Veep: Die Vizepräsidentin

Just saw the first episode of Veep and, if the rest of the series is as good as the opener, HBO has a brilliant series on its hands. Louis-Dreyfus delivers a performance reminiscent of her Elaine days; utilizing every ounce of her talent and pouring her entire body into each moment. It's easily her best work since Seinfeld, and that's no put down of her post Seinfeld work. It's a commentary on just how brilliant she was on that show.

The supporting cast is up to the task of keeping pace with a comic and actress as strong as their leading woman. Pleasantly surprising is Anna Chlumsky's funny and endearing chief of staff.

One episode may not be enough to judge a series on but, for episode one I vote 10 out of 10. Smart and laugh out loud funny is a hard combo to come across. I sure hope the rest of the show lives up to day one. I look forward to more.

For those who gave up after the first episode or two and are writing this off as 'not as good as The Thick Of it', you're doing yourself a great disservice.

The Thick Of It is brilliant. This is brilliant too, and in parts surpasses the original. The subtlety is still all there, the bullies, the bullied, the excellent dialogue, the jokes that you'd miss if you blinked, and it manages to hold up well even without any Malcolm Tucker character (something I'm not so sure the original could manage).

The closing title sequences are often hilarious (unlike in the original), and I'm sure Arrested Development fans will enjoy Tony Hale as Gary.

I know it takes extra effort to to accept a remake of something that's already so brilliant ('why do they need to do remake in the first place?? you think'), but I honestly think the effort is worth it in this case.

Like the rest of Ianucci's work, this is a fantastic political satire. The reflexive self-serving sycophancy, the arbitrary nature of power, the automatic deferral to the hidden powers behind the throne, the elevation of random dross above real issues (brilliantly lampooned in the pilot when the use of cornstarch forks in the White House becomes a stumbling block to setting up a clean jobs task force) are skillfully portrayed, showing how the dysfunction of the modern arena (especially the media's eye, usually passive but, as in the second episode, sometimes accompanied by a mouthful of vicious teeth) prevents the exercise of power for actual governmental function. None of the characters are perfectly likable, though all are well-played, but somehow the ensemble is endearing. Watch this if you want to see a sharp commentary on the drunken carousel that is politics.

This show communicates well how the most selfish, petty and arrogant of people are drawn to politics. And what makes it work is that it never mentions parties. This show perfectly captures what both parties are potentially like, and also what most global politics are really about. This is one of the best shows of my lifetime.

I waited until after the sixth episode to review the show so it had time to germinate and really show the audience its potential before I made judgment. I liked the show from the start, mostly because I love The Thick of It and In the Loop. Now I love this show.

Its smart, the dialogue is rich and full. You don't get the crappy, tepidly funny one-liners you get from most comedy series nowadays, you get incredibly intelligent situational humor that really makes you wonder about politics in the US and around the world. The show really highlights the humanity that people often dissociate from politics, a quality Armando Iannucci has always brought to his political humor with wit and vulgarity. Highly recommended.

This show is only funny if you actually pay attention to the plot of each episode, you simply won't get it if you pay half attention, because every line has a twist of humor, and every line builds on the last, which is so rare in comedy in the US.