Moments of Clarity (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
I absolutely adore Armando Iannucci’s Thick of It and suspect I am not alone on the political blogsphere in this. Comparisons with the equally excellent Yes Minister are somewhat counter-productive because both shows are products of their era and both are therefore brilliant for different reasons. Malcolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi, is an iconic figure for [...]
The Guardian - TV & Radio blog (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
A trip to the Guardian for an interview sees The Thick of It recover some of its verve SPOILER ALERT: This weekly blog is for those who are watching The Thick of It series three. Don't read on if you haven't seen episode two. There will of course be swearing This week The Thick of It seems to have recovered some of its verve, with the relationship between ferocious spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter...
Liverpool Echo.co.uk (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
FOUL-MOUTHED verbal volleys, gratuitous insults and supremely creative use of the English language . . . yes, it’s ******* fantastic to be welcoming back The Thick Of It (BBC2, Saturday), isn’t it?
thecustard.tv (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
Much like the life of man or woman, brilliant comedies have three distinct stages: the astonishing, witty and original first series, which gleefully burns comedic stale tropes at the stake and dances round them laughing and naked; the second/third series in which the humorous zenith is scaled and it stands aloft a blustery peak, emanating a guttural roar of feral triumphalism; and the inapposite decline,...
Scotsman.com Living - Books (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
The Audacity Of Hype: Bewilderment Sleaze And Other Tales Of The 21st Century by Armando Iannucci is published by Penguin, priced £20. Available now.
TV.com (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
This year, however, the goings-on in the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship will hopefully be followed by a few more people as the show's second series will premiere on BBC2, albeit in the less-than-prime slot of 10.10pm on a Saturday evening. Fans of the show had been concerned that its move to BBC2 would mean that Iannucci would be pressured into toning down the show's wit and, perhaps...
The Guardian - TV & Radio blog (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
The Guardian's political correspondent asks whether The Thick of It is at all true to life and explains why he prefers Yes, Minister Way back in Late Blair Era, circa 2005, when The Thick of It first surfaced as a hit sitcom, I took against it. At one level the problem was obvious. It was too much like my day job as a Westminster-based political journalist to be enjoyable. Too much swearing too. Look,...
DVD Talk (Free subscription) | 09/16/2009
Recommended People Like Us was a deadpan mockumentary series that ran for twelve episodes on British television from September 1999 to June 2000. Though only the first six episodes have been released on DVD in Great Britain, the entire series is now available in North America from BBC Warner. People Like Us spoofs the staid social documentaries about ordinary people for which the BBC is notorious....
>>>>>Killing Time<<<<< (Free subscription) | 08/17/2009
Here we go again. Spent much of the weekend heading back in time and watching all of The Thick Of It, including the two hour-long specials (Rise of the Nutters and Spinners and Losers) by the broadcast of which, of course, Chris Langham's hard drive had been well turned over and he wasn't around. Great show, magical one-liners, Tucker one of comedy's great lunatics. M said I shouldn't go on, or she...
Everything Has A Limit (Free subscription) | 08/02/2009
Alice Arnold, previously better known as a Radio Four newsreader, has turned up in "Listen Against", a marvellous self-feeding Radio Four programme that hints at the influence of Chris Langham in its tempo of phrasing. Highly recommended for the way in which it just debunks all of the shit that we have to listen to from professional bullshitters the rest of the week. The latest "full-of-bollocks"...
A.V. Club (Free subscription) | 07/23/2009
Spewing invective like an angry volcano, In The Loop ’s Malcolm Tucker—played by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi—is a virtuoso of vulgarity, mowing down his enemies with curses as inventive as they are profane. Cowing government ministers and TV anchors alike, he acts as an unofficial member of the British prime minister’s cabinet, without portfolio or restraint. Initially conceived...
Daily Mail News (Free subscription) | 07/03/2009
Hundreds of men 'wrongly convicted of being paedophiles after falling victim to identity theft'
Dont Let Them Hurt Our Children (Free subscription) | 07/03/2009
Comedy actor and writer Chris Langham and The Who guitarist Pete Townsend are among those convicted under Operation Ore, which is being challenged by a court of appeal Britain's biggest online paedophile inquiry is being challenged in the court of appeal, raising the spectre of a miscarriage of justice for hundreds of convicted child abusers. A test case challenge has been launched against Operation...
The Steam Engine (Free subscription) | 06/27/2009
An interesting question of modern life has been raised by the death of Michael Jackson: just how much does one have to achieve, before rumours of child abuse are not enough to crush your reputation? Again, I am not judging his guilt or otherwise here, but my assertion is that, for anyone else, even the allegations that he has faced would have spelt career death. I used the example of Gary Glitter whose...
Dont Let Them Hurt Our Children (Free subscription) | 06/14/2009
Perverts are swapping sick child porn through the same file-sharing software teenagers use to download music. The NSPCC says paedophiles have moved to "peer to peer" networks where they can effectively evade police. It follows the success of Operation Ore which cracked down on vile websites and snared perverts such as actor and comedian Chris Langham. But it is much harder to crack peer...
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