The Thick of it

The corridors of Whitehall have, of course, proved a rich trough for comedy in the past, but sitting among the finest must be The Thick Of It, a terrific, insightful and desperately entertaining satire.
This complete first season follows the antics of Hugo Abbot, a simple MP, whose ongoing fight with his party’s spin doctors provides just one richly mined strand for the show. Skilfully mixing drama and comedy, and shot in the increasingly popular fly-on-the-wall documentary style, The Thick Of It manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny, yet eerily scary at the same time.
The credit, clearly, lies with the brains and the cast behind the programme. In front of the camera, both Chris Langham and the seemingly-brutal Peter Capaldi have won the plaudits, but much of the acclaim also needs lying at the doorstep of Armando Iannucci. Iannucci already has a comedy CV that few can rival, both in front of and behind the lens, and it’s testament to the quality of The Thick Of It that it stands next easily next to anything in his back catalogue.
This unmissable DVD brings together all the episodes from the little-seen-yet-rarely-rivalled maiden season (although the Christmas special is missing), and it’s a real comedy treat. Bluntly, The Thick Of It is a modern day classic, and through the DVD release, more people can finally get the chance to see why.

From the creator of The Day Today and I'm Alan Partridge, The Thick of It is a biting comedy satire set in the world of Westminster politics. The show follows the trials and tribulations of Hugo Abbot, a lowly MP who finds himself continually harassed by the PM’s policy enforcer. The Thick of It is an award-winning, and critically acclaimed series that is bolstered by the work of some of Britain's best comedy writers and a fine cast. This release includes the Summer and Christmas specials.
Special 2006
The team from the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship is back with brand-new, bigger problems to solve. Something goes terribly wrong on BBC2's Newsnight and everything begins to unravel for Malcolm Tucker, as enemies in the Government and the Opposition both make bids for power.
Special 2007
The Westminster village is now in meltdown after the Prime Minister's shock resignation. As all the various factions begin jockeying for the top jobs, Malcolm Tucker is now fighting to save his political career .

The Prime Minister decides to reshuffle his cabinet in an attempt to look like he’s doing something. Except no-one with any sense wants to join him on the bridge as the ship appears to be going down. So his chief enforcer Malcolm Tucker is having a hard time finding ministers prepared to volunteer for suicide watch in the run up to the general election.
Enter Nicola Murray MP: a woman so far down the list that Malcolm doesn’t even have a file on her, but who can be flattered and bullied into accepting the Cabinet post that no-one wants: Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Citizenship. Nicola’s got plenty of ideas though – but ideas cost money and in the current climate that means trouble. This series follows Nicola and her used-up team of advisors as they struggle to achieve anything at all under Malcolm’s watchful eye. Elsewhere Nicola’s opposite number Peter Mannion and his team finally sense victory is within their grasp, even if they aren’t too sure what to do with it when they get it. Being in power is a good thing, right ?

One of the finest British comedies of the decade, IN THE LOOP finds writer/director Armando Iannucci expanding his critically acclaimed satire THE THICK OF IT for the big screen and features a cast including Peter Capaldi (TORCHWOOD), James Gandolfini (THE SOPRANOS), Tom Hollander (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN), Peter Capaldi (THE THICK OF IT), Steve Coogan (I'M ALAN PARTRIDGE) and former child star Anna Chlumsky (MY GIRL). The foul-mouthed comedy follows the US President and UK Prime Minister as they conspire to start a war and promote is as a 'good thing'. US General Miller (Gandolfini) disagrees, as does British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster (Hollander). When the mild-mannered minister appears on TV, is quoted out of context and made to look like he endorses the conflict, he suddenly finds his every move under the watchful eye of the PM's amoral chief of communications (Capaldi). The Brits soon find themselves in Washington and at the centre of what will become an insurmountable 'mountain of conflict'