It’s
reshuffle time again, and DoSAC has a new minister: Nicola Murray. Malcolm has to pull a few teeth to get the
position filled at all, and Nicola is far enough down the list that he doesn’t
know much about her. By the end of her
first day, however, Malcolm has coined the term “omnishambles” just for her.
While
Hugh Abbot and Simon Foster were ministers cut from the same lugubrious cloth,
Nicola is an entirely different sort.
She’s all floral-printed dresses and energetic smiles, eager to get
social programs off the ground. She quickly
proves, though, to be chronically bad with people, despite her very obvious
efforts to the contrary. She immediately
gets off on the wrong foot with Terri, and Ollie and Glenn’s attempts to
ingratiate themselves with her are riddled with awkward moments.
And of
course, there’s Malcolm. The two butt
heads right from the gate. Hugh was a
minister who generally wanted to be told what to do, but Nicola has her own
ideas and doesn’t appreciate Malcolm trying to dictate the less spinnable aspects
of her personal life. Malcolm,
naturally, responds to any perceived threat with both barrels blazing, so he
sets out to prove who’s really in charge.
The
show has a different energy with Nicola at the helm of DoSAC, and thus, the
humor is somewhat different, but it’s still very funny. Likewise, the different relationship Malcolm
begins developing here with Nicola is a lot of fun.
Jumping
back into The Thick of It after
watching In the Loop also
reemphasizes the fact that Malcolm is not
the same in both projects. They both
have the comic rage and insidious talent for turning a phrase, and neither is
afraid to get their hands dirty, but The
Thick of It Malcolm has a different way about him. This Malcolm knows that the Mad Sweary Man
isn’t the only weapon in his arsenal; he’s got that disarming shark grin that
can chat breezily right up until he bites your head off. There’s that wicked gleam in his eye, because
he thrives on the pressure, the confrontations, and – yes – the omnishambles.
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