, isolation, loneliness, class differentiation (working class/middle class)....I personally had extreme feelings of empathy for all concerned-but then how can you not, when the acting is so vividly portrayed. David Morrissey and Lesley Manville are particularly dazzling throughout, lending much insight into their craft as actors.

With so much anger, inner turmoil, fallen dreams filling our darkened paths, we all need to wake up and realise that fighting through adversity TOGETHER...not against, will help to protect our vulnerable shells and inspire warmth and happiness.

This superb mini-series truly is in a league of it's own. The finest that has graced our screens for many years. Many souls out there will certainly be crying out for VHS/DVD versions to own and cherish forever....I know I certainly am.

**VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**