Self-Eating Cake
Nov. 30th, 2009 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowThe latest episode of The Thick of It = genius. Just when I think the show has not got any new tricks it could possibly pull, this episode came along and it was actually heartwarming, in a completely fucked up way. You know what I really, really love about this show (other than it being utterly hilarious)? It's complete refusal, despite everything, to turn it's characters into one-dimensional sitcom characters.
I mean, the show could pick up a lot of flack for letting Malcolm's shreds of humanity shine through, but it's always been that Malcolm isn't just a shouty, swearing, spinning machine who is never wrong. And Malcolm Tucker wouldn't be half as interesting a character if he were just the above.
And while the show is essentially a comedy, it is touching upon a subject that is pretty emotionally charged - the last moment of a government before it loses it's grip on power, when it's desperate and clinging to everything while at the same time making everything so much worse. And, even better, its a subject that has not been covered all that much in fiction so it's fascinating to watch and I'm so glad that the show is looking beyond the purely humorous aspects of the subject matter.
In terms of the fucked-up heartwarming part of the episode, first of all, there was Malcolm. He's always been prone to occasionally screwing up just as badly as the rest of the characters, but the difference is that while they rely on Malcolm to save them, and Malcolm has always saved himself. But Malcolm has never messed up as badly as he did in this episode and surprisingly it was the other characters that came to his rescue for once – from Teri standing up to him (I watched that scene through my hands) to Nicola deliberately messing up the press conference.
And with Teri's calling him out publicly, it seemed to be leading up to Malcolm exploding like he'd never exploded before. But instead he imploded instead and we got his wonderful Shakespearean chip packets-Pharaoh rant.
Then there was Glenn and Ollie, Glenn being all excited about his future and Ollie being all proud of him. And poor Glenn.
There was the usual brilliant one-liners and a good does of physical humor. Malcolm's feigning of concern for Ollie not picking up his phone, Ollie waving Teri goodbye and Teri's look of complete horror, as well as Nicola's crazy dash for the briefing room with Malcolm trying to stop her comes to mind.
And, have I mentioned how much I bloody well love the relationship between Nicola and Malcolm. It started off as two people who clearly didn't like each other, then onto something resembling Stockholm Syndrome, to one in which they seem to actually seem to respect each other. It's like they could actually be friends. (Oh, and I still ship it like freaking crazy. She gave the worst press conference in the world to save him! And hell, he's better than her husband).
I have this horrible feeling the overall storyline of this season is The Decline and Fall of Malcolm Tucker. I've actually become slightly worried that they'll actually go as far as killing him off, but I'm not sure how based in actually possible things that could happen on this show, and how much is based on my issues that have arisen from my favourite characters always seeming to die.
I mean, the show could pick up a lot of flack for letting Malcolm's shreds of humanity shine through, but it's always been that Malcolm isn't just a shouty, swearing, spinning machine who is never wrong. And Malcolm Tucker wouldn't be half as interesting a character if he were just the above.
And while the show is essentially a comedy, it is touching upon a subject that is pretty emotionally charged - the last moment of a government before it loses it's grip on power, when it's desperate and clinging to everything while at the same time making everything so much worse. And, even better, its a subject that has not been covered all that much in fiction so it's fascinating to watch and I'm so glad that the show is looking beyond the purely humorous aspects of the subject matter.
In terms of the fucked-up heartwarming part of the episode, first of all, there was Malcolm. He's always been prone to occasionally screwing up just as badly as the rest of the characters, but the difference is that while they rely on Malcolm to save them, and Malcolm has always saved himself. But Malcolm has never messed up as badly as he did in this episode and surprisingly it was the other characters that came to his rescue for once – from Teri standing up to him (I watched that scene through my hands) to Nicola deliberately messing up the press conference.
And with Teri's calling him out publicly, it seemed to be leading up to Malcolm exploding like he'd never exploded before. But instead he imploded instead and we got his wonderful Shakespearean chip packets-Pharaoh rant.
Then there was Glenn and Ollie, Glenn being all excited about his future and Ollie being all proud of him. And poor Glenn.
There was the usual brilliant one-liners and a good does of physical humor. Malcolm's feigning of concern for Ollie not picking up his phone, Ollie waving Teri goodbye and Teri's look of complete horror, as well as Nicola's crazy dash for the briefing room with Malcolm trying to stop her comes to mind.
And, have I mentioned how much I bloody well love the relationship between Nicola and Malcolm. It started off as two people who clearly didn't like each other, then onto something resembling Stockholm Syndrome, to one in which they seem to actually seem to respect each other. It's like they could actually be friends. (Oh, and I still ship it like freaking crazy. She gave the worst press conference in the world to save him! And hell, he's better than her husband).
I have this horrible feeling the overall storyline of this season is The Decline and Fall of Malcolm Tucker. I've actually become slightly worried that they'll actually go as far as killing him off, but I'm not sure how based in actually possible things that could happen on this show, and how much is based on my issues that have arisen from my favourite characters always seeming to die.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-12-05 03:45 pm (UTC)I was reading the review of tonight's show in the Radio Times, and they keep saying things that worry me, like: "The ailing government spiraling into the abyss" and, "There's something almost frightening about TToI when it's this intense" - all this, and comments from Peter Capaldi himself, make me want to hide behind my hands as I watch the final two of this season, I think I'm going to be making lots of muffled cries of "Oh no..!". I have that same horrible feeling! I don't think they'd ever kill Tucker (although, gawd, I have that same problem, characters I like always, always die!), but I do sense things will end very badly for him, more-so than the others.... who I also suspect things will end badly for! Except maybe Terri, since she'll just join whatever new government comes in as their civil servant.
And it's weird, isn't it, just how much you really don't want to see them all spiral into an abyss and go down, because for every good thing they do, there's the savage self servingness and the scrabbling to cover up mistakes - but you're absolutely spot on, while all of this may make them all pretty terrible people, that's not all they are, and it's those little moments of humanity, kindness, and self deprecating humor that make you weirdly root for them, anyway, because you follow their story and how they get to doing what they do, and it sort of makes sense in a deranged sort of a way.
It's why I think TToI has some of the most incredible characters in comedy, or TV, because, along with the brilliant cast who bring them all to life, it takes them as they are, essentially unlikable, and yet makes them multi-faceted and human enough, that of course they're not all bad, and it's that which makes the show 100x more hilarious and gutwrenching to watch :)
Anyway! Gah, sorry for rambling away in your journal like this! It's nice to meet you, btw!
no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 12:18 am (UTC)I think that's one of the truly brilliant things of the show: that you find yourself caring and rooting for these essentially unlikable people. And that is so much due to the brilliant writing and performances. They are so much like real people, you care for them like you would friends or co-workers that yes, maybe you can write a very long list of their character flaws, but at the same time you don't want to see them hurt. And the show makes it doubly hard by making the Tories likable as well, rather than bad guys.
And while the should could be just as hilarious if it did have its characters not so well drawn, but the reason I love it so much is because they are complex.
Nice to meet you as well! And you don't have to apologise for rambling since that about 90% of what I do around here :D