And behind door number 22... a guide to some music of the more traditional kind
Catherine Munn and Jacob Martin list their Top 5 programmes to watch over the festive period.
And behind door number nine... some dazzling musical delights
The complete arts guide, for week 9
The Thick of It, Armando Iannucci’s satire of modern politics, is perhaps the funniest British sitcom on TV today. Deeply critical of politicians near and inside the inner-circle of the British government, the show depicts their working lives as a constant war of spin as everyone aims to get a look in with the press, get one over the opposition and stay in the loop - all of which leaves little time for policy making.
Much of the show’s humour comes from witty, profane and colourful insults dished out by the characters at break-neck pace. The one-liners are superb, blending puns, profanity and pop-culture, and are complimented by a typical situational comedy script which sees screwing up early on, and continue to dig a hole for themselves which gets deeper and deeper as the episode progresses.
Primarily The Thick of It focuses on the the ‘Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship’, run by Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham) in series one and Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front) in series two. They are accompanied by special advisers Glenn Cullen (James Smith) and the ‘unbaked gingerbread man’ Ollie Reader (Chris Addison), as well as civil servant Terri Coverley (Joanna Scanlon).
The undisputed alpha-male of insults and the show’s star is the terrifying government spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Based loosely on New Labour’s own Alastair Campbell (although no doubt Campbell lacks Tucker’s wit), the Scotsman storms round the rooms of Westminster, shouting alternately down his phone at journalists and face-to-face with minsters, limiting the damage the inept politicians invariably cause. He gets his way through threatening both smear campaigns and inventive physical violence; perhaps most memorably when, following a text sent to Radio Five Live making accusations toward his minister by ‘Tim in Ruislip’, Malcolm dementedly vows to go to Ruislip and ‘snap the thumb and forefinger off’ of everyone he finds.
Alongside these main protagonists is an eccentric cast of other characters. More recently the opposition party have made more appearances, which thankfully means more of their spin-doctor and Malcolm’s counterpart, Stewart Pearson (Vincent Franklin). A new-school PR man, Stewart specialises in meaningless buzz words and phrases (‘Knowledge is Porridge’). Then there is Jamie, Malcolm’s lieutenant who somehow manages to be even more frightening, even more sweary and even more Scottish, spitting out insults usually involving forcing various objects into various orifices.
The Thick of It has developed from a short three-part series in 2005 to an eight-part series with its own feature length film (In the Loop) in 2009. The sit-com is even developing a real emotional edge, most memorably when the unthinkable happens towards the end of series three as Malcolm is sacked. With a new eight-part series to be filmed this year, it will be fascinating to see what direction The Thick of It will take next.
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