Things
go predictably pear-shaped in the series 1 finale (yes, you heard that right –
complain all you want about Sherlock’s
short seasons, the entire first season of The
Thick of It was as long as a single Sherlock
episode.) Hugh, who’s been successfully
pushing a housing bill through Parliament, hits a snag of personal
scandal. When you’re trying to reform
housing, it turns out that having a second, largely unused property is a
no-no. Everyone as DoSA waits with baited
breath to see if a conspiracy “to not sell a two-bedroom flat” will be deemed a
sackable offense.
What
can I say? There’s an utterly ludicrous
mega-scandal, patented The Thick of It
panicking at its best, and a low-key scene of nervous biscuit-eating that
shouldn’t be nearly as funny as it is.
We also get our first glimpse of Sam, Malcolm’s PA. Sam is a character used sparingly throughout
the series, but I really like her inclusion, because Malcolm seems to genuinely
like her and vice versa. It’s weird to
see someone that he’s never tried to reduce to tears.
Speaking
of Malcolm, PC has some fine material here.
He’s upped the ante from the pilot – rather than simply inform a minister that they’ve resigned,
he’s here tasked with convincing a
minister why it’d be a good career move to resign. It reminds me a bit of the scene from Fortysomething where Pilfrey tells a
deceased patient’s grieving loved one that dying was the most cost-effective
option. But while Pilfrey is a snake,
Malcolm is a crocodile: keeping
even-keeled and quiet just long enough that you’re off your guard when he goes
in for the kill.
Episode
3 also showcases PC’s great physical comedy with his patented Malcolm Tucker
Run. When he finds out Hugh is in the
middle of a potentially-disastrous interview, Malcolm races full pelt from
Number 10 to DoSA, careening around corners and demanding to know where Hugh
has disappeared to. It’s a gloriously
funny scene to watch, and it should neatly allay any concerns that PC isn’t up
to the physical demands of playing the Doctor; the man has energy in spades.
I
highlighted Hugh yesterday, so I’ll spend a little time on another character
today – since we’ll be on The Thick of It
for a while, you might as well get to know who the non-Malcolms are. Ollie Reeder is one of Hugh’s advisors, a
young, standard-issue Oxbridge politico.
He’s fresh-faced, prone to ill-timed/awkward jokes, and not nearly as on
top of things as he thinks he is. Ollie
is also probably the most opportunistic person at DoSA, maybe on the show
entirely. He’s quick to cozy up to
anyone he thinks could help him get ahead, and he doesn’t have too many qualms
about throwing others under the bus.
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