articul8
Dishonest sociopath
although - he's really quite old for a SPAD and you get less positions like that in opposition - so maybe in a sort of career self preservation way it's thinkable...
The Thick of it??
- Thread starter shoeshopsally
- Start date
although - he's really quite old for a SPAD and you get less positions like that in opposition - so maybe in a sort of career self preservation way it's thinkable...
Might be quite funny when glen meets tucker etc in later episodes.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
That kind of made sense for me. Having to serve his enemies is clearly eating him up inside and he behaved accordingly.
But yeah, his defection seems more like something done to keep him in the show than something that actually makes sense.
I like the contrast between him and Terri though, she's clearly happy to be just as useless to the coalition as she was to labour.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Yep and he was the one that chose to fight to stay on and advise her.
A better argument for his switch would be to point to his near break down in the specials "I AM A MAN!! YOU KNOW!?"
Some great lines from the first show here http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/sep/08/the-thick-of-it-episode-one
Missing my favourite though - the "seven years of ear piss" quip.
Love it.
Missing my favourite though - the "seven years of ear piss" quip.
Love it.
"When I want your advice, Terri, I'll give you the secret sign, which is me being sectioned under the fucking mental health act."
neonwilderness
What would Badgers do?
Tucker is back on form this week 
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Dammit forgot it was on...and not on iplayer yet either....
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
I reckon Ollie's out of his depth being brought into the fold by Tucker. I simultaneously don't want him to get fucked over by Tucker and want him to get fucked over by Tucker in the most monumental of styles. He's just a lackey, of course, so said fucking will come just by being tossed to the side and possibly being the stooge for something or other. Poor Ollie.
Sure its still very good. The occasional great line, great acting and scripting, and well realised characters.
Buuuu-uttttt!!!! - it's efforts to keep its finger on the pulse of modern English politics is, paradoxically, making it increasingly irrelevant. The first series satirised not just "New Labour", but NLs emphasis on media manipulation, and specifically Alistair Campbell's (by the time of the first series...) famously bullying take on "spin". This was particularly ripe for satire, despite the fact that AC was (as I've mentioned before) gone for a couple of years by the time the show came out.
The new series falters, even though the emphasis, the main "comedy moments", remains about party political spin. This is possibly because it is too modern - current politics don't have any party with the confidence and power to attempt the "malcolm tucker/alistair campbell" style of political communication. The "new agey" style of Stewart from the tories simply does not have the same comic potential as Tucker in his prime. Similarly, Tucker in opposition feels like a ghost of the past; a character brought back mostly to keep the fans happy. AC is, in reality, a highly sought after guest speaker, earning almost as much as Blair, and would be highly unlikely to come back and help labour move out of opposition. The LDs have been focussed on little thus far, but the biggest comic potential lies there.
The point being, though, that despite the attempt to focus on politics as it has been in the past two years, the last two years of politics are not nearly as well defined to most viewers, as the previous 8 were when the first series came out. I have no doubt that it is a brilliantly researched show, and I suspect that in "westminster circles" it will be considered the best series yet, but it is nowhere near as refreshingly original as it was when it started.
Still 10x better than almost everything else on telly, though.
Buuuu-uttttt!!!! - it's efforts to keep its finger on the pulse of modern English politics is, paradoxically, making it increasingly irrelevant. The first series satirised not just "New Labour", but NLs emphasis on media manipulation, and specifically Alistair Campbell's (by the time of the first series...) famously bullying take on "spin". This was particularly ripe for satire, despite the fact that AC was (as I've mentioned before) gone for a couple of years by the time the show came out.
The new series falters, even though the emphasis, the main "comedy moments", remains about party political spin. This is possibly because it is too modern - current politics don't have any party with the confidence and power to attempt the "malcolm tucker/alistair campbell" style of political communication. The "new agey" style of Stewart from the tories simply does not have the same comic potential as Tucker in his prime. Similarly, Tucker in opposition feels like a ghost of the past; a character brought back mostly to keep the fans happy. AC is, in reality, a highly sought after guest speaker, earning almost as much as Blair, and would be highly unlikely to come back and help labour move out of opposition. The LDs have been focussed on little thus far, but the biggest comic potential lies there.
The point being, though, that despite the attempt to focus on politics as it has been in the past two years, the last two years of politics are not nearly as well defined to most viewers, as the previous 8 were when the first series came out. I have no doubt that it is a brilliantly researched show, and I suspect that in "westminster circles" it will be considered the best series yet, but it is nowhere near as refreshingly original as it was when it started.
Still 10x better than almost everything else on telly, though.
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
They have their own Shadow Cabinet meetings.
Anyway, Chris Addison just posted this on twitter:
"For everyone who watched tonight's The Thick of It. Look what's turned up in the papers: http://bit.ly/Ud1npo"
Brilliant.
Anyway, Chris Addison just posted this on twitter:
"For everyone who watched tonight's The Thick of It. Look what's turned up in the papers: http://bit.ly/Ud1npo"
Brilliant.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
They've fucking nailed the new SpAd for Murray! Someone has a great researcher because her character is spot on.
neonwilderness
What would Badgers do?
It'll be quiet bat people next week
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
It'll be quiet bat people next week
Or not-so-quiet:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...tish-superheroes-find-crime-hard-to-find.html
neonwilderness
What would Badgers do?
I prefer the Salford Knight Warrior myself
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereve...set-to-wed-his-very-own-knight-maiden---video
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
They've fucking nailed the new SpAd for Murray! Someone has a great researcher because her character is spot on.
Someone was watching when Robin was onscreen, is all.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
Murray's episode was a lot better than Mannion's I thought. Last week's episode felt a bit phoned in, and there was nobody in it who wasn't completely hateful. This week's actually had some emotional impact as well as loads of great lines. For once we got to see Malcolm upset for a reason other than the stupidity or disobediance of his charges, and for a second he almost felt like a real character.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
It's Tucker that makes this show, always has been...
neonwilderness
What would Badgers do?
Best description of Star Wars ever
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
That one quick line about helping people really added dimension to him.
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
It did. It threw me a bit, to be honest. I'm not really sure what I thought his motivation was before then. And his lack of compassion previously made me do a double take, and wonder whether he was being genuine or not. I hope he is being. I can completely see how years of frustration in the face of seeing people being shat on by successive governments and being unable to really do anything to cut through the political bullshit might turn someone into a rabid mess of lovable poison.
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