The Thick Of It: Series 4

Well that was a depressing ending.

Don't get me wrong this is a fantastic series but geez it gets serious quick and I'm just gonna say it. I hate the ending. But not in a "This is a rubbish ending to a great series.", I mean a "I am emotionally invested and I was upset at what happened to these characters.". But first we gotta rewind. Okay so we start off with an unexpected twist with Nicola heading the opposition, so Peter Mannion and his party won the election. Of course that means they're the ones absolutely failing and miserably so at that, trying to create and enforce new policies, but that obviously doesn't exclude our main cast either. After several missteps, Malcolm has cut Nicola off completely and the situation only gets worse as a inquiry takes place. Then we really kick off, up until the last two episodes it's the same old comedy cock ups and both parties trying to get a lead on the other, but all of that is swept away and it becomes a courtroom drama. Our main cast is put in the hot seat and soon Malcolm is faced with a Kobayashi Maru. It's a sobering ending but it means that our cast can put their best performances to the screen, least of all Peter who I'm very quick to say nowadays is my favorite actor and I never really had a favorite actor since I was a wee sprout. This is the best, series 3 is my favorite but it cannot be denied the final series really hits it out of the park. And you've seen the scores so far for this show, so do I give it the 10/10? Well when you consider this is the culmination of everything and is the final gesture of Armando Iannucci for this niche genre...yeah. I absolutely detest shows that start light and comedic then get deathly serious, but here it feels appropriate and done well enough to merit that. So yep, 4 stars, 10/10, we're sure starting this year right. Next week, something completely different but it charmed me so much I would love to talk about it.

The Thick Of It: Series 3

This may be my favorite.

Maybe season 4 will top it but I really enjoyed this series. So Hugh is out and Nicola Murray is in at DoSAC but all quickly goes to hell in a handbasket when an enormous loss of data in immigration forces everyone to try to save their jobs, and not soon after Nicola is suspected to be a runner for Prime Minister leading our favorite Scottish ball breaker to step in. So some good plot elements here than just another daily screw up and it no doubt contributes to my enjoyment on this series. The cast is on the best form we've seen so far and Rebecca Front plays Nicola absurdly well. I fully understand her position and you do truly sympathize with her as she is trying to make everything work as she walls keep crumbling. It's damn good acting but not to the point where the comedy isn't still present. And the writing is the best yet, I mean this is the series that gave us "omnishambles" for God's sake, and we get more time with the opposition which is great fun. It will take a bit for the next series to surpass this one but it ends strongly and makes you wonder what will happen next. Major supreme props to Peter Capaldi this series, he has a lot more weight and importance this time around and there isn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that his acting will reach a zenith by the last series. Wonderful series, halfway there, 4 stars, 9/10 once more. Is it a bad time to joke about the political strife occurring now? Too late? Okay.

The Thick Of It: Series 2

I'm never having a commitee, it's going to be an imperial platform.

Series 2, a bit longer than the last after the sleeper hit of series 1 picks up after Hugh's almost resignation and culminates in not one, but two specials dealing with the absolute maelstrom of shit after the Prime Minister resigns early and everyone scrambles to find a candidate for their party. Easily an improvement over the last with a lot more elements thrown into the mix that stick around. So not only do we have the primary party doing their usual cock up's, but we see the opposition party trying to capitalize on said cock up's, while the press chase their tails in a maddening and futile covering on the election. I would make jokes about my country but let's face it everyone already has. I enjoyed this one a lot more, you can tell they had a proper budget since we get a change of location, more cast members into the fray, and a smidge of location shooting so that's all good marks in my book. The original cast still bring their A game, while the new additions make a very great standing impact and will continue to crop up as we go along. Personal favorites of the newbies are Jamie MacDonald played by Paul Higgins, more scottish blood in the mix and thank Christ for that, and Peter Mannion played by Roger Allam who if nothing else severely bring the comedy for me. If you had any reservations about the last series, this is the one that either makes you want to watch it until the end or just call it a day but I strongly recommend it. The writing is still very much on top form if maybe even a bit higher, and I do love the production values presented. But my God this release schedule for the entire series when you look at it is beyond unreal, I can not ever imagine being a fan of this programme while it was airing, I mean seriously listen to this. The first series started in May and wrapped up in June of 2005, brilliant, perfect. Series 2 picked up on October of 2005 and ended in November of 2005, with the two big specials not even airing until January and June of 2007 respectively. Jesus Christ. And it only gets more bizzare from there but one step at a time. Anyway, great series, absolutely love it! 4 stars, 9/10! Big changes coming up next series so hang tight, I'll be with you in two shakes of a crying baby.

The Thick Of It: Series 1

Good morning my little chicks and cocks.

New year, same old broken man but plus side I get to talk about more british television that I adore. Do not even ask me how I came across this programme, I think it was the pure power of the best Doctor, Peter Capaldi, that hooked me. Needless to say it was time well spent! For a first series, it's only 3 episodes mainly due to the BBC giving a low budget to series creator Armando Iannucci, centered on a department of government who just got a new director as various things go to complete hell resulting in well written satire and thus good comedy. Now I don't want this to steer you off considering it's government, even to an absolute out of the loop fool like myself in all stances and structure of government, whether it be american or british, it really doesn't matter. Again it's due to the well written scripts that you can piece together who these people are, what position they have in the government, and most importantly how they absolutely shit the bed. Yeah big shock coming in, the comedy is based around what absolute idiots are running the country and how even they don't fully comprehend the breadth of the political landscape. Which I suppose you could argue not only makes it easy to watch and enjoy because they're not throwing out a thousand specific terms per episode, but makes it a touch relatable that even politics are run by normal people. Which is an entirely fair point to be honest. But it can't just be all writing, so how's the cast? Pretty damn great, and the show has that same continuity of Blackadder with the same cast sticking around for the remainder of the show. I don't need to tell you my favorite, I'm sure he's everyone's favorite so I'll just give a shout to my two other favorites. James Smith as Glenn Cullen and Joanna Scanlan as Terri Coverley, they do such good work having that balance of proper seriousness and biting funny dialogue which is the style of the show. And I love the style of the entire show, the very loose free moving and zoom filled camera work which never felt intrusive or amateur to me but I can understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. At least they don't shake the camera like a hyperactive Parkisons riddled monkey. And something I didn't even notice because I was that into the scenarios and characters presented until I read it is the fact that, there is zero music used. No orchestra, no pop music, it is silence from start to finish every time. I cannot name a single show that has ever done that, I mean that is such a rare thing in film and even more so in television. But again it doesn't hurt the production side of it in the slightest, it does make it feel almost documentary-esque which is brilliant. It's a very basic introduction to the concept and characters we will be seeing with an absolute auteur control over the complete series until the very end. 4 stars, 8.5/10!