catslash: (Nicola - :D?)
( Nov. 7th, 2010 11:14 am)
I listen to a weekly podcast called 7 Day Sunday, hosted by Chris Addison of The Thick of It. I started listening because of him, but I kept listening because it's hilarious. I look forward to it every week. It's a satire of the news, and of course being on BBC radio it has a focus on UK events, so not only is it funny, but I learn a little something about what's going on across the pond without having to like, make the effort to educate myself.

They do sometimes discuss international news too, which is why I'm posting, because I wanted to share the following sentence from today's episode:

"You think that if Obama put his pants [underwear] on outside his trousers, people would think he was at least moving toward the things he promised us?"

No further context for you. You'll have to go download it and listen for yourself.
catslash: (Malcolm - plotting your doom.  yes yours)
( Jun. 30th, 2010 07:34 pm)
So I've finally - after, uh, three years or so of going "I am going to watch that someday, no really, I am" - gotten around to watching Life on Mars. The files I legitimately acquired are ripped from the original airings for the most part, I believe, and I was entertained to learn that S1/S2 aired back-to-back with S1 of The Thick of It. (Until TToI ran out of eps, I would assume.) I find the idea of a Gene Hunt-Malcolm Tucker double feature to be both awe-inspiring and deeply terrifying.
Yeah, so, I got so stuck on the specials that I decided to skip them. They're twice as long, which makes for twice the work, and all politicky, and I know there's some really awesome stuff in them so I might go back and do a combined highlights post or something, but for now I'm just powering forward so that I might just get this finished sometime this year. If nothing else, I put up the community rewatch posts every week over at [livejournal.com profile] the_thickofit, and we've gotten through the specials over there, so now I have to watch the current episode every week so I can keep up since I've run out of posts here to refer to.

SO. SO SO SO.

Ladies and gentlemen, NICOLA FUCKING MURRAY.

a chair gone mad )
I've been sitting on this one for a while, hoping to get the specials done, but there hasn't been a chance for that since the semester began. I have a vacation week after next (spring semester is so weird), so I'm gonna shoot for getting them done then. They're gonna be tougher going because they're twice as long and pretty political - I might have to do, like, research or some shit to manage anything coherent. But then I get to do series three, and I'm still looking forward to that.

Anyway!

Here we have a proper finale, which would eventually prove to double as Hugh Abbot's exit from The Thick of It. Yeah, I told you we'd get back to that.

intelligent ventilators )
So you know what's an awesome way to kill time at the laundromat? Watching an episode of TToI and taking notes, of course! From which, incidentally, I learned that I spend around an hour doing just that before I even get to writing these posts. Which, even though I don't come even close to covering everything, also take me about an hour. So let's get to it.

The Thick of It, 2x02 - inflatable castles )
I'm still trying to stockpile these a little, and not post one until I have one or two more written up. It's easier to deal with that way. So at this rate, I will definitely finish the first six eps before classes start back up a week from tomorrow (yay), and maybe even have done the specials.

Second series premiere? Well, it'd be a good premiere ep, if that weren't completely fucking stupid. Anyway.

The Thick of It, 2x01 - thanks honeybunny )
You know how I said in the first post that some episodes are more politicky than others? Yeah, this is one of them. I'm not really clear on some of what happens here, so I didn't find this story quite as absorbing as usual and my post is a bit more scattered.

It's also rather later than intended - I wrote it about a week ago, planning to stockpile a few of these before I continued to post them, but it was so much to deal with (and I was tired when I did it, which I do not think helped) that I couldn't do another episode until tonight. So, obviously, I'm not going to get these finished before vacation is over, but I'll do my best. I'm more clear-headed now and think it will be a bit easier to plow through the the last two episodes of series two. The specials, I don't even know, I'll deal with those when I get there. I miss series three, though, and I can't wait to rewatch it.

But for now:



The Thick of It 1x03 - unidentified amusing creatures )
catslash: (Hamlet is damn interesting)
( Jan. 3rd, 2010 10:45 pm)
O HAY Yuletide reveal. Yeah, that kind of got lost for me in the last few days. I wrote "All of Denmark", a modernized Hamlet AU set at the beginning of WWII and drawing a little on actual events in Denmark at the time. It was fun to write and I thank my recipient for explicitly giving me permission to go for AUs or modernizations, so that I felt comfortable getting a little out there and settling on a premise that was a bit of a reach.

In the spirit of the thing, have that fic meme that's been going around!

Cut because I talk a lot. )
I wrote this Christmas Eve; I've gone in and added a couple things I forgot, and proofread it, but most of it's what I wrote that night, since those were my initial impressions.



The Thick of It 1x02 - small chat )
catslash: (Hamlet is damn interesting)
( Dec. 26th, 2009 09:07 pm)
Okay, so. Have a proper post-Christmas update, plus random thoughts. In bullet format!

* I don't do a Christmas Haul List these days, because I'm lazy and I don't think you guys care that much, so here are the highlights that might actually be interesting:

Series one and four of Doctor Who! Amazon had a one-day sale like a month ago where the seasons were something like thirty-five bucks each, which is much better than usual freaking eighty or whatever ridiculous amount every single place I've been to charges for them. I let my mom know, told her which ones I wanted most, and voila. I may buy series three for myself out of completist urges (and because it's also awesome, but on that particular day I prioritized Nine and Donna over Martha; sorry, Martha), but I'll skip series two unless I find it really really cheap someday, because there aren't enough eps I rewatch relatively often for it to be worth the money.

An iCarly calendar. Which only [livejournal.com profile] sotto_voice cares about, but still. XD

ELECTRIC TEA KETTLE. These things are not exactly ubiquitous in the States, and I've wanted one for so long. Plan for when I have extra money again: buy lots of delicious tea. ♥

* My mom kind of collects performances of "O Holy Night," so I played her the John Barrowman version I stumbled across a while ago. She loved it, was interested when I told her he was a trained stage singer and there was more Barrowman where that came from (oh my god SHE HAS NO IDEA), and long story short too late, it looks like I'll be legally purchasing a copy of Another Side after all. And probably Reflections from Broadway. She has a birthday next month, after all.

And, thanks to comments Mom made about useful birthday gifts and the boringness thereof, I think I will pack them in a box of tampons. I firmly believe Barrowman would approve. (Come on, you know he would.)

* One of our holiday traditions includes watching Love, Actually while wrapping gifts late Christmas Eve. I will have to add this to the list (short, but slowly growing) of things that The Thick of It has, uh, enhanced, because during the scene at the pageant where the curtain rises on the Prime Minister kissing the assistant chick, I was giggling helplessly at the thought of the bricks Malcolm Tucker would shit over that. I think this is a crossover that needs to happen.

* YULETIDE. My recipient adored hir fic and was one of those able to get a comment through before everything asplode, and it was a long awesome comment and I can't wait for the reveal so I can reply. XD The fic I received was an adorable Sam-centered iCarly fic, which was just what I wanted. It is a fandom crying out for non-shippy Samfic.

* And finally, regarding last night's Doctor Who: My first though upon becoming conscious enough to have thoughts this morning was, "Oh my god, what did I watch last night?"
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:

The Thick of It 1x01 - sponge avengers )

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!
catslash: (Nicola - and there you go)
( Dec. 21st, 2009 11:55 am)
Oh, thank god, I got a halfway reasonable amount of sleep last night. If I hadn't, it would not have been the first time I'd gone two days in a row with minimum sleep. My only guess on that is that sometimes my body just hates me.

But! I can has brain now, so! I'm gonna take a shower, go out for some lunch, and then plant myself at Starbucks and write my damn Yuletide already. Then tonight I will probably post properly in Milliways for the first time in a billion years. Also at some point I will have to do laundry. I'm in the "wearing everything uncomfortable" phase.

Tomorrow I shall brave the crowds at Walmart, for each year my workplace gives its employees Walmart gift cards for Christmas, which this year shall enable me to get gifts for my little brother and sister. Then I think I'll finally get started on watching and writing about The Thick of It, which I have not dared to get onto before dealing with Yuletide. Must not distract my brain!

So there that is, and I wish the fellow Yuletiders on the flist the best of luck.
catslash: (Default)
( Dec. 13th, 2009 12:48 pm)
The Thick of Iiiiiit. I need to rewatch to catch nuances and shit, which is fine because I don't have time for a real post right now anyway, but I just wanted to say HNNNNNGH so goooooood.

I love this show. There aren't words for how I love this show. I just. I'M SO GLAD I HAPPENED TO START WATCHING IT OH MY GOD.
catslash: (Default)
( Dec. 12th, 2009 09:21 pm)
As things stand now, here are my plans for the next two days.

Sunday:

1. Shoot out of bed to download The Thick of It finale. That's been part of my routine every Sunday morning for almost two months, and I'm going to be sad to see it go. (Mind you, if anyone can get it to me sooner, I will owe you the firstborn I'm never going to have, or something.)
2. Judging from the reaction posts that I am currently forcing myself not to read (but still have tags and such), I will then fall down and die.
3. Perform self-resurrection.
4. Go for lunch and a movie with Mom, who has agreed to see the Boondock Saints sequel.
5. (optional) Facepalm quietly but repeatedly in my seat as this particular sequel proves itself to be every bit as unnecessary as I have believed it will be for the last decade.
6. Grocery shopping.
7. Preliminary work on Stupid So-Called Final paper - coming up with a thesis, picking the bits I'm going to use, and maybe write a bit of it. (My approach to papers is pretty casual; I'm only start anything at all on Sunday because of the seven-page minimum.

Monday:

1. Go to campus.
2. Spend day writing Stupid So-Called Final paper, because I can't focus on writing papers at home to save my life.
3. Hand in SSCF a day early, because Tuesday needs to be spent on studying for Wednesday's WWI&II test.

Which, by the way, my prof DID e-mail us on. I am vaguely proud of him.

. . . I am less proud of the part where he's going to teach a few last-minute things before we take the test, but eh, how else can he work it? That snow day was the worst fucking timing ever.

And after that, the semester shall officially be over. And I shall spend a week doing FUCK ALL before I pick up more hours at work for the rest of vacation.
catslash: (Default)
( Dec. 12th, 2009 01:10 pm)
Per Armando Iannucci's Twitter:

"Tonight's climax to The Thick of It sees the arrival of The Spinzopods, silicone-based politicans [sic] who battle the statesmen of Planet Earth."



Between him and Misha Collins, I may have to actually use the Twitter account I created ages ago to start officially following people and quit it with this bookmark shit.
The final version to post to communities. Or, well, community. Substantially rewritten from the rough, including a different ending.

TITLE: "Fixes What's Broke"
AUTHOR: Cathryn ([livejournal.com profile] catslash)
RATING: PG-13 for, of course, swearing
SUMMARY: Nicola Murray awakens at the tail end of a series of interesting decisions. Nicola/Malcolm; takes place not too long after 3x07.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1200.
NOTES: I am from the States; I've done my best with the British English in here, but if I've made any glaring errors, or even not-so-glaring, please let me know so I can fix them. Thanks!
NOTE THE SECOND: The title is borrowed from the political satire musical The Fix, by Dana Rowe and John Dempsey; the song is, appropriately, titled "Spin." It is my opinion that TToI fans should look the soundtrack up.
DISCLAIMER: The Thick of It was created by Armando Iannucci and belongs to the BBC. I take no credit and make no money.

I'm still not sure this is ready for public consumption, but it's likely to get jossed (Iannuccied?) to hell and back when the finale airs Saturday, so I wanted to get it posted before then.

SPOILERS for 3x07.



It's the shrilling of Nicola's mobile that wakes her, but she spends several seconds blinking at unfamiliar walls before the sound even registers. )
catslash: (Malcom Tucker is)
( Dec. 6th, 2009 02:27 pm)
The Thick of It.

I can say, and have been for a few weeks now, that this is easily the best show I am watching right now, and some of the finest television I have ever watched, period. You know when you watch or read something so good you feel privileged to have had the chance to lay eyes on it? That's how I feel about The Thick of It, and that's why I want people to watch it so much. I'm not recruiting. I'm sharing.

3x07, because I'm not waiting for my vacation marathon to comment on this one. Maaaaajor series spoilers herein. Like, if you haven't watched it, and plan in even the vaguest sort of way to maybe check out wtf I am rambling about, don't click. )
catslash: (bunny - credit kadath on JF)
( Nov. 15th, 2009 01:04 pm)
OMG today. Today is new The Thick of It (which I have watched, and which was excellent, as usual; I may post to say more later, but I haven't the time now), FINALLY some new Doctor Who, AND I woke up this morning to an e-mail informing me that there was new iCarly available for download.

Plus my mom and I are going to see 2012, which promises to be utterly ridiculous.

Today is made of geeky win. ♥
catslash: (Please could you)
( Nov. 9th, 2009 05:26 pm)
OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS. You know that fic I've been blathering on about wanting, the one where there's a crossover between The Thick of It and Torchwood: Children of Earth where Malcolm Tucker replaces John Frobisher and sorts out the 456 in no time flat?

Well. I just found out that somebody wrote it. Somebody wrote it AND they are cleverer than me and didn't even have to sacrifice Frobisher to do it. ♥ ♥ ♥



"Jamie, be nice to the twats, they don't know any better," said the other man in the door. Also Scottish, Jack observed, but leaner, grey hair neatly cut, and he sounded a little like - actually a lot like - Jack gaped. It was impossible. It was a joke, certainly.

"What are you trying to pull?" he snarled at the phone.

"Nothing of yours, I know the places you stick it," the other Scot at the door went on.




[livejournal.com profile] degroove is a genius, with perfect characterization for Malcolm and Torchwood having no idea what hit them. Go read "Spinners of Earth" (spoilers for CoE, obvs, though no real spoilers for TToI) and share in my glee.
catslash: (Please could you)
( Nov. 8th, 2009 02:43 pm)
The Thick of It omg I fucking love this show so much. I know I was gonna save major observations for later after I've had more time to spend with the show but fuck it I cannot keep quiet on this one. (I only wish I had a clearer understanding of British politics, because even though I can follow the show regardless, I just know there's some good shit I'm missing.)

3x03. This show's episodes don't have titles, isn't that refreshing? )
.

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