Why have I only just discovered In the Thick of It?

[cbatbh]

Where have I been? Is it worth watching the second and subsequent series?

It's probably my favourite TV program of all time. Malcolm Tucker is a work of pure genius. Yes, most definitely keep watching. Rebecca Front is great in series 3 as the most incompetent minister ever. There's also a great character in the same series called Steve Fleming who is sinister and hilarious and unhinged all at the same time.

I also enjoyed the film 'In The Loop', which includes the late James Gandolfini

I can't stand In the Loop because everyone is changed around. I love The Thick of It though and I think that series three is absolute perfection. It never fails to cheer me up.

I see your point Laura - they did change most of the character's names for no good reason, which is very irritating.

Im on to series two now. I read on imdb that they employed a specific person to write the insults. What a job to basically invent different ways to tell people to f the f off.

I've got the whole boxset, specials and all. Love it. Keep watching it again and again. I even watch it with subtitles so I can get Malcolm Tucker's corkers spot on!

cbatbh, I heard that too. Armando Iannucci apparentely turned the whole script over to a swear consultant

I love it. The second of the specials (kind of series 2) is one the finest hours of comedy ever made. And includes lots of Jamie, who is just amazing.

"You're about as secure as a hymen in a south London comprehensive."

'The second of the specials (kind of series 2) is one the finest hours of comedy ever made.'

Totally agree. It's one of those where you have to watch it several times because you miss loads of the great lines the first time because you're laughing so hard

My favourite line from the whole thing is one of Malcolm's of course - 'oh what's this then? Tinker Tailor Soldier C*???'

It's truly delicious

It's the fact that you get to the end of the hour and finally realise what Malcolm has been trying to achieve. And it's so well done, so tightly and cleverly plotted. Plus it has all those scenes of badly dressed advisers ("a herd of Wildebeast dressed by Burtons") running around. And Blinky Ben.

Though I think my single favourite moment is in series 2 when Malcolm is having a Very Bad Day and send Ben to stand in the corner of the office with a keyboard to amuse himself

'Take that! Stand over there and play with that! And don't you move or I will perform a f---ing living autopsy on you, with a rusty spoon and I'll have yer kidneys fer cufflinks!'

Good times Thurlow

Peter Capaldi is an amazing actor. I read an interview with him where he said that he's actually a very mild-mannered and quiet bloke and he found it quite exhausting having to keep himself at boiling point all the time when they were filming!

How nice would it be to behave like Malcolm for just one day at work, with no consequences?

Ooh I'm on a roll now.....

Prepping Blinky Ben for his Newsnight interview with Paxman:

'Have you ever flown at a hundred miles an hour through a tunnel full of pig s*? Coz that's what's going to happen to you tonight if you don't listen to us'

'What are you going to do when Paxman pulls that rubbery horse-face of mock incredulity at you?'

And again about Paxman:

'Aah Paxman! I'll miss him when he has that massive coronary'

I love the bit in series three where Nicola has blabbed secrets in front of the journalist and Malcolm goes for her, all guns blazing, saying that he will have to put ticks on some people and crosses on others so she knows who to speak to. But then she might see the cross and think x marks the spot... I am laughing just thinking about it.

And when Malcolm punches Glen on the nose at the conference and his rage in the radio station, about Tim from Ruislip...

You always hear or see something new on each viewing though. We watched the sacking one the other day and I noticed them at Malcolm had a little boy peering out of his front window, waiting for him. I never realised that Malcolm had a family.

God, that Paxman coronary joke has me in tears every time.

I love Peter Mannion too, especially in the last series, on top of the climbing frame, or "I'm bored, I'm going to have a Twix.

Oh, oh, and Glenn describing Nicola during her radio interview with Mannion as looking like a squirrel trapped in a pedal bin

Laura, the back of the car bit is fantastic. How the other actors don't kill themselves laughing I can't imagine. Maybe they're genuinely scared of him?!

Peter Mannion is fab. He's so world weary and sick and tired of all the spin and nonsense from Stuart - 'Mr Political Correctness gone boring'

Absolutely love Terri as well. She's as much use as a chocolate fireguard and would drive you insane if you had to work with her but she's great fun on a TV show. My favourite Terri bit is the episode in series 1 where Hugh sent a 'sweary email' from her email account to a man with a child in Ruislip

is the best law ever. Do not click on that link if anyone under say 18 is in the room with you.

The series was great, all of it, but I was VERY disappointed in In the Loop.

That episode where Terri is wearing trainers in the office - apart from the one moment she needs to be wearing them, brilliant. I think that's also the episode where she tries to tell Malcolm that he's going wrong, and you get Glenn, Oli and Nicola just watching horrified from the sidelines

I quite liked In the Loop. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like swearing, so I'll rephrase that for you. You are an f, star, star, cunt."

'This is like the Shawshank Redemption but with more tunnelling through shit and no fucking redemption'

And I love Ollie and Glen. And Terri - 'like a sultana in a salad'

I love it, my friends works on it!!! It's awesome.

It's Oli's little wave as Malcolm leads Terri off, oh that gets me every time.

And afterwards, when Terri says Malcolm just waffled on about Pharoah's and crisps...

Oh come on NoRain, give us some goss then!

Haha, yes everyone's frozen terrified faces when Malcolm leads Terri off for a quiet chat.....

Its the nicknames that get me every time, especially Malcolm's nicknames for Oli. 'The little man in the red and yellow car' is my favourite. of all the nicknames from the first few series. It's 8 minutes long, and it's just nicknames.

This is brill. Cant wait to watch the rest of them.

I love episode in series 3 when Nicola and Peter Magnan ate being interviewed by Richard Bacon on 5live. Absolutely everyone ends up in the Green room and then Malcolm threatens the producer and 'Tim' who's phoned into the phone in