The Thick of It on BBC Two
Episode 1, Series 3 of Armando Iannucci’s Brilliant Political Satire
Oct 25, 2009
Sad news, the sixth series of the peerless Peep Show has now ended its run on Channel 4, leaving an A-grade comedy shaped hole in the weekend schedules. Thankfully Armando Iannucci’s wonderfully funny and scathing political sitcom The Thick of It has stepped in to make Saturdays just that little bit better, moving to a new home on the more mainstream BBC Two.
Fresh of the success and acclaim of the film spin-off In The Loop, without a doubt the comedy film of the year, Iannucci and co. return to the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship for a third series – no idea where the Beeb get that number from, as there’s only been one series and two specials previously – of playground politics.
Reshuffle at the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
The series starts with a cabinet reshuffle which sees Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham) hastily replaced by Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front) who immediately has difficulty working alongside the lethargic and occasionally inept team of Glenn (James Smith) and Ollie (Chris Addison), and underestimating the input of civil servant Terri (Joanna Scanlan).
Although fresh faced and eager to change things (realising however that her department has no budget or she any real power) she causes a whole heap of problems for the Prime Minister’s press secretary Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) due to her eldest child’s personal problems, her husband’s involvement in a PFI contract with DoSAC and choosing to send her youngest to a private school.
Following his near breakdown in the Spinners and Losers special Tucker is once again on his venomous rampages and decides to put Murray firmly in her place. His plan culminated in the best moment where he positions the new minster in front of a campaign poster for a colleague called “LIAM BENTLEY” and due the angle seen by the press cameras her smiling face is standing in front of a completely different and dangerous message. Can you see what it is yet?
Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It
One aspect that’s constantly brought up when The Thick of It is mentioned focuses on the level of foul language thrown about by the inhabitants; most famously Tucker, described by Ollie as a “thin, white Mugabe”. This criticism was aptly addressed in the first series when a civil servant requested that the group stop the swearing, only to be shouted down by an enraged Tucker.
Typically for TTOI, and the vast majority of Iannucci’s work, this first episode was peppered with jokes and references alluding to current political issues such as MPs expenses or Tucker hoping the Prime Minister doesn’t do his weird smile when talking to the media.
Capaldi is still impressive in his role of turning swearing and abuse into a creative art form. Some of his less colourful outburst include saying an MP is “so dense light bends around him” or bluntly stating that Murray’s dress is so loud it’s giving him tinnitus. Front, a regular Iannucci collaborator, too is a suitable substitute for Langham and a welcome addition to the cast.
A sub-par first Episode but things are sure to Improve for TTOI
It all ties up nicely with the two-camera documentary film style and semi-improvised dialogue that makes it appear all the more real, as if a BBC crew had suddenly barged into a government office for a week. The outcome reflects the public perception that those running the country don’t know what they are doing or are hopelessly incompetent. A little unfair perhaps but this is satire and politics is always a resourceful target, especially under Iannucci's shrewd eye for detail.
This opener wasn’t the strongest ever episode of The Thick of It, maybe it’s down to the new setting or the vaguely altered cast but something about it really didn’t feel right. TTOI though is still one of the best British comedies of the decade and there’s signs showing that once this transition has been completed this will be on breathlessly funny form once again.
Series 3 (or more accurately series 2) of The Thick of It runs for eight episodes, every Saturday at 10.10pm.
