Holding, UTV, Monday
Holding looked promising from the outset.
A crime/comedy drama set in glorious west Cork, written by the wonderful Graham Norton, directed by comedy legend Kathy Burke and among the fine cast is Oscar-winner Brenda Fricker.
It’s set in a fictional village, somewhere outside Skibbereen, where builders digging foundations at the back of an old house find a human skeleton.
It’s a major moment for PJ Collins, the local sergeant, who’s excited to call in forensics from Cork City and begin the process of finding out who the bones belong to and how the person died.
The remains are quickly identified as Tommy Byrne and we learn that he left his would-be bride, Brid Riordan, standing at the altar and that the reason was probably because he was having an affair with Evelyn Ross.
Tommy hasn’t been seen in the 20 years since he failed to turn up for his own wedding.
Brid, who has since married and has children, drops a bottle of wine in the local shop when she hears Tommy’s remains have been identified. This is a doubly difficult moment for Brid as she has ‘taken to the drink’ in recent times.
Evelyn, meanwhile, is in a relationship of convenience with the 17-year-old son of her sister’s lover and generally unhappy.
Initial suspects identified then for the boys in blue? Well almost. There’s three more episodes to go here, so there’ll be a few more suspects yet.
PJ, who is still regarded as an outsider four years after being posted to the area, is conducting extensive interviews directed by a young ambitious detective from Dublin.
Evelyn is one of three sisters running a farm after their parents died. She hangs out in the local pub and meets the teenager after school in an ambulance abandoned in a field outside the village. They call it the “funbulance” of course.
Abigail holds things together at the farm and while she has a connection with the local publican, she’s single.
Florence Ross is a LBGT activist and was initially leaving Cork for San Francisco with her partner, a local school teacher who left her husband, so that she can “be herself”.
Evelyn points out that Ireland is now “the gayest country in the world” and there’s no need to be going anywhere.
Which, of course, is the opposite of the Ireland of Graham Norton in the 1970s and 80s.
The cast is a who’s who of Irish acting talent. Siobhan McSweeney (Sister Michael in Derry Girls) plays Brid. Conleth Hill is the lovable Sergeant PJ, while the always brilliant Brendan Fricker seethes as his housekeeper
Pauline McLynn (Father Ted) plays the snobby shop keeper. Demi Isaac Oviawe (Linda, The Young Offenders) plays one of the more minor characters but at least reminds us what a native Cork accent really sounds like.
Quality comedy drama has a way of getting into your soul over time and if you look back at some of the opening episode of your favourite shows they’re not always great.
There is some good stuff here, such as Brid’s mother who lives with her but spends her time in bed, watching old movies and drinking whiskey.
But there’s no way to hide that Holding has had a particularly poor start.
Outside of PJ, none of the characters are particularly engaging and while we must accept that Holding is written for a British audience, it’s an unfortunate cliché of small town rural Irish life.
I think the best we can say about it is that it’s warm, fun and easy watching.
Your granny will like it, in the way that she enjoys Death in Paradise.
