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

i think the whole thing with characters that look the same as in the show, act the same as in the show, are going out with each other/ have the same relationships with each other as in the show but are NOT 'the same character' was just pointless. a total head scratch.

But it's a totally different department, so if they wanted to use the same ensemble it just wouldn't have made sense to move them all en-masse. This didn't really bother me tbh.

yeah, they're types more than fully realized characters in the classic sense - i don't particularly care about malcolm's backstory for instance

although a montage of simon foster campaign clips as a dvd extra would be pretty irresistible - i'd love to see some of the idealism, pre- grim reality

That Capaldi interview is great. Looking forward to another series but still not seen the film.

Rebecca Front as an MP is a really good idea.

They should just call her Rebecca Front.

The Popular Front

I *really* liked the 2-part special but no lying, the film made me laugh even more and was the crowning achievement imo

Watched episode 3 of Getting On last night - it's really quite good, isn't it? Possibly better than early Thick Of It, actually, though that's partly because the dynamic is fairly massively different, by which I think I mean it's a lot easier to keep up with. Slower pace, smaller cast and such. Performances are all really pretty excellent too, especially Brand and Scanlan - I don't think I've ever seen Jo Brand better than in the conflict resolution meeting. Glad to see it's getting more episodes next year.

this was v. funny - look forward to watching to catch what i missed. pleased to learn there's a series behind it!

DVD of this is good, loads of deleted scenes with psycho Jamie and Chad vs Liza stuff.

"I mean I don't smoke weed, but I'm not in fight club. I'm in like neutral club. The first rule of neutral club is...let's find out what all the other rules are"

Gina McKee is like wo

apparently she's 45

don't remember seeing this

http://topazbean.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/no-you-fucking-cant.jpg

http://twitter.com/AIannucci

end of oct.

Gina McKee is like wo

apparently she's 45

i know right? seriously.

end of oct.

Wicked.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/i/512xn/400f50c532a3f35781a73ad7d2af43c64ee49ca3.jpg

A to-do list that's longer than a fucking Leonard Cohen song.

israel

This is still the funniest thing on TV.

"Knife addled rape sheds" = lololol

I find this so unfunny. I think I must be old or something.

liked the whole set up with the name Liam Bentley and idea of Tucker setting it up, and Murray calling Glenn a 'batty man'

has Capaldi actually got that much greyer himself since The Rise Of The Nutters (the difference between him now and in that is striking) ??

i didn't notice that. love the idea of somebody being able to go tow to toe with malcolm and this new gal might have what it takes. when she fucked with malcolm about her eldest daughter the look on his face was priceless.

toE.

No laughs here, either - actually unwatchable. Just an angry man act and no direction whatsoever.

I do want to see the earlier episodes (just happened to come across it randomly last week). I suspect this was much funnier when there was such a thing as a *New Labour* project.

Lots of laughs, highly watchable.

It was a little slower than usual episodes - seemed like they were setting the scene for stuff later in the series now they have longer run.

Best line: "You're like the fucking coffee machine: from bean to cup, you fuck up"

all the way to the boathouse

you would seriously need to watch this like 3 times to catch all the lines

I do like the idea of Capaldi/Front relationship developing into some screwball love/hate bitch-match - kind of like an Anglo Donaghy/Lemon... or even Grant/Russell.

just hoping Jamie will show up before too long

Think it'll be a few episodes before we see Jamie, building anticipation, cake/icing and all that.

xpost

Now I think of it, I can totally see Fey muttering to herself "He is *so* Russell Crowe" on the way back from the lift.

Grant/Russell?

http://www.astrodiary.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/russell-grant-2.jpg

(Cary and Rosalind, yeah?)

Ken Livingstone says:

"I can't bear the swearing and the aggression. It's not funny: it just reminds me of too many people I met among the Blairites and I hate the sexually aggressive language."

What a cunt.

KEN 4 MAYOR, etc etc

I'm with Ken. It's just boring after a while. I enjoyed it early on (you know when it was all green fields and warm beer and cricket on a sunday) but now it really does seem like, what's the fucking point?

I walked into In The Loop knowing goose-egg about it or the show--my friend gets free tickets; "wanna go to a movie?"; "sure"--I was pleasantly surprised. Serious loling.

I liked it by and large, but for the first time the flowery swearing felt a little try-hard, rather than off-the-cuff.

The plotting was less baroque than usual. Still fucking funny though.

Charlie i agree - the hard open on Malcolm was a mistake imo - why not let things bubble a little and build the anticipation?

"I wouldn't piss on you if you were allergic to piss."

a face like dot cotton licking piss off a nettle

and the violent sexual imagery warning

"today, you have just laid your first big fat egg of solid fuck"

probably my biggest laugh was at:

"the kraken awakes!!"

malcolm had no comeback for "well at least my career's got a trajectory, you're working for a party that's going to lose the next election" - suddenly he found he had no leverage with this person

there was some great stuff on the red button as well

"get your feelings out for the lads"

loved this one

No Jamie in this series according to Chris Addison :(

Some genius has made a Best Of.. =
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRC0qQ8zA-E

I love the "oh I'm terribly sorry" when he bumps into the cleaner.

that is great, that he and malcolm understand and are polite and appreciate the consequences and don't live in a bubble, where as bumbling ben doesn't.