In The Loop - Sweary fun for all the family (well... maybe not, but fun for some)

If you like good political comedy then you should have become aware of the BBC TV series `The Thick of It.' However, if this has escaped you then it's probably best to stop reading right now and go and watch it. The bottom line: if you like 'The Thick of It' then you'll like 'In the Loop.'

It's basically the same animal, or a `compendium piece' as I've heard it described. Whereas 'The Thick of It' stayed in Britain, 'In the Loop' also takes us to America where we see that U.S. politics is just as jaded and back-stabbing as its U.K. counterpart. The British Prime Minister and the American President fancy starting a war. The only problem is that there really isn't a good argument for starting one. Therefore, America enlists the help of Downing Street's legendary `Enforcer' (or `Director of Communications' to give him his correct title) Malcolm Tucker (perfectly played, as usual, by Peter Capaldi) to come up with some `evidence' which supports the upcoming invasion.

Sounds familiar? Well, it should. It's a case of art (sadly) imitating life as comparisons with George and Tony's handling of the invasion of Iraq are evident for all to see.

It may not sound like an ideal source for comedy, but, handled well and you'll be cringing at one political mess after another. In fact, politics is probably better this way. At least these politicians are meant to be funny and entertaining. Their real life incarnations cause as many problems, but don't give us any good laughs along the way.

I never watched 'The Sopranos,' but I'm reliably informed by the series' many fans that its star (James Gandolfini) is such a highly-celebrated actor, that his inclusion into 'In the Loop' was such a plus point, that it ended up being wasted.  Yes, he's there and, no, he's not - technically - a main character, but he certainly has his moments.  I guess the legions of 'Sopranos' fans were just hoping for a little more when it came to him going toe to toe with Malcolm Tucker.

The only thing you need to know (if you watched the TV series first) was that only Malcolm Tucker remains the same character. All the other regular faces from the TV show are there, but they play different characters (that confused me the first time I saw it, but eventually I got used to it!).

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather