The Thick Of It

Rebecca Front interview

Rebecca Front talks about the new series of The Thick Of It, working with Peter Capaldi and why she enjoys ordering around Kevin Whately in Lewis.

The Thick Of It: Need to know

With The Thick Of It back on our screens after a bit of a gap there may be more than a few confused viewers trying to remember who did what and needing a bit of a lie-down. So here's a rough guide to what the panicking politicians are doing in in the new series.

Malcolm Tucker's 'swear-athon' broadcast in creche

Alistair Campbell and Peter Capaldi were left red-faced after their sponsored swear-athon was accidentally broadcast into a creche.

Gigglebox weekly #57 - The Thick Of It

This week sees return of a sitcom that's been in hibernation since 2009. Much has changed since the last series of the political sitcom The Thick of It, not least a change in government...

We recommend: The Thick Of It

Quibbles aside, this felt like a strong business-as-usual comeback for The Thick Of It, even without Tucker and chums, which feels like part of Iannucci's message: new coalition only means same mistakes with more squabbling.

The Thick of It is back, with a coalition government to play with. As you might expect, it's scabrously funny, stuffed with great lines and a pleasure to watch. But - and "but" is not a word I like using about this series - it's also possible to wonder whether it might be suffering from the need to live up to its own reputation. The insults are great, but dialogue that consists almost entirely of insults doesn't quite ring true politically... nor the open contempt and hostility with which the two parties to this arranged marriage treat each other.

I found myself wondering whether there wouldn't have been more comedy in a failed attempt to conceal political differences rather than this gleefully violent expression of them. Peter Mannion's meltdown in front of a class of teenagers didn't convince either, not because you can't imagine a politician knowing nothing about the policy he's launching, but because he would be far more skilled at saying absolutely nothing fluently. That said, it still has more laughs in 10 minutes than most comedies manage in 30.

The Thick Of It review: No Malcolm, No problem

Don't be put off by the lack of Tucker and co. The Thick of It is still as sharp as ever...

The Thick of It? George Osborne is beyond satire

When I think of what the Treasury has been up to, the daily unravelling at DoSAC looks like an exercise in political mastery.

Armando Iannucci: BBC should fight back against critics

Thick Of It creator Armando Iannucci said British television suffered from 'consistent cack-handed interference by politicians goaded by the press'.

An equalities minister who has voted against racial and sexual equality rights. Chuckle. A health secretary who supports homeopathy. Ha! It's good, this politics malarkey, isn't it? A right giggle. Some might think it beyond parody. But thankfully not The Thick of It crew, who, three years after its last series, returned last night with an eagerly awaited fourth to take on the calamity coalition.

First, the good. In fact, the excellent. Roger Allam as the Tory MP Peter Mannion, new head of Dosac - the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship - fills the role perfectly. The floppy hair, the floundering as he tried to explain a "networked nation" that was beyond him, the barely concealed contempt for those he works with ("I'm bored of this," he said, walking out of a meeting with his junior minister. "I'm going for a Twix") and those he works for. ("I hate schoolchildren. They don't even have the vote. Might as well talk to fucking geese.")

Then there's the spin doctor Stewart Pearson, a lighter touch than attack dog Malcolm Tucker, all herbal teas, brainstorming and, in the words of Mannion aide Phil Smith, provider of "seven years of ear piss".

That Tories and Lib Dems might not get on behind closed doors has been the subject of satire ever since this bastard child of Westminster was conceived in May 2010, but it was moved on here to good effect. It reveals the flaws in the central characters and allows for the best line of the night, uttered by Ben Willbond as Lib Dem No 2 Adam Kenyon. "Landmark day," he said as Mannion finally destroyed the launch of the Liberals' "silicon playgrounds". "We bring in an idea, you like it, you nick it, you put two bullets in the back of its head. Snuff politics: you've got to laugh." And you did, you really did.

Yet not everything was quite so sparkling. Punchlines were occasionally heavy-handed and the ranting felt sometimes forced. Consider Lib Dem junior minister Fergus Williams's tirade at punchbag press officer Terri Coverley: "Now you like musicals. Well this is 'Tonight' from West Side Story, and I'm going to bring the bloody house down, so you can't rain on my parade, Funny Girl." Too contrived. Maybe that was the point, but it made you pine for the eloquent misanthropy of Peter Capaldi's expletive-fuelled Tucker. Luckily, he's back in episode two...