While Rise of the Nutters brought the opposition into the world of The Thick of It, the second special (Spinners & Losers) didn't have much room for them, which I guess is why this additional special covered the PM resignation from the point of view of the other party. It probably would have helped had I known about this at the time but as it was I found out this existed just as season 3 started in the UK. So I watched this a year or so late but it did still work for me despite not being as brilliant as I remember the two specials being. The simple plot sees Peter Mannion having to lead the way for the opposition by praising the outgoing PM and thus avoiding any accusations of political point scoring or sour grapes – something he fails to do to the anger of his adviser Stewart.
In terms of dynamics, the opposition are similar to the Government despite not having as strong characters as those – in particular Stewart is never going to manage to step into the show to give Malcolm a run for his money. The similar dynamics though means that the writing is dealing with the same sort of subject and as such the satire still works. In the fifteen minute short I had several occasions to laugh out loud but mostly I was amused by the mix of spin and the banal reality of the politicians – Peter in particular seems to wish the whole thing away by the end of it. In this way it is more like the first season, where it was not as hilarious as I expect but still had a wonderful acerbic and natural feel to it. I understand that the camera work and the patter of the dialogue is not to all tastes but for me it fits. The cast on the opposition side do well, with Allam being good and Smith being annoyingly smug. Poulet I like although I didn't think she has the best material, while Franklin is hard to view without having the much stronger Capaldi/Tucker.
Overall a nice little extra to the Spinners & Losers special. Good enough to watch on its own some time after seeing the special but probably best watched as a companion since that is how it was intended.
In terms of dynamics, the opposition are similar to the Government despite not having as strong characters as those – in particular Stewart is never going to manage to step into the show to give Malcolm a run for his money. The similar dynamics though means that the writing is dealing with the same sort of subject and as such the satire still works. In the fifteen minute short I had several occasions to laugh out loud but mostly I was amused by the mix of spin and the banal reality of the politicians – Peter in particular seems to wish the whole thing away by the end of it. In this way it is more like the first season, where it was not as hilarious as I expect but still had a wonderful acerbic and natural feel to it. I understand that the camera work and the patter of the dialogue is not to all tastes but for me it fits. The cast on the opposition side do well, with Allam being good and Smith being annoyingly smug. Poulet I like although I didn't think she has the best material, while Franklin is hard to view without having the much stronger Capaldi/Tucker.
Overall a nice little extra to the Spinners & Losers special. Good enough to watch on its own some time after seeing the special but probably best watched as a companion since that is how it was intended.
