The Thick of It/Funny

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


In the best traditions of farce and satire, The Thick of It relies on situations characterized by ever-aggregating absurdity, making it difficult to point to exact time codes that turn the funny Up to Eleven. But there are a few unforgettable moments:

From Rise of the Nutters:

  • Ben Swain's Newsnight interview.
    • "The cameramen are laughing."
  • Jamie sitting next to Nicholson in the meeting and spending the next five minutes fellating his pen for Malcolm's amusement.
  • Pearson making Peter Mannion try on a suit and the horror that is Peter's un-tucked shirt.

From The Thick of It proper:

  • Any time we get to witness Malcolm's Girly Run.
  • Malcolm's cake iced with "Happy Birthday C*nt", and the serious way he muses, "This could be from anyone."
  • Malcolm's response to being asked not to swear is hysterical: "I'm really sorry, you won't hear any more swearing from us, YOU MASSIVE GAY SHITE! Fuck off!"
  • "You take the piss out of Al Jolson again and I will remove your iPod from its tiny nano-sheath and push it up your cock! Then I'll put some speakers up your arse and put it on shuffle with my fucking fist. And every time I hear something that I don't like, which will be every time that something comes on, I will skip to the next track by crushing your balls!"
  • Three words: Catastrophic. Erectile. Dysfuntion.
  • The food fight that ensues when Jamie discovers Julius has been leaking information.
  • (S02E06, the diary fiasco and Hugh lying to a Select Committee)

Hugh: Well, I lied to the Select Committee. It's like lying to the House.
Malcolm: Yeah, I know, but if she doesn't know then it doesn't matter, Hugh.
Terri: Excuse me, but I really can't be fielding calls right now. I have got a lot of lines to learn. It's Claire Ballentine's office -- they want departmental diaries from the last twelve weeks.
...
Malcolm: Hugh, go and get Ollie and Glenn in here! This is really serious. You have lied to a Select Committee.
Hugh: I told you that!
Malcolm: But that's like lying to the House!
Hugh: That's what I said.
Malcolm: Yeah, but they're on to you!

  • Nicola making a break for the Fourth Sector launch that Ben is bombing, and Malcolm girly-running after her screaming at the top of his lungs.

From The Missing DoSAC Files:

  • The picture from Jamie's "Summer of Shame".
    • And the emails from Malcolm making fun of him for it.
  • Ollie's smear campaign against Peter Mannion, which is so piss-poor that Malcolm asks Mannion himself for some contributions. Responses include "Got pissed with Black Rod and took a slash on the Queen's tiara (not a euphemism)".
  • Malcolm soliciting a hack to write a self-insert thriller called Ticker Time. The sample the man sends him.
    • "Tucker took in the pleading eyes of the PM. He scanned the room. He wasn't one for mucking about. Ever. His big brain made the decision in superfast time and before he knew it his lips were saying the words he knew they were going to say."
    • And Malcolm's reply, scribbled on the manuscript while apparently drunk: "We need to feel Mike's pain more. He should drill the druggie with regret. With a noble sadness for the greater good of the people. Remember, later on we're going to find out the drug head was working for the CIA and Mike has his Hour of Darkness."
      • "This is all fine, up to a point. Not as good as what I said, but it'll do. But I reckon it needs something arty up top. Something about a cloud? Cloud's look like - butter? Or sheep? 'The clouds that morning looked like buttery sheep and Mike had a bone-on like a yew tree.'"
    • And Malcolm's reply while sober: "Robbie you're fired. I've read this all back sober and it's fucking pish. You never wrote as good as I talked. Goodbye, forever. M"
  • The photo spread featuring Malcolm shooting lasers from his eyes and his head 'shopped on the body of James Bond, and the "10 Facts About Malcolm Tucker", are both hilarious and practically Memetic Badass ascended.
  • Malcolm's (obviously) obscenity-laden responses to various emails that annoy him, and his PA's subsequent cleaned versions.
  • The end of the book, with Malcolm being blackmailed with the titular missing files by the mysterious 'Paul.' Within a few days 'Paul' has been found, set up, arrested, and later convicted for "gross indecency" mainly focusing on doing disgusting things with lost property. Don't fuck with Tuck...er.
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