in the loop

One of the best British comedies in years is a satirical show called "The Thick of It."

Thick of it is in many ways a modern version of Yes Minister, but it's also its own distinct beast. For one thing its focus is much more on 'spin' than the working of government, which was the focus of yes minister. In other words, it's more a product of its time - that isn't to say spin has never existed, just that it's something people are probably more aware of.

Thick of it also has other modern trappings - it's filmed in a sort of mockumentary style. Well, actually it isn't really, because in mockumentary, part of the point is that the characters are aware they're in a documentary - think of David Brent playing to the camera in The Office - whereas in thick of it, it's more like the camera is a traditional 'extra body in the room', but the filming style is quite jerky and full of quick-pans and crash zooms. This is clever because it lends the whole proceedings a 'live and as it happens' feeling.

Also, the language is very coarse. One character in particular - Malcolm Tucker - is rather gifted in the ways of rude language, shall we say?

Anyway, the point is that in the loop is essentially an offshoot of the thick of it. However, it's not a film version of the TV show - it features some of the same characters and just about all of the same actors, but it's canonical, if you see what I mean.

So, for example, Malcolm Tucker is there and is essentially the same character as in the TV show, but the guy who plays Ollie in the TV show is now playing a character called Toby. Toby is a similar character to Ollie, with a similar job, but is also slightly different in that he behaves a bit more unpleasantly.

So, the basic point is that it's still the thick of it, but it's also slightly different. One of the major differences is the scale - clearly with an hour and a half to fill, rather than just half an hour, a much bigger subject is needed, and they don't come much bigger than war.

In this case, although it's not explicitly stated, the war in question is that in Iraq. As I say, they never actually mention Iraq, but there is mention of the middle East and if you know anything about what went on in the build up to Iraq then you'll soon see the parallels (and parody) that in the loop is making.

In particular, the end game involving a report and a dossier of intelligence hits the issue right on the nose. And the stage for this is much bigger - much of the action takes place in Washington DC and the dossier part happens in the UN, which is New York.

So given I hailed The Thick Of It as one of the best British comedies in recent years, what did I think of In The Loop?

Well I'm glad to say I enjoyed it immensely. It really hasn't lost anything in the translation to the big screen and they've cleverly managed to maintain what makes the thick of it so good whilst also not pandering to moviedom or running out of steam.

If you like the thick of it or political satire in general it's well worth a watch.