26. everybody wants to rule the world
The world in television last weekend was emotionally magnificent, what with the latest installment of Doctor Who on Saturday making me weep like a small child several times over. (Favorite episode ever? Maybe. It's close, anyway. Amy and the sunflowers! Oh, my heart.) And then at the BAFTAs on Sunday, the crew from The Thick of It cleaned the fuck up, and they were all gorgeous and overjoyed, and my heart grew three sizes.
So, anyway, the point of this post: The Thick of It. I THINK YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS SHOW, YOU GUYS.
In a nutshell, The Thick of It is The West Wing, except a sitcom, minus the idealism, and plus a truly epic amount of profanity. Conceived and directed by Armando Iannucci, the man who once got O.J. Simpson to...well, The Thick of It is both funny and a frighteningly true to life portrayal of press-obsessed modern party politics. Frenetic and satirical, its characters are essentially unlikable but end up being remarkably sympathetic anyway. The dialogue has all of Aaron Sorkin's effortless grace with language, metaphor, and wordplay, except used for evil.
Did I mention the offensiveness?
The Thick of It focuses on the misadventures of the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSAC). Great Britain's least powerful and most troublesome cabinet-level department, its remit includes immigration, housing, general records-keeping, chaos and failure. Watching over the department and its minister is Malcolm Tucker, the government's Director of Communications. As chief spin doctor, Malcolm's job is to keep the government in power by any and all means necessary.
Usually this involves a lot of yelling.
The show is split into a first and second series that are only three episodes each; a two-hour long Christmas special; the canon AU movie In the Loop (which got nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay - seriously, the writing on this show is not fucking around) and the eight episode long series three. Series three is fucking amazing, it has a permanent spot on my Desert Island list, and I think it's the best introduction to the show, although it's worth your time to watch it all. Also, series three introduces Nicola, who is in all ways a total fucking upgrade.
Here's who you can expect to see cocking things up during series three:
Meet Malcolm.
This is his bollocking face.
Malcolm Tucker: Lord of Darkness, magnificent bastard. The sweary heart of the government, by series three Malcolm is holding things together with nothing but the sheer force of his terrifying will. His insults are poetry, his charm potent, his rants legendary. One time he punched Glenn in the face. It was awesome. He can appear from nowhere, even in buildings made almost entirely of glass, and all of Whitehall lives in fear of being taken to the carpet by him.
Well.
Almost all.
-
Meet Nicola.
She's new.
Nicola Murray is ordered asked to take over DoSAC despite having almost no experience with the media, a vague grasp of policy, and a nervous streak wide enough to park a car in. Clever, earnest, and determined, Nicola is quite sympathetic despite being basically a one-woman perpetual fail machine, and she's one of the vanishing rare female characters in a position of power whose portrayal does not make me want to stick my head in an oven.
One of the things I like about Nicola is that she's smart enough to know to defer to Malcolm, while simultaneously being completely unimpressed by his bullshit. She's so new, she doesn't know she's supposed to be afraid of him, so she isn't, really, at least not when she doesn't need to be.
Malcolm and Nicola thus have an...interesting working relationship.
"Nicola, I've gotta tell you, that was one of the best live performances I've ever seen. And I've seen fucking Stomp!"
They're fun. I ship it.
-
Meet the DoSAC staff.
Glenn, Olly, Terri (brunette), and Robyn (blonde). Glenn and Olly are Nicola's political advisers left over from from her predecessor Hugh; Terri and Robyn are civil servants. They are variously incompetent, indifferent, and ambitious. Glenn is probably the best of them, so of course takes the most shit overall, and has a tiny, adorable crush on Nicola. Olly is an amoral, showboating cock, and frequently attempts to ingratiate himself with the higher-ups. Terri has long since given up on caring much, but can be quite perceptive when she gives a flying fuck. Robyn is Terri's assistant, and...makes the tea.
Even though they're all pretty terrible, the show never lets them only be that - the writing is far too subtle for caricature, and all the characters have their sympathetic moments. By the end of the series, it's hard not to root for them, or at least wish their failures weren't quite so painful.
-
Meet the Opposition.
Peter Mannion is Nicola's opposite, the shadow DoSAC minister. His staffers are Emma and Phil, who are also roommates. Emma's a bit prissy, Phil is an insufferable nerd. Emma and Olly have an on-again, off-again relationship, for reasons passing anyone's understanding and which they mostly use to spy and steal policy ideas off each other. Their eventual kids are going to need a lot of therapy. Malcolm's opposite is Stewart Pearson, a blue-skies thinker who speaks almost entirely in meaningless PR buzzwords.
The Opposition characters are just as flawed and sympathetic as the Government characters are, which is a refreshing change from most political stories.
Also showing up are Julius Nicholson, another adviser to the PM, and Steve Fleming, Malcolm's arch-nemesis.
-
Basically, this show is hilarious, it's got depth, it's pretty short, and it's summer! You've got time! Watch this, it's SO WORTH IT.
So, anyway, the point of this post: The Thick of It. I THINK YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS SHOW, YOU GUYS.
In a nutshell, The Thick of It is The West Wing, except a sitcom, minus the idealism, and plus a truly epic amount of profanity. Conceived and directed by Armando Iannucci, the man who once got O.J. Simpson to...well, The Thick of It is both funny and a frighteningly true to life portrayal of press-obsessed modern party politics. Frenetic and satirical, its characters are essentially unlikable but end up being remarkably sympathetic anyway. The dialogue has all of Aaron Sorkin's effortless grace with language, metaphor, and wordplay, except used for evil.
Did I mention the offensiveness?
The Thick of It focuses on the misadventures of the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSAC). Great Britain's least powerful and most troublesome cabinet-level department, its remit includes immigration, housing, general records-keeping, chaos and failure. Watching over the department and its minister is Malcolm Tucker, the government's Director of Communications. As chief spin doctor, Malcolm's job is to keep the government in power by any and all means necessary.
Usually this involves a lot of yelling.
The show is split into a first and second series that are only three episodes each; a two-hour long Christmas special; the canon AU movie In the Loop (which got nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay - seriously, the writing on this show is not fucking around) and the eight episode long series three. Series three is fucking amazing, it has a permanent spot on my Desert Island list, and I think it's the best introduction to the show, although it's worth your time to watch it all. Also, series three introduces Nicola, who is in all ways a total fucking upgrade.
Here's who you can expect to see cocking things up during series three:
Meet Malcolm.
This is his bollocking face.
Malcolm Tucker: Lord of Darkness, magnificent bastard. The sweary heart of the government, by series three Malcolm is holding things together with nothing but the sheer force of his terrifying will. His insults are poetry, his charm potent, his rants legendary. One time he punched Glenn in the face. It was awesome. He can appear from nowhere, even in buildings made almost entirely of glass, and all of Whitehall lives in fear of being taken to the carpet by him.
Well.
Almost all.
-
Meet Nicola.
She's new.
Nicola Murray is ordered asked to take over DoSAC despite having almost no experience with the media, a vague grasp of policy, and a nervous streak wide enough to park a car in. Clever, earnest, and determined, Nicola is quite sympathetic despite being basically a one-woman perpetual fail machine, and she's one of the vanishing rare female characters in a position of power whose portrayal does not make me want to stick my head in an oven.
One of the things I like about Nicola is that she's smart enough to know to defer to Malcolm, while simultaneously being completely unimpressed by his bullshit. She's so new, she doesn't know she's supposed to be afraid of him, so she isn't, really, at least not when she doesn't need to be.
Malcolm and Nicola thus have an...interesting working relationship.
"Nicola, I've gotta tell you, that was one of the best live performances I've ever seen. And I've seen fucking Stomp!"
They're fun. I ship it.
-
Meet the DoSAC staff.
Glenn, Olly, Terri (brunette), and Robyn (blonde). Glenn and Olly are Nicola's political advisers left over from from her predecessor Hugh; Terri and Robyn are civil servants. They are variously incompetent, indifferent, and ambitious. Glenn is probably the best of them, so of course takes the most shit overall, and has a tiny, adorable crush on Nicola. Olly is an amoral, showboating cock, and frequently attempts to ingratiate himself with the higher-ups. Terri has long since given up on caring much, but can be quite perceptive when she gives a flying fuck. Robyn is Terri's assistant, and...makes the tea.
Even though they're all pretty terrible, the show never lets them only be that - the writing is far too subtle for caricature, and all the characters have their sympathetic moments. By the end of the series, it's hard not to root for them, or at least wish their failures weren't quite so painful.
-
Meet the Opposition.
Peter Mannion is Nicola's opposite, the shadow DoSAC minister. His staffers are Emma and Phil, who are also roommates. Emma's a bit prissy, Phil is an insufferable nerd. Emma and Olly have an on-again, off-again relationship, for reasons passing anyone's understanding and which they mostly use to spy and steal policy ideas off each other. Their eventual kids are going to need a lot of therapy. Malcolm's opposite is Stewart Pearson, a blue-skies thinker who speaks almost entirely in meaningless PR buzzwords.
The Opposition characters are just as flawed and sympathetic as the Government characters are, which is a refreshing change from most political stories.
Also showing up are Julius Nicholson, another adviser to the PM, and Steve Fleming, Malcolm's arch-nemesis.
-
Basically, this show is hilarious, it's got depth, it's pretty short, and it's summer! You've got time! Watch this, it's SO WORTH IT.