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So a couple weeks ago I threatened to said I would go through the run of The Thick of It and do reaction posts for each ep (and the specials) during vacation. I have no idea if I'm going to get through the whole thing, but I'm gonna try.
Oh, and: everything I know about the structure of the British government I have, in fact, learned from TToI (and possibly a little from Doctor Who). So if, in the course of discussion, I fuck something up, say something stupid, ask a random question, whatever, just let me know? Overall, this show can be followed pretty easily with the minimal knowledge I've got, since it's more about the characters and situations than it is about the nitty gritty of governmental operations, but some of the stories get a bit nittier than others, and any corrections/learnings you might care to share would be much appreciated.
And, of course, these are full of spoilers, for the eps in discussion as well as any future eps. If you wanna watch the show before you read these, then make sure I've friended you and click the tag below.
Since the episodes aren't titled, I'm going to use the most random bit of dialogue I can find in each ep for the cut text. And thus:
Okay. Let's just take care of the damn elephant in the room right now so I don't have to speak of it ever again. Chris Langham: pervert. I didn't find out about this until after I'd watched the first six eps and specials, and I'm glad of that, because it does lend a thin patina of ick to everything. I rather like Hugh Abbott - or I like to watch him, at any rate, though as I recall he doesn't become actively unpleasant until the last episode or two anyway - and knowing in advance about Langham's arrest would've just totally wrecked the character for me. As it is now, I find myself getting irritated, because dammit, Langham is funny. Some of his line readings in this episode cracked my shit up, and the sense that I should feel guilty about that is annoying. And yet it persists. But I won't write about it again. I just wanted to get it the fuck out of the way, and we shall now proceed as if none of this ever happened. Until episode six, when it will be impossible to avoid the subject of Hugh's imminent departure.
So I don't remember a whole lot about these first few episodes, to be honest. I watched them in two-episode chunks, trying to draw out what I thought at the time was a mere eight installments of what immediately established itself as a show I was clearly going to like very much. And the drawback of a short show like that is this: by time you've (well, I've, my memory is a unique and special thing) sorted out all the characters and their relationships and who you like and who you don't like, there are two fucking episodes left. I had the same problem the first time I watched series one of The Office UK. So it's weird to approach these ones because, while I remember individual moments, I'm basically watching them again for the first time.
Honest to god, the first thing that struck me about this episode: everyone's hair is different! Terri's got this short wavy thing going that's pretty flattering, Olly's hair is a bit shorter and not quite all over the place, Malcolm's hair looks - I don't know, softer (and darker, damn, did Capaldi gray up in four years), and . . . okay, Glenn's is pretty much the same. There's really only so much you can do with hair like his. This is a weird thing for me to notice, as I'm not generally that kind of girl. You know, the caring about hair kind of girl.
There are actually a lot of differences about S1/2 Terri and S3 Terri that I'll probably address later, if I find that I am remembering things from these eps correctly. I just want to be sure that I am before I start in about her characterization.
This is the episode that brought the world Malcolm Tucker. I will try not to have every post contain a list of Things Malcolm Did That Were Awesome, because then they'll all be ten thousand words long, but this is a notable occasion. I was already familiar with him, of course, from seeing In the Loop, but this is his real debut. It's fun to watch Iannucci build him up, from firing Cliff Lawton, to defining words for Hugh's benefit ("'Should' does not mean 'yes.'"), to pulling an about-face and informing Hugh that "should" turns out to mean "yes" after all (and snarling when Hugh points that out, heh), and capping it all off by informing Angela Heaney of what her career will be worth if she dares to publish anything he doesn't want published. It's all stuff we see him do routinely, but the set-up of the episode - him guiding Hugh as the Downing Street newbie through said routine - allows Iannucci to guide us through it and tell us exactly what to expect with Malcolm.
It's also definitely worth noting that Malcolm is, subtly but decidedly, not the caricature that the above series of events might lead one to expect. He treats Cliff Lawton firmly but politely during the sacking, not kicking him while he's down, but allowing him his dignity; he snaps at Hugh for snarking about should meaning yes, but shoulders his share of the wreckage created by the PM's statements rather than leave Hugh to flail (which, really, I don't think would have been as bad as it sounds, as it seems to me here that Glenn, Olly, and Terri have the experience between them to have saved Hugh from the situation). He doesn't do much of the yelling that comes into play later on, instead speaking mostly in a more calmly authoritative style. But, uh, don't think for a second that hearing Malcolm Tucker say "Can I have a word with you" damn near sotto voce is any less scary than hearing him shout it, because yikes.
Admittedly, it's hard to tell how much of this is also Pilot Episode Syndrome, with the characterizations still coming together, but with a six-episode series (or two three-episode series, whatever, even Iannucci doesn't know wtf that's all about) there's only so much room for that kind of flab, and the choices made with Malcolm's portrayal here are certainly interesting in light of the series three finale.
Other stuff!
As I said, each episode has a moment that I remembered despite my lousy memory. For this episode, it's Hugh, Glenn, and Olly sandwiched together in the car, trying frantically to invent a new policy that can be safely announced at the press conference:
Glenn: "What we need is something the public wants, that is incredibly popular, and is free."
Olly: "Return of capital punishment?"
Hugh: "That's a joke, right? You are joking, Olly, come up with something."
Olly: "National Spare Room Database."
(Olly is also different in this ep, with his humor more broadly sarcastic and less directly snide, but I do remember thinking at around Episode Four that he'd suddenly gotten a lot nastier, so that might be something else going on there.)
As I said, in that paragraph that didn't happen, Chris Langham is really funny in this episode. I especially enjoyed Hugh's bewilderment at watching Malcolm change events to suit the government's needs ("I'm not quite sure what level of reality I'm supposed to be operating on" - Malcolm doesn't even need a TARDIS to change time! Take that, Doctor!), and his explaining to the remnants of his staff what has happened just about killed me. He sounds like he's about to go off and be sick. You guys know I love Nicola (and if I get through series three with these, you will know how MUCH I love Nicola, seriously, it'll be embarrassing), and I didn't miss Hugh a single bit in series three, but damn if I hadn't forgotten how entertaining he is.
I think my absolute favorite thing in this episode plotwise is the unseen press conference. Cutting it out keeps the episode moving along, allows us to imagine exactly what Hugh is referring to when he stalks off all "That was a fucking disaster," and it spares me from having my embarrassment squick nailed, because damn, that would have done it.
Next up: 1x02. Which I will probably write up in the wee hours tomorrow while I'm back home for Christmas, because my sleep cycle is mutated and I will be the only one awake, but I won't be able to post it until I get home. This'll probably be my last post until Christmas (and Doctor Who omg) period, so I will wish you two things and you can pick one:
A: Merry Christmas!
B: Happy Chinese food and movie day!
Oh, and: everything I know about the structure of the British government I have, in fact, learned from TToI (and possibly a little from Doctor Who). So if, in the course of discussion, I fuck something up, say something stupid, ask a random question, whatever, just let me know? Overall, this show can be followed pretty easily with the minimal knowledge I've got, since it's more about the characters and situations than it is about the nitty gritty of governmental operations, but some of the stories get a bit nittier than others, and any corrections/learnings you might care to share would be much appreciated.
And, of course, these are full of spoilers, for the eps in discussion as well as any future eps. If you wanna watch the show before you read these, then make sure I've friended you and click the tag below.
Since the episodes aren't titled, I'm going to use the most random bit of dialogue I can find in each ep for the cut text. And thus:
Okay. Let's just take care of the damn elephant in the room right now so I don't have to speak of it ever again. Chris Langham: pervert. I didn't find out about this until after I'd watched the first six eps and specials, and I'm glad of that, because it does lend a thin patina of ick to everything. I rather like Hugh Abbott - or I like to watch him, at any rate, though as I recall he doesn't become actively unpleasant until the last episode or two anyway - and knowing in advance about Langham's arrest would've just totally wrecked the character for me. As it is now, I find myself getting irritated, because dammit, Langham is funny. Some of his line readings in this episode cracked my shit up, and the sense that I should feel guilty about that is annoying. And yet it persists. But I won't write about it again. I just wanted to get it the fuck out of the way, and we shall now proceed as if none of this ever happened. Until episode six, when it will be impossible to avoid the subject of Hugh's imminent departure.
So I don't remember a whole lot about these first few episodes, to be honest. I watched them in two-episode chunks, trying to draw out what I thought at the time was a mere eight installments of what immediately established itself as a show I was clearly going to like very much. And the drawback of a short show like that is this: by time you've (well, I've, my memory is a unique and special thing) sorted out all the characters and their relationships and who you like and who you don't like, there are two fucking episodes left. I had the same problem the first time I watched series one of The Office UK. So it's weird to approach these ones because, while I remember individual moments, I'm basically watching them again for the first time.
Honest to god, the first thing that struck me about this episode: everyone's hair is different! Terri's got this short wavy thing going that's pretty flattering, Olly's hair is a bit shorter and not quite all over the place, Malcolm's hair looks - I don't know, softer (and darker, damn, did Capaldi gray up in four years), and . . . okay, Glenn's is pretty much the same. There's really only so much you can do with hair like his. This is a weird thing for me to notice, as I'm not generally that kind of girl. You know, the caring about hair kind of girl.
There are actually a lot of differences about S1/2 Terri and S3 Terri that I'll probably address later, if I find that I am remembering things from these eps correctly. I just want to be sure that I am before I start in about her characterization.
This is the episode that brought the world Malcolm Tucker. I will try not to have every post contain a list of Things Malcolm Did That Were Awesome, because then they'll all be ten thousand words long, but this is a notable occasion. I was already familiar with him, of course, from seeing In the Loop, but this is his real debut. It's fun to watch Iannucci build him up, from firing Cliff Lawton, to defining words for Hugh's benefit ("'Should' does not mean 'yes.'"), to pulling an about-face and informing Hugh that "should" turns out to mean "yes" after all (and snarling when Hugh points that out, heh), and capping it all off by informing Angela Heaney of what her career will be worth if she dares to publish anything he doesn't want published. It's all stuff we see him do routinely, but the set-up of the episode - him guiding Hugh as the Downing Street newbie through said routine - allows Iannucci to guide us through it and tell us exactly what to expect with Malcolm.
It's also definitely worth noting that Malcolm is, subtly but decidedly, not the caricature that the above series of events might lead one to expect. He treats Cliff Lawton firmly but politely during the sacking, not kicking him while he's down, but allowing him his dignity; he snaps at Hugh for snarking about should meaning yes, but shoulders his share of the wreckage created by the PM's statements rather than leave Hugh to flail (which, really, I don't think would have been as bad as it sounds, as it seems to me here that Glenn, Olly, and Terri have the experience between them to have saved Hugh from the situation). He doesn't do much of the yelling that comes into play later on, instead speaking mostly in a more calmly authoritative style. But, uh, don't think for a second that hearing Malcolm Tucker say "Can I have a word with you" damn near sotto voce is any less scary than hearing him shout it, because yikes.
Admittedly, it's hard to tell how much of this is also Pilot Episode Syndrome, with the characterizations still coming together, but with a six-episode series (or two three-episode series, whatever, even Iannucci doesn't know wtf that's all about) there's only so much room for that kind of flab, and the choices made with Malcolm's portrayal here are certainly interesting in light of the series three finale.
Other stuff!
As I said, each episode has a moment that I remembered despite my lousy memory. For this episode, it's Hugh, Glenn, and Olly sandwiched together in the car, trying frantically to invent a new policy that can be safely announced at the press conference:
Glenn: "What we need is something the public wants, that is incredibly popular, and is free."
Olly: "Return of capital punishment?"
Hugh: "That's a joke, right? You are joking, Olly, come up with something."
Olly: "National Spare Room Database."
(Olly is also different in this ep, with his humor more broadly sarcastic and less directly snide, but I do remember thinking at around Episode Four that he'd suddenly gotten a lot nastier, so that might be something else going on there.)
As I said, in that paragraph that didn't happen, Chris Langham is really funny in this episode. I especially enjoyed Hugh's bewilderment at watching Malcolm change events to suit the government's needs ("I'm not quite sure what level of reality I'm supposed to be operating on" - Malcolm doesn't even need a TARDIS to change time! Take that, Doctor!), and his explaining to the remnants of his staff what has happened just about killed me. He sounds like he's about to go off and be sick. You guys know I love Nicola (and if I get through series three with these, you will know how MUCH I love Nicola, seriously, it'll be embarrassing), and I didn't miss Hugh a single bit in series three, but damn if I hadn't forgotten how entertaining he is.
I think my absolute favorite thing in this episode plotwise is the unseen press conference. Cutting it out keeps the episode moving along, allows us to imagine exactly what Hugh is referring to when he stalks off all "That was a fucking disaster," and it spares me from having my embarrassment squick nailed, because damn, that would have done it.
Next up: 1x02. Which I will probably write up in the wee hours tomorrow while I'm back home for Christmas, because my sleep cycle is mutated and I will be the only one awake, but I won't be able to post it until I get home. This'll probably be my last post until Christmas (and Doctor Who omg) period, so I will wish you two things and you can pick one:
A: Merry Christmas!
B: Happy Chinese food and movie day!
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I look forward to the rest of these posts :D
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