The Thick of It

[probablyoliver]

I seriously hope they go with another couple of specials after that because an actual election would be glorious.

[therockbox]

Anyone else notice the kid looking out the window when Malcolm arrived home? Thought there'd be something like that after seeing the kids' paintings on the wall of his office.

I can't take Tom Hollander seriously as The Fucker, he was such a soppy twat in In The Loop.

That bit with Julian and the bhaji was fantastic.

[Skummy]

Yeah, I noticed the kid in the window - well, noticed someone anyway, and had to rewind to see who it was, at first I thought it could have been his secretary until I actually got a decent look. It makes sense, but I really don't want to think about Malcolm as having a private life. That said, though, I would've liked to have seen him floundering hopelessly for a little while longer before he ended up being brought back into government.

Every single line Julius spoke in that episode was utter gold.

I'll be amazed if this doesn't lead to an election special.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Skummy

[NobBe Nobbs]

The concept of the angriest man in the British Isles having children is simultaneously terrifying and beautiful.

[therockbox]

It makes sense. Didn't they say in the first series that his wife had run away with a journalist?

I quite like him having a 'normal' side - it makes him easier to like; not just because he swears like a champion, but because he reserves his hatred and bile for journalists and politicians/civil servants.

[Skummy]

There was a subplot mostly removed from an episode in the first series that his girlfriend had run off with the editor of the Mail - it's briefly hinted at in a phonecall between the two, and a couple of the deleted scenes refer to it. Apparently Armando Iannucci made the decision to remove it because he's genuinely a little disturbed by the thought of Malcolm having a personal life, and of any woman having to actually put up with him in day-to-day life.

That said, you get the impression that, as you say, Malcolm reserves his out-and-out bollockings to the people he needs to influence. Not so much in this series, but in the past he has proven that he can be charming and persuasive if it helps him get his way, so he probably has it in him to be quite a nice guy to those he actually cares about. That said, you can't really escape that he is just the slightest bit evil.