The Thick of It: Special – “Spinners and Losers” (2007)

“Spinners and Losers” follows immediately on the heels of “The Rise of the Nutters,” chronicling a frazzled all-nighter at DoSAC and Number 10 spawned by the fallout from the previous special.  Everyone is running around like mad: Ollie is anxious to place himself in the most advantageous spot, Jamie threatens bodily harm to everyone he comes across, and Malcolm is determined to get things back on track after the mess his actions made of things in the last episode.  Tensions are high, and it turns out you really don’t want to encounter a bunch of politicians in the midst of a crisis when they haven’t slept.

 

Malcolm strikes a good balance here.  He was flailing in “The Rise of the Nutters,” causing a lot of trouble for himself, and he works to repair it here.  And yet, he’s not the diabolical mastermind who took on Julius in series 2 either.  Not that he wasn’t amazing there – I still marvel at him in that episode – but what he manages in this long, hectic night is quite impressive and even more fun.  While Malcolm similarly goes on the offensive in some pretty underhanded ways, he’s making up his entire plan as he goes along, weaving and course-correcting every time a new roadblock is thrown up.  

 

Oh, and I kind of love it that Malcolm is a bad but highly successful liar.  I’ve noticed it earlier, but it gets a lot of screentime in this episode.  It’s funny; when he’s lying, everything he says sounds so obviously fake (and he seems for swear a lot less when he’s being untruthful – a huge tell for someone like Malcolm,) but the other characters almost never realize it. 

 

As for other characters, I’ll mention Terri Coverley today.    As the DoSAC director of communications, she’s in charge of fielding calls from the press and setting up media appearances for Hugh.    She has an opinion about everything, which infuriates Hugh, Glenn, and Ollie – in one episode from series 1, they book multiple meeting rooms so she won’t be able to find them and poke holes in their ideas.    Despite her strong involvement, however, she’s quick to call herself a mere cog in the machine when anything goes wrong:  she’s simply a civil servant doing what she’s told.

 

I have to say, when I watched The Thick of It the first time around, I was very surprised to discover that Jamie is only in the first episode of series 2 and this pair of specials.    I’d remembered him from In the Loop and had just assumed he was a major character.    I suppose it’s understandable, since he’s essentially a more extreme version of Malcolm.  Still, it’s a shame he doesn’t come back after this; his colorful threats and unhinged rants are just so entertaining.

 

The Thick of It made one more special in 2007, a short showing the events of “Spinners and Losers” from the side of the opposition.  It’s very funny, but since PC isn’t in it, it won’t be popping up here.