DVD Review – The Thick Of It, The Specials

A Two Hour Extension of the BBC’s Political Satire Series

May 5, 2009

A well produced DVD package containing the special episodes of the BBC's award-winning comedy series let down slightly by some of the extra features.

The Thick Of It has always cut close to the bone when it comes to political satire. It’s a world where all MPs are crass no-hopers prone to embarrassing gaffs and the government’s foul mouthed press secretary threatens news outlets about running stories regarding said slip-ups before pummelling two shades of sh*t out of the bumbling ministers. The Thick Of It is like that too.

These specials, a two hour extension of Armando Iannucci’s acclaimed series, were broadcast during Tony Blair’s last days in power taking a fictional yet biting swipe at the transition of power as all the hangers on rush around like headless chickens not knowing if the new leader will be Tom Davies (based on Gordon Brown), young firebrand Dan Miller (Tony Gardner as a carbon copy of David Miliband) or anyone else they can rally behind in the next few hours.

The second special, Spinners and Losers which chronicles the aftermath of the Prime Minister’s resignation, is definitely the stronger of the two. Given that it all takes place over a matter of hours the pace is cranked up to 11 leaving no pauses between hilarious scenes such as Malcolm Tucker’s (Peter Capaldi) friendly chat Geoff “baby new potato head” Holhurst, Glenn (James Smith) having a meltdown and Jamie’s (Paul Higgins) switch from menacing shouts at the DoSAC drones to suddenly being ultra polite with the cleaning staff.

The Rise of the Nutters has its strengths too – Ben Swain’s (Justin Edwards) car crash appearance on Newsnight is worth the price alone – and marks the first time the opposition are ushered on screen, with Roger Allam at his best as dejected DoSAC shadow minister Peter Mannion forced to stop wearing ties to look more appealing. It’s also shows rare signs of Tucker falling out of the loop in Downing Street and actually losing control. But overall this episode is a lot baggier and the 60 minute running time seems a little too long.

The DVD package comes with an ample selection of extras but some are a little disappointing. The commentaries feature a large section of the cast and writers all riffing well on what they're seeing and although they are funny there’s too much chair swapping to really keep it coherent.

There’s also the snappy 15-minute Opposition Extra, which takes place during episode two, where Mannion starts to follow his own rules in repsonse to the PM’s shock announcement, some incredibly sweary deleted scenes and an audio description option which is irrelevant given that there’s barely a moments silence throughout to justify its existence.

The uncut Ben Swain Newsnight interview is a nice addition but once it’s stretched to full screen the digital manipulation and bad dubbing is more obvious. Also the transfer to DVD has left the visuals looking a bit grainy, especially on the Opposition Extra, but this could possibly be an effect to achieve the documentary style and the show's obvious low budget.

If you’re a fan of the series chances you would have already watched these episodes when they were on TV but this is worth owning as it’s a perfect way to plug the gap until the second series airs on BBC Two later this year. For those who still need to catch up with The Thick Of It this is your chance to, wait for it, get In The Loop. Seamless.

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