In the Guardian today TV critic Sam Wollaston said that The Thick of It was not very funny this time round (it's a new series).
Although I thought The Thick of It was funny I have to agree that there was something missing.
In part I think it is because attention has shifted from Labour in power to the Coalition in power.
On the whole I agree with the theory that we laugh at things we are secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) afraid of. Laughter is a form of hysteria. I know this is a controversial theory, but it makes sense to me.
Therefore we have to conclude that the general population is not all that afraid of the Conservatives. They are not scary in the same way that Alastair Campbell was scary, or Harriet Harman was intimidating, or Gordon Brown gave off the impression of a violent bully barely in control of himself. You can test this for yourself by imagining Grant Shapps and Peter Mandelson side by side - which one would you feel most afraid of?
If you read the Twitter microblog of Owen Jones (Independent journalist and left-wing activist) you see lefties trying to outdo each other in their proclaimed hatred of "the Tories". But sooner or later they get bored with that and start to berate "Progress" and "Blairites" and aim digital kicks at Tony McNulty. Eventually they turn on Owen Jones himself and condemn him as a counter-revolutionary and a running dog lackey of the imperialists.
In terms of internecine feuding, bitter antagonisms, and dramatic no-holds-barred in-fighting Labour has all the drama and the Conservatives are nowhere.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/sep/09/the-thick-of-it-review
Although I thought The Thick of It was funny I have to agree that there was something missing.
In part I think it is because attention has shifted from Labour in power to the Coalition in power.
On the whole I agree with the theory that we laugh at things we are secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) afraid of. Laughter is a form of hysteria. I know this is a controversial theory, but it makes sense to me.
Therefore we have to conclude that the general population is not all that afraid of the Conservatives. They are not scary in the same way that Alastair Campbell was scary, or Harriet Harman was intimidating, or Gordon Brown gave off the impression of a violent bully barely in control of himself. You can test this for yourself by imagining Grant Shapps and Peter Mandelson side by side - which one would you feel most afraid of?
If you read the Twitter microblog of Owen Jones (Independent journalist and left-wing activist) you see lefties trying to outdo each other in their proclaimed hatred of "the Tories". But sooner or later they get bored with that and start to berate "Progress" and "Blairites" and aim digital kicks at Tony McNulty. Eventually they turn on Owen Jones himself and condemn him as a counter-revolutionary and a running dog lackey of the imperialists.
In terms of internecine feuding, bitter antagonisms, and dramatic no-holds-barred in-fighting Labour has all the drama and the Conservatives are nowhere.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/sep/09/the-thick-of-it-review
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