A thread for 'The Thick Of It' (and 'In The Loop' as well)

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it was discussed a bit on the armand van ianucci thread, but now it's on bbc2 and has had all sorts of publicity, i think it deserves one thread.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 11:28 (7 years ago) Permalink

I like the theme tune.

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 11:35 (7 years ago) Permalink

I taped an episode and watched it and it actually physically made me ill - it was the camera movements, I was pretty hungover when I watched it. I thought it was funny but unlikeable. Haven't watched it since

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 11:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

i've seen three of these and love them. it's so vicious it's just about believable.

incidentally, what happened with chris langham and those, ahem, allegations? :(

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 11:58 (7 years ago) Permalink

It's very very good. I'd love to see it filmed as a standard sitcom, though, just to see how it comes across. Or they could shoot 'Yes, Minister' in the jerk-cam style. just by way of comparison.

Interesting how both shows portray unelected reps having much more power and influence than actual politicians - lack of accountability etc. civ servants (and strong polis like thatcher) loved YM for that v reason and i bet campbell and his like similarly love The Thick Of It - it makes them look soooo hard and ministers so weak.

IA was on R4 last week saying he's making another ten eps and expanding it to look at the oppo. could be interesting given the Cameronisation of the tories. Estelle Morris was on the same show complaining about the way TTOI was so testerone-based (again, v YM) and apptly there will be more women in the second series. (perhaps the young policy wonks oppo gf?).

― Pete W (peterw), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'm fed up with viciousness, darkness and swearing - from now on I want comedies that are either gentle or silly or both

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:08 (7 years ago) Permalink

IA was on R4 last week saying he's making another ten eps and expanding it to look at the oppo. could be interesting given the Cameronisation of the tories.

that's great news. in the US you have 'the west wing' with lots of very highly paid writers in teams; here i guess they'll rely on the artisan production timescale of armand and co. i'd love it if they expanded it to 'west wing' proportions. i don't think it's particualrly far from reality, according to my civil service friends anyway.

Estelle Morris was on the same show complaining about the way TTOI was so testerone-based

given that she was kind of bullied out by the male cabal around lord adonis and campbell, you have to ask: 'eh?'

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'm kind of with Dada on disliking the vicious for viciousness sake mentality of modern sitcom (and the unquestioning acceptance of this by critics), but am prepared to make an exception for The Thick Of It.

― Pete W (peterw), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:13 (7 years ago) Permalink

This is a terrific show. The scottish guy is a scary scary man - every time I see him I thank the lord that it's langham getting it in the neck and not me.

― Johnny B Was Quizzical (Johnney B), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

The scottish guy

which one: peter capaldi (the campbell character) or the even more mental "jamie"?

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

It's the best comedy on TV at the moment.
Last night's episode was incredibly good.

― bidfurd__, Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

It's definitely true of the FO and treasury, but civ servs i know in DEFRA find TTOI a bit terrifying.

I think Morris's objection was more that the show chose to focus on such a masculine department rather than to deny it was a genuine representation. She wanted AI to write about a female-led dept, which might have made for the gentle jolliness of Dada's dreams.

― Pete W (peterw), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

is Jamie that one who looks a bit like David Moyes? Capaldi is brilliant.

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:23 (7 years ago) Permalink

i think the one where ollie works for the caledonian mafia is best, but the 'notting hill gategate' one is so true: tucker argues that resigning is the smart move, because 'you can come back!'

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

which one:

You mean - which scottish mentalist do I think is more terrifying? I wouldn't want to put the wrong number of sugars in either of their teas.

I was on about the campbell one, yeh. There's this one scene (I don't think it's been on BBC2 yet) where langham asks him is he ever gets lonely. "Fuck no" he replies. Most writers/actors/directors might have been tempted to put in some vulnerability at this point, maybe does get lonely from time to time. But no chance, it's delivered in such a hardcore "Fuck no, don't be a twat" way that you get the impression that this guy is a political machine. Written and performed brilliantly, without a doubt.

― Johnny B Was Quizzical (Johnney B), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

the 'blue skies' guy is also the jury foreman in 'peep show', i think. lots of crossovers!

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 12:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

i saw a few of them but it's not appeared on usenet binaries so i couldn't watch the rest. as you can imagine with these constraints my media input is mostly limited to anal.

― benog, Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:05 (7 years ago) Permalink

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 19:43 (7 years ago) Permalink

actually physically made me ill - it was the camera movements
I have tried to watch it several times and I just don't understand why they can't keep the camera still and film it in a non-shaky manner. What does it add other than nausea?

I've yet to make it through an entire episode. Telly shouldn't be such hard work.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

i'm an old fuck like dadaismus and thought exactly the same as he - why are these people SHOUTING and SWEARING all the time, why can't we have some honest-to-goodness GAGS

also, isn't new labour a v. soft target by now - i mean don't we all know that the party is run by brutal control freaks who manipulate the 'truth' for their own ends, etc? I think a critique of slightly smug middle class satirists wld be more 'daring' at this point

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 09:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'm not that old and I probably think the same

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 09:32 (7 years ago) Permalink

I wonder if this story is being hushed up until the series ends?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,,1669553,00.html

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 09:34 (7 years ago) Permalink

It wasn't hushed up. Search 'Chris Langham' for ilx's response to it.
There hasn't been any followup to the story afaik.

― Masked Gazza, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 09:44 (7 years ago) Permalink

why are these people SHOUTING and SWEARING all the time, why can't we have some honest-to-goodness GAGS

there are gags, and the reason there's shouting and swearing is -- it's set in a high-pressure govt department. it's like asking why people in 'black books' sell books.

mm, maybe, but which television programmes have actually attacked this soft target? i think the problem with the smug and unfunny 'yes minister' was that it was somewhat removed from the reality of thatcher-era political practice.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 09:46 (7 years ago) Permalink

NRQ, there have been LOADS of NU Labour satires on TV and - apart from maybe Frank Capra - I can't think of much political satire on film or tv that doesn't at least try to bite the hand that feeds, show us the 'cynical reality' behind the political process, etc. As savage subversion blahdiblah goes, The Thick of It already looks lumberingly obv compared to the sight of George Galloway MP, in a pink off-the-shoulder-leotard, robotic dancing to Trans Europe Express on Big Brother.

I do agree w/ you abt Yes Minister, tho - obv. there's a lot of structural/performance craft there, but it's awfully self-satisfied and yes, it looked totally toothless as soon as Thatcher claimed to love it.

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 10:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

yes minister is smug and v funny

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 10:46 (7 years ago) Permalink

I think a critique of slightly smug middle class satirists wld be more 'daring' at this point

Curb Your Enthusiasm?

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 11:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

NRQ, there have been LOADS of NU Labour satires on TV

*honestly racks brains*

like what?

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:10 (7 years ago) Permalink

Totally unfunny David Blunkett one? Every friggin' episode of Bremner, Bird and Fortune? "The Deal", or whatever it was called, that one about Blair and Brown's relationship?

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:13 (7 years ago) Permalink

none of those are supposed to be comedies, are they?

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

well the blunkett one came after 'the thick of it', 'the deal' finishes before nulab come to power, and bremner is steaming shite.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

Well yes, I don't think the Blair/Brown one was a comedy... or a satire for that matter

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

arguably 'state of play' was a satire on new labour, but it's tenuous. then there's 'the project', but we won't talk about that.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

off the top of my head - Tony Blair rock star, the drama docu abt the Islington restaurant where Brown and Blair sealed their 'pact', drama docu abt the death of David Kelly, My Dad the Prime Minister, that crappy thing abt PR etc. w/Stephen Fry and John Bird, Rory Bremmner, Dead Ringers, at least one crappy Andy Hamilton thing on BBC1

xposts

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

Tony Blair rock star - after TTOI

the drama docu abt the Islington restaurant where Brown and Blair sealed their 'pact' - not about NuLab in power

drama docu abt the death of David Kelly - COMEDY, but yeah ok, kinda (almost simultaneous w. TTOI though? -- TTOI was about may 2005, when was this?)

My Dad the Prime Minister - haven't seen.

that crappy thing abt PR etc. w/Stephen Fry and John Bird - not about nulab, surely?

Rory Bremmner - shit

Dead Ringers - not really dcedicated to nulab but yeah incorporated elements.

at least one crappy Andy Hamilton thing on BBC1 - ?

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

that crappy thing abt PR etc. w/Stephen Fry and John Bird

Possibly the worst thing I've ever seen on TV, I'd rather sit down with a plate of liver and devilled kidneys to watch Gunther von Hagens strut his stuff

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

TTOI is pitch perfect. I think someone on the research/production team was actually a minister's special advisor at some point but not sure. why do you think Bremner's shit NRQ? (rather than just smug?)

― barbarian cities (jaybob3005), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:37 (7 years ago) Permalink

martin sixsmith (who he?) is the adviser guy on TTOI.

to my mind, if something's smug, it's probably shit, and BB&F is both, but that's just me.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:42 (7 years ago) Permalink

TTOI has v. similar things to say abt PR/media manipulation etc. as that Fry/Bird bollox - we haven't really moved on from "if you're in marketing kill yrself now" - and the F/B ep i saw was all abt how a political scandal can be managed to the advantage of the ruling power

Bremner = "Mike Yarwood w/ O levels"

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:44 (7 years ago) Permalink

xxpost

Interesting that it's Sixsmith (of the 'bury bad news' Jo Moore/Stephen Byers scandal, cos as Wikipedia makes clear, he felt that his career as a civil servant had been sacrificed as revenge for the end of Moore's as a special advisor... hence TTOI is particularly hard on special advisors.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sixsmith

― barbarian cities (jaybob3005), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:49 (7 years ago) Permalink

but TTOI isn't just about 'ooh spinning = evil', there's more righteous (f)ire there. policies are determined by focus groups or the whim of tony. ministers are weak careerists. TTOI's got a very strong 'three stooges' thing in the minister's office; tucker's character (and his office) are much stronger than anything in 'absolute power' or bremner.

i dunno i just think it's far more than 'yes minister' done in an 'office' stylee.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:50 (7 years ago) Permalink

Proofing the subtitles - I don't like all the swearing.

I do like -

- Who's the only gay in the village?

- Dunno, Eddie Grundy?

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 26 January 2006 10:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

I only enjoyed watching Dr. Who more last year. Interesting to see that BBC3, formerly a channel of the year by some award or other, has been ursurped by BBC4 in creating a cross over comedy series, I hope tittybangbang doesn't make it across the divide.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Thursday, 26 January 2006 18:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

OHHHHHHHHHHH DEAR.

don't think we'll be seeing this in the same form too soon.

― a rapper singing about hos and bitches and money (Enrique), Thursday, 14 September 2006 09:35 (6 years ago) Permalink

Time for a AI to just start afresh with the tories. As brilliant as Langham is in it, it was never just a vehicle for him.

― Johnny B Was Quizzical (Johnney B), Thursday, 14 September 2006 11:19 (6 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

"Jason Deans
Wednesday January 3, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk

BBC4 political satire The Thick of It returned for a one-off special last night, attracting just over 200,000 viewers.
The Thick of It has been showered with critical praise and awards, but, while attracting respectable ratings, has not yet broken into the top rank of multichannel shows in terms of audience figures.

Due to Chris Langham's personal problems, last night's one-off outing for The Thick of It focused on Peter Capaldi's potty-mouthed government spin doctor, Malcolm Tucker, and an opposition shadow minister played by Roger Allam.

The Thick of It was watched by 237,000 viewers between 10.30pm and 11.30pm, according to unofficial overnights.

[...]

The darts final attracted 1.25 million viewers between 10pm and 11pm. Overall, the darts averaged 955,000 viewers between 7.30pm and 11pm."

― benrique (Enrique), Thursday, 4 January 2007 12:47 (6 years ago) Permalink

"personal problems"

― Tiki Theater Xymposium (Bent Over at the Arclight), Thursday, 4 January 2007 13:32 (6 years ago) Permalink

TV: No-one watches TTOI so put the snooker on instead vs No-one takes To Kill a Mockingbird out of the library so stock Jamie Oliver instead.

― Johnney B English (stigoftdump), Thursday, 4 January 2007 13:42 (6 years ago) Permalink

4 weeks pass...

god hell, a US pilot is gonna be made for ABC, from a producer of 'arrested development'.

― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Friday, 2 February 2007 11:05 (6 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

just saw trailer for a new one

― That one guy that quit, Thursday, 21 June 2007 21:56 (5 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 581 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

didn't *enjoy this one so much, but it's clearly preamble for the main event next week.

― His avid reading taught him things before he had not found (stevie), Monday, 15 October 2012 11:42 (7 months ago) Permalink

Not quite sure why there'd be an enquiry into leaking, as opposed to, like, the complete lack of ethics that could lead to an email chain taking the piss out of a dead dude.

― Matt DC, Monday, 15 October 2012 11:51 (7 months ago) Permalink

i guess the govt is trying to make sure everyone gets covered in shit, rather than just them.

― caek, Monday, 15 October 2012 12:24 (7 months ago) Permalink

dead ppl exempt from pisstaking iirc

Prob because 'leaking' is an endemic culture and 'lol email incident' is standard breach of a standard code, i spose

― the oft-posited third fisherman (darraghmac), Monday, 15 October 2012 12:28 (7 months ago) Permalink

dead ppl exempt from pisstaking iirc

steve jobs caught in crossfire

― *buffs lens* (schlump), Monday, 15 October 2012 15:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

the Lib Dem guys are so terrible. Worst episode of the series no doubt

― Number None, Monday, 15 October 2012 16:41 (7 months ago) Permalink

no: the first was the worst. this was fine. the labour stuff is always pretty reliably good. it's weird how the writing for malcolm - like the line about men modelling pants - can be so sharp & easy, while they flap around and revert to kinda stock-humour w/the others. the LDs kinda grow on me because the portrait of them as rudderless, self-satisfied dicks devoid of principle trying to win a race feels incisive.

― *buffs lens* (schlump), Monday, 15 October 2012 23:06 (7 months ago) Permalink

"No email, no Diving Bell and Butterfly-ing"

― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 19:42 (7 months ago) Permalink

The Lib Dems can be funny - "two years' doing press at nPower, it never leaves you" - but they're clearly written out of resentment and their idiocy is massively camped up.

I am watching the last episode now and had to pause it because Terri in front of the enquiry is absolute majestic.

― Matt DC, Saturday, 20 October 2012 22:51 (7 months ago) Permalink

what a way to end a series!

― Blue Collar Retail Assistant (Dwight Yorke), Saturday, 20 October 2012 23:20 (7 months ago) Permalink

haven't watched it yet but there's one after this, right?

― Mansplains Drifter (Gukbe), Saturday, 20 October 2012 23:22 (7 months ago) Permalink

yeh it said 6 of 7 on my info thing

― zvookster, Saturday, 20 October 2012 23:25 (7 months ago) Permalink

Yeah there's no way that's the end. But if the last episode doesn't turn out to be everything happening behind the scenes over the course of that one I'll be massively disappointed.

We haven't even had Ollie, Phil and Emma in the same room yet ffs.

― Matt DC, Saturday, 20 October 2012 23:32 (7 months ago) Permalink

So, business back to normal, or a disingenuous summary:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qgrd
SERIES 4 Episode 7
Dan Miller gets sent on a fact-finding mission to the local cop-shop to press the flesh.

― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

That was an awesome hour of TV. Read that the actors weren't given time to rehearse, nor to chat between takes, which looks about right.

― Simon H., Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:58 (7 months ago) Permalink

Wow, for an hour long show set in a government inquiry that sure flew by.

― I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Sunday, 21 October 2012 01:38 (7 months ago) Permalink

It was clever TV, but I didn't laugh once, which isn't great for a comedy. Also, I found the idea of an inquiry into "leaking" in its totality to pretty idiotic.

― Manfred Mann meets Man Parrish (ithappens), Sunday, 21 October 2012 10:14 (7 months ago) Permalink

Oh God, we laughed a lot. Particularly at Robin and Terri. Malcolm was just horrible to watch at times but his character is so amazingly written.
Agree that 'inquiry into leaking' was weird, also all the questions of 'was it/he bullying y/n'
"I think it was Ghandi that said..."

― kinder, Sunday, 21 October 2012 11:49 (7 months ago) Permalink

'I'm just a lad from Leeds with a lust for life' = haahahahahah

― Blue Collar Retail Assistant (Dwight Yorke), Sunday, 21 October 2012 12:14 (7 months ago) Permalink

yeah that was pitch-perfect

― kinder, Sunday, 21 October 2012 12:17 (7 months ago) Permalink

The inquiry into leaking doesn't make much sense in itself but leaking Tickell's medical records in itself would be a serious enough offence to merit an inquiry, I think?

I laughed loads throughout this, especially at Stuart and Terri. I thought that Malcolm was amazing at playing the inquiry until it started to unravel.

Basically everyone's guilty in this with the except of Stuart and Mannion, who are merely incompetent? And Robin I suppose.

― Matt DC, Sunday, 21 October 2012 12:22 (7 months ago) Permalink

Mannion lied to the committee when he said he didn't tell the reporter about the medical records being illegally obtained iirc

― give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Sunday, 21 October 2012 13:15 (7 months ago) Permalink

Robyn was MVP in this episode

― set the controls for the arse of your mum (sic), Sunday, 21 October 2012 13:34 (7 months ago) Permalink

images that you don't need to look at the url to know it contains "media.tumblr.com"

― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Sunday, 28 October 2012 03:05 (6 months ago) Permalink

http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Thick%20of%20It%20(UK)/works

― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Sunday, 28 October 2012 03:11 (6 months ago) Permalink

Kill me now.

― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 28 October 2012 10:13 (6 months ago) Permalink

So is there any definitive word on whether that was the last series or not?

― Simon H., Sunday, 28 October 2012 10:29 (6 months ago) Permalink

Iannucci seems to be getting quoted as saying "'It's definitely the last series. I've known from past experience to never say never." -- which doesn't actually make any sense.

― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Sunday, 28 October 2012 10:32 (6 months ago) Permalink

I'm happy with that being the end, they can't really row back from it in any credible way.

Glen bawling out the Dosac office and Malcolm laying bare the emptied husk of his soul were astonishing scenes, and Stuart's "solid bed of cunts" speech was nice cherry on top. I hated the LibDems at the start of this but now I kind of appreciate how Iannucci made them about as loathsome as possible. Surprised Dosac was still standing at the end though.

Kind of telling how Ollie managed to slime his way to the top apparently without having done anything competent whatsoever. It was only the Nicola strand that felt kind of redundant.

― Matt DC, Sunday, 28 October 2012 11:26 (6 months ago) Permalink

Thought that was the best episode by a fair degree. (Thought last week's was dire). Felt like it established relationships that shd have been established at the beginning. Like Lib Dem advisor's 'One of the many many things that baffle me about you' bit. Best use of Terri in this series as well. Agree Nicola Murray + aide was a bit redundant (but that it was also the point i guess). 'That's a big funeral home isn't it?' made me laugh. As did Glenn's 'Anyone read Wolf Hall?' at the beginning. Malcolm's and Glenn's meltdowns were great - Malcolm's impressively baleful and slightly frightening.

Completely agree about Ollie, too.

― Fizzles, Sunday, 28 October 2012 12:43 (6 months ago) Permalink

The best Nicola moment was when she was being interviewed about Malcolm's departure, talking about a new era of politics of dignity or integrity or whatever, apparently having forgotten she was being filmed standing in front of the giant chop. Subtly done.

― Matt DC, Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:06 (6 months ago) Permalink

i was expecting/hoping olly to make some kind of fuckup rather than leave himself where he wanted to be, but oh well

i could see some value in revisiting it but it depends what british politics does in the meantime eh. plenty of scope i think. malcolm retired, one or two scenes only, ollie exactly as predicted, peter ... well, peter actually has more than one thing you could do with him, i think.

i'm interested how the series would stand up to rewatching. last week's i found i couldn't actually remember a lot of the details so it was kind of obtuse. also i'm all for That Sort Of Thing in theory - sudden inexplicable eleventh-hour format change, or whatever - but it only halfway came off, if that. like i wasn't actually sure at what point malcolm perjured himself, which uh

― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:09 (6 months ago) Permalink

i rewatched the first five minutes of the first series last night, it was mentioned in some guardian thing (i forgot that the first five minutes is just malcolm and a guy you don't see again), and what struck me is how much of a shoestring it looks like it was filmed on, peter capaldi's suit doesn't really fit, no one's makeup is right, they're in some office that doesn't look set-dressed so much as it looks like they're just filming in someone's office ... what also struck me is quite how well capaldi's inhabiting the role right out of the gate, even when it looks like something being filmed for a media studies a level

― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:11 (6 months ago) Permalink

Peter is the best character other than Malcolm I think, although that is to a large part down to Roger Allam's consistently world-weary performance. But the show wouldn't work without Malcolm at its centre.

Malcolm lied about having acquired Tickell's medical records, I believe. I kind of want to watch the series again from scratch, the Tickell stuff just didn't seem very important in the first couple of episodes so I barely paid any attention to it.

― Matt DC, Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:21 (6 months ago) Permalink

when he showed up on both sides of things i figured it was going to be the unifying plot but also it seemed like there was a lot else to keep track of

and i don't know, malcolm moved from the periphery to the center and back twice already, so ..

― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:28 (6 months ago) Permalink

Peter's face when hearing Stewart get sacked was sublime

― stet, Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:42 (6 months ago) Permalink

― Number None, Sunday, 28 October 2012 13:49 (6 months ago) Permalink

Beautiful

― stet, Sunday, 28 October 2012 14:00 (6 months ago) Permalink

I liked how unashamed they were about making the Home Secretary look as much like Theresa May as possible.

― Matt DC, Sunday, 28 October 2012 14:26 (6 months ago) Permalink

Stewart's speech after he was sacked, about rehabilitating the party, was stunning.

I hope they don't do any more, though. Some great eps this series, but I didn't really enjoy last week's hour-long epic on any level, though I could see that it was an impressive piece of work.

― "pulling a Jaz" (stevie), Sunday, 28 October 2012 16:05 (6 months ago) Permalink

xpost She wasn't the home sec was she? I thought she the Home Office's version of Malcolm …

But brilliant episode, and made last week's seem much more worthwhile in retrospect (though that episode was rather killed in its own right by having to do all the heavy lifting for this one). Only two quibbles were the last two bits in the closing credits sequence: would rather they had left us not knowing if Glenn had gone to the police; and we didn't need the life-goes-on bit back at Dosac.

― Manfred Mann meets Man Parrish (ithappens), Sunday, 28 October 2012 16:18 (6 months ago) Permalink

I dunno, I liked those bits. As well as being life-goes-on it was one of the real consequences of hurriedly reacting to media outrage, and I think they've been pretty restrained in the series until now wrt that.

― kinder, Sunday, 28 October 2012 16:21 (6 months ago) Permalink

No, I'm pretty sure she's the Home Secretary. I'm sure on Stuart's awayday he boast about having two ministers at it.

― passive-aggressive display name (aldo), Sunday, 28 October 2012 17:55 (6 months ago) Permalink

I loved Glenn not going into the station so much

― Simon H., Sunday, 28 October 2012 21:56 (6 months ago) Permalink

the malcolmisms in everyone's mouths rang a little false to me this time for some reason ("i'll squeeze his balls til they look like glacé cherries" - sorry that line is just not in mannion's repertoire) but yeah, ep saved by tremendous monologue from malcolm to ollie

i loved stewart sitting on the floor!! then finally rising as he came to the climax of his cunt-iloquy

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 29 October 2012 14:14 (6 months ago) Permalink

There was one particular Malcolm quote in the last episode that made my jaw-drop at the time but I can't recall it for the life of me now. Will have to watch it again.

― comedy is unnatural and abhorrent (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 29 October 2012 14:27 (6 months ago) Permalink

I found myself wondering whether Iannucci voted LibDem at the last election and was vocalising his rage through Glen.

― Matt DC, Monday, 29 October 2012 14:33 (6 months ago) Permalink

i was expecting/hoping olly to make some kind of fuckup rather than leave himself where he wanted to be, but oh well

But surely that's the thing - that he ends up well on his way to empty huskdom?

― Walter Galt, Monday, 29 October 2012 15:48 (6 months ago) Permalink

yeah, this has been trailed all through the series

― sug night (sic), Monday, 29 October 2012 23:04 (6 months ago) Permalink

xpost With Olly, I think he had to end up in that job. Through all the series, Olly has always been just an empty shell of ambition. Malcolm, as he continually reminded us - and like Campbell IRL - was always stressing that he was doing the job because he loved the party and wanted the party to the right thing. So who better to replace a man who became an empty husk than someone who always was an empty husk?

― Manfred Mann meets Man Parrish (ithappens), Tuesday, 30 October 2012 18:38 (6 months ago) Permalink

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