If you have ever
longed for a show which has the awkward sense of humor of “The Office” paired
with the political savvy of “The West Wing,” this British satire is exactly
that. “The Thick of It” follows the misadventures of the fictitious government
offices of the Department of Social Affairs led by successive ministers, Hugh
Abbot and Nicola Murray (Chris Langham and Rebecca Front). The series ran for
four seasons and was the inspiration for the feature film, In the Loop, and
HBO’s series, “Veep.”
The series
focuses on the daily spin put on the news in order to keep the truth from the
public, though it mostly just points out the incompetence and uselessness of
the positions. The Department of Social Affairs has several different cabinet ministers,
with one being fired in the pilot episode. The one constant is the abusive
party leader, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), who is the one to do the firing
and a majority of the creative cursing that the show is famous for. They even
employed a special writer just to come up with some of the more inflammatory
insults used in each episode.
This seven disc
set includes all four seasons that make up the complete series. The first two
discs are shorter, contained entirely on one disc each season. The third and
fourth each take two discs each, with longer seasons, and there is a seventh
disc with the specials. The special features are contained on each season along
the way, which were all previously released discs combined in this set. The
special features include commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes and
outtakes, and a number of making-of featurettes for the more dedicated fans.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
Disc Features: 7/10
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