The Thick of It - "Series Two"

[Mumpo]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Saw the penultimate ep last night. There are a few decent sitcoms that I've laughed alot at over the last ten years or so - I'm Alan Partridge, Spaced, Peep Show and yes, even The Office - but none of those deliver quite the sheer thrill of The Thick Of It. It is absolutely exhilarating.

One thing that did strike me is that someone like Malcolm Tucker would know better then anyone how precarious his position ultimately was, and would be a little more resigned to his fate. I guess that's why they created the history between him and Steve Fleming, so that there was a real grudge element to the sacking.

[meregreen]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Finally got round to seeing this episode last night and concur with what everyone else has said. It was a stunning episode, relentless in its incessant stream of brilliantly inventive lines. So rapid fire were the barbs I'll have to watch it again to take them all in.

Coincidentally, I watched it back-to-back with the superb Seinfeld reunion episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and I'm struggling to think of a sharper-scripted hour of comedy. I was left in awe at the frenetic pace and quality of the gags and the way in which they effortlessly propelled the narrative along.

[Mumpo]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

A bit fragmented, a bit of an anticlimax if truth be told; but perhaps that's not such a bad thing. The money shot was last week, and they'd have been on a hiding to nothing trying to top it for shock value.

[Guest]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Mmmm, but didn't this week's effort just cheapen last week's with how quickly Malcom was allowed to return to work?

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was slightly disappointed with that episode as a whole.

The curry scene was fantastic though.

[ian.64]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

I was a teensy bit disappointed about it, too. I can't fault the build-up, but the final episode was a touch on the rushed side - tying up a few loose ends with no real sense of pay-off.

Good to see Tom Hollander back (tremendous in In The Loop), but, once again, it could have been a bit better considering the effectiveness of previous episodes. That said, it's been a cracking series with some standout performances (once again, Rebecca Front, take a bow), so quibbles are few, really.

[Mumpo]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Having not seen In The Loop, The appearance of Tom Hollander was much less impressive. I didn't really get a handle on his character at all.

[ian.64]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

I suppose, a touch unfairly perhaps, that you'd need to see In The Loop to actually do that. And Hollander is pretty damn good in it.

[garcia]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

tom hollander plays a different character in in the loop.

harry mentioned previously that episode 7 was like one of the penultimate episodes in a sopranos series, the main point of the last episode seemed to be to set up the election scenario for the next series. i liked julius' line about pulling an all-nighter with vivaldi on the ipod touch.

[ian.64]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Bloody hell, you're right, so I take it back then - although on first sight, Hollander's new character seems to retain a certain dopiness that marked out his ITL persona, so that's why I thought it was the same one. It does strike me as a bit odd, though, that Ianucci would - after carefully building this odd little political universe with strongly-drawn characters - bring back an actor who'd previously appeared (and impressed) in one particular role and place him in an entirely different one. It just...breaks up continuity a little bit for me.

[Guest]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Yeah, but then didn't Olly and some others have different names in the film?

[ian.64]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Yeah, that's right, although, when seeing ITL I immediately assumed that they retained the same names (if Malcolm Tucker was still Malcolm Tucker, why couldn't Ollie still be Ollie, and so on?) such was the swift familiarity of both the performers and their characters. It's down to my cloddishness, I suppose, but it's bloody confusing all the same.

[Mitch]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

I think the only reason they used a nominally-different character, is that Ollie2.0 is politically-finished by the end of the movie; so he couldn't have still been working in government in the last series.

It was confusing though; especially as he still has the same girlfriend, who hasn't been given a different name.

[Nico Rijnders]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

The girlfriend has a different job in the film as well, no? She's in government, not opposition, if I recall correctly, which I may not.

[Mitch]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

oops... yeah. You're right there. Ignore the idiot in the corner.

[N est à?]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

There's no continuity at all between the film and the series- it's probably best just to think of the film as taking place in some parallel dimension. The continuity of the series itself is pretty impeccable.

[Banana Banana]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

Sorry if it is such an obvious point, but they have set up two rival teams for series three which will be filmed after the real and fictional general election.

So the lesson is if Labour in real life, we'll keep Tucker; if the tories win we'll get Hollander.

They are keeping their options open

[Alderman Barnes]

The Thick of It - "Series Two"

It was clear that the writers were keeping their options open for an election, and that might have been to the detriment of the plot. But even so, it was still gripping stuff and a joy to watch.

There's a beautiful symmetry to it, even in the recycled gags - last week Malcolm referred to Glenn as "Oi you - Private Godfrey" and this week the Fucker called Stewart Pearson "Captain Mainwaring". It's like Craggy Island and Rugged Island.

And I loved the way that each each new press officer was an even more awful cunt than the last one - Tucker < Pearson < Fleming < Richards - so that by the end you were really rooting for an evil sod like Malcolm.

A brilliant programme - the best thing I've seen on television for years.

[Ray de Galles]

The Thick of It - &#34;Series Two&#34;

Yes, a weird one that. I didn't think my 'Sopranos' comparison was going to be so apt but that we were going to see the pace of the penultimate one kept up or topped. Instead the finale had an almost spooky calm to it just like Malcolm.

In reality , it was a bridging episode to a third series that I wasn't at all sure was going to be made. The death of Tucker rumour was obviously a massive red herring as well, though I guessed it would be when Olly or Glen made a comment like "it's like he's dying" about Malcolm's demeanour on his return.

In light of the comments on him up thread, I thought David Haig was absolutely superb in this episode and rounded the character out well. Hollander was a surprising choice for The Fucker but I suppose that's because he doesn't seem instantly intimidating.

A fantastic series all round, Rebecca Front being a particulairly inspired choice to carry on the show.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The Thick of It - &#34;Series Two&#34;

I thought the "here's the new special adviser, he's a nastier sod than the last one" was overdone actually. I was aching for someone not to be losing their temper every 10 seconds.

I did like the "sacking" of Stuart though. And Julius is very good.

[Spearmint Rhino]

The Thick of It - &#34;Series Two&#34;

Strange finale.

By the end I was a bit confused about what was going on, if I'm honest. The shortarsed shouty guy threw me. I remember him as the ineffectual wimpy guy from In The Loop, but it's been so long since I've watched the first series of The Thick Of It that I couldn't work out whether he was a new character or an old one returning.

Two favourite bits: "Hello. Philip Schofield. I fuck lobsters for money." and "I WILL NOT EAT THE PISSY BISCUIT."

[Tony C]

The Thick of It - &#34;Series Two&#34;

Yes, I thought that was an unnecessarily strange piece of casting, using Tom Hollander in a different role.

What was the assumption of the producers, that we hadn't seen 'In The Loop?' or that the film is to be seen as a seperate intity?

Favourite bit(from the penultimate show):

Malcolm "I know that you people from the printed press are worried about your jobs - I read about it on the Internet".