Saturday, December 10, 2011

Saturday TV Special: The Thick of It

Plot: The series follows goofy government employees of the Department of Social Affairs in England. They answer to their boss, prime minister's right hand Malcolm Tucker, whom everyone fears. As they try to stay away from troubles, hilarious events unfold that complicate their job and lead to many scandals.
Structure: Episodes usually follow bigger arc, concerning the characters trying to minimalize the backlash from the scandals that usually are a result of hilarious complications. Each episode also has a credit for "the cast" under the writer credits. This is due to some of the dialogue being improvised.
Verdict: This is one of the funniest things...ever.
What makes it so great? The dialogues - absolutely hilarious. Malcolm Tucker's outbursts are some of the funniest and most brilliant lines I've ever heard. The show employs Ian Martin as a "swearing consultant"; one of his roles is to pen the complex and creative insults used in the show. Example? "And I would rain down on you so hard, you would have to be reassembled by fucking air crash investigators. DON'T fucking interrupt me, son, ever. Now get this into the noggin, right. You breathe a word of this, to anyone, you mincing fucking CUNT, and I will tear your fucking skin off, I will wear it to your mother's birthday party, and rub your nuts up and down her leg whilst whistling Bohemian fucking Rhapsody, right?"
Whom you may recognize: If you saw "In the Loop" 2009 spin off movie, it includes most of the original cast.
Who's behind it? Armando Iannucci, nominated for Academy Award for his script for "In the Loop".
Who will like it? Fans of good satirical comedies, witty dialogues and good situational comedy.
When and where? All 3 seasons and specials are available on DVD. Season 4 is apparently due to be released in 2012.

3 comments:

  1. I have to check this one out since I f**king love 'In the Loop'!

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  2. It's actually even funnier than In The Loop, Tucker's quotes in episodes 3.01-3.03 are just such gold all I want to do is shouting it to the people on the street :)

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  3. Great! Then I'll definitely watch it.
    Most of the time I feel like sneering at people :))

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