The Thick of It: Der Intrigantenstadl

Just love it! I'm exhausted after an episode because of the Funny and so smart retorts. Only the British can do something like this. The casting is so right. The actors so brilliant. The script so amazing. I could go on and on....

Calling this sharp and funny just doesn't do it justice. It's a bit of a cliché to describe it as "Yes Minister" for the 21st century, but it does fit rather well.

Any British person who has followed the news over the last few years will be painfully familiar with "spin" as practised by the current government of the United Kingdom. Where "Yes Minister" dealt with hapless ministers being manipulated by the civil-service mandarins (the power brokers of the time) ... "The Thick Of It" deals primarily with hapless ministers being manipulated by spin doctors (the current power brokers). Spot the difference?

Series one kicks off with the clinical execution of a cabinet minister (department of "Social Affairs") by the party communications director Malcolm Tucker, played to perfection by a fantastically high-powered and abusive Peter Capaldi. In comes the completely ineffectual Hugh Abbott (Chris Langham) as his replacement -- the most recent in a long line we are led to believe -- and off we go. It's a picture of near-total ineptitude. The business of government is to please the media, all the time under the baleful gaze of Tucker and his team of ferocious Rottweilers, and of course the 24 hour gaze of the media... forever on the lookout for stories. Useless empty policy statements, petty oneupmanship, and doing anything to please "Number 10", or the Chancellor at "Number 11" -- or rather not, since pleasing one side can bring down the wrath of the other as you are obviously part of a plot to undermine them. No, it's best just to churn out focus grouped policies that are bland enough not to upset anyone, all the while dreaming of advancement to departments that matter.

It's all desperately funny and insightful. There are no bad performances. Series one and two combined add up to just six half-hour episodes in total. That may surprise Americans used to much longer runs... but when it's this funny and insightful, you are just glad it exists at all.

In the thick of it is what you would get if you mixed the office with yes minister. shot as a documentary (like the office) it's about the office of social affairs and how they get in and out of trouble every week with hilarious results. Hugh abbot (Chris Langham) is pretty much the Dave Brent of it all while his sidekicks, Olly, Glen and Terri are pretty much there to take the blows for him. The show isn't for everyone because the humour is really dry but if you are a fan of the now modern day British sitcom then this is the most intelligent of the lot. witty dialogue, superb acting, and brilliant originality gives this underrated sitcom a 10/10.

'The Thick of It' is slowly becoming more and more popular especially as political scandals are becoming more frequent in headlines. The writing, acting and dialogue are all strong points in this series.

The acting from people such as Rebecca Front, Chris Addison, Paul Higgins and of course Peter Capaldi are excellent. They don't all play particularly likable characters but that is the purpose of this show, to highlight the dark side of British politics.

Armando Ianucci's direction and scripts are excellent, the stories are very realistic and on some occasions this show has even managed to predict an actual occurrence in Westminster before it has actually happened, that is how intelligent this show is. If you have an interest in politics you will love this show, if you dislike swearing you will loathe it; the dialogue particularly from Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker is obscene nearly all the time, he provides about 75% of the comedy in this series. The show is quite unique because of the amount of swearing included within it, especially since it is a BBC programme.

The first and second series were good but the third series has been the best so far. The only thing missing from the third series was Paul Higgins' character Jamie MacDonald who had small parts in the first and second series and worked really well alongside Malcolm Tucker. The fourth series has now been shot and is scheduled to return later on this year (2012).

Overall, I would thoroughly recommend this TV series. People outside the UK may struggle understanding the plots of each episode, however. Its documentary style filming method takes a while to get used to but it suits the nature of the series perfectly. If you like this programme try 'In The Loop', the film based on this series, also starring Peter Capaldi, Paul Higgins and Chris Addison.

I am mortified that I have only just picked up on this wonderful series in the past 6 weeks!! I had read that it was good but felt I couldn't commit to another "must watch" TV series. However against my better judgement I recorded one programme to see what all the fuss was about. I was totally blown away by the whole thing. I never really rated Peter Capaldi before this but the guy is a genius!! His intimidating, foul-mouthed character is some creation!! Whether it is him or Ianucci that is responsible, I do not know, but the end result is pure gold. Of course lots of viewers are going to find the bad language hard to get past but it really is worth it. I am rarely shocked by bad language but it shocked me - at first I found it gratuitous and almost switched off. However when you get into it the language seems (for the characters) just right and very funny. Who knows if this is the way that the people behind the scenes speak but it works. I actually know someone involved in politics on the Tory side (not my preference) and can believe in the Thick of It characters totally. I am addicted top it already and am about to get the series I have missed on DVD. Brilliant is not the word for it. People who berate the camera-work need to get a life. It is not my favourite style either but it works for this. If you have not seen it make a point of getting it immediately!!