Thought the Government were in trouble?

After three different Waterstones (ironically, nobody could find the single copy supposedly in stock) and two failed Amazon deliveries, I finally got my hands on the book: “The Thick of It: The Missing DoSAC Files”. Bringing to the paper Armando Iannucci’s BAFTA-winning comedy, this brilliant set of documents has provided me with enough entertainment for another decade (or at least until the next series).

The Thick of It is the BBC’s modern day Yes, Prime Minister. Taking place in the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSAC), the show is a dark humoured, satirical portrayal of the machinations and workings of Blair and Brown’s Labour government. During the first two series, Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham) is the depressed and sarcastic minister, trying his best to make himself into someone of importance but plagued by the press about his second flat in central London. Sadly enough for his brilliant character, Langham was then arrested on charges related to child pornography. The rest of the cast remained for the third series with a new addition and replacement minister: the slightly insane and incapable Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front). Other cast members include James Smith, Joanna Scanlan, Roger Allam and Chris Addison, who is thankfully a better actor than comedian.

The characters are built on every cliché you can think of, then even more and better ones. The civil service is incompetent, smug and lazy but often called to save the minister from his/her blunders. The political advisers are either completely powerless or overly arrogant and useless. The ministers themselves are gaffe-prone, incompetent and press targets. The country is quite simply being ruled by a bunch of lunatics, a fairly good reflection of the reality to be honest.

The pure genius of the series and the script writers however resides in Malcolm Tucker. Malcolm Tucker, the director of communications for the government, the Labour party spin doctor, the man who effectively runs the place is, in my opinion, one of the greatest creations of British comedy. Played by Peter Capaldi, the swearing Scotsman always gets what he wants, and by any means, morally acceptable or not. He has some of the best swearing abilities in the country and quite simply walks around Whitehall ready to shout at and bully anybody into submission. He is the guy who gets a cake from the Prime Minister saying “happy birthday c*nt” (a clear sign of love), is nicknamed Hamish MacDeath and who will compare you to being “as much use as a marzipan dildo” or “a sweaty octopus trying to unhook a bra”. In the Christmas specials, Tucker has to deal with the change in leadership and as the power sways from one candidate to another, he succeeds in getting into a food fight, destroying the hopes and dreams of a young MP and making himself indispensable to all potential prime ministers. The third series see the swearing genius slowly loosing grip, but no worries, he is The Man and somehow always ends up pulling the strings to his advantage. If you haven’t had enough of him, Jamie MacDonald, No.10’s press officer, is equally qualified in abusive language, bullying and manipulation.

The fast pace of the show, wittiness of the dialogue and hand-held camera work give The Thick of It a realistic documentary style. The plot is also often based on actual events, as are the characters with Campbell and Mandelson being the main sources of inspiration for Tucker. The Christmas special is focused on the power struggle following the resignation and appointment of a new prime minister, as took place in 2007. Opposition characters were introduced in the specials and the third series, leading to its culmination at the pending election in May 2010. When the results came out, Iannucci went on to thank Nick Clegg “for completely destroying our plans for the next series”. And effectively, they are a couple years late, with filming starting in March 2012. The new series will picture the coalition government in power with its inner tensions and Malcolm Tucker in the opposition.

The series have also led to a couple of spin-offs: the film In the Loop received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. In addition, Veep, HBO’s Americanisation of the show is soon to be aired. Unique in its style, the show even has a swearing consultant. This brilliantly funny, smart and well written comedy picturing the dysfunctional government with a cast of excellent actors comes highly recommended.