Line #9 Trivia/TheThickOfIt


1	* ActorSharedBackground: In a DeletedScene from "The Rise of the Nutters", Malcolm tells Ben Swain that Jamie trained as a priest, much like his actor, Creator/PaulHiggins.
2	* BeamMeUpScotty: Malcolm's first insult in the whole show is "He's as useless as a marzipan dildo", not "He's about as much use as a marzipan dildo".
3	* ButIPlayOneOnTV:
4	** Creator/RebeccaFront is baffled at how playing a fictional minister has brought her a flood of requests to appear on news shows [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/16/television-current-affairs-political-comedy as a political pundit]]. Similarly, Creator/PeterCapaldi was asked to interview Creator/AlastairCampbell in the style of Malcolm Tucker but had to refuse on the grounds that Malcolm is a fictional character and that he'd need backup from eight writers.
5	** Peter Capaldi gets fans stopping him the street with [[TooKinkyToTorture requests to tell them to fuck off]]: [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2009/oct/17/peter-capaldi-malcolm-tucker-tv "...and sometimes I mean it"]].
6	* CareerResurrection: Creator/PeterCapaldi had grown disillusioned with acting and the bland roles he was taking just for the money. He was considering quitting acting altogether when he was cast as Malcolm Tucker the role gave him the opportunity to stretch and rediscover his love of acting while the increased attention got him even bigger roles, such as Series/DoctorWho.
7	* TheCatchPhraseCatchesOn: Malcolm Tucker coined the word "Omnishambles" which ended up being used by real politicians before eventually entering the Oxford English Dictionary. This baffles the writers to no end.
8	* ChannelHop: Aired on BBC Four before moving to the more mainstream BBC Two for its fourth and final season.
9	* {{Corpsing}}: Miles Jupp revealed on the commentary for ''Creator/StewartLee's Comedy Vehicle'' that he had terrible problems bursting into laughter during his first scene, so the writers included that in John Duggan's later appearance on the train.
10	* TheDanza:
11	** Phil Smith is played by Will Smith.
12	** Sam Cassidy, played by Samantha Harrington.
13	* DeletedScene: Several of 'em, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCOVaWCeRaM season one]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6xC2HXGv5I season two]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GCcqUboKew the specials]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd7wVAEzmj0 season three]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6a2V_wBFTY season four]].
14	* DirectedByCastmember: Although Creator/ArmandoIannucci directed the first three series, the final series featured a number of guest directors including Chris Addison (who plays Ollie Reader). His episode was notable for the fact that his character spent most of the episode alone in a hospital bed.
15	* DisownedAdaptation: Creator/ArmandoIannucci disowned the American pilot:
16	-->It was terrible...they took the idea and chucked out all the style. It was all conventionally shot and there was no improvisation or swearing. It didn't get picked up, thank God.
17	* EnforcedMethodActing:
18	** A lot of the irritability and stress the characters appear to be experiencing is genuine. Creator/ArmandoIannucci was always rewriting scripts and would often hand them pages of dense dialogue they'd have to nail so as not to drag out production.
19	** For the enquiry episode, the cast were given no rehearsal or preparation before filming. Furthermore, there were no opportunities for the actors to talk to one another between re-shoots, and were kept separate from the "witnesses", like an actual enquiry.
20	* GenreKiller: The series is seen as one of a "holy trinity" of 1990s and 2000s comedy shows -- the others being ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and ''Series/{{Extras}}'' -- that discredited the classic BritCom format and lead to the {{Dramedy}} being adopted as the standard format for British comedy shows.
21	* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: Each scene was filmed twice, once as scripted followed by an improvised version. The finished programme used material from both takes.
22	* IronyAsSheIsCast: Old-school Tory MP Peter Mannion was played by left-leaning Creator/RogerAllam.[[note]]Still, a relatively mild exmaple compared to the full-on fascist he plays in ''Film/VForVendetta''[[/note]]
23	* LifeImitatesArt: [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/apr/29/gordon-brown-bigotgate-thick-of-it Scarily often in UK politics]], as politicians began quoting lines from the show, referred to it in ''Parliament'', and began acting like the characters. Seeing this led Creator/ArmandoIannucci to realize the project had run its course.
24	* PlayingAgainstType: Up to that point in his career, Creator/PeterCapaldi mostly played mild-mannered supporting roles. Playing Malcolm Tucker shattered industry perceptions of him.
25	* RoleEndingMisdemeanour: In 2005, Chris Langham was charged with downloading child pornography. Rather than make a full second series without him, the producers made two hour-long specials for which they [[PutOnABus put him on a bus]], leaving the door open for him to return if he was found not guilty. He was found guilty at his 2007 trial and served 15 weeks in prison, and his character Hugh Abbott disappeared from the show never to return.
26	* SleeperHit: The series was given a limited budget and aired on the niche BBC Four channel, but it became a cult hit that turned Peter Capaldi into a star. Season 4 ended up getting a ChannelHop to BBC Two as a result.
27	* StarMakingRole: Creator/PeterCapaldi was considering leaving acting altogether before this show turned him into a major star.
28	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Creator/ArmandoIannucci was constantly rewriting scripts as he took ad-libs and the overall mood on set into account. He'd even throw out finished scripts and hand actors brand-new pages in the middle of shooting, forcing them to learn lines on the fly.

Context Trivia / TheThickOfIt