The Thick of It: Difference between revisions

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Poor Glenn. "I feel like I'm in a therapy group being run by my own rapist."

** Peter Mannion as well, particularly by series three. It's quite obvious the man is well-meaning, but he's constantly surrounded by people who want to make him look like a jerk, or people who think he's a jerk.

* [[Cannot Tell a Joke]]: Nicola: "Thank our fucky stars for that" ** tumbleweeds blow past**

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in series 3:

{{quote|'''Malcolm Tucker:''' "I just wanted to say to you by way of introductory remarks that I'm ''extremely'' miffed about today's events, and in my quest to try to make you understand the level of my unhappiness I'm likely to use an awful lot of what we would call ''violent sexual imagery''- and I just wanted to check that neither of you would be terribly offended by that."}}

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Most characters in ''The Thick of It'' are deadpan snarkers to some extent...

* [[The Dragon]]: Jamie to Malcolm. In the second special he is a [[Dragon with an Agenda]], which may account for his sacking. The deleted scenes reveal that Malcolm sometimes has him followed. Keep your friends close...

* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]]: Malcolm has fought ''so hard'' for the party. If ''The Missing DoSAC Files'' are to be believed, however, no one has an ounce of respect for him after the election. The e-mail exchange regarding the titular missing files is also indicative that people aren't taking Malcolm very seriously anymore. The replies are snarky almost down to the last man. It's still hard to picture the characters saying any of those things to his face, however... and Ollie seems appropriately scared piss-less.

* [[Ermine Cape Effect]]: Played with by Julius Nicholson when he is made Lord Nicholson of Arnage. He laments that he won't be allowed to wear his ceremonial robes -- including an actual ermine cape -- on the [[The London Underground|Tube]] or the bus, "but I would, it would be great larks!"

{{quote|'''Olly Reeder:''' "For a man who brought us back into power, he's not very imposing is he? He's like a Lego policeman."}}

* [[Eye Take]]: Malcolm gets several per episode, but his most epic was probably a closeup of his eyes as they scanned the headline {{spoiler|MALCOLM TUCKER RESIGNS}}.

* [[Fat Idiot]]: Ben Swain. "Talking to you is like talking to a fucking whoopee cushion."

* [[Fun with Acronyms]]: "He says he wants you at [[Whitehall|Number 10]] ASAFP". As this order came from Malcolm the F probably didn't stand for "feasibly".

** The Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship itself of course: "I've got no fuckin' idea what that means either but it spells 'SAC'!"

* [[Gambit Pileup]]: ''Spinners and Losers''

* [[Groin Attack]]: When Phil Smith tells Olly {{spoiler|Emma has dumped him}} before Emma can break the news herself, Phil receives a hot cup of coffee in the groin:

{{quote|'''Phil Smith''': "It's a dark suit and it's only lukewarm, I STILL WIN!"}}

* [[Hauled Before a Senate Subcommittee]]: Hugh and the Select Committee: "[[Confusing Multiple Negatives|I categorically did not knowingly not tell the truth. Even though unknowingly I might not have done.]]"

** One of Malcolm's [[Evil Plans]] leads to Steve Fleming being photographed discussing the crime stats enquiry with Julius Nicholson. One newspaper runs the photograph with the headline "Give us the bald facts", causing uber-bitch Terri to remark: "Oooh, it's very rude, that. I was always taught not to make personal remarks".

** Terri also calls Olly's girlfriend "a complete bitch".

* [[I Am Spartacus]]: "It was me. I leaked it." Poor Glenn.

{{quote|'''Malcolm Tucker:''' "First, you've got no credentials; you're so backbench you've actually fuckin' fallen off... secondly, I'm going to tell the ''Mirror'' about all the drinking... and thirdly, I'm going to tell the ''Mail'' about the affair... and fourthly, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|you've got a tiny head]]..."

'''Geoff Holhurst:''' "No I haven't!" }}

* [[Jade-Colored Glasses]]: Hugh wore them, Malcolm tries to get Nicola to try a pair on, acting as the [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|Tall, Silver and Snarky]] foil to her [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]]:

** By series 3 Malcolm has become something of a [[Jerkass Woobie]], though he'd probably resent [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|being referred to as such]] -- he likes to think of himself more as a thin, white Mugabe.

* [[Jittercam]]

* [[Kavorka Man]]: Olly Reeder has managed to seduce both journalist Angela Heaney and Opposition aide Emma Messinger. Nobody knows how.

* [[Kicked Upstairs]]: "Julius Nicholson. Blue Sky Thinker, ex business guru, [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|dog rapist]]".

* [[Last-Second Word Swap]]: "I'd like to nail him to a tree through the head and watch lice slowly crawl over his body eating off all the flesh in a slow and painful death... but that rather bitter anomaly aside, most of the responses to the Warwick Report press cuttings were pretty positive."

* [[Life Imitates Art]]: [http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/apr/29/gordon-brown-bigotgate-thick-of-it Scarily often in UK politics].

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: In series 3 and [[The Movie]], all of Malcolm's suits are light grey, and sometimes he'll even pair a grey suit with a grey tie. When we see him in casual clothes we discover that practically every other item of clothing he owns is also grey. This could have been a deliberate attempt to match his wardrobe to his hair colour but the grey is also [[Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance|very fitting for a press officer who likes to hide in the background]], never becoming the story.

* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: Malcolm Tucker, whose in-universe reputation precedes him. The Prime Minister's Director Of Communications is aggressive, foul-mouthed, unscrupulous and manipulative, but the most frightening thing about him is his charm. He constantly abuses it to get away with All Of The Above. [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] is his ''job'', and the second special is a long game of it {{spoiler|which he wins, naturally.}}

* [[The Movie]]: ''[[In the Loop]]''

* [[Morality Pet]]: Malcolm's PA, Sam.

* [[The Napoleon]]: Cal Richards.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: Emma in the Opposition Special: "They're going to elect a man who can count his friends on the fingers of my father's right hand."

* [[Not So Different]]: Malcolm and Stewart's face-off ends with them coming to this conclusion.

* [[Oh Crap]]: [[Eye Take|The look in Malcolm's eyes]] after Steve Fleming asks him "Can I have a quick word? Just five minutes..."

* [[Opposites Attract]]: Although in this case, it's more "Opposites Go Out To Dig Dirt On Each Other's Parties And Nick Policy Ideas."

* [[Oxbridge]]: Olly is a graduate of either Oxford or Cambridge. We never find out which one as Jamie only ever refers to his university as "Poxbridge"

* [[Pet the Dog]]: Any scene with Malcolm and his assistant, Sam. {{spoiler|In particular, Malcolm running to her defense when she's crying.}}

* [[Psychotic Smirk]]: Malcolm gets in quite a few, with several in the final episode of series 3.

* [[Put on a Bus]]: Hugh Abbot's trip to Australia. Terri pulling the sign off his door in the first episode of series 3 may constitute a [[Bus Crash]].

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: Hugh Abbot left the department because his actor Chris Langham went to prison; see below in [[Role Ending Misdemeanor]].

 

{{quote|'''Cal "The Fucker" Richards''': This government's run this country into the ground - this used to be a green, and pleasant land, now...it's the colour of the fucking BBC weather map. It looks like anaemic dogshit. This government is maimed, but it can't be shamed - [[This Is Sparta|IT. WILL. BE. FUCKED!]] Okay, let's get going...what do I call for an outside line? Is it nine, because that's what it is everywhere else?}}

* [[Sadist Show]]: The show focuses on [[Dirty Coward|dirty cowards]] and a near [[Villain Protagonist]]. The characters who aren't self-serving and malicious are hideously incompetent, and they all inhabit [[Whitehall|a realm where idealism goes to die]]. Oh, and it's about politics. But we repeat ourselves.

* [[Surrounded by Idiots]]: Malcolm is the only character who seems competent at his job. His hapless colleagues never seem to learn that they ignore his advice at their peril, and often leave him to mop up the ensuing hurricanes of piss.

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: Nicola replacing Hugh. Her only points of difference are that she's a woman, and that Glenn's not her best mate. Entirely justified, as the premise of the show is that all politicians are the same.

* [[Take Five]]: "Off you two fuck."

* [[Turn in Your Badge]]: "Actually I'm gonna need that, that's an official Blackberry..."

* [[Tyrant Takes the Helm]]: Steve Fleming. Oh yes.

* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: Jamie. How someone this close to being feral was even allowed into Number 10 is never explained, but it appears he finally got the sack before series 3.

* [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]: Everyone. The two primary ministers, Hugh Abbott in series 1 and Nicola Murray in series 3, actually tend to be more sympathetic due to them being basically good people broken over time by the political machine.

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Nick Hanway, Steve Fleming... most of Malcolm's enemies in fact.

* [[Vetinari Job Security]]: Malcolm has worked very hard to put himself in this position, though his grip on things is slipping in series three. However, when he's {{spoiler|fired, we get glimpses of a government without Malcolm: Steve Fleming is creeping around being a creepy creep and scaring everyone, a handful of cabinet ministers revolt, and Dan Miller's cabal apparently see it as an opportunity to launch a leadership bid. Needless to say, Malcolm is quickly called back.}}

* [["V" Sign]]: Malcolm has a little message for the journalists who follow him home after {{spoiler|his sacking}}.

** He has another for Olly when he fails to answer his phone: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKdsMr-6GrA That's for you], [[High School Musical|Cack Efron]]."

* [[Walk and Talk]]: Possibly the only thing it ''does'' have in common with [[The West Wing]].

* [[World of Snark]]

* [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl]]: Malcolm claims he wouldn't hit a woman. Of course, this doesn't stop him from {{spoiler|punching Glenn}}

* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: The way Malcolm ruthlessly takes his job back is definitely one.

* [[The X of Y]]: ''Rise of the Nutters''

* [[Yank the Dog's Chain]]: [[Butt Monkey|Peter Mannion]] does an emphatically <s>noble</s> decent thing by refusing to use Nicola's daughter's school troubles to his side's advantage. As he maintains to Stewart that they'll conduct themselves honourably, Malcolm is over at Number 10 convincing Nicola that there's no such thing as honour, which culminates in Nicola calling Mannion to tell him that nothing in his personal life is off-limits. Cue gloating from Stewart. Poor Peter.

[[Category:The Thick of It]]

[[Category:TV Series]]