DVD Review: The Thick Of It - Series 4
Published: Monday 17th December 2012
Bad news. Perhaps in part due to the success of Armando Iannucci's US politics-themed sitcom Veep, this may well be the last series of The Thick Of It. Good news: it ends on a high, its reputation enshrined alongside The Office and Peep Show as one of the three great British sitcoms of the last decade. It's also one of the few to crossover successfully into genuine film success (2008's In The Loop). Not bad for a show that doesn't even have a theme tune.
It's also the first series to appear since 2009 and in an echo of real life, Tory Peter Mannion (the brilliant Roger Allam) is now a Minister, presiding over the "omnishambles" at the Department for Social Affairs and Citizenship but in unhappy partnership with a junior minister from the Coalition's smaller party. Meanwhile, ex-Labour minister Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front) has somehow acceded as Leader of the Opposition. But with Malcolm Tucker actively plotting against her and the whole lot under threat from an approaching public inquiry, how long will anyone last?
This is first class stuff. The entire cast are superb and the expletive-filled dialogue is as razor sharp as ever. Fans of quality insults won't be disappointed (one large character is described as "the hairless Hagrid", while the ageing Glen Cullen variously is described as "the 2,000 year old man," "Rudolph Hess's senile older brother" and the "old man from Up").
In the monstrous Malcolm Tucker, the already distinguished Peter Capaldi clearly had the role of his life. Despite claims to the contrary, the show clearly got under real life spin doctor Alistair Campbell's skin as his occasional public spats with creator Armando Iannucci have revealed.
With Series 4, The Thick Of It reaches an excellent and natural conclusion. But I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting more.
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